The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1888-08-18
NAIL ROBBERY AT CHICAGO,
Nv" Thisyss WHO Have StSIeh Oyef ii
Million Dollars Arrested.


A dispatch of the l4th no1n Chicago
says:, NattS 30year-old Frederick
pherkanpf, who speaks English,
French, German and Italian, and his
equally stylish but less accomplished
companion, Thomas Mack, are under
arrest in this city for robbing the mail
boxes about town of checks, drafts,
money orders and insurance policies OF
lace value of 81 100000.
Fer the past two years letters cjhtaih-
Ing drafts, mohet 6rdefs, Checks and
other. fash Gduitalents mailed about
te~n have been mysteriously lost. Nu-
merous eXpedients have been tried by
government officials to trace the source
OF stupendous and systematic pilfering.
New locks and keys have during that
time heeh substituted for the street mail
CoXes and mail bags, but the robberies
continued without cessation. Business
men grew furious over frequent disap-
pearances of large checks, and blamed
the postal officials for negligence or i'll
capacity.
0beFk kampf raine to Chicago from his
hoihe IN Berlin, Germany; iii 1885.
Fourteen months, ago he applied for
boafd AT HGrntGn Kuegel's house, at $50
North Market Street Here he re-
manned for over year, when he went
to board with Mrs. Christine Dohrn, at
ll9 East Erie Street The Young man
was mysterious in his movements. He
came home at night with his pockets
bulglng with letters which he said he
received as secretary of wholesale
drug house. On August 4, in payment
OF SO board bill, Obefkampf handed
Mrs. Dohrh check for $5l, payable to
N lao, 4 / l..
}. = Ciarkson, o; Chicago. She gave him
s26 in change. The check was indorsed
Pay to Fred Oterkarnpf" and signed J.
L. tlarkson. Oberkampf added his
own Endorsement, PAY to Mrs. Dohrn,"
with his signature. Mrs. Dohrn in
dorsed the paper to her husband, who,
on presenting 1t at the banks, was told
that the Clarkson signature was a forc-
cry pberkampf had in the meantime
disappeared. Mrs. Dohrn then received
letter from Oberkampf postmarked
indianapolis, requesting her not to pre-
sent tue check at the bank; that he
wished her to hold it for him and he
would pay her cash for the board bill.
Becoming tired of waiting for him on
last Thursday Mrs. Dohrn swdre out
warrant for .Oberkampf's arrest before
Justice kersten.
he had left at Mrs. Dohrn's house, re-
suited in the discovery of thousands of
mutllated envelopes containing checks,
drafts and other valuable papers, which
had evidently been stolen before reach
ing the post-office.
The officers then began TO make al
rangements to catch Oberkampf, whom
they had reason to believe was some
where in the city. Last Friday they in
tercepted letter which was addressed
to Miss kuegel. 1t was from Oberkampf.
and proved to he an appeal fr2m the
writer to the young woman to meet him
at Washington and Market Streets at
O'Clock the following afternoon. Officers
Moore and Martin were detailed to
make the arrest. At the hour named q
dapper looking young man walked out
near the curb on the north side of Wash
ington Street, near Market, and looked
about as though he anticipated some
BODY. 1t was Oberkampf. The officers
walked up behind the man and placed
him under arrest He made no resist
ance.
After staying while in custody and
being Systematically pumped by the
officers, Oberkampf made confession
duplicating Thoma. Mack, who was
found by the police at the boarding
house of Mrs. Gokey, on Cottage Grove
Avenue, and placed:under arrest. An
immense quantity OF plumber was also
found in his room.
= All the captured mail matter was
taken to Col. Kidder's and was there
spread out in strange medley, There
were stamps, writing pads, bangles,
bits of jewelry and novelties of all sorts
There were heaps of photographs,
pieces of dry goods and handerchiefs.
There were piles of trust deeds, mort
gage insurance policies, drafts: ,:checks,
money orders, promissory notes
There was draft Tor So, ,465
drawn by Marshall & Ilsley in
favor Of the American Exchange Ma
tional Bank. There was one for $4,000
drawn on the Continental National
Bank in favor of Sprague, Warner & Co.
There was another draft for 81 900 on
the First National Bank in favor of Gil
martin & Doyle. There We're others for
s., 500, So 800 81 800, and another for
81 900 and scores for sums Of So up TO
$500. There were checks likewise for
large and small amounts. The whole
number of letters were roughly esti-
mated at $500.
OF course it is wholly impossible to
estimate the amount of money stolen
by the thieves. There is not much cash
sent in letters, proportlonate to the
number sent, but in so large a quantity
of mail the cash must have been good
deal. There were no postmarks upon
any of the letters, The appearance of
the envelopes except for the absence of
stamps were Just as they left the hands
of the sender. The mail thus rifled had
never been in the hands of the postal
authorities, and therefore it must have
been stolen from the mail boxes at the
street corners.