Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-04-24
AWenLaidPlotFoled.

Would-Be Jail Breakers Neatly
 Frustrated. THE STORY OF THEIR CRIME. New York Crooks in Possession of Keys
 to the Cells of the Assailants of Misel
 Bennett. Who Are Now i'm Jail a.
 Bangor, DIe.
 NEW YORK, April 24-Inspector Byrna yesterday unearthed a plot that had matured in this city to break the county jail at Bangor. Me, and release two New York crooks whe are confined there, awaiting trial for the rob bery of s32,0 1000 and attempted murder ir Newport, Me, last December, of old Peter Bennett, the miser. The men now locked ur at police headquarters are Freddy" Lowther, alias Lawler, and s'Tommy" Mathews, two notorious professional burglars, who are friends of the Bangor prisoners.
 Several days ago Chief Inspector Byrnes got hint that some kind of a plan was ma turing to secure the speedy release of James
 
 Whitney, the Newport robbers He located the members of the gang, and last Friday sent out Detective Sergeants Lyman and Mo Manus to shadow the men he suspected. Sat urday night they had discovered enough to feel sure that Lowther, alias Lawler, and Matthews were the principals in the plot, and they arrested them. A careful search revealed two keys sewed to the inside of their r1ndarshirtc nd fboir Aocb there were twenty small saws and files of the finest steel stitched to their uudergarments The keys were fitted to the locks of Fosters and Whitney's cells in the Bangor jail and the files and saws were of the peculiar pattern used by criminals to saw prison bars.
 The discovery of the secreted tools for jail breaking induced Lowther to confess the whole plot. He said that he had made a trip down to Maine soon after his pals had been caught, to look over the ground and see what could be done to get his friends out. He put on his best suit of clothes, and with a gold headed cane and a high silk hat he made his appearance at the Bangor house. He regis tered as a "Mr. Emerson" and announced that he was wealthy New York merchant The proprietor of the Bangor house told "Mr Emerson, the merchant" that Sheriff Brown took pride in the select set of prisoners he had just then, and would, without doubt, be 6 ad to show him over the jail. ''Mr Emerson, the merchant" {" casually asked if there were any others besides Stain and Cromwell in the prison. He was told that two notorious New York professionals were there also He told Sheriff Brown how he had become greatly in terested in what the proprietor of the Bangor house had told him, and he had run up to take a look at the prisoners. Sheriff Brown took him through the jail, and while he was briefly sketching the history of each prisoner his guest managed to take an impression in wax of the locks to Fosters and Whitneys cells
 Having accomplished his purpose Lowther returned to New York and had keys made to fit the wax impressions. The plan was to use the keys in letting the prisoners out of their cells into the corridor, where the grat- ings at the jail windows were the only bar riers to an easy passage to the street below. With files and saws an old expert like Foster, alias Kelly, could cut away the bars in less than an hour. From the window it would be a descent of less than ten feet to the street, and no wall or fence surrounds the jail To make sure of their friends safety after they had escaped, the gang prepared to be in Bangor with teams to drive them to hiding places. For this purpose "Shang" Campbell, ore of Lowther's pals, left here Saturday night for Bangor, and Sunday evening two | more of the gang, one of whom is ''Jimmy'' Wilson, alias Pretty Jimmy" followed to assist in the escape.
 There are many circumstances connected with the robbery and attempted murder of old Miser Bennett which make the crime one | of the most peculiar burglaries ever com | mitted in New England. At present there | are three men in the Penobscot County jail | awaiting trial for the robbery. Two of them professional cracksmen, Foster, alias Kelly, and Whitney, and the third is Dr. Weed, one of the leading physicians of Maine. Dr. Weed is accused of having orig mated the plan to rob old Bennett, who was | his patient. At an early age he determined to study medicine and he spent several years in New York and Philadelphia at medical schools, graduating finally at the Jefferson | Medical college. He practiced in several towns, but finally settled in Newport, where he soon had business that was more than he could attend to. His domestic relations have | always been happy, and he now receives con- solation from his faithful wife and oldest | daughter, young lady of 16, who visits the | jail frequently.
 There is little doubt that Dr. Weed delib- erately devised and carried to completion the scheme by which the old miser narrowly escaped murder. For many years Dr. Weed has attended Bennett, and, as is the almost universal custom in the rural districts, few secrets are kept from the trusted family phy- sician. Old Bennett, by miserly saving, had accumulated little fortune of S32, 900 in ad- dition to his farm. He was suspicious of banks, and believed his money was secure in his own house. In moments of confidence the miser had told his friend, the doctor, about his money, and had asked him if he thought | it safe in the old hair cloth trunk under his bed. pr. Weed advised him to let it remain where it was, as securities were doubtful and banks were insecure
 Last summer Dr. Weed, who had thought l a great deal over Bennett's money, deter. | mined to secure iG himself. He did not dare to commit the robbery alone, and he was afraid to divulge his scheme to any of his townspeople. In the early fall Dr. Weed came to New York and put himself in com nunication with several professional crimi- nals, and finally concluded arrangements with Foster, alias Kelly, and Clarence Whit ney to do the job. The doctor agreed to give his patient powerful opiate at night, and while under the influence of the drug the trunk was to be rifled. The physician made | his call, told his patient that he had decided