The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1875-11-24
The PRINCE OF sU1cl.ls.
INTERESTING CAREER oFsArAsr,,,..
BANK RoBBRR.

~11sA'AA ASVDO6Hs
During the laat six weeks H.,
way has lacked one Of its h.na..
est, best dressed loungers, and 4, /,
theaters one of their most regula, !,
tendants-Pete Curley. The re.,,.
is that he is in . Vermont prI,s
awaiting trial as the leader Is 4 /
Barre Bank robbery. Mr. Curley i. |
for many years made a busine., !,
burglary, amassing thereby 4 fortp,. |
estimated at several hundred tbo,
sand dollars; and his money and 4. |
adroitness have, until now, got ii,
out of every trouble with the L.
His undertakings have inyari.h,,
been OF great magnitude, like Fl.
Waterford and other profitable hail
robberies. Although many times !,
rested, he has never been brought !,
trial. In most instances return !,
part of the spoil, through roeun
among the detectives, has been 4.
way to freedom. His exploit !.
! :
Barre, however, is likely to bring HIN
to justice, for the queer reason tb,t
he and his comrades in the burglar,
got no plumber. The banklost moth.
ing, and so has no incentive Is con.
pound a felony; consequent, he q,
only use his money in corruutiu,
public officers, and there are rs ind;,
cations that he is accomplishing auy.
thing in that manner.
Peter Curley came from Troy. n.
Y, a place that has sent notexo,.
thy company ofthieves and gambler
to New York. He is an uncommo.
II handsome fellow, about thirty.fn
years old, dresses elegantly, and,is ii
appearance what the masses call
"aristocratic." He has never mjxed
socially with thieves, is persopall,
doubtless entirely unknown to mot
of them, and only during the last iou,
or five years has lie been known with
certainty as q burglar. Before ths.I
he was only suspected, not becaus,
he had been definitely implicated Ii
any crime, but on account Of his lay
ish way ofspending money. HestilI
lived in Troy then, and had no ostel.
sible business. He lived luxurious
", but without dissipation, was IL
ways gentlemanly in demeaaor,
dressed in careful, good taste, aud
was excessively generous, often con.
tributing to funds for laudable pub.
lie uses. His accumulation Of pror
crty was steady and rapid. Heown.
ed the St. Charles Hotel, in Troy, ind
resided in it, occupying sumption,
apartments.
One night the hotel was set on ds
while being reconstructed, but moi
badly damaged, and it was found
that pilosphorous had been scattered
about it to hasten the conclusions
An investigation showed that the ii
surance was high and TINT valuabll
contents included in the schedule
had been secretly removed. Ths
general belief was that Curley hsd
planned, if not executed, the incel.
diarism; but when local newspaper
said as he pretended to be unjustly
accused, threatened q libel suit, ana
secured . retraction.
His FIRST arrest was for burglar
in West Troy, when be took @40,oop
in cash and Government bonds ffoa
a safe in the Roy Shawl Factory
He was not punished, however, aud
Che facility With which he gotout n
that difficulty has since been repeat
ed often. He is supposed to han
been the leader in eleven bank rob
berries, planning the crimes, furnish.
ing the money for heavy expenss
and fine burglary machinery. diiet
ing the work, and taking lion sbars
Of the booty. The detectives ~
that he has never been suspected q
The robbery Of any thing except
safes, and that his enterprises han
invariably been planned and exett
ted with great care and skill, oftal
occupying months. Miles, alec 4.
der arrest for the Barre burglary, n
for many years been in Curley's q.
ploy, and he has provided lucrs4in
work to several other subordinstet
Curley left Troy soon after acqui
ring the undoubted reputation Of 3
ing burglar, and has since resided
IN this city, managing his large pror
srty and, and adding to it BY prc1ft
BILE robberies. He is well educstA
very intelligent, and has none o. y
ordinary social habits Of thieves
liking Of theatres made him : lib3s