Waterbury Democrat., 1901-04-27
ROBBED PosToFFICEs.
Man Just Released From State Prison
 Who was Slick at It.

MaH JuSC ReleaSeQ From state HrlSon
 Who was Slick at It.
 Ira Gladding, who in 1865 robbed the New Haven postoffice of S3, 300 is back in Hartford, after many years spent in various prisons. One day in the year mentioned above. he tapped on the postofice window and asked for the mail in a designated box. Tn one of these letters was s, 900 certified check payable to the Trowbridges Gladding went to New York and later had the check cashed by a jeweler from whom he had purchased about S6OO worth of jewelry. The jeweler 1ndorsed the check and sent it to his bank with Gladding's request for bills of large denomination. The bank was temporarily short of large bills, so the cashier indOrsed it and sent it to nearby bank, which supplied the big bills three of them being $1 GOO de- nomination. He went to hotel, de- posted his ssva1uables'' with the clerk, noticing meanwhile two packages Of what appeared to be bonds, addressed to one Smith. The clerks changed at o'clock and later he called. for his packages, giving the Smith name and receiving the bundle There were in the packages more than $1OO, 900 worth of negotiable bonds.
 Gladding's nerve was we'll displayed in what followed. He returned to the hotel next afternoon and called for his deposit of the day before, which of course was delivered to him. All but two of the bonds were put safely away If he had put them all away and depended upon his check all might have gone well, but right here he fr1m- bled. Visiting an uptown jeweler he negotiated some five or six hundred dollars worth of jewelry, including watch and diamonds. Tn paying he asked the dealer which lie preferred to cash, the check or a bond, both of which he exhibited. The dealer took the check, giving Gladding the differ ence. When the robbery was liscov@ l cred and it was learned that the Trow- bridge check had failed to reach it's l destination, the association of the two
 at the jewellers became known, and | Gladding was apprehended by postof- l flee officials, was tried and convicted on the charge of obtaining the letters, the bond business being a secondary
 matter at the time. An arrangement
 was made by which Gladding returned l the bonds. The great Ketchum scam dal involving millions, was on at the time and it was said that Gladding's sentence for lighter crime was made
 the minimum for the offense (one year)
 so that that for the greater crime Amight be made corresponding1y small,
 and later developments confirmed this
 theory as Ketchum got only four years. He and Gladding fared sump-
 tuously at Sing Sing until General
 Grant pardoned the latter out after
 four months of prison life. It is worth
 mentioning that when the trouble ov- I ertook Gladding he gave his jewelry
 and about $2,000 of the stchange" for the check to Springfield woman for safe keeping until his term expired. He
 has never seen either the jewels, mon- I ey or the woman since.
 It transpired afterward that the woman was GIadding's wife. She was q Hartford girl named Casey and was
 murdered by her lover, one Conniff. Some time later Gladding drifted to l Middletown, where he successfully }tried the New Haven game again, this time getting $20 bill in one of the 1 letters. When he was apprehended,
 both counts were pressed against him
 and he got fifteen years at Wethers- l field. He served at the Trenton prison 1 for executing a check for $65, some l S15 of which was paid to his boarding
 house keeper, to whom he was in ar rears.
 l Gladding says with apparent sinceria ] ty that he is through with funny busi- ness of every sort. He is an expert carpenter, but has no tools, neither has
 he money to buy respectable clothing.
 He is anxious 10 go to work, and seems abundantly able, his only trouble be ing varicose veins on one limb which bother him little now and then. Ills friends have drawn up a paper and will endeavor to raise sufficient to purchase a carpenters kit and decent change of clothing, so that Gladding may be helped along in his expressed good intentions.
 | --------------
 \ s3 A~fm m