Archduke Leopold spends night in the Tombs

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 July 12, 1930

Archduke Leopold of Austria, caused his $7,500 bail to be "canceled in General Sessions," "so he could be sent to the Tombs and more speedily bring about his trial for alleged participation in the alleged theft of the $400,000 diamond Napoleon necklace," according to the New York York Times.

The necklace belonged to his aunt, Archduchess Maria Theresa.

In an interview in the Tombs reception room, Leopold "expressed satisfaction with his surroundings."

"I am reconciled to my situation," he said. "I had a good night and enjoyed my breakfast of coffee, bread, and butter. It was the only thing for me to do to speed up my trial. I did no intentional wrong in connection with the sale of the Napoleon necklace to David L. Michel, the Fifth Avenue jeweler, by Colonel Charles L Townsend, who has disappeared."

He said that when he returns to Austria he plans to write a book about his experiences, ", particularly in connection with his indictment and his inability to have his trial called as quickly as he desired."

The Archduke spoke from behind a screen that separates prisoners from visitors. He spent the night in a cell with a "Negro hold-up  man on one side of him and a pickpocket on the other."

Late in the afternoon, a well-dressed woman, "who said she was Mrs. Coburn of Sutton Place," drove up to the prison and told the warden "she wanted to call on the Archduke."

She had arrived after regular visiting hours. The warden referred her to the office of the Commissioner of Correction, where she was able to obtain a special pass. She returned to the Tombs, where she visited Leopold. Mrs. Coburn made an inquiry about the archduke's conditions, and "offered to send him meals from outside," but she was told that this was not possible. The warden added that the "Archduke could purchase special meals from the prison commissary."

Archduke Leopold is accused of "having accepted $20,000 from the proceeds of the sale of the necklace," which was a gift from Napoleon to his wife, Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria.

The archduke's actions were defended by Walther Nagelstock, the editor of the New Vienna Journal, a conservative newspaper.

"The Hapsburgs have their faults but they are not capable of either theft or fraud. Every Austrian knows that the Hapsburgs have pride that is inbred in them and would make them utterly contemptuous of either stealing or participating in a fraud. They have been known to commit suicide when in financial or other troubles, but never to yield to stealing or fraud.

"We do not believe in Austria that the Archduke is guilty of the charges made against him," the editor said.

"What amazes me and amazes the Austrians is that the Austrians in America have not come to the defense of the Archduke. After all, he is not only a member of the family which ruled Austria since medieval times but is an Austrian as well."

[The Tombs was a prison in New York City.]