The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-08
Van FAHRIG AN UNUSUAL THIEF
LEADER OF BURGLAR GANG THE
SON OF A CAPITALIST.

A Combination OF circumstance Caused
Him to Turn Crook and His Education
Made Him Successfui Robbed Only
Those He Thought Gould AFFORD TO Lose.
August Van Fahrig. leader OF the Long
Island gang Of burglars whose plan TO
break Jail at Mineola was nipped in the bud
on Saturday, is an unusually interesting
prisoner. In him all the daring Of q high
class burglar 10 combined with an edu-
Gated mind and a pleasing personality.
The same qualities which gave him domi-
nance over the gang which operated sue
cessfully in Long Island for Almost a year.
gathering in loot a~ggregating $4,000.
nave led him in the few weeks that he has
been shut up in the Nassau county Jail to
assume leadership among the prisoners.
1t is the kind Of leadership that ~persuades
a man who has served his time to risk his
newly gained freedom by being the bearer
Of a note to the outside world. The note
called for a -hacksaw and six flea" just
enough files to go round In the Freeport
gang.
Van Fahrig, according to the story which
he has told representatives OF the Sherif's
Office. comes Of an excellent German family
which was at one time wealthy and is a
graduate of a German college.
His working name was Tor Luckner.
He was born in this country t~hirty-one
years ago. His father was a capitalist
living in Potsdam. Germany, where the
Kaiser had his palace and n Of his mill
tary schools.
Van Fahrig. 30 he says, was taken to
Potsdam when he was two months old.
His father had made most OF his money
out Of Suez Canal bonds. Van Fahrig az a
boy moved in the best circles Of the Ger
man town and went to school at the gym
nasium. He had a course OF military
training there and became an expert shot.
He didn't prepare himself for any pro-
fessiou. for be had always been led to be-
lieved that he would be we'll taken care of
when his father passed away and that
he might lead the life Of a gentleman Of
leisure.
In the sos Van Fahrig's father invested
practically every cent the family had in the
Panama Canal bonds which were issued
in the attempt that French capitalists made
to connect the two'oceans. The Van Fab
rig fortune was completely wiped out in the
crash which followed n August started
out to shift for himself.
The leader Of the burglar gang told the
Sherif's men that his share in his fathers
property when the Investment was made in
the Panama Canal bonds amour ted to
more than 100000.
When young Van Fahrig came to this
country he was unused to the ways OF the
world and found it mighty hard even to get
enough to eat. He wandered around New
York city until he became utterly dis
- .-,al, - Gkaeao IaIanA
He was ready h to do anything. He got
a job as helper in a hotel kitchen. He
lear ned quickly and in a short time had
been advanced to the chefs place.
It vas while he was working in Staten
Island that Van Fahrig fell in with bad
company. A lang was crack ng Staten
Island homes regularly and was getting q
lot Of swag; van ranG i9s naw ms m.0 com
for money and apparently without fear OF
the police. He needed only a little urging
to try his hand once or twice at the game
on nights when he didn't have TO work
as chef. and pretty soon the buildings and
He proved to be an apt pupil: He was
fearless. clever and discreet. and for some
time the gang operated with wonderful
success in Staten Island. Finally some
Of the gang were caught. Van Fahris was
ore Oh JUt uuniChy OiCo hV Woo Che NP
for a short term in the reformatory. Later.
according to the New Jersey authorities.
Van Fahrig, then known as Frederick
Snyder, served five years in the prison at
Trenton for burglaries committed in Bay
that when he left the reformatory he deter
mined TO lead a straight life. He had man
aged TO save a little money, and when
he saw an advertisement In the newspaper
Offering to lease the Schang Hotel at Free
-. - A..uks 10 had fNx,n1 q nhQnnn To
make an honest living. He found that
Schang, the proprietor Of the hotel, had
been cent to the penitentiary for keeping
a disorderly house, but, according to- Van
Fahrig's story, he thought that hs would be
able to put the place on a new basis and out
live the old scandal, sven though Schang's
wife did keep ar interest In the place:
But, unfortunately for Van Fahrig, he
found stopping at the Schang place q no
torious character who had been committing
burglaries in Long Island. Van Fabrig
says ne didn't know this at first, but finally,
the notorious one came to him with
offer to sell a lot Of loot cheap, he couldn't
resist the temptation. After that Van
Fahrig fell to operating on his own account,
Long island market. Van Fahrig has told
the Nassau county authorities that he used
Schang, the nireteen-year-old
boy who was the first to confess, to steer
him right in regard to the circumstances Of
the PERSONS WnOee nOtDcb vel aNhlhdOic III
Van Fahrig's field. Young Schang had
in Freeport all his life and he knew
the p well.
According to the statement hat Van
made to the Sherif's Office. he had
a mighty interesting rule which he follower
in committing his burglaries. That was
to steal from n man who couldn't
afford TO lose. Van Fahrig declared that
he had never yet intentionally taken a thing
from a poor man. OF course, there may
he another opinion held by some Of the
Long Island men who a v been touched,
but a record OF the Van Fahrig burglaries
shows that MS a general rule he selected
the most prosperous looking places in the
Van Fahrig declares also that he never
would have used violence on any Of his VIC
tins. He a y he didn't think hat was
necessary. The burglar who Is on the
alert always has an opportunity to get
and in every case il Ia better for him
to take that chance than to shoot OF put
up a fight. There Ia nothing but trouble
to be gained by that.
Van Fahrig has said that he has a brother
In Seattle, Wash, who is we'll TO do.
Detective Sergeant f. NJ. Griffin OF
Bayonne will 20 to Mineola to-day to help