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October 11, 1925 PICKS OUT POLICEMAN AS HER ASSAILANT Mrs. Bustanoby Picks J. J. Hart from Lineup by Scratches on His Face He is Locked in a Cell Silent on a Charge That He Drew a Pistol and Attacked Restaurateur's Wife In An Automobile Patrolman John J. Hart of Traffic A was arrested yesterday after he had been identified in a lineup by Mrs. Jacques Bustanoby, wife of the former restaurateur, as the uniformed policeman who, she charged, attacked her in her sedan Friday night, beat her severely and, with his revolver pressed against her, forced her to start and stop her car several times at his bidding. Mrs. Bustanoby who was Doris Easton of the Ziegfield Follies, said she owed her escape and also the identification of her alleged assailant to her own physical strength and the assistance of a chauffer, whose name she did not learn. Unable to remember the number on the officer's badge, she said she was sure she could identify him because in her struggles she had scratched his face. The scratches on his face, she declared, enabled her to pick out patrolman Hart from a number of traffic men who were in the lineup. Hart who is married
and lives with his wife and aged father at 500 West 126th street, was
stripped of his shield and locked in the West 30th street station. He
refused to make a statement, but several who were present at the lineup
said that Hart, when asked if he recognized Mrs. Bustanoby, had nodded
his head. At Hart's home his wife and father were astonished when asked
about the charge against him. Mrs. Hart said that Bruises On Mrs. Bustanoby's Face Mrs. Bustanoby, who, it was said, fainted several times Friday night after the alleged attack and was unable to furnish a very coherent account of the affair, was still suffering from shock yesterday, but viewed two lineups, one at the West 152nd Street Station and another at the West 20th Street Station. She had a severe bruise over her right eye and a cut or scratched elbow. There were numerous other bruises on her body, she and her husband declared. Her story to the police and others was, in effect, as follows: she and her husband had been invited to dine with friends at 566 West 126th Street. This building adjoins on the West side that in which Hart lives. Mrs. Bustanoby drove to the West 126th Street address, as Mr. Bustanoby could not get there until later in the evening. When it was discovered that necessary items for the dinner had been forgotten, Mrs. Bustanoby offered to drive to a delicatessen and get them, while her two friends, both women, were preparing the meal. When she entered her car, which she had left standing in front of 566 West 126th Street, she found that she could not start the engine. Seeing an officer standing in front of 560 West 126th Street, she asked him to help her get the car started. The patrolman called to the driver of the car in the rear and asked him to push Mrs. Bustanoby's car. Mrs. Bustanoby's engine started as her car was pushed forward, and the patrolman, she said, leaped on the runningboard and then got inside on the seat with her. Policeman Drew A Pistol Knowing him to be
a policeman, Mrs. Bustanoby's account continued. She dared not become
offended or tell him to get out as he had been of service to her. The
intruder went with her to the delicatessen store, where he insisted on
paying for the food she wanted. When he entered the car again, however,
he made advances to her which, she promptly resented. The man in uniform
then drew his pistol and pressing it against her made her drive several
blocks when she declared he stopped the car and renewed his attentions,
this time attacking her. She screamed, she said, whereupon a man rushed
up and demanded to know what was going on. Seeing the policeman in uniform
and being told by him to leave quickly and mind his own business the man
stepped away from the When she was forced to start her car again, Mrs. Bustanoby said this man followed them unconvinced despite the man's uniform that all was well. The last attack, according to Mrs. Bustanoby, occurred on Covenant Avenue at 128th Street, where she had again been forced to stop the car. At the 128th Street stop she screamed so loudly that a small crowd collected, among them the man who previously had spoken to the policeman. Mrs. Bustanoby said her assailant kicked and struck her and tore her clothes. Finally, during her struggles, the sedan door flew open and she fell out or was kicked out. Her assailant, she continued, his pistol menacing the people who had gathered, ordered them to leave, and he stode in among them. Mrs. Bustanoby asked the man who had followed them to drive her away from the scene. They both entered the car and got away. As they drove off, Mrs. Bustanoby declared, the patrolman called out either to her or the man driving her that he failed that time but would get her the next time. The stranger who said that he was a chauffer, drove Mrs. Bustanoby back to the home of her friends at 506 West 126th Street and then walked off without giving his name. Fainted Several Times Mr. Bustanoby arrived soon after his wife. She was unable to tell him just what had occured and fainted several times. It was late at night before she was able to return with him to The Marie Antionette, where they live. After she had told her story to the police, Mrs. Bustanoby refused to say anything except that the police had told her to keep quiet about the whole affair. "As you know," said Mr. Bustanoby, "in the days before prohibition my brothers and I operated several restaurants. There was plenty of drinking then, too, but things of this sort did not occur. But last night Mrs. Bustanoby sought assistance from the only man she believed, under the circumstances, she should speak to--an officer in uniform. Had she not been a strong woman there might have been a far different story to tell today." "I do not know whether the man who attacked her was drinking or not, but he must have been either crazy or crazy drunk." Hart joined the police force September 25, 1912 according to the city record.
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