Midget fails to rob 1st National Bank of Pearl River in 1921

In December of 1921, a nationally known bandit named Hery Darsche a.k.a Midget Fernekes was living in Westwood, New Jersey working behind the counter of an electrical supply store. For weeks he cased the First National Bank of Pearl River where the payroll for the Dexter Folding Machine Company was deposited every Friday. Darsche watched, took out a safety box subscription, and later, robbed this “Cracker Box“ of a bank while asking to see his box. During the attempt two men were killed and one wounded. Darsche got away with not a red cent. The first of the national bank robbers, Darsche, had a criminal record dating from before the first world war. He had been hiding out from the authorities with an old accomplice’s wife from Chicago. They had a child in Westwood and eventually they left this area. A public eulogy was held in the Oddfellows Hall in Pearl River. School and workplaces were closed in respect to the deceased. New York gave up extradition from Illinois where he killed another man and was sentenced for the crime. The Midget Bandit died after an escape from Joliet prison by his own hand in 1935. By 1924, the first National Bank and Trust of Pearl River built a solid brick building and installed a modern security safe. Which went far as a deterrent to others who would rob any bank in town again.