Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1889-09-02
CROOKS CORRALLED.
THB POLICE ARREST WILLIAM CLAT0R AND
PADGE 0NBAL
0a Charge Of Stealing Sixty Dollars Prom VH-
guan-Tbs Prisoners Are Sent to Jail-Ihs
Details Of the Robbery.

]
Two or three times in recent months the
| REaIsrER has referred to the operations and
methods Of the gang Of confidence men and
crooks making their headquarters in OF
about a certain Market street saloon. Time
and aeain during the summer men have
fallen into the hands Of these shaIpers, have
drank drugeed beer, and on coming to
their senses discovered that watches and
money were missing Others who failed for
one reason or another to bite at the drugged
beer bait. have been despOiled Of their val
usbles in other ways, and go frequent have
these robberies been, and so considerable
the amounts taken, that the mem
\ bsrs of the garg have been enabled
to live in idleness and luxury.
| Arrests of the crooks have been rare,
for the reason that the persons robbed,
a. rule, preferred to stand
he loss rather than have the matter
become known, but even whers suspected
psrsons we're hauled up It was found the
I victim could not recogniza the thief, or
In case he did, the "slick" operators were
able TO w'gsls out Of the legal net and
resume their regular Ayocaii0n Of robbery.
As has bseu said, the methods OF the
gang are many. Cards, the dice box, the
wheel. and sundTy other gambling devices
have bsen used rs occasion demanded,
but the favcrite racket OF the thieves was
l 10 drug a victim into inssnsibllity, rob
him of ON his valusb.es and then lead him
away. When the man regaiued his senses
be had. a. a rule, 70 idea where he hsd
I been or IN whose company he had spent
/ the previous hours, and the only thing for
I him 20 do was to keep quiet and resolve TO
| profit by bis experience.
Tn several instances the operations OF
the rsscsls were bold and strlkingly orig
/ ina. a case la point being the fleeing Of
I Mr. j. T. McNealley, OF Lovettsvllie, Lou
don county, Va, on the 22d Of July last.
I The details of this barefaced swindle have
been known 10 the REGISTER almost from
| the commission Of tire set, but to enable
the police TO work up the case, nothing
/ has appeared in print Yesterday morn
I ing SIR. McNealley arrived IN the city to
| prosecute the case, and in the afternoon
/ two Of the gang OF crooks, William Clator
and "Pudge" O'Neal, were arrested by
l Chief of Police Delbrugge and locked up
at the City Hall. The third member Of
the Qang having a hand in the case-Har-
yey Combs-tCOk the alarm and skipped,
but may ye, he arrested.
After the prisoners were safely behind
the bars Nc McNealley was sent for, and
instantly identified the prisoners as the
men who had robbsd him. The two men
we're accordingly taken before Justice
Arkie. who committed them to jail, II
default of 81, 600 bail each, for the grand
/ iurv. which meets this morning no nine
o'clock. Mr. McNealley will remainin the
I citv 60 prosecute tie case, and az his story
I il abuudantly corrOtOra.ed, the chances OF
conviction are elegant.
The way Mr.. MCNeailey lost hi5 money,
| amounting % 500, b5side5 being decidedly
entertaining, will illustrate the operations
/ Of the gang ard show their boldness. The
facts are contained in the following written
statement, signed by the victim
GOA Monday evening July %. l was 10
your city waiting 40 the e. & o depot for
/ the No s train, going east at ll3Oo'clock.
While there a young man came up to me
and wanted 20 know something about the
departure of the train. / told him what i
knew about the matter, and he then in
sisted on nv going up town to see q walk
inc race. At first / refused TO 20, but he
insisted on my going, and said be was 60
inr East on the same train / was. / went
an street with him. / don't know exactly
where the place was, hut 10 was not very
| far from the depot and east OF IT. We
vent in aud sat down st a table, and be
called for a cigar and l took beer. Then
another fellow came in and sat down at the
table and got q glass Of beer Oae Of the
men offered o ten dollar bill IN pay
ment and the other hVe, ana
the two got into contention as to who
would pay for the drinks. The fellow
went in with called fer a dice box, and
said thew would chuck TO see who would
nav for the drinks. They shcoS the box,
md the Man i went in with won. The
.eeord man then vent away. The first man
tbap showed me how he did 10, several times,
Alter the Other man went away, and said
Fben be came back be would beat him
again When the second man came back
the two got up q bet, and the first man tod
ma De was bound to win, and for me to
put in his hands tbs money to make bet
and be would give me half OF what ne
won. gave him sixty dollars ana they
nut the money on the table ana the
last fellow that came IN shook
the dice. and the other fellow was
counting them. Then they raised a
racket. and in came a third big fellow aud
| arrested me and run out with me, but one
of the other fellows ran Of with the
money. He to-k me out pretty rough,
and as I had one of the other fellows by
I the ann be took him also. The big tel-
low took as Up town somewhere, and said
he was going to Jail us. aud we both
begged him TO let us 20, and while ne was
tslkirg Co me the other fellow ran OIL, and
he didn't pay any attention to him, but
look me near the depot, and told me to
st1v there until he came back. he SAID
/ be would no. be long, but never saw
him any more. lie gave his tams rs
wilson
Iu subsequent written statement,
Mr. McNeally said.
1.-TWO Young fellows saw NE when i
l went back to- the depot, snd they asked
me If / was robbed They said they had
followed me and the big fellow for some
time. and one Of them said he was thief
and had stole gold watch short time
ago. one OF these men clerks in the whole
sale grocery store north Of the depot. He
said he knew the fellow who took me up,
and his name was Harvey Combs
Clator was arrested on the street, yester-
dav. and O'Neal was found asleep in Mrs.
/ Dilty's house of ill-lsme. Combs was On
the street during the day, but made HIM
self scarce when he heard Of the arrest OF
his pardners.
Mt McNeslIy was st headquarters last
night, and rec'unted his adventures with
the gang substantially as has been here set
/ forth He isa straightforward, intelligent
man. ald evidently tells the truth.
There is no doubt but that Cator was
I the man who acted az the officer on
( this occasion. while Combs caught Nc
I Neslly cd the depot and steered him up
street, aud O'N.al was the person with
| whom Combs made the bogus bet 10 was
I a very nice little game, aud now they
ought to -utisr ior i-
THIS September Century, which hiss just
| been ssucd, contains several interesting
productions. smoug them 'Telegraphing
| in Battle. Winged Botanisis ~ The
I I,L,-,rL of aha Frnfua AID His Son 90 ISL