The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-10-18

many Oh whose members they have unde r
arrest The men engaged in the robbie
ries and swindles were not common crim-
inals but all of them are we'll educated
and very intelligent fellows and they
seem to have many accomplices and to be
scattered all over the country. The way
| they worked their scheme was as follows:
All letter boxes. In a city have the same
kind of lock and can all be opened by
one key. But these keys differ in differ
ent cities. The gang would send out two
men to steal the locks from letter boxes
In O city and this would be done by saw
ing through the paddock and removing
the lock, to which a key would be after
wards fitted. With this key the robbers
were able to remove the letters from any
box in the city. A member of the gang
in city large enough SO that the letter
carriers were not all known would dress
OF the day and few minutes before the
regular collection was made would go
along to letter box in the business Sec
tion OF the city near tho large wholesale
houses and take out part of the letters.
In some of these letters would be found
checks made payable to parties in Boston
or New York. The checks would be sent
on to members of the gang in Boston or
New York where they would be raised
from $40 say to about S70O. Then these
checks would be cashed in New York or
Boston banks after the endorsement on
them had been forged.
This scheme worked first rate and as
has been said the New England banks
have lost thousands of dollars in little
while. The city of Portland was picked
out as one Of the places to be worked. A
week ago Saturday night two letter boxes
In Portland, or TO be exact, a letter box
and q paper box, had their looks removed
aud though many of the letters seemed
to be in the box 1t was supposed that they
had been robbed. They had not been
robbed however as far as could be learned
but this was simply the first step that the
gang took to work Portland. They
wanted to get q lock from this city 80 as
to have key made to fit all of the letter
boxes. Once this key was in their pos
session the gang would have been rifing
letter boxes in the business district and
would have taken out the business letters,
send the checks they might contain on to
Boston or New York and there they
would be raised, the endorsement forged
and the banks or the persons who sent
the checks would be the losers to the tune
of several hundred dollars. The men who
stole these postoffice locks are known to
the government officials and they will
shortly be arrested. They CAM here on
Thursday, October 2, and left Portland
Sunday. October 10. On Saturday, Octo-
Der q, these two men who were sent out
BY the New York parties to secure the
locks from the letter boxes attempted to
saw off one of the pad locks on Congress
street box. In doing this they had hard
time for their saw broke and they had
great deal of trouble in breaking the
lock. These men while here saw Charles
Madooks of New York who was arrested
Saturday night on the dredge by In
in NewYork and told them all about
him. When these New York men were
arrested on information received from
the man Atwood in Boston and Billy
Morgan and Mrs. Atwood who were
taken into custody on Thursday in that
city the letter Of one of the two men who
were operating in Portland was found on
them. This letter connected Charles
Madooks in Portland with the gang. He
knew the most of the men who were
doing this work and the two men who
stole the letter box locks in Portland
knew him for they wrote that they saw
him when they were in this city. Mad
ocks says he does not know where these
two men are and says he has had nothing
was seen by Postofice Inspector Snow in
this city on Friday afternoon and readily
told all he knew about the men and their
schemes. On returning to Boston Satur-
day afternoon Inspector Snow received a
telegram from tho postofice inspectors in
New York which was of such a nature
that he came on to Portland Saturday
evening to place Madocks under arrest.
+ Madocks Is about 20 years old and has
been employed on the dredge as a deck
hand. He has had quite a career, having
been a fllibusterer and Cuban insur-
gent He sleeps on the dredge at pight
and it was there that Postoffice Inspec-
tor Snow, Deputy Marshal Burton Smith
and Patrolman Ed. Smith found him at
ten O'Clock Saturday night. He willingly
told the inspector once more all he knew
about the men implicated in this scheme
and what they had done to his knowledge.
He made no admissions which would
tend to implicate himself, SO the inspec-
tor told the reporters.
Madocks was brought to Portland and
locked up at the police station. He is
rather a good looking young fellow and
seemed to be much troubled about his
arrest The postoffice inspector although
treating the reporters very courteously
was very reticent about the cause OF young
Madocks's arrest. He stated that he did
not care to talk much about it as he did
develope. Madocks he knew was q val
liable witness against the parties under
arrest in Boston and New York and
might be held as an accompllce.
The arrests in this case have not yet
been all made. The postofice inspector
seemed to believe that many men in New
England were implicated in this matter
and that some sensational developments
might be expected in the next few days.
Madocks he said would be arraigned in
Portland just as soon AS the United States
commissioner who is now out of the city
should return to town. He thought that
Madocks would be held here and little
later, perhaps, taken to Boston or New
York.
Seldom before has the postoffice depart
ment run down such q gigantic scheme
of robbery and swindle as this has proven
to be. 1t is one which has been worked
all over the country and one which seems
to have members of the gang at work
everywhere. 1t was in fact regular com
pany and was operated on much the same
plan as any legitimate business. Billy
Morgan and Atwood, who are under ar
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