The Snyder Signal. (Snyder, Tex.), Vol. TWENTY-EIGHTH YEAR, No. 43, Ed. 1 Friday, April 9, 1915 Page: 2 of 8
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ROUND TABLE DETECTIVE TALES
1 TTTtl ! J I . 1-1 . )um tjt m nm.
inal is ail wron. Tn effec opon
ID TOTHU fH ia wumi --
those of th big cities i pouonoo
anddeadlv. ThatoM adage "Hob-
estr It the beet policy"' it the truest ever
written as this story true ia every detail.
Till illustrate.
Thit it tb ttorw of th life of a boy. born
and bred aa AiMraa with tb biuest blood
flowing through bit vein that ran be found
in the United States. tne of hit ancestor
fought vaiiantiy in the Revolutionary war
to bravely in fart that a monument in hit
memory stands in the New England town
where Vat spent the boyhood of the subject
of this taie-J. A. Stewart alias Thomas J.
Wainwr.ght. aliat Edward Bartolett aliaa
George W. Wallace aliat Clinton D. Hadley.
to niv mind the cleverest and most resonree-
ful criminal it ever fell to my lot in twenty-
fix yeart of active detective service to ap-
prehend and tend away for a Ion "stretch."
In the autumn of 19""o there resided in Min-
nea;xiit Minn.. Ir. Nichols" Pinault and hit
wife a French countess. They had all that
(treat w.-aitli could brine them for in their
w!ni in) home they had assembled many rare
art oh-ct. picked np in the roam of their
travels in Euroi. Their collection included
one of the finest group of rut and uncut
preciout stor.et and antique medallions ex-
tant at well as paintingt from the brush
of the old master; silver and fold plate and
rugs that were priceless.
There also was a magnificent and riehly-
beieweled timepiece once carried by Cardi-
nal Richelieu. Exquisite pearls emeralds.
diamonii and rjbiet tome of them worth
king' ransom were kept in th strong box
of a Minneapoiit safety deposit company to-
gether with ternritiet and private papers of
a negotiable character. The raiuiings gold
and silver plate and many of the larger ar-
ticle of value the envy of kflen of great
wealth in the Northwest were constantly on
view when this beautiful mansion wat open
and the owners at home. But there always
wa a private night watchman on guard to
atch over them.
A winter approached Dr. Pinault and hit
wife invariably closed their home and sought
a wunuer clime accustomed as they had
Wn te siinl their winters on the Riviera
when they lived abroad. To thit end thev
bought a beautiful estate at Past Christian
more recently brought to public notice aa a
reding pt for President Wilson and his
family flowing the close of hit first long
battle with congress.
They reasoned that their stay In the South
would not extend bevond a few months and
that prorly guarded the paintings gold
and silver plate lace rugs etc would be
perfectly safe tacked awav in their Minne-
anlis home. To he sure the jewels of great-
er value were stored in the safe deposit box
but most of the plate with the kev and num-
ber of the safe deposit box. had been placed
in a safe in their residence.
Before leaving for the Snnth an advertise-
ment was inserted in a Minneapolis newt-
paper for a caretaker to live on their prem-
ise. n:ght and day to guard all that was
vtlrabie. A fairly good saiary with hit
meait. furnished by one of the emplove of
the estate was to go with the job.
Jamet A. Stewart was among the number
who answered the advertisement Hit ref-
erences all forged appeared to be bevond
question. To be sure they were from East-
ern people but Stewart overcame ail that
when he presented himself for examination
for the position by stating that he had only
recently come West. He so much impressed
Dr. Pinault by bis straightforward manner
and honest appearance that he ws engaged.
Besides Stewart had a smattering of French
and talked in that tongue when he applied
for the position. u' ail ir.e applicants he
seemed tee most suitable for the position.
Stewart's first day and night in the bout
were speut in examining it frum t p to bot-
tom. A res.den.-e so beautifully Oecorated
and furnished must he figure! have con-
tained an treasure and valuable galore. At
first he intT'ied to carefui.y and honestly
perform r e outlet assigned to tim. But the
oid df-ire to st-al ctnie tack.
He t i.-n t y taking valuable paintings
from tiie.r . and rutting them from their
frans. Ti..ti i.r ta-Ke open strong boxes
eontaiui.g la-. g-id and e.iver plate and
other arti-- . f aiue. I'pon these Be grad-
nally riz-l. but eery time he looked at
the vault and saf- in the physician 't stcioa
office he wondered wt.tt it contained aod
th more he wond-red the more he was
tempted to drill it open and steal its con-
tents. Stewrt was no novice nor did he act with
hast. Careful preparation wa hi gaa..
H gradually procure"! the most up-to-date
burglar 'a tool available an wat one of ts
firtt users of the elertr.e drU. Pa-entiy.
when the opportunity offered and whiie all
other nearby slept Stewart dnUed out th
combination opened the safe drilled the
strong box and found a lot of negotiable
(torka and bonds and a key aod combination
to the aafe deposit box in th vault of a
Minneapolis aaf deposit company.
Notwithstanding that Stewart already lad
acquired more than UlUXU worth of plunder
hi one deair wa to acquire the content of
th taf deposit box ana to do thit required
no ordinary feniua. He could not surrepti-
tiously gam admission to the sf dejvsit
vault -
What would be more natural be reasoned
than to po a a stock and bond broker en-
rag a safe deposit box from th sam eotn-
panr. and in thit war acquire an insid work-
ing knowledge of th trust company t
So with the money obtained from the sale
of stolen paintings gold and silver plate he
established himself a a broker renting a
r- A ft r-vn .t fr e fo r-nl pK.
"The Smartest Thief I Ever Knew"
By George S. Doogacrty Head of Dognrrtt Detccttwt Boreas
Former Depoty Commissioner of Police New York
era hnsines man. with ample stationery and
equipment necessary to play this part lhd
Stewart personally apply for a safe deposit
box with the company! Not be!
I jke the business man he pretended to be.
he corresponded with the safe deposit com-
pany inquiring as to terms sites of boxe$.
etc. informing them that at all times he car-
ried a great quantity of valuable stocks and
bonds to which he required frenent access
between the hours of 10 and 3 o'clock on
banking days.
Alwavs deirons of proennae new custo-
mers the officials of the company invje-l
the writer to inspect the vault which he
did. gradually pretending that he was near-
sighted. He succeeded in procuring a large
safe deposit box directly opposite to the one
leased by the Pinault. of which he. Stew-
art. had the keys stolen from his employer'
safe.
The thief exercised the same skill care and
deliberation in the safe deposit vaults that
he had done in the house. After engairing
the box he called with his satchel apparent-
ly filled with bonds and stocks and deposit-
ed them in the newly-rented vault. He took
them out regularlv each morning returnina
them the same afternoon. A condition of
familiarity came from this. Employes got to
know him. He diverted their suspicions il
they had any and eventually when the op-
portune moment presented itself swiftly
with Pr. Pinault t key he opened the vault
and extracted therefrom its entire contents.
Talned at upward of IC.W.OCO. With the loot
from their home and the jewels from their
A diamond and pearl stomacher the size
of a man's band representing era;" and
grape leave. The grapes were of pearls. I lie
leave of diamonds ami the stems of plati-
num. It wa the mt unusual description of a
tingle piece of jewelrv 1 had ever read and I
believed that an attempt to dispose of it
would renll in the capture of the thief as
well as the location of the other stolen prop-
erty. So. with this description in mind my
search began.
I searched every known place in New York
city where such a piece of jewelry might be
offered for sale. I felt sure so admit a thief
would not visit a pawnbroker. He surely
would be too familiar with the methods of
the police to run inch a risk. Betides this
work in Minneapolis had too fine a "tone"
to it I reasoned for it to have been the job
of an ordinary crook. I knew I was dealing
with a man of brains and it required deep
thought to figure out just what course to
pursue. He had firmly established himself
in Minneapolis as a well-to-do broker. He
could not have been granted such liberties
in thetrong room of the safety deKit com-
pany if thit hail not been the case. Perhapt
I argued he would do the same thing in New
York.
I at once telegraphed to the duped trust
company in Minneapolis to forward me a
sample of Stewart 't handwriting. I was rea-
sonably certain that with such a wealth of
treasure in hit possession he would seek a
safe hiding place for tuein. and what would
be safer or more teenre than a slrong box
iff s f. f
"I Had Him Completely at My Mercy"
safe dpctit packed into five trunks Stewart
fied fr m Minneapolj.
Protrptty he posed as a traveling sales maa
for an Eastern boue raid w htx rig on
hit "ssxple trss.ks. and was quickly lot
trace of; this berause his crime and fight
were r.ot discovered until several days after
ht fed from th municipality.
When th crime wa discovered a search
for him by the Micnempout police became
worldwide. It wa figured that be would go
to torn of th larger Eastern cities but as
to this there was nothing def.cit.
Ta trunks had been traced frotp Minne-
apolis to Li icag". to other central Western
cities reriai y to Boston and thence to
New York. Th riost narurai theory was
that he had lnied a u-air.ship and eone to
Sooth Ament or Europe but investigation
along these line developed nothing.
The various police official throoghout th
eountrr bad co-t-perated with the Minneapo-
iit aothontiet without reralL
I wa with the Plnkertoct then in chtiy
of their criminal investigations with head-
quarter in New York aod the search for t
thief aad th stolen property wat aasigud
to me. By this time a complete eWnut
of many of the more valnable articles fead
been fnrnished. One of ti e stil-o artic-s.
a verr ren'srfenKlo j'?- of V w-'re. m !-
rented by on of the eitT't Mg deposit com-
panies t It was an even chance that h would
pose here a man of wealth and after firm-
ly establishing himself in New York seek ta
dispose of tome of hi art gems to d -alert
who make a specialty of tuck things. I had
ast-ired myself that up to this time the art
dealers bad received so description of tii
loot. Therefore that was th safest court
for Stewart to follow.
When th specimen of Stewart's handwrit-
ing arrived I caavaseed the safe deposit con-
cerns of the city and especially those near thv
big railroad terminals I described Stewart
minutely to the official of each of these con-
cerns and showed them hit handwriting. I
carefully serutiniied the handwritiBg of every
new applicant for a strong box. It was a
tedioos job bst my effort were soon reward-
ed for I learned that Stewart had rented
bos from th Lincoln Safe Deposit company.
H hsd used the box for a while but bob
of th official bad seen him for serwrai
weeks. He had bvn a daily risitor to th
strong box for quit a while and had eves
attempted to pi" himself on the snr.e fa-
miliar footing with to a"endant that had
made the roHry of th T nault box to eaev
in Minneapolis but conditions were differ-
ent here and no renter of a box wat left alon
for aa instant.
-men with him to the Lincoln Trust coinimny's
offices and to these he showed some of the
contentt of his strong box. In fact lie made
salet of some of thie contents on thu spot
Sometimes these alcs involved large sums
of money. I was nnnhle to obtain even a fair
description of anv of his customers. He had
told one or two of the attendants lit the safo
leiosit coinpanv that he wa an attorney and
that he had just relumed from r'rnnce where
he had been engaged in settlinif up a big es-
tate. Among the effects were many priceless
pieces of jewelry and these he had brought
to this country hoping that he would be able
to dis)se of them on more Advantageous
terms here than abroad. It was a highly
plausible story and. seemingly had caused
not even a ripple of suspicion among those
from whom he rented the strong box.
After a painstaking search I located letr.
eral dealers who had inspected Stewart't
stock. All had seen the wonderful stomacher
of rare gems but none knew what had be-
come of him. I surmised that lie had become
mspicious of his surroundings in the Lincoln
Safe Deposit company ana that he trans-
ferred hit loot to some other vault. Dealers
began helping me at every turn.
Each new dealer interrogated offered some
fresher and more tangible information ami
I felt sure that I was gradually tightening
the net about the man I was seeking. Ono
merchant recalled tlint he had seen Stewart
in Broadway only a day or two before and
that was the most gratifying piece of infor-
mation I had picked up since I took charge
of the case. Later my informant remembered
that he had seen Stewart in the neighborhood
of I'nion Square and that he was emerging
from a bank at the time. That was even more
encouraging for now I believed that I had
a tangible clew to work upon. I visited the
bank in question and the officials recalled
that a stranger had called there on the date
mentioned and that lie had sought to rent a
safety deposit box but as they had none they
had directed him to other institutions.
Among these was the Hudson River branch
of the Corn Exchange bank at Seventy-second
street and Columbus avenue.
It was 5 o'clock in the afternoon when I
obtained this information and my experience
as a detective hal taught me that to put off
until tomorrow what should be done today
was often fatal and so I hurried nptown. I
went over the list of cards which applicants
for boxes are made to make out ami to my
delight I found one in the handwriting of
Stewart. Under th name of Edward V.
Choate lawyer living at No. 19 West Fifty-
eighth street he had rented a box only three
davt before.
The trail was now getting hot. There
wasn't a moment to lose and whereat I had
not stopped either for luncheon or dinner I
hurried to the Fifty-eighth street address
which I found to be a house beautifully fur-
nished and appointed and apparently one
frequented only by persons of means.
I presented myself as a prospective tenant
and was shown through the house. A very
pretty suite wat shown me. then occupied by
a Mr. Choate a lawyer. That morning to
the woman in charge told me. Mr. Choate had
been called unexpected!- out of the city on a
business trip that would demand his abtence
from New York for teveral months so that
he was vacating the rooms that verv even-
ing. In fact at that very moment h wat
out searching for an expressman to take his
effects to the railroad station.
The wait for Mr. Choate 't retnro. while
not extending over fifteen minutes seemed
hours to me. As he bustled into the front
hallway I "stood him up." In a holster un-
der his coat he earned a forty-four caliber
revolver w hich he reached for. and from the
look on his face I knew he intended to use
it but he wts too late. I rammed him back
against the wall seued his pistol wrist and
twisted him around until I had him complete-
ly at my mercy. It m all over: the skillful
cracksman jewel thief and safety deposit box
robber was in my grasp at last and I knew
that in the arrest of the broker lawyer I had
solved the great Pinault robbery.
Through admissions made by him and fol-
lowing a search of the several trunks is hit
rooms a great portion of the Pinault loot wat
recovered. Weeks were consumed in scour-
ing New York and other Eastern cities in
locating and recovering the gems. H con-
fessed to committing a number of crimes
while loitering in New York althongh he wat
liberallT supplied with money. But. as he
said when he divided to launch again upon
career of crime he had made up his mind
that he would overlook uo opportunitr that
presented itself. The fascination attendant
upon a "stick up" or a "prnwr' was so
great he explained that he could not resist
the temptation to ply Ins trade whenever h-
had the chance.
He ws one of the most fascinating crimi
naM I ever met. His methods were novel and
ongiual. He was no ordinarv thief as we
all know now that his storv'has been laid
bare. Sim of hit oeratioct were to daring
and so bold thai thev had defied detection.
He was a man who could move in any eircl
of society be chos to enter. His ingratiat-
ing manner readily charmed all who met him
aud vet 1 am confident he could hav donned
rough clothing and made himself just at pop-
nlar in a hobo or yegj camp at he was in
th drawing rooms to which he rained ao-
ress. He loved good living dressed well and fre-
quented only high-class hotel cafe and
place of amusement. Seenunglr he wa not
in th least disited. His rhief aim. it ap-
peared wm to smass a sufficient forttrn to
liv th lif of a gentleman of ease and Wi-
W. tent him back t th Mir.neapoli. au-
thorities and verv v.n tlwrem'ter Mr Stew-
art bem cvrn jet N.v l'i"0 in the tut pen-
Uentianr at Nillwaior. M1B. Sex-en Tears
w
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The Snyder Signal. (Snyder, Tex.), Vol. TWENTY-EIGHTH YEAR, No. 43, Ed. 1 Friday, April 9, 1915, newspaper, April 9, 1915; Snyder, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth288094/m1/2/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .