DescriptionBlack-and-white photo of Eleanor Hartmann in office of murdered Overseer of the Poor Harry L. Barck, Hoboken City Hall, with Prosecutor Martin Faber (left) and Police Detective Peter Smith, February 25, 1938. 6" x 8" wide print. Photograph taken by Acme Newspictures, Inc., N.Y. (credit inkstamp on back). Also on reverse: dated inkstamp: REF. DEPT. 3-2-38 N.E.A. [Newspaper Editors Association]; caption. Text of caption back: 435309 SECRETARY EXPLAINS RELIEF OFFICE SLAYING When Harry L. Barck, 74-year-old Overseer of the Poor in Hoboken, N.J., was stabbed to death in his office, Feb. 25, Joseph Scutellaro, 36, unemployed carpenter and father of two children was held for the crime. Barck was fatally injured during an argument over an $8 relief check. Barck died a few minutes later after a desk spindle penetrated his right lung. He had been under fire for some time as relief clients accused him of treating them poorly. PHOTO SHOWS: Mrs. Eleanor Hartmann, Barck's assistant, explains how he reached for a police whistle to give alarm after he was stabbed. With Mrs. Hartmann are Prosecuting Attorney Martin Faber and Lieut. Peter Smtih (right). CREDIT LINE (ACME) 2/25/38 ==== ==== Hartmann was not married although identified here as "Mrs." She was an important witness at the trial. Her life and role as a one of Barck's four assistants as well as her testimony is extensively covered in: Metz, Killing the Poormaster: A Saga of Poverty, Corruption, and Murder in the Great Depression.(Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, [2012]). ---- press / newspaper / publishing / crime / police