Stanley
"Ben"
Janasz

STANLEY "BEN" JANASZ was born in New Jersey on May 7, 1912 to Kazimier and Josefina Janasz. The 1930 Census indicates that he had been born Boleslaw Janasz, which apparently accounted for the nickname of "Ben", and had been given the legal name of Stanley at some point prior to 1920, perhaps when he entered school.

The 1920 Census states that his parents had emigrated to the United States from what was, in 1920, Poland along with older sister Kazimiera "Kay" Janasz. Kazimier Janasz registered for the draft on September 12, 1918. He was then working as a laborer at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation shipyard at Broadway and Morgan Street. Sadly, his draft card indicates that by this date, Josefina Janasz had passed away. Kazimier and his children were then living at 1215 Liberty Street. When the Census was taken in January of 1920, Kazimier Janasz was working as a bolter at one of Camden's shipyards, most likely still at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation yard. He and his two children were then boarding at 1063 Thurman Street with Stephen Fiderko his wife Agnes and their four children.

Shortly after the 1920 Census was taken, Kazimier Janasz remarried. His second wife, Katarzyna, had also been born in Poland. By 1927 he had purchased a home at 1507 Newport Street in Camden's Whitman Park neighborhood, a short walk from St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, the center of Camden's Polish community. By the time of the 1930 Census, older sister Kay was working on stage as a dancer, a career that apparently in time took her to New York. The 1929 City Directory states that Stanley had enlisted in the United States Army, however, by April of 1930, when the Census was taken, he was back at his father's home in Camden and was not employed.

In late November of 1930 Stanley Janasz' life took a very bad turn. Stanley Janasz, who had been using the alias Benny Jones, and another young man, John "Fingers" Makowski, of 1476 Mt. Ephraim Avenue, decided to rob a grocery store at the corner of Louis Street and Lansdowne Avenue. On November 28, 1930 the same two young men decided to rob the store a second time. In the course of this crime, Stanley Janasz shot the manager, John William Cullen, in the chest. Arrested hours later, the two were in custody when, on December 1, Cullen died as a result of his wound. Janasz and Makowski were indicted on murder charges on December 8. Prosecuting attorneys announced to the press the next day that they would seek the death penalty. On March 28, 1931 they were found not guilty. On account of their youth, both Stanley Janasz and John Makowski were sentenced to life imprisonment. Stanley Janasz became eligible for parole on December 29, 1950, and in due time, was released from prison. John Makowskii had become eligible for paroles in October of 1950 and also was paroled at some point.

While he was serving his sentence, Stanley Janasz' father died. On January 17, 1939 Kazimier Janasz died when crushed to death under mysterious circumstances while at work at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation shipyard. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in what was then Delaware Township. His widow, Katarzyna Janasz, remained at the Newport Street address.

By the time the 1940 Census was taken, Kay Janasz had married and was living in Manhattan. Her husband Joaquin Fernandez, had a bakery business there. The couple, and Joaquin's children from a prior marriage, Audina, 18, and Jack, 16, lived at 141-143 Second Avenue, near East 9th Street. 

After Stanley Janasz was paroled, he was reunited with his sister. He later married Audina Fernandez. Last a resident of Yonkers, New York, Stanley Janasz passed away in December of 1986, survived by his wife, a daughter, his sister, and a nephew.

* Samuel Johnson was erroneously naed "Thompson" in the above article

Stanley Janasz
John Makowski
John Cullen
Frank T. Lloyd Sr.

John Makowski