The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-09-03
THREE MITES or BURGLARS.
valley BILL, THE LEADER,
WAS BORN WITH FOUR TEETH.

This Ii How His Mother Knew He'd BE
Great Man or Go Wrong-He ID Ably
Supported In His Career OF Crime by
Buttsy Angert and Jerry Shapiro.
Detectives Prescott and Gallagher came
into Police Headquarters in jersey City
on Thursday night towing three little boys.
The biggest came up to the yoke of Gal
legher's box pleated Jersey City police
uniform. The smallest was splitting
toughly and defantly through the hole
left by two dropping milk teeth,
whats the charger" asked the desk SER
geant. playing cat in the streets9'
NO. said Gallagher. "Burglary!'
Pipe de cop!" said the littlest one putting
on look Of establishment.
These three kids full Of five cent
romances and perverted energy, are the
best organized gang Of burglars the police
| OF Jersey City have found for many year.
They have confessed to at least three bur-
! glaries, all Of which were supposed at the
time to be the work of older and expert
thieves. They are "Walligy Bill" McGovern,
! IL years old. OF 25s Newark avenue; Jerry
| Shapiro, IL years old, of $50 First street, and
4Buttsy' Angert. o years old, Of 434 Mon
mouth street. Valley Bill is the leader,
and Buttsy the dead hard citizen Of the
three.
Valley Bill got his idea from the acts
Of the James boys as set forth in the Boys
Own at S cents a copy, or one new copy
for two old in exchange. He gathered his
gang, laid his plans and started in on the
house Of Mrs. Ellen Stone at 27l Fourth
street. They went through 1t scientifically
and got a lot OF slverware and clothing
This was on June Is. How they sold the
swag no one knows, but they revelled in ice
cream and fve-cent novels and Coney Island
trips for a month or two. When funds
got short, they planned to enter the house
of M. j. Connolly at PSI Eighth street.
They crawled through a coalhole but
cop hove in sight and scared them away
So they planned to rob the house at 273
First avenue
All great leaders make their mistakes.
Valley Bill made his when he broke
into house next door to a place already
robbed. For Mrs. Stone, at 271 was alert
| for burglars. And 30, when she saw
SILK waist lying in the back yard of 27a,
which was closed for the summer. she went
| over and investigated. The house had
been robbed any one could see that. She
sent for the police.
| The place had been searched very
| OF a ground floor window. Through that
| the thieves had got at the window fasten-
! ing With chisels and hammers found in
the basement they had opened every door
| in the place.
| Edward Arlington lives on the lower
floor. All his silverware was gone and all
the bric-a-brac Of value Apparently, the
burglars had taken all the salable cloth
ing, too. John Mayor. an actor, and his
wife live on the upper floor. He, like the
Arringtons, is out OF town. In his place
they had rif1ed the costume boxes as well
| as the china closet.
Yet there was something queer about
the burglary the police agreed. The thieves
hadn't carried OF all their swag, for one
thing. Slowed away in corners were neat
packages of silverware, wrapped in articles
of clothing. So the detectives. Prescott
and Gallagher. stayed in the house and
! came back. The cops could hear his light
and stealthy footsteps creeping up the
stairs. Hidden behind the dining room
aeP they or sp6Rsd hs, fhe
steaithy football crept into the room.
Now" cried Gallagher. The cops rushed
out ,together-and almost stepped ON a
email bsrefoote ed, and dirty boy about bout
dumfounded. and Buttsy-for it was he
put his back against the wall and defed
| them.
Well, it seemed shame to do It, but the
he'd better confess, and Buttsy answered
| that they might take his blood, but he'd
| never peach. So, after short conference,
| they decided to give him the third degree
! In words OF one syllable. Prescott tilted
| him over his knee and spanked him with
emphasis. Then Buttsy ANONYMOUSLY
peached. They found Shapiro asleep on a
sidewalk and Valley Bill at home.
Mrs. Mc(Iovern was panied, but not
specially astonished, when the detectives
came for her boy.
Il knew he'd turn out a great man or
rogue" she walled. He was born with
| four teeth"
valley Bill saw that the jig was up and
| told all about 1t. Houses shut up for the
summer were his game. He took no chances,
! for he rang the doorbell at intervals for a
day or two before he broke in. He was
| proud Of the Stone burglary, which he
considered workmanlike job. He told
house at 273 with brick wrapped in a
Turkish towel, 80 that the noise would be
deadened. The rest was easy. for they
found tool chest In the basement. The
police think that there are points in Valley
Bills education as a burglar which he didn't
! acquire from scent novels The 1fence"
where they took the swag for sale is another
mystery.
But there seems to be no doubt that they
! were acting on their own hook and not for
older crooks.
They were up before Judge Higgins in
the First Criminal Court yesterday, with
four counts OF breaking and entering against
them. There was no defence, and they
were held in $500 bonds each to await the
action OF the Grand Jury.