5 Arrested in Democratic Party Break-in

Text of the first Associated Press story on the Watergate break-in, transmitted on June 17, 1972:

WASHINGTON--Five men were arrested Saturday as they attempted to break into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, police reported.

Police described the men as “a professional ring” and said nothing was stolen. The police said they were at a loss of why the men would pick such a target unless they were searching for documents.

Seized with them were an assortment of lock picks and other burglary tools.

The five being held for a U.S. magistrate’s hearing later in the day were identified tentatively as residents of Miami, Fla. Police listed them as Raul Godoy, Gene Valdez, Edward Martin, Edward Hamilton and Frank Carter.

Police said a security guard heard noises near the locked Democratic headquarters at 1:30 a.m. and called police to a swank apartment complex next to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Police arrested the five and a complaint was filed by Stanley L. Greigg, 40, a former Iowa congressman who is now assistant chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

A security guard at the building said the burglary evidently was preplanned. He said a tape had been placed over a lock to keep a door accessible to the stairwell that leads directly to the headquarters.