The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-11
EAST SIDE GIRL BANDITS.
A NEW KINDOFGANG DISCOVERED
ny THE POLICE.
Young Girls Who Dress Well and Carry
Guns-Prefer Drunken Sailors for
Their Victims, but Also Execute street
Held.SlDe-APe Dime Novel Readers.


last two weeks three Of them have been
arrested and their deeds recounted under
oath by policemen in court.
New York has always had women thieves.
but they have usually been mature women.
not young girls like those who are now
operating on the lower East Side. The
women thieves of the waterfronts and Of tie
negro districts are almost all pickpockets.
too; those on the lower East Side are high
way robbers.
1t is hard to believe said County De-
tective Rearoon the other day, that young
girls Of is, 10 and II go out at night armed
with pistols and hold up men on the street;
but II there Is any police officer who does net
believe 1t, think can convince him that
1t Is true In very short time.
i first struck this crowd when I was
looking up policy shops in the Fourth, Sixth
and Seventh wards. soon learned that
they would make very valuable allies to
man IN my position, 80 cultivated them
and got to know some Of they very well.
i never caught one Of them in the actual
commission Of crime, but know very
well what they do. Just you walk down
through Hamilton street some night, and
stagger a bit as though you were drunk,
and see how quickly some young girl will
shoot out Of hallway after you.
III she can't coax you into the hallway she
will whip out pistol in a minute and 90
through you, cit her alone or with the assist
ance OF same other girl who will come up
suddenly. from where you do not know"
Most OF the girls in the gang which
operates along Hamilton, Chambers and
Roosevelt streets at night are either the
sisters or the sweethearts of the young
toughs in the Yakey Yake gang Some ale
merely admirers Of the deeds Of t hese young
| thugs, while others, according to a police
man OF the Oak street station, are con-
fr1ned readers Of dime novels, and are
fired to crime by the heroes Of this sort Of
| literature
The Children's Court, which has re-
vealed many queer phases of New York
life, first brought to public notice this
gang OF young girls. A pretty girl Of Is,
Bridgetta Colonna, Of So James street
plant OF her mother, who accused her
Of being a member of a gang OF girls who
| robbed men and otherwise badly con-
Quoted themselves.
The investigation into the career OF
the Colonna girl brought to light the exist
ence OF gang of girl thieves, variously
known in their field Of operations as the
James street gang. The Colonna girl
according to her mother, carried pisto l,
and although she came home, as rule,
| she spent many nights away from home
She was turned over to the Gerry society,
which still has her.
| A little later two other members OF the
gang were brought in by Policeman
1 80 thA Nal, Nv
was a colored girl Of II and the other a
white girl of 49, sc i'd to be sister OF Paddy
Shea, better known as Paddy the Sneak,
a notorious Fourth ward outlaw. These
girls are now awaiting trial in Special Ses-
sions for robbing a man at the muzzle Of
pistol h 81, .s o,n 10 ,sor,ed .,.s. .r. ~.
only arrests that have been made of this
gang of young girls. None of these girls,
save possibly the Shea girl, can be called
| prominent member OF the gang. The
leaders have 50 far eluded the police and
the Gerry agents
The real leader Is pretty girl Of II, the
daughter of a man who was for years a
| private wat Gilman. She comes Of a Door
but respectable family, from which she
has entirely broken away in the past few
| months.
| Her name is we'll known to the county
detectives. but is not printed, at their re-
quest She has given them much valuable
information in the past about policy men
and other law breakers, and they do not
care to lose her services.
| This girl ia surrounded nv nine or ten
| girls ss clever as herself. There are per-
hape half dozen Others in the gang, but
| they are not such experts as their compan-
ions; and they are the ones who generally
get into trouble, when any one does
This Nellie, the leader" said County
Detective Reardon, "ia the NEST expert
sailor runner downtown. She does that
work because it is safer.
Sailors are generally drunk when they
| come ashore, and are easy victims. A
eailor is what all the girls are after, but
they cannot ways get sailors, so they
have to take what comes along.
"You have no idea how slick these young
girls are. Let me tell you one of their
favorite tricks.
"A couple OF them will dress up stylishly-
they all wear good clothes-hire room
| somewhere, then go to some downt own
dealer who furnishes places on the install.
ment plan and get him to fit it up. The
dealer doesn't ask security, because he
has a contract allowing him to take the
furniture back if installments are not
paid promptly.
"Well. the girls jolly that dealer along
until they get him in some compromising
position and then threaten to have hin
arrested. After they've scared him hall
to death they let him of If he will release
them from any further payments on the
furniture. which, surprising as it may seem
he Ia generally willing to do.
aThen az soon as they get rid Of him they
eell the furniture to the first second hanc
man who comes along. pocket the cash, anC
60 back to their oil quarters. have
known this thing to be done time and gain
and always successfully.
Street robbery is the main occupation o.
the girls, however. They all carry guns
but are not foolish enough to use then
unless it Ia necessary. They prefer to bacl
drunken man into a hallway and &c
through him there.
4They are expert pickpockets and car
get whatever man has before he knows
K. Sometimes they Ike men to their rooms
and rob them after drugging them, some
times they drug them in the back rooms NJ
certain saloons which cater to their trade
and very often 1t is the gun right at a mans
head In Il Q street.
.Some of the very youngest OF these
Rirls appear to work under the direction Of
men. I know that one day County Detec'
tive O'Shea and myself were in Chinese
laundry on jane street watching some
policy people when tough young fellow
came In and talked with the Cinnamon
in. and Immediately the man turned on her
and swore at her He asked her what she
had, and she said nothing
~Then he told her to go out and get O
clock, and not to come back until she had
one. either. In thieves paIlarce n clock
Ia a watch. We were too busy with our
policy folks to bother about this man and
| child then, but the incident shows what il
responsible for some Of the depravity OF