The San Francisco call., 1896-04-10

places were found to have been rlf1ed OF
their contents: Cafe Royal, Market and
Fourth streets; Siebe Bros. & Plagemann,
wholesale liquor, 32S Sansome street
Silver Dollar Saloon, Hal1eck and Sansome
streets; Fidelia Saloon, 625 kearny street
Harnke, grocer, 734 Broadway; Lepori,
hotel and saloon, 511 Broad way; LacaZetre,
saloon, TAI Jackson street; Barberris, res
taurant, 1913 Stockton street; Ortien &
Gerhardt, saloon, 125 Powell street; Re-
ception Saloon, 206 SutteF street; Wrede,
saloon, Cough and Market streets; Con-
slant Saloon, Post and Mason streets !;
Signal Transfer Company, Geary ana
Jones streets; Morris cigar store, 1900
Market street; Gioyannlni, coalyard, S12
Pacific street; Carr, saloon, Sutter street
and Central avenue; the Sutherland
Hotel, 791 Sutter street; Becker, grocer,
63l Sutter street; Searchlight Bureau, real
estate, 602 Market street; Cohn, crockery-
store, 1914 Fillmore street.
The places selected were those where the
telephone was in recess and not in the
line OF vision OF the occupants. The mo-
dus operandi of the thief was to drop q
nickel in the slot, unlock the box, take out
the tin receiver for the nickels and empty
the contents into his pockets.
After the first discoveries were made
new boxes were substituted with Slit in
them, but the thief was not to be baked
He stole the box itself Tnen q special
stamp was designed TO seal each box, but
it had no effect.
The police were notified, and Detective
George II. Graham and Policeman A. H.
Holmes were detailed on the case along
with William Brommage of the telephone
company. About a week ago they decided
to recommend that burglar alarms should
be attached to the boxes. This was done,
ana the telephone lessees were notified to
run 10 the telephone when they heard the
alarm ring and hold the thief.
On April the burglar alarm in the tele-
phone box at Cables & Bailey's saloon,
which the thief had again visited, rang,
and a rush was made to the telephone
o. Donnell was found there with the box
open and the receiver full of nickels in mis-
pocket.
He was held till Graham and Holmes
We're notified. They took him into Gus
tody and he has been detained in the
tanks" at the City Prison since.
O'Donnell since his arrest confessed that
he was the thief. He said he got a key to
tit the boxes from discharged employe OF
the telephone company. He went to China
town and got duplicate set of keys made
for 10 cents. He admitted he and others,
whose names he refused to divulge, had
entered into conspiracy to go all over
the State and rob all the Flint slot
boxes. The confession was made on the
understanding that light sentence would
be passed upon him. Last night he was
booked on one charge of petty larceny
and the sentence will likely be six months.
The company has discharged employees
before who have been caught stealing from
the boxes and this is the first prosecution
There are about 5000 of these boxes in the
City, but those given were the only ones
robbed by O'Donnen. The exact amount
stolen by O'Donnell is not known as no
record is kept by the company of the
nickel-in-t -the-slot switches, but it is esti-
mated it Will bebetween $3.50 and $780,
The discharged employe of the company
who gave O'Donnell the key will not be
prosecuted out of sympathy for his wife's
condition.
When O'Donnell was arrested he was
thoroughly searched for the Key, but it
could not be found. A small pocket in the
'hy" of his trousers was discovered after
ward where he had evidently kept the key.
1t was suppored that he had hidden the
key in the cell and magnets were used to
try and find it without effect, O'Donnell
declines positively to say where he has
placed it.