The De Soto County news. [volume] (Arcadia, Fla.) 1898-1924, 1905-10-20
GENER0USCRIMI
swlNpLERs WHO GAVE AWAY BIG
FORTUNES IN CHARITY.

many Instances of Men Who became
Outrageous Robbers For the PuF-
I pose of Relieving Misery and Dis
tress with Their III Gotten Gains.
Two or three charitable Institutes in
Italy owe their foundation to a famous
swindler named Roselli, whose whole
rim In life seems to have been TO bene-
poor children who, like himself, were
cripples. Originally possessed of
small fortune, he practically beggared
himself with this most worthy object.
But there, Of course. he should have
stopped. Instead Of doing 80, however,
he embarked on series Of gigantic
frauds, by which he became possessed
OF many tens Of thousands of pounds,
which he devoted to the cause OF Grip
Piles. The dislnterestedness OF the mo-
tive for his crimes Is established by the
fact that he himself lived most frugal
ly In quite humble circumstances while
he was dispensing thousands Of pounds
In charity, every penny OF his III gotten
gains going I'm this way. Hundreds OF
cripples and other suffering children
learned to bless his name, and II Is es-
tlmated that he gave away between
$4,000 and 100000 to relieve the suf-
ferlngs and brighten the lives Of those
"whom God had not made straight"
During his somewhat brief career
as a man Of wealth. Redpath, the rail-
way clerk, who swlndled his employ.
ers of nearly a quarter of a million
pounds by means Of forged stock GER
tlfcates, dispensed a very consider
able sum Of money In charity. Lead
ing a double life and, out OF office
hours, posing as a successful hnancler,
he was constantly applied to by his
acquaintance to assist charities in
which they were interested, and he
helped others az generously al. he had
helped himself. To beggars he rarely
gave less than a sovereign, and time
upon time he went stunning" in or
der to help cases of distress.
But 1t cannot, of course be asserted
that his gigantic frauds were operated
by him with the object Of being char
table. He was undoubtedly generous
and the total amount of money he gave
away in charity would have kept him
in luxury all his life. Palmer, the
barked on his wonderfully successful
career Of crime solely from perverted
philanthropic motives. He lived humbly
and gave away all he stole. Redpath
lived In such lordly style that one won
ders that he should have managed to
escape detection for so long as ten
years.
Palmer was without doubt the most
successful burglar England has ever
known, not only because his hauls
were generally rich, but because dur
ing a whole decade Of systematic
crime he never once fell into the hands
OF the police. 1t is estimated that he
acquired" more than 100000 IN the
course OF his career. and almost every
penny Of this was given away In char
ity. Norwich, where he lived, owes
him debt OF gratitude II Ia not likely
quickly to forget. for his benefactlons
In that town alone ran into tens Of
thousands OF pounds. No local case Of
distress ever came under his notice
without receiving help from him. The
old and crippled particularly evoked
his charity. and IL is said that he spent
upward OF 10000 in establishing an
inhrmary.
In no small measure was II due to
his charitable propensltles that Knit |
the famous bank clerk who robbed !
the Bank Of Belgium of nearly mil !
lion OF money, drlfted on his career Of
crime. 1t was his ambition to be a
great phllanthroplst, but as a bank
clerk he had not the means, and, hop
ing to get rich quickly, he went in for
rash speculatlons. Losing. he robbed
his employers to obtain the money
with which to pay his account and to
make another attempt He found 1t
comparatively easy to get hold Of large
sums OF money In this way, and he
went on stealing not only to pay his
losses, but also to obtain funds with
which to be charitable while he was
waiting for a great stroke OF luck to
make him rich and thus repay his Dor
rowings.
Luck, however, was against him,
and one day he awoke to the fact that
he had in all robbed the bank OF near
iy 100000, which he could never
hope to repay. Discovery being in
evitable, he fed, only, however, to be
caught and sentenced to fifteen years
Imprisonment
Milreau, who was said to have been
connected with some of the best fami-
lies in France and to have possessed
considerable means until ruined by
the Panama canal disaster, was one OF
the best friends the beggars Of Paris
ever had, and to obtain funds for help |
ing them he became a systematic thief.
He used to frequent the fashionable
streets during the day and pick peck
cts, and by night, dressed in ragged |
clothes, he dispensed the spoils to the
first beggars he met. For years he
continued the practice without being !