El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-02-14


wallets, bank rolls and the con
tents of women's carelessly carried
handbags, he never quits until he has
grabbed almost every dollar in sight
he. viii start to work in the early
hours Of the morning. and, if not ap-
pretended, he may still be found busily
on the job when the after-theatre
crowds are surging into restaurants, or
crowding platforms Of the subway, or
congregating at the various transfer
points preparatory to starting home.
In the eyes of the pickpOcket a dollar
is a dollar. and, as the majority Of them
momentarily expect to be "eollared"
while plying their trade, they firmly
believe in making hay while the sun
shines, because they must lay by a GER
tain sum for fall money" a fund to
defend them if arrested.
There is no class Of thief hereabOuts
that Police Commissioner Mckay is
more anxious to rid the city of. Chances
are this berculean task is beyond the
range Of human possibility, but, if he
continues as he has begun, the time is
not far distant when the pickpocket's
life will be a burden to him and he viii
either seek new fields OF else become
more circumspect in his methods.
There are hundreds of these light fin
Eered and strong armed criminals oper-
ating in every section Of the city. They
work singly and in "mobs." There are
scores Of women who are just as pro-
ficient as the men, but the lines are
90 sharply drawn that a woman never
lnvades the fields selected by the men
operators, and vice versa. While the
men are just as def with their fingers
as the women, they frequently resort to
far rougher tactics to slip the leather"
The women almost invariably prey upon
those Of their sex, and handbags are
their specially. Handbags, long, lean
wallets, such as men Of to-day affect,
and pay-as-yOu-enter street cars, seem
ingly, were invented to aid the cause of
pickpockets, for they have enabled these
thieves to reap the richest of harvests
since they came into vogue.
There is no man in New York who
knows more about pickpockets than De
tective Frank D. Casassa- He and his
partner, Detective Richard McKenna,
have specialized on this brand of Grim
inal for many years, and there is not a
"dip" Of prominence in the country they
don't know. Like their quarry, they
work early and late, and, as the clever
est pickpocket in the city told the writer
a day or two ago, Life here would be
one pocketbook after another if it was
not for this fellow Oasassa. He hobs up
at the most inopportune and unexpected
moments"
Not a day passes but scores Of re
ports are made TO the police of lost
wallets, watches and jewelry of all sorts,
to say nothing Of the almost countless
handbags that have been rifled. The
method Of the pickpocket is simplicity
itself, and, when one has had an oppCr-
tunity to see these thieves at work he
iG almost prone to believe that nine out
Of every ten persons robbed deserve their
fate. Wallets carried in hip pockets Of
trousers, watches slipped carelessly into
vest pockets with chain stretching across
the vest without the precaution of run
ming it through a buttonhole, OF else
worn On a fob, and handbags carelessly
Blung over the arms of women either
engrOssed in conversation OF absorbed in
their hunt for bargains offer such alb
8urdly easy opportunities that the pick
pocket finds them irresistible As a
shrewd detective puts it, these men and
women extend a cordial invitation to
every piekpOcket within sight to come
and rob them, yet they "squeaI' the
loudeSt when this happens.
There are several Of the more expert
pickpockets in New York who work
alone. Others prefer to work in squads
Of three or five. These are called
"mObs." The man who does the actual
work is the tool" Then there is the
stall, - the strong arm guy" and the
'lCOkOuts," all of whom are essential to
the success Of a well planted job.
A few days ago q detective was de-
Scending the stairway to the subway at
FOrty-second street. A line had formed
leading to the ticket booth and at a
glance he saw there was a suspicious bit
Of jOstling going on ahead Of him. He
fell out Of line, and secreting himself be-
hind a pillar, awaited developments.
Sure enough a piekpocket mob" was at
work.
A man in the line was being violently
pushed by the man directly behind him.
Upon demonstrating with the impatient
one the latter apologized, saying the
crush was due to the impotence of the
crowd behind him. The man directly in
front of the complaining citizen suddenly
determined to squirm his way out Of line
He fell back a step, and facing about
twisted himself in such a way that he
completely turned around the man d.
rectly behind him. The one next in
line, the tool who does thu lifting, was
prepared for the move, and as the stiIl
r,rotesfing victim was whirled violently