The herald., 1897-02-08
TRAPPED THE SMART THIEF
He Rgbbed Thirty.Five Boarding Houses
In Thr-e Months
Applied for Room With His Arms Full OF
Bundles and Disappeared After
Ransacking the House

There was Joy in the police station,
from Captain Walsh down to the door
keeper, Saturday night, over the cap
ture of a furnished thief, who has
been operating in the precinct during
the last three months. His method was
almost always exactly the same, and so
extensive were the depredations that
Captain Walsh lost many an hour Oh
sleep in deviSing means for the thiefS S
capture.
When taken to the police station house
the man said he was James Richardson,
2S years old, of Brooklyn. He had as
many aliases as there are days in the
week. They are John Jones, James
Roberts, John Russell, John James,
James Williams, James Rogers am
James Smith. Roberts was his favorite
pseudonym. In appearance he could
easily represent himself to be clerk or
salesman with comfortable salary He
is slender, with small dark mustache,
ruddy complexion, and nervous, shift
ing eyes.
His method of operating was to apply
at a boarding house or furniShed-room m
house between 3 and o'clock in the af-
ternoon. He was modest in his require
ments, and usually selected room with
AS the mistress of the house was Serv-
ing her boarders at dinner her new
conner would ring the bell and ask to be
shown to his room. In his hands would
invariabl be two bundles, which he car
ried with apparent exertiOn. His trunk,
he said. would be around later.
If you get something ready for me to
eat, I'll be down as soon as l wash my
hands and face" he would say.
The credulous landlady would go down
stairs and wait in vain for her new
boarder to appear. After fifteen or
twenty minutes, she would go up to his
room, but find him gone. Her susii-
cions, which might otherwise be aroused,
would be allayed by the presence of his
two bundles. 1t was not until the
boarders went to their rooms after din
ner that a discovery of the robbery
would be made. The bundles, when un-
tied, would reveal nothing but a bat
tered hat i'll one and wisp of straw or
Il package of wood in another.
Complaint after complaint was
lodged at the station, and Captain Walsh
personally undertook the search. Every
stranger on the street with a bundle
was followed, but to no purpose.
The thief operated in the heart of the
precinct at intervals of four five and
six days. He admitted, when arrested.
that he had visited several places with
daring took a new direction few days
ago when he got $40 from Frederick s.
Gibbs on written request for tenn
porary loan, signed Homer Fort" AMI
two passes to Buffalo and return from
Chauncey NJ. Depew on note signed by
the same name saying that the writer
had dying brother in Buffalo and
wanted above anything else to get there.
All this Richardson acknowledged.
Failing to catch the man Captair
Walsh and his detectives adopted the
preventative plan and visited all the
boarding and furnished room houses in
the precinct and cautioned the keepers
against the thief, of whom they left a
description. If anyone answering such
a description called for room he was
to be detained in the house on some pre-
text and word sent to the station house
This plan was unproductive until a
week ago, when Detective Devine was
informed that man believed TO the
much-wanted thief was at 266 West
Twenty-first street. The detective hur-
ried there only to find that the man had
left the house five minutes before with
q boarGer's coat.
Devine and Policeman Egbert were
standing on the corner a o'clock Sat
urday, when a small boy came out of a
house and said his mother had sent him
over to tell the policeman that man
whose appearance cofresponded With the
description of the thief was in their
house. Devine and Egbert went over,
ard just as the door was opened to ad-
mith them the man was seen coming
down stairs.
They left him clear exit and saw him
go to the saloon on the corner, where
he remained an hour When he came
out he was arrested and takein to the
police station. At first he stoutiy pro-
tested that a most fragrant mistake had
been made. but when nineteen pawn
tickets and a lady's steel purse and
memorandum book containing many
names and addresses, Were found in his
pocket, he weakened and admitted his
guilt.
He said he had destroyed many of the
pawn tickets he had had. Most of those
found were for articles of clothing, for
which Q has shown a decided preference
in his thefts.
Word was sent to the complainants in
the precinct that they We're wanted
a the station house, an d by $40 thirty
five of them had assembled Richardson
was placed IN line with five others in a
back room and groups of four and five
We're admitted. He was in ever instance
unhesftatinely picked out as the modest
young man in search of a room
The detectives have not had a chance
to classify the victims of this clever thief,
but have prepared a list of fourteen
names as temporary conplainants
against him when he will be arraigned
in the Jefferson Market police court
In the memorandum book were fifteen
names and addresses in the city and
fOur in Rrool<lVp -Nau yorIs IIaroId