Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1909-02-19
DARING ROBBERY
AT MIL WHUKEE
SATCHEL CONTAINING MONEY FOR
BOSTON STORE PICKED UP
BY BOLD THIEF.
LEFT WEALTH UNGUARDED.
Youth Had Cashed Check and While
Passing from One Window to An
other Robbery Took Place.
NO CLUE TO MAN WITH THE MONEY

MILWAUKEE, Wis, Feb. Is, 1909.
Grabbing a hand satchel containing
$500 from between the feet of mes
senger boy of the Boston store. a daring
thief at 11:30 o'clock this morning made
his way out of the First National bank,
East Water and Wisconsin streets. I'M
noticed, and escaped with the booty.
The robbery was committed while the
attention of the messenger boy was de
tracted for a moment while he was cash
ing check. The loot was the payroll
of the Boston store.
t Discovery of the loss caused a general
alarm to be sounded in the bank, and
a hasty search was instituted. A hur-
RED examination was made OF the bank
corridors, while others rushed to the
streets to secure sight and trail of the
thief, If possible, but he had made his
escape and vanished.
Messenger Boy Had Money.
Daniel Sullivan, aged 20, a messenger
boy, 3621 st. Paul avenue, was sent
to the First National this morning, short
ly after IL O'Clock, with two checks, one
for $500, the weeks pay roll, and the
other for $500. He went to window No.
4, and had the check for $1,000 cashed
by the teller
The bundle of bills and piles of silver
were slipped into the small hand satchel.
Then Sullivan turned to window No. 3
to have the check for $500 cashed He
allowed the grip with the cash to escape
his attention for a minute. During this
time, a stranger picked up the grip and
left the bank, quietly and unnoticed.
Robbery Is Discovered.
'The payroll is stolen" cried Sullivan.
as he turned from window No. 3 to
Henry. Aloes, cashier, to place the added
$500 in the grip. Kloes sounded an
lice. A search of the corridors of the
bank started Immediately. Patrons in
the bank were Informed of the robbery
by the cry of Sullivan and Immediately
started to aid in the search.
Several ran to the street, calling rob
man with a small grip, about Is inches
long. The search of the bank failed to
reveal the thief, and the hunt OH the
street was continued.
No Traces Found
Absolutely no trace was found on
| the street. The thief had vanished COM
pletely. The theory was advanced that
! he had an accomplice in an automobile
or carriage waiting for him outside, and
! that he jumped in and was driven away
rapidly, about the time Sullivan discov-
/ cred his loss.
A search up Wisconsin street and over
| 20 Grand avenue with hunt along
East Water street, north and south of
the bank building, failed to give a single
clue Passers-by had not seen a man
| with a small grip, and storekeepers had
noticed no one.
Inspector Riemer Responds.
Inspector Otto Riemer, and Detectives
Dennis Sullivan, Harry McCrory, John
NormingtOn and Leonard Schweitzer, an
sWered the call of the bank for police
aid. The detectives made second search
of the bank, but found no clues to the
thief. 1t was impossible to obtain Il de-
ScriptiOn of the man for he had done his
work so quietly, and unnoticed that no
one took note of him, or his description.
No one had seen the stranger disappear
through the bank doors with the grip
The walk from the window at No. 4 to
the door takes only a few seconds, and
from there to the street the path to es-
cape was clear.
Meanwhile Sullivan had returned to
the Boston store, where he was found
with the detectives. He reported the
loss to the management, when he was
returned to the bank with the detectives.
Re-enacts Robbery.
At the bank Sullivan went through
the operations of having the checks
cashed, and displayed to the detectives
the relatives position of himself. and the
grip about the time he thought it dis
appeared. Sullivan pointed out the spot
before window No. ,, where he was
| standing when the money disappeared.
Sullivan insisted that the grip was
| between his legs, and that his attention
| was detracted only for a minute, and
that he did not discover the loss until
! he bent down to place $500 inside. Then
he saw it had been stolen and imme-
diately informed Cashier Kloes of the
! loss.
After the examination at the bank
| Sullivan was taken to the central sta
ton for q second examination.
Sullivan Is Released.
! Sullivan was released by Inspector
Riemer shortly after 2 o'clock, after re-
lating the story of the theft to the in
spector and detectives. In each story
the boy was straight forward and hon
est At the conclusion of a grilling eX
animation. Sullivan was allowed his
! freedom, convincing all of his innocence
of any part in the theft.
Detectives Watch Trains.
! Inspector Riemer has detailed every
available detective in Milwaukee in
| search for the thief. All outgoing trains
are being watched carefully for sus-
! picious persons, while a canvass Of lOdg
ing houses, and possible places where
the thief may have stopped is being
made. Owing to the lack Of n descrip-
ton, the police are meeting with diff
Guilty in trailing the fugitive.
Tellers Saw No Stranger.
! L. A. Mueller and r. W. Mueller.
| two brothers, are the tellers at windows
3 and 4. Neither saw stranger, or
| suspicious character near their windows,
at the time the grip was taken. l.. A.
Mueller, teller at No. 3, was busy cash
! ing the check for $500, and this may ex-
plain his failure to see the thief APP
| proach.