The Washington critic., 1890-04-04
LONG CHASE OF A THIEF
ARRESTED IN SPANISH HONDURAS
FOR THE THEFT OF $4,000.
He stole It While En- Route to tho
Treasury Department, and the
Money was Changed for Brown
Paper.


Treasury Department, and the
Money was Changed for Brown
Paper.
New YoHK, April A Herald
special from Tcgucigalpa, Spanish
Honduras, says: Edmund Sturgis Craw-
ford has been arrested at Santa Bar
bara for the theft of q package con
tanning Sal 900 in transit from the
American Exchange National Bank in
New York to the Adams Express Com.
pany's office.
The package was addressed to the
United States Treasurer at Washington.
A large portion OF the money was found
in Crawford's s possession. The robbery
was committed in New York, Nav 4,
1888. Crawford has confessed, and I'm.
plicates two others. The Herald saws
the express company has spent $25 900
in tracing Crawford. He was mes
senger In the bank when he committed
the theft. Pinkerton says Crawford s
confession duplicates some fast New
Workers. Crawford was living as a
planter in Honduras, and passed for a
man of wealth.
The robbery will be well remembered
here in Washington. Cashier Burns of
the American Exchange National Bank,
at the northeast corner of Cedar street
and Broadway, New York, had on Fri
day. May A, 1888, supervised the tying
up Of Sal 900 in greenbacks of So, 80,
cf0 ond &1nO dono,nin ot{o,c - -
livered to Adams Express Company for
transmission to the Treasury at Wash
ington for redemption.
Five splashes of red sealing wax,
impressed with the banks seal, covered
as many knots of stout cord. A white
label, on which was printed "From the
American Exchange Bank, New York,
to the United States Treasury, Wash.
ington, ID. c." was then pasted on top
and the package was ready for delivery.
The two most trusted messengers of
the bank, Crawford and Earle by name,
were detailed to deliver the package to
the express company. They did so,
presumably in each others company,
turning the good sized bundle over to
Mr.. ]. G. Young at No. SO Broadway,
whose special duty it was to receive and
receipt for such valuables. The express
company's receipt was returned to the
bank, the package was put into porta-
BILE sGsfe and that night was sent to
Washington, guarded by Adams Ex-
press messengers.
United States Treasurer James w.
Hyatt, through an employe named Rog-
ers, received but would not receipt for
the package, as its appearance was dis.
uustful to the experienced eye. Put.
ting it to one side the Adams Express
agent at the Treasury Department, Mr..
Blanchard, was summoned. The pack
age, when opened in his presence, was
found to contain nothing but slips OF
wrapping paper, such as is used by
butchers, neatly cut in the size of bank
notes.
There was no end of consultation be-
tween the Government, bank and ex.
press officials, in which Inspector
Byrnes and Pinkerton's Detective
Agency played prominent and mys
terious parts. No information was
vouchsafed to the press, and after 9
few months the incident was seemingly
forgotten. Adams Express Company
quietly paid over the Sal, 900 to the
bank and went about its big busines.
as IL 1t had forgotten all about the los!
and suspected no one.
The thief was the trusted bank mes
senger, Edmund Sturgis Crawford, now
caught red handed, nearly two year,
afterward in a foreign land, where hi
passed himself off as the manager of {
plantation