The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1906-03-29
A DARING ROBBERY
Dr. Pinault of Minneapolis Loses Secu-
rites and French Plate Valued
at Fifty Thousand Dollars.
Portion of Property Recovered From
Pawnshops, but No Trace of
Robbers Has Been Found.

mOQern times mas just Deen brought
to light in Minneapolis and DR..
Pinault has thereby lost plate and
securities valued at $4,000. The
property was extracted from safety
deposit vault rented by the doctor
and from a safe in the basement of
his dwelling house. At the time of
the robbery DR.. Pinault was away
from home and his premises were in
charge of caretaker. OF this care
taker DR.. Pinault says:
'"Thomas J. Wainwright came to
Minneapolis in September, and Sc
cured job doing chores with J. D.
Bake; lips Mount Curve avenue. He
had excellent references and he was
good coachman. When I was called
to Canada in November, I asked Mr..
Blake to let me have Wainwright as
caretaker. I also left Wainwright in
charge when I went south with my
wife,
"He robbed me during February.
HE left my residence in a hack
March 3. He hired an Office on that
day at SIT Andrus building, under the
name of A. W. Bartlett. He had evil
IDENTIFY secured the negotiable papers
previously.
"Monday, March 5, he tried to bor-
row several hundred dollars from a
local trust company. He offered Sc
curity in the shape of bank stock
which l held in St. Cloud bank.
The Minneapolis people wired the
bank to 0. K. the stock, and the bank
wired me at Pass Christian to see if it
was all right. I Immediately wired
my representative here to stop all
payment on paper, and came back to
discover the theft.''
1t is thought that this man Vain
wright was in collision with one or
more other men who came from the
east for the purpose of doing the job.
The police are looking fop4W ai11-
wright, but so far there is no clue to
his whereabouts.
How the thieves gained access to the
safety deposit vault is something of
mystery, but it is learned that the
chief crook, who was conversant with
all DR.. Pinault's affairs, forged an
order on the trust company for the
key of the box, though why the doc
tor left his key with the company is
not known. The opening of the safe
in the basement of DR.. Pinault's house
was comparatively easy matter, for
the robbers could work there without
fear of disturbance. The boldness and
daring of the robbers was something
that marked them men of experience.
That they felt secure and safe is
shown by their nerve in opening an
Office and trying to dispose of part of
the securities which they had taken.
DR.. Pinault claimed that his first in
timation regarding the robbers came
through an attempt to dispose of some
OF the papers at Duluth and also
through the discovery made by
night watchman, but the fact remains
that the crooks kept such close track
of the situation that they felt safe in
running their brokers' Office on Nicol-
let avenue for about two weeks.
The police have recovered 14O
pieces of the stolen plate from pawn
shops in Minneapolis. While it is
amazing that a thief would have the
temerity to pawn this costly plate in
the city where it was stolen-to peddle
it from one fence to another, it is still
more amazing that it could be done in
the face of the fact that Minneapolis
maintains officers whose sole duty is
to inspect these pawnshops- look
over the articles pledged and sold
thereat and keep list thereof.
A cloud of mystery overhangs the
robbery which will, perhaps. never be
cleared away.