The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1905-10-05
IMITATION IN CRIME
CRIMINALS FOLLOW ONE ANOTHER
m THEIR METHODS.

CRIMINALS FOLLOW ONE ANOTHER
N THEIR METHODS.
one Peculias swindle OF Robbery IL
Another Gang Of Crooks-Pict1re
Stealing and Body snatching.
The initiative faculty of criminals is
well recognized by all engaged In their
detection, says the London Answers.
One sensational crime makes Scotland
Yard watchful for others In which
some of its peculiar features will be
copied.
One of the most remarkable series OF
Initiative crimes in modern times oc-
CURED at Windsor. While the Count
and Countess of Marella were one Feb
ruary evening at dinner In their man.
sion near Virginia Water some thieves
ascended by means Of rope ladder to
window In the countess dressing
room, entered the room and. having
collected rich booty Of rings, watch
es. brooches, necklaces and other trim
kets worth some thousands Of pounds.
disappeared with them.
For a considerable time past there
had been none of these dinner hour
robberies Now the feat of these
thieves was to make them common.
Strangely enough, their imitators even
selected the same neighborhood. With
in q few weeks, while the Belgian am
bassador, NJ. van de Weyer. and his
wife were dining in their residence at
New Lodge, thieves made a clean
sweep of madam's jewelry IN precisely
the same fashion. The next gang Of
imitators were not SO lucky. Through
a mistake in the dining hour OF
Lord Ellenborough they timed their
visit to his lordships house too early
in the evening. Instead of being at
dinner his lordship had gone FOR q
drive. from which he returned later
than had been expected. On going up
stairs to his dressing room he found
the door locked. When 1t was broken
omen tho thieves had vanished, but his
1ewelry. scattered ON the bed ready for
packing up, was still there. similar
as these robberies were they were the
work of different criminals, all imitat-
ing the first. They soon had imitators
all over the country.
Gainsborough's great picture, The
Duchess of Devonshire," was stolen
one night from Messrs. Agnew's gal
lery in old Bond street by thieves who
cut the picture from its frame. rolled
II up and carried it OF. There had
been no robbery Of the kind since
1850, when burglars visited the picture
gallery in the Earl Of Suffolk's resi-
dence and cut out and decamped with
several pictures, Of which they tried
in vain to dispose. In disgust they at
last abandoned the treasures, worth
some thousands of pounds hiding them
under one of the two arches of Black
friars bridge, where they were found
The perpetrators Of the Gainsborough
theft we're equally unfortunate In
their attempts to make money by their
crime. Still, they had their imitators
The very next year thieves made an
entry during the night into Woodville
Lodge. Clayton, Sussex. and cut from
their frames and decamped with pic
tures valued Mt from 10000 to Els,
600.
In December of 1874 quick witted
daring thief who chanced to be at Fad
dinpton station took advantage Of the
hustle on the platform attending the
arrival of the Prince Of Wales to lay
hands upon the jewel case Of the
Countess of Dudley, which contained
gems valued at 10000. The jewe
case was in the custody Of two female
servants. who reached the station In
cab. The first, alighting from the cab
nut the case down on the pavement
and turned around to assist her com
panion out of the vehicle. When sh'
looked for the case again 1t was gone
seizing upon the arrival or departure
of royalty as an opportunity for thief
Immediately sprang into fashion amoni
thieves. The very next month at tn
same station as the Duke Of Edinburgl
was passing through it thieves fount
an opportunity to rob an attendant o
the Russian ambassador, Baron Blu
low. of his dressing case, containing
Jewels worth some thousands o
pounds.
The fact that the man he chose as hi
example was rewarded with ten year
penal seryitude did not deter Tarpsy
the Jewel thief, from resolving to imi
tate lis plan. The first thief ordere'
several thousand pounds worth Of jew
elry from q London shop. had the pre-
cious trinkets brought to his house
chloroformed the unlucky bearer AM
disappeared with his booty. Tarps,
proceeded on the same lines. With hi
wife he took house in the west en-
and then, proceeding to jewelers.. re
ouested him to send selection Of dia
monds and emeralds for his wife's cor
sideration. The unfortunate jeweler'
man when he was shown into the TarI
~ drawing room was seized, chlore
formed, bound and gagged, while Tarr
sy and his wife decamped with thei
precious burden. So far the plan ha
succeeded, but Tarpsy commenced t
fail as soon as he began to be origina
He and his wife having stolen ava
to bennington, Tarpsy excited the sui
picions of the landlady with whor
they lodged by the peculiar changes b
effected in his appearance.
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