Toledo Union Journal

Attack On Reuther Appears Solved Police Arrest Two Suspects; Two Others Being Sought

Special to the Journal

DETROIT, Mich.-The 1948 shooting of UAW-CIO President Walter Reuther was believed to have been partially solved late this week in Detroit with the arrest of two men and issuing of other warrants including an Indiana Federal prison inmate, Santo (Sam) Perrone, and other unknown assailants.

The two arrested men were Carl Renda, 35, Grosse Point, Mich., son-in-law of Perrone; and Clarence Jacobs, 48, Tecumseh, Ont., a TV salesroom operator.

The third man, already in Terre Haute's Federal Prison on counterfeiting charges, is Peter Lombardo, 50.

Perrone, also 50, is still at large.

The news broke early Wednesday morning with the arrest of Renda by Windsor police and the capture of Jacobs by Detroit authorities.

Made Headlines

Perrone first made headlines in recent years with the Briggs Manufacturing beatings in the Michigan city. He also was involved in the Sen. Estes Kefauver investigations.

He also was a leader in the fight to keep the unions out of the Michigan Stove Co., during the union's organizational years. and he has also been convicted of bootlegging.

Perrone is believed to be connected with two illegal scrap deals involving Briggs and the Michigan Stove companies.

In the $100,000 Briggs deal, Perrone had Renda as his co-hort, it is believed. Renda was handling the scrap, but had no phone or office. Officials involved believe it was strictly a pay-off setup.

It was reported that Perrone started working at the Michigan Stove Co in 1930 for $1.65 an hour, as a core maker, but one year later he was making $60,000.

Lombardo, a member of the famed Black Hand gang of Detroit, has been convicted of smuggling and bootlegging. In the 20's he was known as a gunman.

Little is known about Jacobs, except that he is a former fish market operator.

Two Charges

Two charges have been made in the warrants: assault with intent to kill and conspiracy to attempt assault to kill.

The four 'John Doe' warrants indicate that at least four more arrests will be made shortly.

Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney, Gerald K. O'Brien, issued this statement, "I am convinced that the shooting of Walter Reuther in 1948 has been solved. For obvious reasons the details of our case and the identity of the witnesses cannot be made known. That is all I can say."

At the present, there is still $100,000 reward to be given for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who shot Reuther and $50,000 for the arrest and conviction for person or persons who shot Victor Reuther, brother of Walter. These rewards have been posted by the UAW.

It was also reported that the UAW has had a private detective working on the case for the last six years.

The shooting happened on April 20, 1948, in the kitchen of the Reuther home. The assailant stood outside the kitchen window, only eight feet from the UAW-CIO prexy, to fire the blast.

The instant the shot was fired, for some reason, Reuther turned and caught the shot gun pellets in his arm, instead of the back.

If he hadn't made the move, the shot would have killed him instantly, doctors reported at the time.

Eight doctors worked on the youthful Union leader for two and one-half hours to save his life, although he did lose partial use of his arm.

Neighbors gave the police the only clue at the time when they said they saw a short man sprinting away from the Reuther home after the gun-fire.

Reuther Said

Mr. Reuther himself said, "I have no idea who could have done this, maybe management, communists, or some screwball."

It also was reported at the time that the victim had received two threatening, unsigned letters just prior to the shooting, but that his secretary had thrown them away because Mr. Reuther was always receiving such letters.

Victor Reuther was shot almost a year later and as a result lost the use of an eye.