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the Robbery
of the Man
hattan Bank
in New York;
the Biggest
Cracksmens
Job Ever
Accomplished.
Hope had decided at the last moment that
ae long as he had to tackle the janitor, he
might as well make him surrender the
combination It possible and save the
trouble and uncertainty of working with
the wire and the hole which the bank
had obligingly neglected to repair.
Werkle volunteered the objection that
the combination numbers would be no use
unless they knew how to operate them.
Hope inserted a gag in the janitor's
mouth and assured him that he need not
worry on that score as he was in posses
sion of all the information he needed
Leaving Johnny Hope and Nugent, the
policeman, with cocked pistols watching
the bound and gagged janitor and wife and
the silent and mysterious Eddy Goodey
mounting guard over the helpless old
woman, Jimmy Hope and Johnny Dobbs
hurried downstairs to the vault, accom
panied by Ned Lyons.
Lyons was always a desperate man who
could think and act quickly. In emer
gency he was governed by instinct, which
is quicker than the quickest intellect. In
time of trouble Lyons was always a tower
of strength. He would not hesitate at
murder if necessary and his sudden hand
would bolster up a hesitating member of
the gang. For this reason he was held
In reserve and worked in the vault with
Jimmy and Dobbs.
Robbery Was Discovered
-lope disarray of clothing his old friend
the Werkle, janitor of the bank, who had
irber been bound and gagged by the bur-
tome glare.
i the The gag removed, Werkle was able
man, to blurt out the fact that the bank had
1 be- been robbed. The policeman across
the street was summoned, and With
his him came Coakley, the robber Hope
peak had left behind to watch what hap-
and pened. They heard an amazing and
like somewhat incoherent tale. The police
man, being rather young and inexpe-
and rienced, listened open-mouthed, and at
Coakley’s suggestion arrested the
unty i faithful and abused watchman.
THE SCENES AT A $3,000,000 BURGLARY—The
r &
1
3
How Jimmy Hope and Each Member of His Famous Band Played His Part.
Jimmy Hope, the leader, had considered with minute
care every possible avenue of danger, and he placed his
men on guard with the precision of a general. Three
living human beings were in the building in the rooms
over the bank—the janitor, his wife and aged mother
in-law. These were quickly taken by surprise, bound
and gagged.
John Nugent (1), with drawn piston, stood over
Werkle, the janitor; Johnny Hope (2), the very promis
ing burglar son of the leader, was left In charge of Mrs.
Werkle with cocked revolver, while in the next room
Eddy Goodey (3) answered for the silence of the trenv
bling old mother.
Outside the bank was a more important work to be
done. On the Broadway front of the building the ven
erable Abe Coakley (4) was assigned to duty. On the
Bleecker street side George Mason (5) was on post.
Just inside the side door, to protect the line of retreat,
stood Billy Keely (6), with pistol in hand.
There still remained a delicate matter. In the early
hours of the morning it was customary for the old be
whiskered janitor, Werkle, to be seen busy sweeping up
and dusting off the desks of the bank clerks. The po
liceman on post always nodded to Werkle, and if h<
was not on the job as usual that morning it might arouse
suspicion.
In Hope’s gang was “Banjo” Pete Emerson, who had
been an actor of no mean ability. To him was assigned
the job of playing the part of the janitor. With a wig
and whiskers made to Imitate Werkle, and in shirt
sleeves, Emerson (7) busily dusted and re-dusted the
desks, keeping close to the street windows, where he
could be eeen by anybody passing and where he could
see and repeat any signals from Coakley and Mason, who
were on watch on the sidewalk. “Banjo” Pete played
his part so well that the policeman in going his rounds
glanced up, saw what he was sure was his friend Werkle
dusting the desks, nodded “good morning" and strolled
on up Broadway.
Jimmy Hope reserved for himself, Ned Lyons and
Johnny Dobbs the delicate work of blowing the steel
safes and taking care of the $3,000,000 of plunder.
Downstairs, they found, as expected
“Banjo Pete" Emerson In overalls and
false whiskers armed with a feather dus
ter and made up to look exactly like the
Janitor, Werkle. "Banjo Pete,” as his
name Implies, was a mueician, In fact had
been a member of a negro minstrel troupe,
and was an actor of no mean ability. It
was the ability to make-up and act which
made Hope cast him for the part of coun
terfeit janitor. During the entire pro
ceeding. he walked about the front of the
bank in full view from the street, dusting
the furniture and keeping an eye out for
signals from old Abe Coakley, dean of the
burglars, who had the responsible posi
tion of watching all that went on outside.
Fooling the Patrolman
A policeman was In sight of the bank
during the entire activities and actually
walked up and gazed in the window.
"Banjo Pete” looked up from his dusting
and waved his hand to the policeman, who
thought he recognized his old friend
Werkle, nodded “good morning,” and then
passed on
Meanwhile Billy Kelly had taken his
place just Inside the back door with a
pistol and a lead pipe and seated himself
on the back stairs, while George Mason
was sauntering about outside the door to
give warning and prevent interruption
from that point
All these men covered the operations
of Jimmy Hope and Johnny Dobbs, who
opened the vault door with Werkles key
and combination, and fell to work on the
steel safes within. There were three, one
on either side and one in the back. With
the sledge hammer and knife-edged wedges
the two burglars spread the crack of one
of the safe doors wide enough to force
in the necessary explosive. Pausing only
long enough to learn from his confed
erates that the coast was clear, Hope
touched it off A muffled reverberation
reached the policeman across the street
He glanced over at the bank.
"Banjo Pete" dropped his duster, crossed
to the window and peered out as If the
explosion were from outdoors somewhere,
and he were mildly wondering. The po
liceman resumed his reflections and the
work went on. Fifteen minutes later an
other muffled boom marked the blowing
of the second safe.
At this point Hope and Dobbs paused
to collect the booty. It was more than
they could carry, so half a peck of bonds
was passed out to the vigilant Billy Kelly
on the backstairs, as much more to the
silent Goodey, unwelcome watcher by the
bedside of the feeble old woman.
With bulging eyes, Mr. and Mrs. Werkle
saw a few bags of gold tossed In to their
guardians and pocketed. The gang had
been growing richer at the rate of about
a hundred thousand dollars a minute for
some time.
As Hope and Dobbs returned to attack
the third safe, which stood In the rear,
there came a threatened interruption.
George Mason, outside, gave the signal to
Billy Kelly, inside the back door to be
on guard. A milk wagon stopped, the
driver descended with a quart of milk,
opened the back door and was about to
ascend the stairs with it to deliver to
the Janitor.
Billy Kelly, on guard on the stairs for
Just such an emergency, politely informed
him that the janitor and his family had
gone away and would need no more milk
for some time. The milkman replaced the
bottle in his wagon and went on, while
Hope drove home his wedges
But now came a serious interruption, the
■wily old Coakley signalled that the end
of their operations had come. It was
inevitable that Kohlman, the barber,
would soon open up his little shop be
neath the bank. This was what Coakley
signalled to “Banjo Pete,” who called
the news to the workers within the vault.
Immediately Hope, Dobbs and Lyons laid
down their tools, put on their coats, stuffed
the remainder of the undistributed plun
der inside their clothes and told the band
to quit.
Johnny Hope and Nugent, with a last
bloodthirsty threat left the Werkles.
Eddy Goodey pocketed his revolver and
joined the group collecting around Billy
Kelly on the back stairs, where “Banjo
Pete" was getting out of his overalls and
pocketing his false whiskers.
George Mason gave the “get away’’ sig
nal on the outside, and one by one the
gang, carrying nearly $3,000,000 in money
and securities, mingled with the crowd and
vanished.
Coakley on watch in front stayed around
and waited for further developments.
About ten minutes later the early cus
tomers of Kohlman’s barber shop heard
someone leaping down the stairs from the
bank. In burst apparently a madman,
half-dressed, his hands handcuffed behind
him.
The Janitor’s Escape
A gag in his mouth added to his strange
appearance. Unable to speak or use hie
hands be danced up and down and made
growling sounds like a mad dog
The barber shop emptied itself and
Kohlman was not able at once to recog
nize behind the gag and the Jaunty dis
array of clothing his old friend Werkle.
janitor of the bank.
The gag removed. Werkle was able to
blurt out the fact that the bank had been
robbed. The policeman across the street
was summoned and with him came Coak
ley. They heard an amazing and some
what Incoherent tale. The policeman be
ing rather young and inexperienced, lis
tened open mouthed. and did not know
what to do
Coakley, the elderly and rather distin
guished looking gentleman, suggested that
the story sounded "fishy” and the police
man ought to Investigate. He did so. The
whole party entered the bank and Coak
ley was able to note that no telltale
clues had been left behind. He observed
“with regret that while twowof the safes
gaped wide open and the third contained
several wedges, it was still shut tight
The policeman held the haif-crazed
Werkle prisoner and guarded the safe
while he sent Coakley to the police sta
tion to call out the reserves. This er
rand Coakley neglected and, instead,
looked up Jlmmv Hope, who- like most
robbers, was leading a double life. He
had a wife and children In one part of
the ctly and in another a fashionable
apartment where he was known as Mr.
Hopely, a retired capitalist, and had quite
a circle of friends, mostly prosperous
business men.
From this point luck turned against the
band. The tremendous proportions of the
robbery caught everyone's Imagination.
The underworld was as much excited as
the police and talk and speculation would
not die down. The neglected hole in the
lock came to view again and it was now
appreciated In its full significance
The police recollected their tip about
Hope and his gang which had come to
them at the same time as the discovery
of the hole and their suspicions began to
grow against some of the real perpetra
tors. Still for many weeks there was not
an atom of evidence against any member.
Patrick Shevelin, the weak link of the
chain, began to feel the pressure.
The Weak Spot
Not only was he a man lacking Is the
robust nerves essential to a successful
criminal and also one who drank too
much, but he was cruelly disappointed as
well. He had been led to believe that a
quarter of a million dollars in cold cash
would be handed to him within a day or
two after the robbery. He was going to
buy a castle In- Ireland and a few other
things with the money.
Instead of all this Hope gave him only
$1,200. He explained at the time that this
was only his share of the cash stolen, and
that the balance of the quarter million
would be forthcoming as soon as the
bonds and stocks had been converted into
cash.
But alas for poor Shevelin. The bonds
never were converted and instead of
more money, Hope brought him bad news
and actually forced him to return half of
the $1,200. He told Shevelin that a bill
was being prepared at Washington to
compel the Issuance of duplicate securi
ties in place of those stolen. This would,
of course, make the originals worthless
and kill the sale of them and make the
robbery a financial failure.
There was truth in Hope’s plea for
the bill was actually passed, but it Is
doubtful if poor Sheveiln’s $600 was used,
as Hope promised, to bribe Senators and
Congressmen to obstruct the bill.
The horse being stolen, the bank took
pains to lock the barn door. They not
only rearranged their locks and filled up
the hole, but investigated Werkle, Keely
and Shevelin. Finding that Shevelin was
drinking and frequenting disreputable
places, they were about to discharge him.
But the detectives pe snarled the bank to
retain him for fear discharge might ex
cite the suspicions of the gang
De'ectivea shadowed Shevelin night and
day. Some of them became acquainted
with him under one guise or another.
They even became intoxicated with him.
On one or two occasions he let slip re
marks that he was connected with some
big secret affair. One day they saw a
bartender get a package from a drawer
and hand it to Shevelin, who opened It and
took out some bills, and then returned
the package. The detective was able to
see that the package contained several
hundred dollars. This was more than
Shevelin. In all probability, would have
saved out of his small salary with ail his
bad habits.
In spite of all this they knew Shevelin
was not ripe for arrest. Finally, In a
maudlin moment he conveyed the infor
mation that he had been the means of
making a great achievement possible and
that he had been treated very shabbily.
The detectives at once had the bnnk
discharge him on some pretext foreign to
the robbery. This added to Shevelin's
gloom. When, on top of this, he was ar
rested, he was quite ripe to confess.
That the gang might not become suspi
cious, he was arrested for intoxication,
taken to court the next day and dis
charged. As soon as he stepped out of
the court room he was re-arrested, and
this procedure was repeated day after
day.
Still Shevelin refused to confess until
a detective telling him how much the
authorities knew about the case, Informed
him that all the gang were rich beyond
measure except Shevelin.
‘What a sucker you were, Pat.” he con
cluded, "to accept a measly $10,000."
Shevelin leaped to his feet and shouted.
“It’s a lie, I never got any $10,000, so
help me, heaven, I never got more than
$600 for it.”
“I apologize,” said the detective, “you
are a ten times bigger fool than any one
supposed.”
Shevelin realized he made a hopelessly
damaging confession and within a few
hours the police were in possession of
the complete details of the case.
The Watchman’s Confession
For fear anyone should not believe the
actual amount that was taken from the
bank, 1 refer you to the following official
list of just what we got from the Man
hattan Bank as It was announced by the
president of the bank:
NOTICE.
THE MANHATTAN SAVINGS INSTITU
TION was, on the morning of Sunday.
October 27, robbed of securities to the
amount of $2,747,700. and $11,000 in cash,
as follows:
THE STOLEN SECURITIES.
United States 5's of 1881, 8 of
$50,000 each, 10 of 10,000 each.. $500,000
United States 6'b of 1881, 20 of
$10,000 each 200.000
United States 10-40 bonds, 60 of
10,000 each 600.000
United States 4 per cents, 30 of
$10,000 each 300.000
United States 6-20's of July, 1865;
26 of $500 each, 35 of $1,000 each 48.000
New York State sinking fund gold
6’s, registered, No.. 32 32.000
New York City Central Park fund
stock, certificate No. 724. ..... 22.700
New York County Court House
stock, 6 per cent 202.000
New York City, accumulated debt.
7 per cent bonds, two of $100,000
each, and one of $50 000 250.000
New York City Improvement stock,
10 certificates of $20,000 each.. 200.000
New York City 'Revenue Bond,
registered 200,000
Yonkers City 7 per cent coupon
bonds, 118 of $1,000 each 118.000
Brooklyn City Water Loan coupon
bonds, 25 of $1,000 each 25,000
East Chester Town coupon bonds.
60 of $1,000 each J 50,000
Cash 11,000
Total amount stolen $2,758,700
CHARLES F. ALFORD, Secretary.
EDWARD SCHELL, President.
If Hope had found ten minutes more
time at his disposal he would have entered
the third safe, and, as it happened, come
upon almost three million more. How
ever, as It stood, this was the greatest
robbery ever achieved and as things were
each man of the gang should have been
rich.
Hunting Down the Gang
Now we will see how much crime, even
in the most successful case, profited the
criminals. In the first place, Tracy was
in prison before it happened. "Western
George,” who solved the lock, was mur
dered. Patrick Shevelin, tl.e watchman
received, instead of the quarter of a mill
ion, actually $1,200 in cash. Within a
few days Jimmy Hope took half of this
back again on the plea that It was needed
at Washington to buy off legislators who
were to pass a bill through Congress or
dering the issue of duplicates in place of
the stolen securities. As an actual fact,
all Shevelin ever profited from this rob
bery was $600
Jimmy Hope and John D. Grady, the
fence, quarrelled over the disposition of
the bonds and stocks, which Hope spirited
away and hid In the Middle West. The dis
sension spread to other members of the
gang and the underworld began to hear
details of the robbery.
Hope failed In blB efforts to prevent the
passage of the bill cancelling the stolen
securities and then came the final blow
—the confession of Shevelin.
Hope was caught in San Francisco, his
son. Johnny Hope, was captured tfi Phila
delphia while trying to dispose of gome of
the bonds—and one after another the gang
was run down
Considered from a technical viewpoint,
this robbery was the most Napoleonic feat
ever achieved My husband, Ned Lyons,
said Hope ought to have managed without
the aid of Shevelin or if his aid was ab
solutely necessary, he should have been
killed. This point of view regarding mur
der is one of the distinguishing differences
between my husband and Jimmy Hope.
And thus we find that the greatest bank
robbery in the history of the world, which
enlisted the time, brains and special skill
of a dozen able men over a long period of
time resulted In failure to dispose of the
valuable securities, and landed sooner or
later most of the operators In prison. II
an enterprise of such magnitude, success
fully accomplished, was not worth while,
then surely CRIME DOES NOT PAY!
SOPHIE LYONS.
NEXT SUNDAY SOPHIE LYONS WILL REVEAL THE PRO-
BT 5 s * MOTERS OF CRIME WHO BACK THE PROFESSIONAL CRIMINALS—
The Notorious “Mother” Mandelbaum, the “Queen of the Thieves,” and
Grady, Who had Half a Dozen Gongs of Cracksmen Working for Him.