New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-02-09
and the fire went out as II by magic. The bottles
contained water and carbonic acid gas.
CAP1URE OF A NOTORIOUS ROBBER.
HIS PART IN THE LUTHER CHURCH CASE.
CAREER OF THE "sMARTEsT PROFESSIONAL THIEF
IN THIS COUNTRY"

CAREER OF THE "sMARTEsT PROFESSIONAL THIEF
IN THIS COUNTRY"
There was locked up at Police Headquarters yes
day short, strongly bull man of thirty-slX years,
with red hair and beard and determined Looking
features of whom Inspector Ryrnes said: lie Is
the smartest professional thief i'll this country On
the blotter OF the Detective bureau the prlsoneo
name is given as Edward Gearing, but he has beenn
known commonly among thieves as Eddy Goodle -
and on various occasions he has borne the names
Goodwin, Goodrich and Thompson. In reconntlng
the remarkable history of the man Inspector ByInes
called himGoodie believing that to be his right name
The charge against Goodie IL comphcltH ia IN. ono
recent robbery of Luther NJ. Church or inc steps
of the elevated railroad station AT ITToodie
ave- and 0ne-hundred- and eleventh-st. EoI ua1
is the man who drove the butcher cart ana ed
assaulted Mr.. CbuTch. When Farrell and litter
ington we're arrested in Philadelphia a piece oI
paper was found IN the latterS PocahoT55 T6irdaye
Although Farrell pleaded guilty afterwaId, he re-
fused to tell who John Thompson was. Inspector
Rvrnes set n watch on the cigar store ar NO. 4UZ
Tird-aye but the detectives looked in vain for the
appearance of professional thiet. A woman was
sent to the cigar store on tuesday with z seaIeu
letter for "JOhn Thompson" and on Thursday
afternoon while Detectve-Sergeants King, Lyon
and O'Connor were watching the store, GOOdle en-
tered it and received the letter He was arrested
i'm The street and taken 10 Police Headquarters and
Justice White remanded him into the custody OF
Inspector Bymes until to-day.
When TtterngtOn was told of Goodies arrest ne
made full confession of the robbery, and told
the police many facts concerning the previous ana
subsequent movements of the new prisoner. Ut
tcTmgtOn SAID that he, Farrell aud GoOdle planned
the robbery on Christmas Eve, and on the follow
ing day they visited the railroad station ana IN
spected the neighhOrhood. Mr.. Church was pointed
out to TitteringtOn in Hanover Square, on the day
of the robbery, by q man known as " larry, VINO
probably will be arrested soon. 1ltterlngton then
went up town and met Farrell and Goodle VINO naa
the butcher cart ready After the robbery was
committed Goodie drove his accOmpllces 70
Eighteth-st., where Farrell got out with tne
money. Titerington left the cart at Sixty-hith-st
" had stolen
stable in IIudsOn-st., did not appear until evening
when the "plunder" was divided. :: Harry got a
fifth part and another portion given TO the VIE
of an imprisoned thief, who had suggested the ropI
berry. Each accomplish received Sl51. fairell
and Titterngton afterward went to fhlIade a
where an assault upon the collector OF gas mouse
at Thirteenth and Spring Garden sis. had Decn
planned. They were joined by Harry" and
Goodie bnt before the robbery could be committed
Farrell and IitteringtOn were arrested. ;,
Goodie was identified by Miss Hutton, who lives
at Second-aYe., and One -hundrcd-and-eleyen
of her house tho day OF the roDDeILy
and took good look at him because she !e
thought his action peculiar; Inspector B{rnes stld
that Good1e has been leader III bold robberes 1or
twenty years but that he had been arrested only
twice before on each occasion escaping CONVICTION;
His success in evading capture has depended
other thieves in a way TO permit them to know ms
places OF habitatiOn. When they wanted TO see
him for any purpose they were obliged to leave
notes for rim at places where he was known only
by assumed name. In February, 1870 lie VAS
arrested III company with his brother, WASH
Goodie for stealing a case of silk valued at
$1,000 Wash pleaded guilty and declared that
| his brother had no part i'll the robbery
| In 1874 he stole case of silk from in front of
Broadway store and shot policeman who tried to
capture him. wOunding the officer severely. lie
was arrested in the same year in Brooklyn, for
robbing a lat store in that city, but he was adj
mitted to bail and never brought to trial. Accom-
panied by Big" Tracy and Billy" Williams, in
1875, G0odie robbed the bookkeeper Of the Badger
Architectural Iron Works in East Fourteenth-st
The bookkeeper was riding in car on his way to
the factory from the Dry Dock Bank. Tracy and
Williams assaulted him and took away bag con
tanning So 900 which they threw to Goodie, who
was on horseback. All three escaped. In the fol
lowing year they robbed. the 6ookkeePer Of
the Standard Oil Company of $4,000 while he was
going from a bank to Greenpoint. ,Goodie escaped
with the money. The other two thieves were sent
to prison for eight years. GOodie was leader in the
Planet Mills robbery and he also took part in the
Northampton Bank robbery. He is believed to
have driven the horse on the occasion of the rob-
berry of $4,000 from Jacob Rupperts bank-mes-
senger, and OF the theft of $4,000 from a messen-
ger the steps of the Bank of the Metropolis.
four years ago. 1t is thought that he also took
part in the attempt at robbery in jersey City
which resulted in the capture and Imprisonment Of
= D,1. I,I.,,