The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-31
BARNEYS AND THEIR VICTIMS,
CRIMINALS OF 4 MEAN TYPE WHO
ARE NOT OFTEN CAUGHT.
They Mako IN Easy Living BY Blackmailins
Men VINO Are Trying to Live Down =
Criminal Rec0rd-SOme Who Como
10 Crier-Byrnes's Way With Them.

Criminal AecOrd-SOme VINO Com
10 Grier-Byrnes's Way with Them
There are more barneys living easy
around this town right now than J ever
had line on before remarked veteran
detective Of the Headquarters STAFF.
The man to whom the detective WAS speak
ing naturally inquired, What's barney
Crooks patter for bernacle, replied the
detective You know what bsrnacle'i
long suit is-getting next ana hanging on
A harley Is a mean mutt OF crook who
prey. upon end blankmails fellows with
whom be has done time-one-tirne offenders
generally who. after doing their bits. have
pulled themselves out Of the mre and gone
to work to make something OF themse Ives
New York IL always headquarters for
the barneys. but 1t is chock-a-hlock full
OF them just now. It's hard to snag them,
for nineteen out OF twenty OF their victims
are afraid to squeal, even when they are
being orucifed
"To illustrate this phase Of II, there Is a
contractor and builder in this town who
did fve-specker at Sing Sing for forgery
back in the sos. He got into business
hole, aoated some bad paper to tide him
over tight place with the idea that heo
be able to take it up before discovery, and
was Ian ded.
He did his bit uncompleiningly, ana
when he got back to New York his friends.
convinced that he was an honest man at
heart gave him the hand and sent him along.
Not msny years passed before his business
became something huge, and his business
associates, In these days Of his advancing
prosperity, we're all men who had no idea
whatever Of the one blot on his record,
"Then the barneys, crew OF whom
fastened themselves upon him as soon as
he began to do we'll. became something
fierce in their demands. He produced to
them for years, until the amount had run
away up in the tens Of thousands, until
one day. driven to distraction by the leech-
ing Of the barneys, he came down here to
headquarters and saw the old man-it was a
short time before Mr.. Byrnes turned in
his badge.
Mr.. Byrnes simply wrote down a list
Of the barneys' names and sent word to
them that he'd like to see them at q ,ad-
quarters at II O'Clock on the following
morning They came in a bunch-no
crook ever even thought Of ducking an in
vitaion from the old man In those days.
you remember what a poor fist Mr..
Byrnes made Of 1t when it came to super
fous oonversadon-he was the least garru-
lous man that ever l knew. He only said a
few things to that bundle of barneys, but
what be said was enough.
he told them that he didn't feel dis
posed 10 crowd them any. but that he
considered that twenty-four hours would
be ample time for all Of them to pack their
buds and get out Of New York. He added
that II one Of them was found in New York
after II o'clock ON the following morning.
and there'd be a little quiet hunt after
that hour--that one would be real sorry,
so be would. that he hadn't taken a polite
and avl tip and sought change OF air.
THAT was all. They slouched out.
They liked. to man. from New York
before II O'Clock on the next day, and
none Of them ever set foot in New York
again until Mr. Byrnes had left the Police
Department. Even then, when they did
como back. they didn't try to barney the
contractor and builder any moro.
But that WIS only one GAO. and, as say
the barneys' great bulge is that not one In
tvsnty oI ti,sir victims has tho nerve to
nsAks straight for b sadquarters with his
story II they'd all do this. instead Of
going on yielding to the demands Of the
barneyy for years at a stretch, we could
handis The barneys all right and wips
thear graft out. il by no other process than
that Of pinching them every day or so as
suspicious characters or on general prhci-
pies and wearing them out that way.
Ny running mate and did corral one
Of them not long ago. We'd been run
ming across him, logged to the tops and
With . pink shave and a shine and good
eats In him all the while, around the upper
Broadway hotel district, for some time,
aAd We we're pretty well convinced for
various reasons, that he was making bar
neying his graft.
SO. when We saw him swing onto a
downtown Broadway car one afternoon,
~ Jumped the car. too. having nothing
in particular on hand. He left the car
At an Office building below Trinity Church,
and ~ sksted along at proper distance
real estate man on the third floor, and
when he came out, about five minutes
later, We observed that he looked as II he
hadn't anything to complain about.
When he had ,S gone gone, my partner sne' and
man. and I at once recognized him as a
man who had got into mix while acting
- executor Of an estate some years ago,
the wind-up OF which was that he had had
TO put in Q two-spot up on the Hudson.
I Introduced myself and my workmate
10 the real estate mamie was middle
aged-and I didn't make any bones about
coming out and telling him that We were
after the crook who was, we knew, barney
ing him.
well, the alarm expressed in the face
Of that real estate man when I mentioned
these things to him was pitiful-he was all
for having US 60 no farther. He begged
US to dropit. saying that the barney who had
been bleeding him for years was 80 dam
serous 4 devil that he was afraid Of him,
and that he couldn't stand for being held
up and exposed, no matter what price he
had 10 pay for immunity. He was still
begging us to let the business slide when
We left him.
we didn't do that, Of course, and when
We met the prosperous-loodng barney
In front Of one OF his upper Broadway
haunts on the following morning we herded
him into an areaway and told him that
he was going to stop gas-piping the real
estate man, With whom he had happened
to do a little trick up the road. or stand
for Headquarters pinch every twenty
minutes or 50 as long as We remained on
the stat. We told him, additionally, that
he was going to cut ont all Of the barney
ing and throw away his little list OF pro-
ducers that he had the edge On, or that
inside Of a week there'd be an all-around
HAaddn rfAre frAme-llp to hand-Car him