Conradin Otto Dold
Conradin Otto Dold came to the United States from Germany in 1926. He became a United States citizen in 1931 under the Seamen’s Act. Prior to his arrest, he was Chief Steward aboard the SS Siboney of the American Export Lines. Dold was related to people holding high positions in Germany and was closely associated with other members of the espionage group who worked on ships sailing from New York Harbor. As a courier, Dold carried information from Nazi agents in the United States to contacts in neutral ports abroad for transmittal to Germany. Dold was sentenced to serve ten years in prison on espionage charges and received a two-year concurrent sentence and a fine of $1,000 for violation of the Registration Act.
Rudolf Ebeling
After leaving Germany for the United States in 1925, Rudolf Ebeling became an American citizen in 1933. He was employed as a foreman in the Shipping Department of Harper and Brothers in New York City when he was arrested. Ebeling obtained information regarding ship sailings and cargoes which he provided to Paul Feftse for transmittal to Germany. He also furnished such information to Leo Waalen, who delivered the material to Sebold for transmittal. Upon conviction, Ebeling was sentenced to five years in prison on espionage charges. He also received a two-year concurrent sentence and a $1000 fine for violating the Registration Act.
Richard Eichenlaub
Richard Eichenlaub, who came to the United States in 1930 and became a citizen in 1936. He operated the Little Casino Restaurant in the Yorkville Section of New York City. This restaurant was a rendezvous for many members of this spy ring and Eichenlaub introduced several new members into the group. Eichenlaub reported to the German Gestapo and often obtained information from his customers who were engaged in national defense production. Through Eichenlaub, dynamite was delivered to Sedold from Bante. Having entered a plea of guilty to violation of the Registration, Act, Eichenlaub was sentenced to pay a fine of $1000 and to serve 18 months.
Heinrich Carl Eilers
A native of Germany, Heinrich Carl Eilers came to the United States in 1923 and became a citizen in 1932. From 1933 until his arrest he served as a steward on ships sailing from New York City. Eilers made a trip from New York to Washington DC, to obtain information for Germany from the Civil Aeronautics Authority. His mission, however, was unsuccessful. At the time of his arrest in New York City by the Customs authorities in June 1940, he had in his possession 20 letters addressed to people throughout Europe. He also had books, relating to magnesium and aluminum alloys that had been sent to him by Edmund Carl Heine, one of the principal espionage agents in this group. Upon conviction, Eilers received a five-year prison sentence on espionage charges and a concurrent sentence of two years imprisonment and a $1000 fine under the Registration Act.
Paul Fehse
In 1934 Paul Fehse left Germany for the United States, where he became a citizen in 1938. Since his arrival in this country, he had been employed as a cook aboard ships sailing from New York Harbor. Fehse was one of the directing forces in this espionage group. He arranged meetings, directed members’ activities, correlated information that had been developed, and arranged for its transmittal to Germany, chiefly through Sebold. Fehse, who was trained for espionage work in Hamburg, Germany, claimed he headed the Marine Division of the German espionage system in the United States. Having become quite apprehensive and nervous, Fehse made plans to leave the country. He obtained a position on the SS Siboney, which was scheduled to sail from Hoboken, New Jersey, for Lisbon, Portugal, on March 29, 1941. He planned to desert the ship in Lisbon and return to Germany. However, before he could leave the United States, Fehse was arrested by FBI Agents. Upon arrest, he admitted to sending letters to Italy for transmittal to Germany and reporting the movements of British ships. On April 1, 1941, Fehse was sentenced on a plea guilty to serving one year and one day in prison for violation of the Registration Act. He subsequently pleaded guilty to espionage and received a prison sentence of 15 years.
Edward Carl Heine
A native of Germany, Edward Carl Heine came to the United States in 1914 and became a naturalized citizen in 1920. Until 1938, he held various positions in the foreign sales and service departments of Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Motor Corporation. His employment took him to the West Indies, South America, Spain, and Berlin, Germany. Heine was closely associated with Hans Luther, former German Ambassador in Washington, DC, and Prince Louis Ferdinand of Berlin. Heine sent letters from Detroit, Michigan, to Lilly Stein, one of the German spies Sebold was instructed to contact. The letters contained detailed technical data regarding the military, aircraft construction, and various industries. He also wrote to aircraft companies to obtain information about their production, the number of employees, and the time required to construct military planes. After obtaining technical books relating to magnesium and aluminum alloys, Heine seats the materials to Heinrich Eilers. To ensure the safe delivery of the books to Germany in ease they not reach Eilers, Heine indicated the return address on the package as the address of Lilly Stein. Upon conviction of violating the Registration Act, Heine received a $5000 fine and a two-year prison sentence.
Felix Jahnke
In 1924, Felix Jahnke left Germany for the United States, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1930. Jahnke had attended military school in Germany and had served in the German army as a radio operator. Jahnke and Axel Wheeler-Hill secured the services of Josef Klein, a radio technician, in building a portable radio set for Jahnke’s apartment in the Bronx. Jahnke used this radio to transmit messages, which were intercepted by the FBI, to Germany. He also visited the docks in New York Harbor to obtain information about any vessels bound for England. After pleading guilty to violation of the Registration Act, Jahnke was sentenced to serve 20 months in prison and to pay a $1000 fine.
Gustav Wilhelm Kaercher
Gustav Wilhelm Kaercher came to the United States in 1923, becoming a citizen in 1931. He served in the German army during World War I and was a former leader of the German Bund in New York. During visits to Germany, he was seen to have worn a German army officer’s uniform. At the time of his arrest, he was engaged in designing power plants for the American Gas and Electric Company in New York City. Kaercher was arrested with Paul Scholtz, who had just handed Kaercher a table of call letters and frequencies for transmitting information to Germany by radio. As a result of his guilty plea to charges of violating the Registration Act, Kaercher received a $2000 fine and a prison sentence of 22 months.
Josef Klein
A native of Germany, Josef Klein came to the United States in 1925, he did not become a citizen. Klein, a photographer, and a lithographer had been interested in the building and operation of shortwave radio transmitters. Klein constructed a portable shortwave radio transmitting and receiving set for Felix Jhanke and Axel Wheeler-Hill. When he built the radio, Klein knew it would be used for transmitting messages to Germany. Upon conviction, Klein received a sentence of five years imprisonment on espionage charges and a concurrent sentence of two years imprisonment under the Registration Act.
Hartwig Richard Kleiss
Born in Germany, Hartwig Richard Kleiss came to this country in 1925 and became a naturalized citizen six years later. Following his arrival in the United States, he was employed as a cook on various ships. Kleiss obtained information for Germany, including blueprints of the SS America which showed the locations of newly installed gun emplacements, lie included information about how guns would be brought into position for firing. Kleiss also obtained details on the construction and performance of new speedboats, being developed by the United States Navy, which he submitted to Sebold for transmittal to Germany Kleiss had originally chosen to stand trial. However, after cross-examination, he changed his plea to guilty on the charge of espionage and received an eight-year prison sentence.
Herman W. Land
Herman W. Lang came to the United States from Germany in 1927 and became a citizen in 1939. He was one of four people Sebold had been told to contact in the United States. Until his arrest, Lang had been employed by a company manufacturing highly confidential materials essential to the national defense of the United States. During a visit to Germany in 1938, Lang conferred with German military authorities and reconstructed plans of the confidential materials from memory. Upon conviction. Lang received a sentence of 18 years in prison on espionage charges and a 2-year concurrent sentence under the Registration Act.
Evelyn Clayton Lewis
A native of Arkansas, Evelyn Clayton Lewis had been living with Frederick Joubert Duquesne in New York City. Miss Lewis had expressed her anti-British and anti-Semitic feelings during her relationship with Duquesne. She was aware of his espionage activities and condoned them. While she was not active in obtaining information for Germany, she, helped Duquesne prepare material for transmittal abroad. Upon a guilty plea, Miss Lewis was sentenced to serve one year and one day in prison for violation of the Registration Act.
René Emanuel Mezenen
René Emanuel Mezenen, a Frenchman, claimed United States citizenship through the naturalization of his father. Prior to his arrest, he was employed as a steward in the transatlantic clipper service. The German Intelligence Service in Lisbon, Portugal, asked Mezenen to act as a courier, transmitting information between the United States and Portugal on his regular trips on the clipper. He accepted this offer for financial gain. In the course of flights across the Atlantic, Mezenen also reported his observance of convoys sailing for England. He also became involved in smuggling platinum from the United States to Portugal. Following a plea of guilty, Mezenen received an eight-year prison term for espionage and two concurrent years for registration violations.
Carl Reuper
Having come to the United States from Germany in 1929, Carl Reuper became a citizen in 1936. Prior to his arrest, he served as an inspector for the Westinghouse Electric Company in Newark, New Jersey. Reuper obtained photographs for Germany relating to national defense materials and construction, which he obtained from his employment. He arranged radio contact with Germany through the station established by Felix Jahnke. On one occasion, he conferred with Sebold regarding Sebold’s facilities for communicating with German authorities. Upon conviction, Reuper was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment on espionage charges and 2 years concurrent sentence under the Registration Act.
Everett Roeder
Born in the Bronx, New York, Everett Roeder was a draftsman and designer of confidential materials for the United States Army and Navy. Sebold had delivered microphotograph instructions to Roeder, as ordered by German authorities. Roeder and Sebold met in public places and proceeded to spots where they could talk privately. In 1936, Roeder had visited Germany and was requested by German authorities to act as an espionage agent. Primarily due to the monetary rewards he would receive, Roeder agreed. Roeder entered a guilty plea to the charge of espionage and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Paul Aldred Scholz
A German native, Paul Scholz came to the United States in 1926 but never attained citizenship. He had been employed in German bookstores in New York City, where he disseminated Nazi propaganda. Scholz had arranged for Josef Klein to construct the radio set used by Felix Jhanke and Axel Wheeler-Hill. At the time of his arrest, Scholz had just given Gustav Wilhelm Kaercher a list of radio call letters and frequencies. He also encouraged members of this spy ring to secure data for Germany and arranged contacts between various German agents. Upon conviction, Scholz was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for espionage with 2 years concurrent sentence under the Registration Act.
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