New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-09-16
THEY ROBBED MAIL BOAEo.
CONFESSION OF ONE OF A GANG or
THIEVES.
WHEELER AND HIS FOUR PALS HAD WORKED
THEIR SCHEME IN THIS AND OTHER AMER
ICAN CITIES OBTAINING NEARL.
$4,000 IN TWO YEARs-THKEE
Under ARREST.

UNDER hhhtSi
The full story OF how a gang OF six professOna
thieves have robbed this city Of upward OF S'.v"
and throughout the Union have secured nearly s-'-
600 within two years by pillaging maIlboxes' pe
came known to Acting Captain O'Brien OF the De
tective Bureau yesterday. by the confession oil ono
OF the members OF the gang who had peeh a''e
the day before after long and anxious sea'.'
The penitent criminal whose tongue mas uohe ~
police this important service is william q. Wheeler
an old-time crook AZ has lately been h'9's :"
South Second-st., Williamsburg but Is now ~ saie
keeping at Police Headquarters. or the remaining
members OF the gang two are already IN Jan j"
Baltimore. two in the custody or lni'ed "'a.'
marshals. and one is at large. He was reieaseu ~
Magistrate Crane several weeks ago, after pehs ~
rested with the other men, because the de'ecuVe
who had arragned him in court and wanted inc
man remanded, would not tel at the preliminary
hearing what evidence he had against him
The tale told by Wheeler to Acting captain
O'Bren begins in the early part OF 1888 wheh
Charles Fisher. Robert Wallace. Barney Kelly WIZ
lam Morgan and Frank Griffin. all daring and ex-
perienced thieves. serving terms in Sing sing
for various offences, and were all employer III '"e
moulding shop In the prison.
1t happened that the terms OF Imprisonment 10
which all the five men had been sentenced ter
minated about the same time, and the five managed
get together in prison on several occasions ana
to form a plan OF cooperation in preyng upon the
In November. 1893 all the thieves were free and all
the etter-boxes In the streets being found to open
with a common key. a box in an obscure district
was broken open and the lock stolen. A key was
made to 1T this and the gang was then able to
open any letter-box in New-York. 1t being dis-
covered however that the same system existed In
almost eve,y other large city in the United States
New-York was allowed rest awhile and num-
Der Of other cities was worked. According to the
confession in the possession OF Acting Captain
o Brien between November lS93 and June. 1894 81
Newtorleans s afterward d yielded them a,GO Mil
waukee 500: Cincinnati. S.2OO; Pittsburg, !-o"
Philadelphia siOO and Brooklyn. $500 before opera
tons begun at all in New-York When the
frequency of the thefts became so noticeable IN
town that the authorities suspected the method by
which the robberies were committed the thieVes sH
jumped to another, always however. avollihe
New-York the city where, above all others. they
known. But in spite Of the precautions they
caught at the game in Baltimore and received long
sentences OF imprisonment. -,
After this check the three surviving members OF
the gang liberty crossed the ocean to England
and started In work again. Their career there
was OF short duration. The gang had only been op-
Grating for two weeks when Morgan who was was
Eugene Ta!cott' trapped In the Bank OF
Scotland while he was preeenting ,;af, stolen order
He sentenced TO three years penal servtude
HIS two companions returned to this country. but
months Of his term the authorities believing him
be dying Of consun ptOn.s sreleased him on free
pardon condition Of his leaving the country
Within month after his liberation he had rejolned
In july last the attention of the police here was
called to the operations OF the gang. and Kelly Nor
gan and Griffin were arrested on September 3. Grif-
fin discharged few days later MAGISTRATE
would not tell what evidence they had against him
Wheeler was arrested on Saturday IN Williamsburg