MYSTERIOUS ROBBERIES.

Waikato Times, Volume 2537, Issue XXXI, 13 October 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

MYSTERIOUS ROBBERIES.

The following account of two burglaries was told by the doctor of thu Newark Prison Hospital to one of the reporters of tho Newark Call' Whack ' M'Donald, wlio died in tbe prison hospital of eonsumption about four years ago, was a smart young fellow, well connected and well educated, but he got into bad ways in the pool rooms mid bucket shops, and finally became a burglar in every Sense of the word ; and in spite of all that his two brother-', who wore good lawyers, could do, he was sent down to us for seven yours. He dieil before he had served liis fir-it year out. With him was caught and convicted a little Canadian Frenchman mimed Laporte. Ho was as near to the missing link as I could imagine a man to be. They were both lauded for a silk robbery. Laporte was the rrinoipil, and M'Donald a member of the gang. In this case, M'Donald told mo, Laporte was sent to the warehouse securely pao'ted in a merchandise case addressed to n well known firm ami regularly billed. The little fellow was a perfect gymnast, and did not mind how much ho was rolled about. He got air through the cracks of the box, and had food in hin pockets, so that he was enabled to stand a confinement for ten hours. He was duly delivered and receipted for, and finally stowed away in the warehouse. After dark he trot out a screwdriver, and by taking one of the panels out of the box, released himself from bis cage. Then he laid wait for the watchman, and felled him by a blow behind the ear with a sandbag. He let his pals into the warehouse, and they hound and gagged the watchman beforo making u selection of nearly £3000 worth of cilks. The silk was rim out through a rear door to the river, and two of the gang pulled away with it while McDonald and Laporte returned through the warehouse, and were , caught by the police as they were leaving the buildiug. It happened that they laid tho watchman down against the wall, where he could reach the wires of the burglar alarm system, and ha tore at one of the wires with his bound hands until the wire parted and opened the circuit, thus informing the central station that something was wrong in the warehouse. Laporte made a stubborn and they nearly clubbed the life oiit of liini before he gave up. They were promptly railroaded. M'Dinald grew confidential with ine in the last few months of his lift-, and was really a pleasant fellow to talk with. He told me an interesting story about- the way his gang beat a jewellery store in Baltimore, I think he said. Anyhow he told me that the name of the firm was Brown and Co., and that their place was a magnificent store on a principal street, and had big plate-glass windows in frout. A brilliant light was always kept burning in front of the safe, and it illuminated the whole store, so that everything in it could be seen frorr, the sidewalk. There was a private watchman employed 011 the block, and the regular police patrolled the street every hour. Laporte engineered the trick, and he did it well, lie was a glass engraver l>y trade, and on; of the first things he did was M hire a rnoai 011 tho seond floor, directly over tho jewellery -tore, anl start liis business. He solicited work, fro 11 the jewellers, and soon got into the good graces of Brown & o>. by doing sline work verr c.heap'y and by makiug up;Om! nam; le ui'inoirviM and names for displiy. When everything was ready ho wen, to Brown one afternoon and told him that he was coing aw.iv early, ami would not bo back till next day, and asked him if ho would kindly receive aud take c ire of a b irrel or box of gl iss from New York if the expressman delivered it after he was gone. Brown agreed to do sa, and Laporte locked his room door and disappeared. Ho wa< never seen in that neighbourhood again, but he might have been seen if Brown & Co.'s porter had taken the trouble to open the ca»e which win delivered in the store to be kept until morning for the little Frenchrain. Lipirte was in thit box. anl he remained there until M' Donald and his pals cain-.' along and put up heavy mu-lin screens on tho windows and doors. These screens, according to M'Donald, were elaborate affairs, fitting the s idles closely and being handsomely lettered:—'Brown and Co. will remove on or about April 15th to 411, Front-street.' ' Great reduction in prices previous to removal,' and other signs to the same effect. They covered up tho whole front of the store so that nobody could look in from the street. After the screens were up M'Donald and his chums went up into Laporte's room and inado a loop in the burglar-alarm wires where they ran through the cornice over the store front. Then they cut the .store out of the circuit, and signalled to Laporto hv hammering on the floor. The little Frenchman let himself out of tho box. and let M'Donald and one of his pals into the store, while the foutth man kept a loik-out from the second story window. They made quick work ol the safe, and were interrupted but twice, when the watchman and the policeman 011 the beat went by. Both looked at the muslin screens in a curious sort of way, but did not stop except to try the door. Menuwhile the men inside were quiet in obedience t.oa signal from above, and resumed operations wheu the coast was clear. They opened and sacked the safe inside of two hours and got safe away with the stuff. Nobody was arrested for this robbery, and it was a puzzle to the police for years. I spoke to Laporte about it while he was iu the hospital getting a crushed finger dressed one day, and he cast a malignant glance at the bed on which M'Donald lay dying. Then turning to me he looked me squarely in the eye and said —' Doctaire, I knaw not of what yon talk.' I never spoke to him again on the subject.'