The San Francisco call., 1906-12-26
WR|GHT'S ACTIONS
PUZZLE POLICE
Detectives Inclined to the
Belief That Corset, Man
Was Burglar and Fence
THINK HIM INSANE

Chester H. Wright, formerly mer-
chant of Oakland. who Is under arrest
for maintaining a fence" for thieves
at 455 Ellis street. where more than
$4,000 worth of loot was found. Is
thought not only to be frfned of
criminals but to be finished burglar
himself. This is the opinion OF Detec-
tives Ryan and O'Dea, who have been
working on the case for week at
tempting to discover how Wright
gained possession of the fortune In
stolen goods
Wright conducted a restaurant on
the premises mentioned, but 1t was
false bottom where stolen goods Of
value were stored Numerous trunks
about the place also had false bottoms,
which contained delicate mechanical ap-
pliances. In the cellar of the restau-
rant, which could only be reached by
hidden doors, was found large guam
tity Of copper wire, copper vessels and
tools Of all descriptions, aggregating
In value many thousands of dollars.
All junk dealers and secondhand
stores are required day by day to make
report to the police of the goods they
have received during the day. Wright.
although he. had a junk-dealers' IL
cense, never made such report. These
facts have led the detectives to the be-
lief that the former merchant did not
have many professional thieves in his
employ, but committed majority of
the crimes himself.
Detective O'Dea in expressing his
opinion of the case said: In all of my
career as detective / have not come
across case so baffling. In ordinary
cases where loot is recovered 1t is an
easy matter to trace where the stolen
property came from and to ascertain
who the thief was In the present case
there is probably $4,000 or more of
stolen property in the hands of the po-
lice and there is hardly a clew as to
how Wright got possession of it. we
have searched every nook and corner
of the restaurant and junk shop con-
Quoted by Wright in the hope Of find
ing books or records which would in
form us when and where Wright OBJ
tanned the stolen property. but we have
not been successful. Wright told us
that he had more than 1000 persons
employed in stealing for him, but this
statement would indicate he was either
lying or was of unsound mind. The
latter theory may be correct. He has
certainly shown more cunning in ac-
quiring fortune in junk than has
ever been manifested by any other
CIiIlIlldl
Detective Ryan voices the same
sentiments. He says: The fact that
every Junk dealer is compelled by law
to turn in written report of the
goods he buys shows that Wright did
not comply with this part of the law.
The fact that there was not scrap, of
paper found indicating by whom the
tools were sold or when they were sold
also shows that Wright was violating
the law and is presumptive evidence
that he did not deal with the public in.
general. He certainly had a. genius
for concealing the stolen goods.
Wright has given Indications of in
sanity before. In his domestic rela-
tions about eight years ago his conduct
was such that he could reasonably be
presumed not to be of sound mind. He
would strip his wife naked and then
stick pins in her. It is possible that
his insanity or eccentricity has changed
from cruelty to thievery. In any case
he has afforded the police one of the
most battling cases in the criminal an
nails of this city,