Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-03-02

1
Broadway, New York, took off his coat, put
on linen duster and went to work as if he
were clerk. He improved his opportunity
to help himself to the company's money.
Among the prominent bank sneaks are
Frank Buck, alias Buck Taylor, who is now
in prison in England, Horace Horan. alias
Little Horace, George Carson, BiIly Burke.
kube Minor, alias Pine,and Joe McClusky.
'Bank burglary is thing of the past.
Modern attachments, including electric
| signals, make it next to impossible for the
burglars to work without detection. Once
IN while poorly-protected country bank
is robbed. One of the most noted bank
burglars is old Jimmy Hope, who recently
escaped punishment for the Manhattan Bank
burglary. Probably one of the most expert
safe burglars we have is Billy Porter, who
was recently arrested in England with
Frank Buck for a burglary committed in
Munich. He escaped extradition by proving
that he was an English subject. The Pal
mer brothers, August and Herman, are also
apt students in opening safes. Their home
is in New York.
THE ORIGIN OF BUNKo.
"Banko is the correct name for what the
newspapers call bunko. 1t is the old En-
glish game of 'eight-dice CLOTH and was
introduced in this country 80 years ago,
when it was re-christened lottery, although
there is no lottery about it. There are 43
spaces on a banko layout. Forty-two of
them are numbered and one is blank. Thir-
teen contain stars and these draw no prizes.
The remaining 90 numbered spaces repre-
sent prizes of from 81, 900 to $1,000 The
game is played with both dice and cards.
The cards are numbered with small figures
from one to six. Eight cards are drawn,
and the total of the numbers on them repre-
sents the prize drawn. Should the victim
draw star number he is allowed to draw
again by paving a certain amount. The
victim is generally allowed to win until
the game owes him from 81 600 to $4,000
Then il is fixed so that he draws the condi
tional prize, No. q, and he is told that he
must put up $500 or as much as the dealer
thinks he will stand, which it is explained
secures what he has already won and en-
titles him to an additional chance. By
skilltul counting on the part of the dealer,
he draws blank and loses all.
OSCAR wILDE'S LOSS.
"This is the game by which Oscar Wilde
is said to have lost $1,000. He was steered
against it by Hungry Joe, now in prison in
Baltimore, his native city, for q similar
trick played there. Shining lights among
the banko men are Kid, Miller, Pete Lake,
who has just been sentenced in Brooklyn to
two years Imprisonment, James Fitzgerald,
alias Red Fitz, who bankoed Charles
Francis Adams in Boston, Joe Bond, alias
Paper Collar Joe, who short time ago kept
hotel out West, but who is now in New
York, and Charles Mason, alias Boston
Charlie, large, fine looking man, who
would be readily taken for prosperous
merchant.
confidence men operate in gangs Of two,
three or four, but never more than four.
They are, as rule, good looking, educated
men, and are very careful in their dress.
They are helped very much if their whiskers
are partly gray and their heads bald. The
confidence man loiters about hotel and
bows right and left to guests. Finally he
selects his victim and shakes hands with
him. A conversation ensues, and confed-
crate steps up and asks the operator to loan
him some money or cash check. The
operator is unable to do so, and turns to his
new-found friend, who is glad to accommo-
date the gentleman. Before it can be found
out that the check is bad both the swindlers
have disappeared. Old Ike Vail was one of
the cleverest of the confidence men, but he
promised me some time ago to reform.
A GAME THAT REQUIRES CAPITAL.
"Sawdust men find victims every day.
They send out confidential circulars telling
now q fortune cdll De mdue DV passing cOun-
ter eit money. They will send genuine
81 bill to the victim as sample of their
counterfeits, so that he may take it to Il
bank and demonstrate to his own satisfac-
tion that it cannot be told from the genuine.
When the victim comes on to New York %
make his purchase of 'coun .erleits,' the
money is all counted out before his eyes
In this operation good money is always |
used, and the general impression to the con- |
trary is erroneous. So you see the sawdust !
or green goods men must have considerable /
capital to carry on his business. The money,
after being counted, is put in satchel, |
which Is locked, and the key handed |
to the buyer. In some manner the attention |
of the victim is drawn away from the |
satchel, for which, IN an instant another |
satchel, exactly similar in appearance is
Hereupon the sawdust man |
says: Il don't want You to take any risk of |
being arrested with counterfeit money in |
your possession, so I will send somebody to |
carry the satchel to the depot for you. The |
satchel is checked to the victims home and |
he does not discover the de-
ception until he gets there.
HE POCKETS HIS LOSS.
"As the victim has gone into dishonest
transaction he has nothing to do but to
keep still and pocket his loss. There are
very few counterfeit bills made. The man
1facture OF the paper has reached such per-
ection that it cannot be duplicated except
With expensive machinery. The most
rouble comes from Italians who make bogus
ilver coins.