Another celebrated robbery was on January 7, 1878, of $500,000 in
bonds and securities from the office of James H. Young, a banker and
broker at 44 Nassau street, New York City, by "sneak" thieves headed
by "Rufe" Minor, alias "Little Rufe," exceptionally clever in his
line, and who had with him George Carson, Horace Hovan and "Billy"
Marr. They were located at Petersburg, Va., on March 23, 1878, and
found all of the stolen property in Minor's trunk. Minor was a
Brooklyn-raised boy, small of stature, of good appearance and engaging
manners, a most expert "sneak" leader, and was in his lifetime
concerned in many great "sneak" robberies, among them being: $80,000
from the Commercial National Bank, Cleveland, Ohio, 1881; $12,000
in bonds from the Bank of Baltimore, Md.; $114,000 in bonds from
the Erie County Savings Bank, in 1882; $73,000 from the Middletown
Bank, Middletown, Conn.; $32,000 from the Detroit Bank, Detroit,
Mich.; $70,000 from the Boston Safe Deposit Co., and $71,000 from the
Guarantee Safe & Safety Deposit Co.'s vaults, Philadelphia, Pa.
In Chicago, many years ago, a band of professional bank "sneaks"
planned to rob the Subtreasury, then located in the Arcade Court.
Philip A. Hoyne, a leading republican politician in those days,
had an office in this building. He was also a candidate on the
republican ticket for some local office. At a ball game "Joe" Parrish,
a professional pickpocket and bank sneak, picked the pocket of a
clerk. Among other articles found in the pocketbook was a key and
the personal card of the clerk, which showed he was employed in the
Subtreasury.
Parrish imparted this information to Walter Brown, Sam Perry, Little
Joe McCluskey and Jimmy Carroll, all members of a noted bank "sneak"
band, then operating.