THE BURGLARY EPIDEMIC

Shannon News, 10 March 1925, Page 4

THE BURGLARY EPIDEMIC

“Stunt” Film Artiste Who Is “Wanted.” SOME MODERN"RECEIVERS. (BY VINCENT WRAY.) (All Rights Reserved.) I understand that the efforts of the police, to overtake the cnI “"l al ®; sponsible for the many laries, have not beeh, vain. Most of the so-called cat 10J beries are considered to be the woik of a well-known crook, who has seen the inside of several American prisons, and is famed as an athlete of remarkable skill and prowess. He was born in Sa'a Francisco, anu is known by the name of Glemster, though he has many aliases He was at one time a “stunt” artist on the films, and carried through several dating expeditions. Nimble and wiry, he turned his attentions to climbing into the top windows of ©hops and houses, and in this way brought off some amazing coups. He was only trapped when he was given away by one of a gang of criminals with which he surrounded himself, and whom he had partly trained. , He was se’nt to gaol, and,, when released, continued his operations in the State of Colorado. He was caught on the roof of a jeweller’s shop in Denver, and again found himself in prison. Twice afterwards he was trapped, and sentenced to terms of imprisonment. He was far from being wirnt is known as a “gunman.” It is said that he never carried firearms, and, when cornered, surrendered quietly to the police. After a while New York —where the latest of his exploits occurred—knew him no longer,, a’nd he vanished from the ken of the American police. Where he had gone none knew. But when the cat burglaries happened m such numbers over here, the American police informed Scotland. Yard, with the result that his description was forwarded in code, and a search was made for the former film actor.

It was found that a man answering to Glenister’s description had been seen near the locale of a particularly audacious robbery- This man >vas traced to a house, „i':i Pimlico, but when the detectives entered, the person wanted had made himseir scarce. Glenister, I am informed, is hot only a burglar, but a receiver, which would perhaps account for the fact that so much plunder is dispersed, and no trace of it is left behind. “Find the receiver, and yob have the thief,” is an old saying, which contains a great ,deal of truth. Receiving stolen property is a fine art —almost an exact science—and demands skill such as few men possess. I am reminded of this by the death of George A. Kemp, who was certainly the king of them all. I have met the old man—he was seventy when he died—-two or three times, and always regarded him as one of the wiliest rascals who ever defied the police. He carried on a small antique ©hop in St. John’s Wood, and slept over the premises,, but it was not there that he bought the proceeds of thefts. He was far ,too cute for that. He had agents in his employment, whom he sent scouting round, and who wore not likely to be suspected. He would meet these agents at stated points, and there bargain with them for the spoil they had collected. I believe that he made few mistakes, but he certainly paid more for the illicit goods in which he dealt than did most of his kind, especially the Italian, Aggio, who was sent to prison for receiving, and then deported to his own country. This fellow was given away by a thief who believed that Aggio had robbed him in the most barefaced fashion, and resented it. The thief acted as informer, and Aggio made a scene when he was sentenced, declaring that he would execute vengeance when he was at liberty. But he was not permitted to carry out his threat, and was deported as soon as he was liberated. I heard later that he died. He was then surrounded by every luxury, for it seems that he had been thirfty, and had taken the precaution of sending his 1 money home to his native land. Kemp was many times convicted, and during one of the trials, a detective sketched his history, and declared that he had sprung from a respectable i'amly, and had been an undergraduate at one of the Scottish universities. A woman receiver was trapped not long ago. She resided in one of the narrow thoroughfares that run between the Commercial Road,. and Mile End Road in the East End of London. For a long while she had been under suspicion, and her house was raided, it was described as a veritable palace of treasure. There were jewels of all kinds in the base, menl, while she had kept books showing all the transactions in which she had been engaged. A police officer told me that her profits ran into four figures every year. Yet she lived in comparative poverty. She was sent into penal servitude. ft is no secret that most receivers are foreigners, and are in constant communication with the Continent, where they are able to sell stolen jewellery without inconvenient questions being asked. This applies especially to precious stones. For articles of gold and silver are invariably melt, ed down before they are sold, and the resulting ingots do not arouse suspicion.

Scotland Yard is convinced that somewhere there is a master receiver, ■whose capital is used to purchase stolen goods, and who, like Kemp, deals only through agents whom he can trust. Once this person is under lock and key, a mighty blow will have been struck at the professional burglar.