New Britain herald., 1926-03-31
EX,BADMAN TELLS UNDERWORLD TALES Reformed Crook Speaks at Meet-
 ing Of KiWanis Club CRIMINAL FOR 23 YEARS
Frank Fcnton Relieves Newspapers Are Performing Public Service E, Printing Accounts of Operations Ky NioIatorS In Their Columns.

Ky NioIators In Their Columns.
 Newspapers by exposing crime, publishing crime stories and throw ing the light of publicity on stories of crime and crime waves. are pro- tecting their readers and the cities in which they circulate, according to Robert W. fenton Of New York, s reformed criminal, who spoke 10 the New Britain Kiwanis club at noon today.
 Fcnton was criminal for 2S years, he says, and spent nearly nine years of this period in peniten- tIarios and jails. Several years ago he wrote series Of articles entitled "The Confessions of q Pickpocket' which were published. in a weekly magazine,
 He created considerable amuse- ment in opening his address by stat ing that this was the first time he had ever been 10 New Britain when he made his presence known.
 There Is nothing to the theory that criminals are subnormal men, tally, according to Fenton. Neither does he believe that environment and home life are responsible al- together. He said he had a splendid home. His father sent him to school until he was 1T years Of age and then started him in the clothing business.
 "I went wrong hanging around the thieving pool halls, gun joints, saloons and city dance halls" he said. "Thcse joints are to crime what the kindergarten is to the high school.'
 ETequcnted Chapman's Haunt
 He said he hung around the same joint in Toledo, Ohio, where Gerald Chapman hung out. Toledo, he said, was known as "The Holy City" for crooks. Officials there ever since the days of Golden Rule Jones have told the crooks they would be un- molested If they behaved them selves while in that town. 'Be- cause of this they steal elsewhere and go to Toledo to spend thel money he said.
 Talking about Chicago he Sait there was 'joint" there where the only law they recognized was one requiring man who was about tt commit murder to pull down the | curtains first so tie public would not look in.
 "ln 1909 I WAS typical saloon keeper. l ran saloon in the day. time and at night l robbed people, " he said. That's the sample of the average gin mill, but you'll never see the gin mill back again"
 He told a story of a saloonkeeper whose landlord came in and collect ed the rent in cash. The saloon keeper tipped off his crooked friends, they picked the landlords pockets and the saloonkeeper got his money back.
 That people who think they can protect themselves often give them selves away, he illustrated severaI times. In this case the landlord held his hand in his pocket where he kept his money. He was fol- lowed. He went to board a train grasping the handrail with his only free hand. AS he did a crook "ac. cidently" pumped his hat. He took his other hand out of his pocket t. grab his hat and thereby lost hi; roll.
 Tt doesn't matter whether you live in sky scraper cloaked in $ mantle of responsibility or work or the ground in the open, your crimes will find you out" he added.
 He told how he stole $10.000 out of a mans pocket In Canada and went to jail IS months later.
 Crooked Criminal Lawyers"
 Speaking of the crooked crimina lawyers he said they never ask how a man gets his money, simply how much he has. then try their best tc get 1t away from them. He said crooks hire lawyers by the year and report to them several times a day When a crook fails to report, the lawyer knows he Is in trouble and he starts out after a writ of habcaS corpus and bail.
 Stating that he was arrested In q city only a few miles from New Britain in 1902 when President Roosevelt visited there, Fenton, who was a pickpocket, said the man who fixed things" was chairman of the reception committee. IL cost him $500 to have things fixed and he got out of jail on a Sunday night, he added.
 He told of a criminal lawyer who told some of his crooked clients he wanted a set of furs for his wife's birthday present. Then went out and stole a mink set and the next day he gave 1t to his wife. One time he was arrested. He hired a law. yer who was a politician. He was advised to plead guilty. He did The lawyer spoke to the judge and he was sentenced to one hour in jail
 Stole Over S350,0 900
 "In all the 2S years in crime when I stole total Of over S35O, ,0oo getting as much as s2O, 900 at a time I never was once convicted for rob. bing an individual. Ii Is only the corporations the crooks are afraid of.
 "One way to prevent crime is tc educate the public 10 the method: used by criminals If tho public knew their methods they would bt harmless. The newspapers do z great deal of good in preventing crime. Thieves look up the news papers and if they see that there k crime wave in any section thel know the police are on their Euart and the people are aroused. Thel stay away from there, Newspaper
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