The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-01-03
MAY PLEAD GUILTY
REPORTED THAT WILLIAM =
WORK is LIKELY TO
CONFESS
PAID OUT MARKED MONEY
Fell Victim to CunninGIy Laid Trap
on the Part of the Inspector
Long List of Pecu-
IatiOnS.

William J. Work, arrested New Years
morning. is still in the county Jail await
ing the action of the federal grand jury.
Work is charged with having robbed the
mails, and has already appeared before
United States Commissioner Spencer to
answer to that charge. On his first APP
pearance in court he did not waive his
examination, as was reported in an after
noon paper, but simply asked for con-
tinuance until this morning, which was
granted. In the meantime Work entered
a provisional plea of not guilty.
The postoffice authorities think that by
the arrest they have made they will sue
ceed in putting an end to the mail
depredations which have been traced TO
the st. Paul system for number of
years. it would appear that Work has
been suspected for over a year, but the
proving of a definite charge in the case
was a most difficult matter
Inspector II. E. Thiele has had the case
in charge and with the assistance of
Inspector n. Noele has at last brought
the matter to a focus. The direct evil
dence Of the government, it is said, will
be the fact that Work is said to have
removed from a letter addressed to a
Western city 50 bill and a 81 bill. This
money was sent in a decoy letter, and
as soon as the bills had been abstract
ed the fact was at once known and the
suspected man watched. He is said to
have expended the two bills and others,
amounting in all to $40, in the payment
of a butcher bill at White Bear, where
he lives. The marked money was at
once secured by the postoftice inspector
and held as evidence.
1t is also reported about the federal
building that should this case not be
sustained in the courts there is another
instance in which Work gave money pre-
viously marked and mailed to one of the
mail carriers, to whom he was indebted.
In some quarters of officialdom the re-
port is current that Work broke down
and confessed when first arrested, and it
is also contended that he may at his
second hearing change his plea from not
guilty to guilty.
Work Is Depressed.
Work has been connected with the de-
partment for oyer ten years, having oc-
cuped the post of night mail clerk for
eight years next March. He is fifty-fve
years of age, below the average in
height and wears a thick, full beard,
which is literally streaked with gray.
When seen at the county jail he present.
ed a picture Of woe. Mr.. Work said his
wife was bearing up better than he had
expected but that she was very much
overcome by the shock Of his arrest.
= y
some time, and as he has never seemed
to have had any particularly expensive
habits, and has not maintained an ex-
pensive style of living, he had no appar-
ent motive for theft.
The tEieving has been going on some
where in the st. Paul Office for at least
five years, and, while complaints have
been FREQUENT, nothing of sufficient d.
rectness has developed to warrant the
no. IF ar c1Y
on the boards. Owing to the nature of
the case, and the length of time over
which the peculation runs, it is next to
impossible to even guess at the amount
of money which may have been stolen.
It is said that the highest sum reported
to have been missed from a local letter
was $40 but in nearly every case the let
ters are said to have been simply opened,
the money distracted the letters reseal-
ed and remailed to their original address.
AS in many cases money is sent abroad,
it takes time to reveal the loss which,
if the sender or receiver is ignorant, may
never be called to the attention of tho
.postoffice authorities. The fact that the
fthief remailed instead of destroying mail
tmatter made it much more difficult TO
idiscoVers his identity
To give some idea of the difficulty which
'confronts the detection Of a thief in a
case like this the fact that thousands Of
letters and packages were mailed on the
evening before Works arrest is cited In
all this matter but one or two letters
would be disturbed, and in all the letters
disturbed not one case in ten would be
reported to the inspectors, and even at
that such a report would not usually be
made until the lapse of time had been
so great ii would be impossible to do
any tracing.