The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-09
ARE SMOOTH PEOPLE"
GANG OF NOTORIOUS WIRE TAPPERS
UNEARTHED BY THE POLICE.
They Calmly Admit that They Came
to "DO" the Iron POoIroom, but De-
cided 1t was NSt Worth 1t.

If there is such a thing in this city as a
pooroom it had narrow escape recently,
for four of the smoothest wire tappers in
the world were here for the purpose of
breaking it. According to their own adj
missions they failed only on account of the
financial weakness of the poolroom. The
men are Charles c. Moran, Frank Sommer-
vile, George Ward and Frank Connogan.
They have left the city now, Moran going
to New York Tuesday night and the others
to st. Louis yesterday morning.
The quartet arrived in this city about
week ago, and took up headquarters in
rooms on South Illinois street. Their bag
gage consisted of two or three trunks
apiece and innumerable valises and hand
bags They had a complete outfit of tele-
graph instruments and apparatus for the
work, and expected to cut in on the wire
leading to the poolroom in the rear of
Irons saloon, at II North Illinois street.
Tuesday morning Detectives Gerber and
Kinney received a 'tip" that the men were
in the city, and set out to locate them.
They found them in their rooms and took
them all to the police station before Super
intendent Quigley and Chief of Detectives
Colbert Moran seemed to be the leader of
the crowd, and he talked freely about him
self and associates He admitted their
errand here, and said that they had been
misinformed as to the strength of the in
stitution they expected to beat. Iney
thought it would net them 5000 to $4,000,
but learned when they came here that tney
could not win enough to pay them for their
trouble. He said they remained in the city
to wait for some money which they were
expecting to get here. He said they were
all slightly embarrassed financially, though
he showed a few hundred dollars that he
called change"
AS the men had done nothing criminal
while here they were not arrested. Moran
told the police that even if they had worked
the wires here the only case that could be
made against them would be trespass, and
the money made off the poolrooms could
not be recovered unless by civil suit, and
that was doubtful. He seemed to be con-
versant with the laws of all the States on
the subject. Some of them he said, had
statutes making it a felony to cut tele-
graph wire, while other States had no laws
on the subject. He admitted that he and
his associates had cut wires all over the
country and had made over hundred
thousand dollars during the past eighteen
months. They had worked successfully in
CT cago and Denver and did not dare re-
turn to either city.
The four men were exceedingly well
dressed and groomed. They wore clothes
of the latest and most expensive pattern
and had plenty of diamonds and jewelry.
In their rooms the detectives had a chance
to see something of their wardrobes Moran
had one huge trunk in which he carried
nothing but suits of clothes. There were
thirty suits, all new and expensive. Besides
he had a half dozen overcoats and every
thing else in proportion. His wardrobe
might have been taken for that of an Eng
lish earl who had nothing to do but make
a show of his money.
While the four men were at the police sta
ton man connected with the baggage
rooms at the Union Station told one of the
detectives that he suspected there were
some wire tappers in town. He guessed it
by some article he discovered in some
valises which had come open. The police
that time.