Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-04
RUNYAN HAD CAMBLED
AbSconding New York Teller
Lost in the Market.
FINAL ROBBERY WAS COOL
Took Everything in Sight and Then
Said "Good-By."
SET THE TIME LOCK BEHIND HIM
This Effectually Prevented the Dis
covery Of His Defalcation for at
Least Two Days.
FINAL ROBBERY WAS COOL
SET THE TIME LOCK BEHIND HIM

| NEW YORK, July 4-Subseduent inyes.
| tgation by the officials of the Windsor
! Trust Company makes II seem plain that
| chester b. Runyan. the Ascending payinR
| teller who got away with S963l7, had been
| playing the stock market. The investiga-
lions which officers OF the company have
| made indicate that he took $4,000 ten days
| ago. This, they believe was his first touch
and he plunged the entire amount on a
| market tip, which he thought was n sure
| thing.
| lie had never tried his hand in the mar
Ket before. His life had been free from
gambling and fast living Of every sort He
look the chance this time, so his friends
| believe. In the hope Of getting enough
| money ahead to take a long vacation and
| mus build up his failing health. He was
| threatened with a chronic disease. and
| physicians had advised him. II was said.
| that he would have to seek another eli.
| mate.
The $4,000 plunge went wrong; every
| cent of 1t was wiped out and last SATURDAY.
morning, when Runyan took his place in
| the tei!er's cage, he knew that the amount
would have to be made good on that day
or ne would face exposure when the regu-
| lar nrst or the month balances were struck
| on Monday morning. 1t Is practically GER
| tain that the teller had decided what he
would do even before he left his home at
| ing.
Teller's Daring Work.
The entire plan of the defalcation was
undoubtedly in his mind when on that
| morning he handed his wife a $40 bill for
the expenses of the house, and taking his
dress suit case. told her he was going
10 spend Sunday in Rochester with his
mother. 1t was the first time that he had
proposed remaining away from home since
they were married, five years ago
How the teller got away with more than
Ss4,Uo in cash on Saturday was told In
| detail by President Johan A. Young of the
trust company, today. The trust company,
not being clearing house institution Ia
! Obliged to keep per cent of its deposits
| on hand In cash. The larger part Of this
cash Is kept in the treasurers vault, but
| on the average about 100000 is in the
hands of the teller, who has a small vault
| In his department. The teller has the abso-
| lutte handling OF this money. but is OF
course. checked up by the regular monthly
balances.
Runyan on entering the Office on Satur-
| day morning pointed to his suit case and
| remarked that he was going out of town
over Sunday. He stored the suit case away
under table in one corner of his cage
The box in which the paying teller's money
was Kept always sat on this table or
under It, There was an assistant with
Runyan in his cage all the time he was
! there on Saturday.
Took All in Teller's Cage.
For consummate GOODNESS the getaway
that Runyan mmade his rarely been beaten.
| The cage which the paying teller occupies
is diagonally to the left of the door leading
! from the street. A portion OF the cage
! can be seen by any one who happens to be
walking west on Cedar street and takes
| the trouble to glance in at the trust COM
panys entrance. To the right of the pay
| ing teller as he sits at his window Is the
| cage Of the loan clerk. and still farther to
| the right is the desk OF the company's
auditor. To the paying teller's left is the
department of the bank teller. The cages
are separated from one another by lattice
| work partitions of steel wire. Whatever
goes on in the paying teler's cage is visible
to those In the cages to the right and left
OF 1t. Yet Runyan was able during the
course OF Saturday morning to open his
dress suit case from time to time and
slip within 1t the entire contents of his
till. He made a thorough cleanup, not
leaving so much as a scent piece behind
him. The money was made up of bills
varying in denomination from $1,000 down.
Many OF them were bills of the smaller
sizes, which will be extremely easy for
the teller to pass
Runyan evidently picked the day for the
! robbery with great care. Saturday was the
most favorable day in the whole week for
the mans purpose, for he knew that the
theft would not be discovered until Monday
morning, and this would give him nearly
two days in which to lose himself He
9:16 o'clock on Saturday morning and took
from 1t the money which II contained. In
this vault was kept the cash necessary to
transact the daily routine business at the
paying teller's window. Several times dur
Ing the morning Runyan was seen to open
the lid Of his suit case, but nothing was
thought of the matter.
Babe Associates Good-By.
The astounding nerve which the man pos
sessed is shown by the fact that at 1890
o'clock he went out to lunch as usual, leav-
ing behind him in the office his suit
crammed with stolen bills. He returned
from luncheon in half an hour. and at 1:l5
o'clock, according to the entry in the safes
time book, he closed the paying teller's
vault and set the time lock for Monday
morning. Even then he did not Immediate
ly leave the office, but went around bidding
some of his associates good-by. He told
them that he was going to spend Sunday
in Rochester with his mother. who, he said.
was Ill. He was last seen in the office at
1 AS o'clock on Saturday afternoon. One of
the clerks then asked him the reason for
his staying so late and he answered, "Oh,
came back to get pack cigarettes"
When Runyan did not report FOR duty on
Monday morning 1t was thought by the
officers that he was Ill. substitute was
placed at his desk, but as soon as the
vaults of the trust company were opened
IN lob