West Side Theater

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(Kenosha Evening News; May 15, 1913) CAN’T SOLVE MYSTERY
Officials Fail to Get any Evidence in Regard to Burning of Local Theatre STATE MARSHAL COMING Jasper Conforti, One of the Proprietors of the Theatre Still Being Held But Employee is Released on Wednesday — All Tell Straight Stories of Fire The mystery surrounding the alleged incendiary fire which gutted the West-Side Theatre early Wednesday morning has not as yet been solved and although Deputy State Fire Marshal W Eud, Fire Chief Henry Isermann and District Attorney Drury worked on the case all day Wednesday and much of today they have found little that will aid them in solving the mystery. Jasper Conforti, one of the owners of the theatre who was taken into custody just after the fire was discovered, was before the district attorney for a long time on Wednesday and he made a statement that indicated that he had no knowledge of the manner in which the fire started. Joseph Korieik, who was taken into custody at the same time, was released, the officials believing that he knew absolutely nothing of the fire. Conforti, who is still being held pending a further investigation, declared that at the time the fire broke out he was at his home and that he had not been at the theatre for hours before the blaze started. Al Von Wald also interested in the management of the theatre assured the officials that he would give them every possible aid in locating the guilty parties. He stated that he had been in charge of the Star Theatre and had not been near the West Side Theatre on the night before the fire. Deputy State Fire Marshal End and Chief Isermann made a careful investigation of the ruins of the interior of the theatre on Wednesday afternoon and they found that the charred paper under the north stairway was made up almost entirely of theatre posters. Conforti declared that these had been kept in another part of the building and that he could not account for their being put under the stairway. District Attorney Drury summoned the state fire marshal, Thomas Purtell, to Kenosha today and he is expected to arrive on Friday and aid in the further investigation. There have been several stories of enemies of the theatre men and these are being carefully investigated. It seems that the managers of the theatre as well as the state and local officials are convinced that the fire was of an incendiary origin but they have not been able to offer a suggestion which will lead to the arrest of the guilty parties. While Conforti is still detained by the police the officials admit that they have found nothing that would indicate that Conforti was directly connected with the setting of the blaze. As yet no effort has been made to have the insurance on the place adjusted and it is thought that when the claim is made that the insurance company will join in the effort that is be in made to clear up the mystery.