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FOR many years bank sneak thieving flourished to an alarming extent in New A York City, and under the old detective systems it seemed impossible to put a stop to that form of robbery. Notorious thieves in those days were permitted to loiter about the street, and on more than one occasion it was alleged that well filled cash boxes disappeared from bankers’ safes while detectives were on watch outside. It was also openly insinuated that there was collusion between the police and the rogues, and numerous changes were made, but it was afterwards discovered that the accusations were groundless. While it may have been true that the detectives in some cases were not as vigilant as they might have been, subsequent developments have demonstrated that the financial quarter of the city was in the past but poorly protected. Well known thieves no longer haunt that prescribed locality, and since the establishment of a sub-detective bureau in Wall Street, six years ago, not a dollar has been stolen from any of the wealthy concerns in the great money centre by professional criminals. The inauguration also of a patrol service by experienced detectives during business hours, and the connecting by telephone of all the banking institutions have been the means of putting a stop to the operations of that particular class of rogues known as bank sneak thieves. Still, in the other cities of the country, where these precautions which have proved such a great preventive against the perpetration of crime have not been adopted, these thieves succeed in carrying on their depredations and reap rich rewards. Bank sneak thieves are all men of education, pleasing address, good personal appearance, and are faultless in their attire. With astonishing coolness these determined fellows commit the most daring thefts. The handful of successful rogues who have attained such exalted rank in the criminal profession despise the thousands of other robbers who live by the commission of small crimes. Aware of their superiority, these men are overbearing when chance brings them in contact with thieves of a lower degree. This is most noticeable in their manner of conducting themselves while serving out sentence in prison. As their exploits must necessarily occur in daylight and in public places, these robbers are really more daring than the bank burglar, who prefers to work under cover of night. The bank sneak is not an adept with the pick-lock, but great presence of mind, a quick eye, and wonderful nerve are the essentials he must possess to become a success.
Generally not more than three or four of these thieves are engaged in any robbery, and each of them has his allotted part to perform in the conspiracy. One may be a careful lookout, another must be an interesting conversationalist, and the third, generally a small-sized man, is the sneak, who stealthily steals behind the counter and captures the cash box or a bundle of bonds. While some robberies are carried out in a few minutes after the conception of the scheme, others have been planned months beforehand. The rogues who prowl about bankers’ and brokers’ offices day after day are ever on the watch for an opportunity to make a daring dash for plunder. Their appearance is so like that of the honest merchant or stock speculator that they have no difficulty in deceiving those who have no suspicion as to their real character or calling. They have also a faculty of worming themselves into the best society, and they spend their evenings in the lobbies of the leading hotels or other places where those foremost in financial circles are in the habit of assembling to discuss the events of the day. Information gathered in chance chats afterwards proves of valuable assistance to the cunning sneak thief in the carrying out of his operations. It is during those brief conversations that the robbers ascertain the topic that will most interest their intended victim. All men have their hobbies, and just as soon as the bank thief becomes aware of the fact that a certain banker, broker, paying teller or cashier has a failing for discussing any one thing in particular, they devote considerable time studying the subject until they are able to talk upon it properly and interestingly. This is one of the preliminary steps in a planned robbery. Next the thieves make themselves familiar with the manner in which business is conducted in the bank or office they are plotting to pillage. They never neglect any point, no matter how small it may be. The exact time that the clerks are in the habit of leaving their desks for dinner, the restaurants they dine at, and the time they are allowed for meals, are all noted. These are necessary for the success of the undertaking, and when at last all the plans have been perfected, the prize is captured at a time when there are but few persons in the banking institution. There have been exceptions to this rule, however, and cash boxes have been successfully spirited away just at the moment of the receipt of some astounding financial intelligence, and while the office was thronged with merchants and brokers discussing the startling news. Thefts of that sort require but a moment, and have been executed as rapidly as the occasion presents itself.
Here is a genuine instance of the great presence of mind of these criminals, from the record of one of the leading and most successful sneak thieves: There was a heated discussion in a broker’s office one day about the location of a town in Ohio. The noted robber slipped into the place just in time to overhear several of the gentlemen declaring that the town was in different counties in that State. While the argument progressed the thief hit upon a plan that would enable him to capture the cash box, which temptingly rested in the safe, the door of which was open. He left as quickly as possible, and, meeting his confederate outside, sent him to a stationery store, telling him to buy several maps, and one especially showing the counties and towns in Ohio. Then the rogue returned to the broker’s office to await his opportunity. A few minutes later he was followed by his companion in the rôle of a map peddler. Being at first told that no maps were wanted, the cunning accomplice, in a loud voice, said:
“Can I show you a new map, giving the boundaries of all the towns and counties in Ohio?”
The appeal was overheard by one of the men who had been involved in the recent discussion. He told the peddler to stop, at the same time saying, “Now, boys, I’ll bet whatever you like that the town is in the county I said, and as chance has brought us a map, the bets can be settled without delay.” Several bets were made, and for a few minutes the broker’s office was in a much greater state of excitement than it ever had been before, even in panic days. As the peddler slowly unrolled his bundle of maps the brokers and the clerks gathered about him, anxious to learn the result. The sneak took advantage of the excitement and made his way, unnoticed, to the safe. He captured the cash box, containing $20,000, and escaped with it while his confederate was selling the map.
Another professional sneak, known as a man of great coolness and determination, and possessed of no small degree of courage, is credited with having entered a bank early in the morning and going behind the desk, divested himself of his coat, and, donning a duster, installed himself as clerk. He coolly waited there some time watching for a chance to seize a roll of greenbacks, bonds, or anything valuable that he could lay his hands on. One of the clerks requested the intruder to leave, but the wily thief retorted by telling the former to mind his own business, and also intimating that as soon as his friend, the president, arrived, he would have what he pleased to call a meddlesome fellow punished. The clerk, however, insisted upon the rogue’s vacating the desk, and he finally did so under protest. In a seemingly high state of indignation the robber left the place, and later on the cashier, to his surprise, discovered that he had suddenly and mysteriously become $15,000 short. Of course the thief never called a second time to explain the mystery.
A bundle of bonds vanished from one of the rooms in a Safe Deposit vault in an Eastern city, recently, and the theft was not discovered until three months after the robbery had been committed. One of the depositors had called at the place for the purpose of clipping off his coupons. He had taken his box out of the compartment in which it was kept, and had gone into a side room with a table to do the coupon cutting. There was no one in the apartment excepting himself, but just as he had finished a man whom he believed to be one of the clerks entered the chamber for a second. The visitor tapped the old gentleman on the shoulder and instantly said, “Excuse me, sir, I have made a mistake,” and passed out again. While the aged depositor had turned to see who it was had tapped him on the left shoulder, the supposed clerk, who was a professional sneak, picked up the bundle of bonds, which lay near the former’s right hand. It happened that the lid of the tin box was down, and having no suspicion, and supposing that he had replaced the bonds, the old man returned the empty box to his compartment. Three months later, when the depositor again called at the Safe Deposit vaults to clip another set of coupons, he discovered that his bonds were missing and no one was able to account for their disappearance.
The robbery, it has been asserted, was effected in this way. In the Safe Deposit vaults was employed a clerk who was in the habit of wearing a buff-colored duster, much bedabbled with ink. On the day of the robbery the clerk was sent out on an errand and was away from his desk for nearly half an hour. During his absence a sneak thief of his build, and somewhat like him in appearance, and wearing an ink-stained duster, ran quickly down the steps, and without exciting any suspicion passed the watchman on guard at the entrance to the Safe Deposit vaults. No one paid any particular attention to the robber as he passed through the several rooms, supposing him to be the clerk. After he had captured the roll of bonds from which the coupons had been freshly cut, the man in the buff duster, unnoticed, passed out with the booty.
In robbing country banks, where the clerks are few, and generally during the dinner hour the cashier or paying teller is the only man left in the institution, sneaks have a simple and easy scheme for plundering. One first enters the bank and engages the cashier or teller in conversation, upon a subject in which the latter becomes deeply interested. While this is going on a carriage halts at the door, and the driver is sent in to tell the official inside that a gentleman who has hurt his leg and is unable to walk, desires to speak to him outside. The unsuspecting cashier or teller excuses himself to his first visitor and goes out to speak to the injured man, and in his absence the bank is ransacked. Robberies of this kind are committed quite frequently, and gangs of sneaks travel all over the country with a circus or wild beast show. In the towns and small cities the parade of the performers creates considerable excitement, and when the cavalcade happens to pass a bank the clerks, cashiers and paying tellers seem to forget themselves and run to the windows to look out. The sneak thieves take advantage of the opportunity and quietly slip into the institution. In a twinkling their work is complete, and before the procession has passed they have escaped with whatever they could lay hands on.
If, while watching about a bank a large check is cashed and the customer turns aside to a desk to count the money, the rogues generally succeed in getting a portion of the cash. The thief will drop a bill upon the floor, and just as the man has arranged his pile of notes the criminal will politely tell him that he has dropped some of his money. When the former stoops down to pick up the greenback, the sneak will steal a portion of the cash upon the desk, and walk off unquestioned. They are not greedy in ventures of that sort, but they secure enough, with almost comparative safety, and are content. Heated arguments invariably follow thefts of this sort. After counting his money, the depositor goes back to the teller and insists that he is short. The teller is equally positive that he paid out the proper amount, and in most cases a disruption of commercial relations is the culmination of the dispute.
Bank sneak thieves are not, however, confined to these systems. They are men of adaptability, and act at all times according to circumstances. They have been known to rob messengers in the street while on their way to bank to make a deposit. Some messengers always carry the bank book in their hand, with the bills folded between the covers. The ends of the greenbacks may extend beyond the length of the book, and these will instantly catch the quick eye of an experienced rogue. While the messenger is passing through a crowd, he will be thrown off his guard by a start of surprise, or a laughable remark. During that moment the entire amount in the book has been abstracted, and when the man reaches the bank and finds the cash gone, he cannot imagine how it was that he lost it.
The best safeguard against the bank-sneak thief is to be able to recognize him at sight, and be sure of his real character. The annexed list contains many of the names of the leading rogues who operate in that line, and whose photographs are to be found in the book:
Frank Buck, alias Bucky Taylor (27).—Jim Burns, alias Big Jim Burns (165).—Billy Burke, alias Billy the Kid (162).—Bill Bartlett (see records of No. 71 and George Wilkes).—Bill Baker (165).—George Carson, alias Heywood (3).—William Coleman, alias Billy Coleman (9).—John Curtin (169).—John Carroll, alias The Kid (192).— Charlotte Dougherty, stall for bank sneaks (see records of Nos. 25, 1, 179).—John Duffy (see record of No. 50).—Charles Fisher, alias Purdy (41).—Billy Forrester (76).—Billy Flynn (see records of Nos. 3, 50, 95, 165).—Eddie Guerin (see records of Nos. 11, 187).—Horace Hovan, alias Little Horace (25).—Robert Hovan (179).—Charley Hicks (see record of No. 8).—John Jourdan (83).—Thomas Leary, alias Kid Leary (6).—Ned Lyons (70).—Rufe Minor, alias Pine (1).—Emanuel Marks, alias Minnie Marks (187).—John O’Brien, alias The Kid (see record of No. 22).— Phillip Phearson, alias Philly Pearson (5).—C. J. Everhardt, alias Marsh Market Jake (38).—Joe Parish (84).—John Price (see records of Nos. 1, 9, 54).—Bill Vosburg (4).—Joe McClusky (see records of Nos. 8, 50).—Walter Sheridan (8).— Jim Brady, alias Big Jim.
See regular index for further information.