New-York tribune., 1911-12-07
ELLEN PECK MAY GO FREE
Dix Commutes Sentence OF MOI
ed Year Old Crook.

! Albany Dec 6-Governor DIX has com
,,utod tho ten.yoar sentence Of Ellen +. X
Peck. Of sparkhill, y. Y, who was cor
vioted of grand larceny in New YORK C'y
I in February, 1909. The woman cia'fneo
| ownership TO 225.oco acres NJ land In Ken
tucky and on the strength of this claim
borrowed 5000 n developed that fhe
owned no land and her conviction foi-
| lowed.
Mrs Ellen f.. p. Peck was convicted oi
trimming" Norman & Wilson. OF ne"
York CITY out Of 5000. her latest operation
in a criminal career Of nearly forty years
She ls now over eighty-one years old ana
still holds untarnished the reputation OF
being one Of the cleverest woman CROOKS
,vho ever operated I'm this country
No one knows the exact time at when
Ellen Peck began her criminal career She
was well known TO the fathers and the
crandfathers of the present generation
Where she was born. who her parents were
or where aud how her younger days were
PASSED, no detective ever discovered. Her
career in the annals OF big work began
as far back as 1875 when she coaxed b. J.
Babbitt the soap maker, out Of Sl9V0 III
cash. She beat jewellers out of various
sums ranging from 500 to $4,000. and loan
sharks, real estate operators, chamber
maids and grocerymen, as well, were num-
bered among her victims.
Fake mortgages. the impersonaton OF
wealthy persons. playing the part OF tip
ster on the stock market we're only small
part Of Mrs. Peck's repertoire Of games
for foong tho unwary. On one occasion
she inserted an advertisement I'm news
paper for a loan on some supposed dia-
Inonds and Julius Coumbani another we'll
known crook, answered the advertisement,
thinking that he saw some easy money.
CClumbani gave some fake bonds 10 the
unsuspectlng looking old woman with the
diamonds who. having some knowledge
herself of the wicked ways Of the world.
took care before exchanging to get the
numbers Of Columbanis bonds. She In
stantly discovered that they were bogus,
lured Columbani into a room over a Sixth
avenue saloon and Stuck him up" with
revolver She lad her brother crook so
completely off his guard that he leaped
through a window and escaped. He was
caught three days later however, and con-
victed.
Ex-Chef OF Police Byrnes once said Of
Mrs. Peck:
Mrs. Peck was a good woman, q very
good woman. Indeed, | may say that |
never knew a better Understand me, |
don't use the term I'm the ordinary accepta-
tinn, but as a familiar police colloquialisn1.
VIXEN | say that Ellen Peck was A good
woman mean that she was good in the
sense that mon like Johnny" Hope, the
burglar. and George Wilkes the interna-
tional forger, were good men I'm their lines.
In that sense ! don't think that I ever
knew a better man than Mrs. Peck
Mrs. Peck served only four or five short
sentences in her life. OF late she has been
growing veery feeble, and Judge T. c. T.
Grain and ex-Dstrict Attorney Jerome, who
were concerned I'm the prosecution. have
used their influence TO have her released.
similar petition was sent TO Governor
Hughes IN December. 1903, but he rejected
II, saying: "Od age is no excuse for
crime" Mrs. Peck will probably be freed
shortly.