Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1884-12-03
PROFESSIONAL THIEVES.
How the Crooked People Work-IngeniOus
DAVicRR.

| How the Crooked People Work-Ingenious
| Devices.
! fFrom the Buffalo Republic.l
ut is very quiet in police circles
just now," said city detective this
morning. "There has been compare
lively little crime perpetrated this year,
and considering the political excitement
it is rather remarkable"
"Have there been any cases of pocket
picking during any of the political dem
onstrations?" asked a reporter.
"Yes, a few culprits have been run in,
but as general thing piokpockets give
Buffalo wide berth. I do not know
why this is SO, but it is. A professional
pickpocket is rarely found in this city"
"How about shoplifters?"
"There are no professional shoplift
ers here. Women generally follow this
business. A professional has no regular
abiding place, unless, indeed, she re-
tires from business, and some Of them
do retire on ample fortunes.
slow do they operator"
"a woman or may be two will arrive
in city from-no matter where. They
generally have three or four or five
trunks with them. They put up at
some fashionable private boarding
house, dress in the fashion and go
shopping nearly every day. Their stay
in the city is governed by the length of
time it takes to fill their trunks. They
never come home from a shopping ex
petition without q good haul. Now
you wonder how they manage to take
the goods unobserved. In the first
place they are as quick as lightning, al
| oE A10 o1@
escapes their eyes. The latter, as O
rule, is entirely unsuspieious of his
richly attired customers, and waits on
them with the utmost respect, while
whole webs of silk and yards of lace
are being stolen right before his eyes,"
"But how do they manage to conceal
so much?"
Easily enough. Under their rich
and costly silk dresses are thick, heavy
skirts, in which are huge bags or
pockets. Cleverly concealed Sits In the
dresses communicate with those pockets,
and the goods go in with the utmost
ease Generally one does the stealing
while the other engages the clerks at
tention."
"How do they dispose of the plum
der?"
ooh, they deal with the fences with
whom they have made previous agree
ment, and they fill their orders just the
same as any well-regulated business
concern, only they have larger mar
gin to work on than regular business
people. The fence generally keeps a
store, and the women have their trunks
taken there and unpacked. This is the
reason peddlers can sometimes under
sell storekeepers. They get the goods
cheap, and can afford to sell cheap"
"Do men ever practice shop-lifting
Every rarely. You see a man has no
chance to conceal the goods. The male
rogues prefer some other business,
such as till-tapping, showing the queer
or better still, exploring the money
vaults of some rich banker. The old
method of entering the house through
the scuttle is not practiced now SO
much as formerly"
"What means are commonly employed
in effecting an entrance?"
Skeleton keys are mostly used.
Sometimes a man gains access to a
house during the day and at night let's
in an accomplish. Together they noise
Iessly do the house. In the morning
the inmates find their treasures gone,
and the papers chronicle another 'mys-
ferrous robbery"
"How do bauk robbers manage to
open safes which are secured with COM
bination locks?"
"They don't undertake to unlock the
safes. They simply blow them open.
There is another way of getting money
out of the bank, however, which is more
popular, and not attended with so great
risk"
"What is it?"
GA man dressed in an Office coat and
skull cap stands in the hall leading to
some large banking establishment. 4
lady enters and draws $500 or $400. AS
a rule she will place her money in her
bank book, if it is in bills. She is just
about to enter her carriage when she is
touched on the shoulder. She turns,
and 10, our friend of the skull cap stands
before her. Excuse me, Madam he
says, but the clerk has made mistake,
and begs that you will return the book
moment She hands him the book
and money. He disappears in the bank,
and is seen no more. The lady waits
until tired, visits the bank and finds she
has been swindled. The clever operator
simply passed through the bank and
out at another door, where an accom-
plice waited with coat and hat. In
moment they we're lost sight of in the
throng. In nine cases out of ten money
stolen in this manner is never recovered.
It is an old game, but people are slow in
learning it."
|
Mysteries of Crime in Connecticut.