Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-02
A CROOKS REVENGE

| something uncommonly artistic in devious
ness is bound to be the result" remarked
| a secret service man.
| The impending release from the New
Jersey state prison of old man Brockway,
| the octogenarian counterfeiter and forger,
| and the man who. everybody knows, has
been at the very top of his profession for
| a matter of fifty years. reminds me of the
| singularly handsome fashion with which
| Brockway got even with another famous
crook who had done him an underhand
| trick
THE other famous crook was the 'cele-
| brated' Tom o Brien, the man who is said
| to have made million dollars in the pur-
veying of gold bricks, Of whom a great deal
is written in the crooks book of former In
| spector Byrnes of New York. OBrien is
| now doing 'lifer' in a French penal settle
| ment. After he had bribed the keepers
who were taking him to Dannemora prison
| a number of years ago, he escaped and
| made his way to Paris, where not long af-
ter. he shot and killed his pal. Kid Wad-
| dell, and the French authorities put him
| away for life. Every once in a while story
| pops up to the effect that O'Brien's wife,
| who lives in New York is about to buy a
| South American man-o'-war and undertake
| an expedition to the French penal settle
| ment to release her husband by leveling the
| prison walls, but those are New York Sum
day newspaper stories
1
| O'Brien were on friendly terms. although
| as their lines were different, they never
| worked together. Then O'Brien pulled OH
| some sort of a mean trick on Brockway
| the details of which are only known to a
| few close-mouthed veteran crooks, and
| Brockway determined to get even.
| "O'Brien was making his annual gold
brick-selling tour through the state OF
| Pennsylvania few months after he had
| gained the enmity of Brockway, when, In
| a little town not many miles from Pitts
| burg, he was approached by an extremely
| simple-looking old farmer, who asked
O'Brien question as to the time of de-
parture OF the next train for Pittsburg
The appearance of the prosperous looking
| old farmer Immediately caused the gold
| brick man to chirk up.
| "Got business in Pittsburg, eh. pop?
said O'Brien. with the amiability for which
| he was noted.
the old farmer. Got few bonds that I'm
| calculating to sell in Pittsburg.
Gilt-edged stun, I'll warrant" said
OBrien.
edged, reckon was the old farmers smil.
| ing reply. Pennsylvania railroad first
| mortgage bonds, and I guess they're as
good as the kind the government issues
| amt they?
This Interested Mr.. Thomas O'Brien a
! great deal.
| "'How much have you got tied up in
those bonds sir?' he asked the gLileless-
/
| I'll buy them myself and save you the trip
| to Pittsburg I'm looking for an invest
| nent of that sort with a bit Of money that
| 1 haven't any pressing need for just now.
"'Oh. I've only got ten thousand doilars
| worth replied the farmer, and / reckon |
won't have any bother getting rid Oh them
| in Pittsburg.
"Then OBrien got busy in his scientific
| way He had something he wanted to snow
| the old farmer, he said, and he invited him
| UP to his hotel room. The farmer followed
| him to the room, and there, after leading
! up to it with the customary ingenious story.
| OBrien showed him the gold brick.
| But how am 1 going to know that 1t
| sure enough gold?' inquired the guileless
Simplest thing in the world was
| OBrien's ready reply. Come on TO fltts-
| burg and I'll prove it to you
"They got aboard local train and went
| to Pittsburg and O'Brien took the farmer
! looking man to IN office in an out-of-the-
| way Office building The office had the
legend, U. S. Assayer, painted on the glass
door. The 'assayer, of course: was
| O'Brien's pal planted there by him TO con-
vince victims of the 'genuinenesS OF the
| bricks The 'assayer' bored little hole in
| corner of the brick, went through the mo-
| tions of testing the borings with acld ana
| SO on and pronounced the brick to be or
| the purest coin gold. Inc 1armer-Ioohifis
mans eyes glistened.
What you asking for it? he inquired of
O'Brien.
Its worth a pat s12 900 at the mint.
| said OBrien, but, for the reasons which
prevent me from appearing at the mint
myself just now, III let you nave IL LOT an
| even 100000
81 reckon 1 can't pay that much said
! the farmer. I'm going to buy forty acres
O. ground to add to my farm and that IL
| cost me 81 COO If you could let me have 1t
| for $1,000, now, maybe I'd
''O'Brien reflected and made some hgures
ON his blotting pad. and finally he said
| that he'd make the great sacrifice and let
the farmer have the 1000 gold brick for
$4,000. ,,
AN right said the farmer. I'll go
down town and sell these bonds and get the
money and then I'll come back and pay you
| the $1,000
but O'Brien was too crafty to let so good
| a thing &C. out of his sight.
| "TH go with you. he said. Better let
| me sell the bonds-Tm used to that sort of
thing, and probably 1 could transact the
business more quickly than you could.
| 1.-The farmer agreed, and they went to a
well-known Pittsburg bond dealing estab-
lishment. O'Brien had taken the bonds
from the old mans grip and had them
| wrapped in neat package. The old man
was disposing of the bonds. The head of
| the bond dealing firm looked at the bonds,
| and gave O'Brien the $4,000 out of hand.
| O'Brien would probably have run away
with the whole amount If he'd had the
chance, but the old man stuck to him like
| a pup to a root after he had sold the bonds.
| and O'Brien couldn't lose him. So the gold
| brick crook took the old man to the back
| room of secluded saloon and paid him out
| $4,000 in good lawful currency. Then they
| went out to the little town near Pittsburg.
| the old man was handed his brass brick
| and the transaction was completed.
''Three days later, while celebrating in
| Pittsburg, Tom OBrien arrested at
| the instigation of the bond-dealing firm.
| which had discovered that those $4,000 in
| Pennsylvania railroad bonds were forged.
| The work was superbly done, and OBrien
| knew, as soon the hand was laid on his
| shoulder. that old man Brockway had got
| hunk with him.
| "And that is exactly what had happened.
| The guileless farmer-looking man was one
! of Brockway's pals in the bank note and
! bond forging business, and he had fixed UP
| the job with the greatest elaboration on
| O'Brien. He had not only drilled the gold
| brick man to the tune of $4,000 in good
| cash, but he had fixed it so that OBrien
| himself should make himself responsible to
| the law by disposing of the phony' railroad
| bonds.
"O'Brien was released on $4,000 bail,
| which he Jumped and he had to wander
| around Europe for several years before the
! Pittsburg bogus bond job was squared by
| the methods known to high-grade crimi-
! nails. so that 1t was safe for him to venture
! back to the United States"