HARD WORK UNDER GREAT DIFFICULTIES
The day following our reconciliation, Shinburn and I went down to look
over the Ocean Bank and its surroundings. It was most essential that we
should know the habits of the policemen on the beats around and near
the bank, and the comings and goings of the janitor and other occupants
of the neighborhood, as well as of the general public, day and night.
Therefore it was decided to obtain quarters from which all this could
be watched, and a front room on the second floor of the building on
Fulton Street, opposite the bank, was hired. From this room two men
kept constant watch from January until the time for the trick to be
pulled off. Through these men we learned the habits and manners of all
who frequented that locality.
Here is one of the results of our watch-tower: About three months
after we had been at work we became alarmed at the suspicious actions
of a man who constantly hovered around the bank corner. Thinking
that he might be a “plain clothes man,”--that is, a detective not
in uniform,--I reported the circumstance to Detective Jack McCord,
who had the matter investigated, and ascertained that the man was a
“look-out” for a near-by gambling game.
Shinburn and I agreed, on the first inspection of the bank building,
that, because of the exposed entrance to the bank, and the constant
stream of passers-by, which, owing to the near-by ferries and markets,
never ceased day or night, it would not do to try to get into the bank
by way of the door, and that ingress must be made from above or below.
We discussed the advisability of having a room directly over the vault,
but decided that, by reason of the massive masonry which we would have
to cut through, it would be much more practicable to go through the
floor, provided that, in the basement under the president’s room, a
room could be secured.
This was finally accomplished, though it took three months of planning,
to bring it about.
At the time of our first visit to the bank the whole basement was
occupied by one concern. Through Taylor we learned that the lease
would shortly expire, and that the tenants, who hired from the bank,
had given notice that they would not renew it. In this, Fortune seemed
to favor us; but, as the space was very large, we deemed it advisable
not to apply for a lease of the whole place, for we could make no
show of a legitimate business that would warrant the occupancy of so
extensive quarters, and that an attempt to do so would probably lead
the bank people to suspect our real purpose. Therefore, even at the
risk of losing the chance altogether, we determined not to apply for
the place just then, trusting to the hope that some one might apply
for the part fronting Greenwich Street, leaving the coveted room under
the president’s office, with the entrance on Fulton Street, to us; and
relying on Taylor’s ability to keep us posted regarding offers to lease
that the bank might receive.
Thus matters remained at a standstill, so far as entering the vault
was concerned, for some three months, or until about the middle of
March. Then an applicant appeared in the person of one William O’Kell.
Taylor at once informed us of the application. On investigation we
learned that O’Kell was a money broker on upper Broadway, where he had
an office less than one-half as large as the basement under the bank.
We, therefore, deemed it safe to let him acquire the lease, trusting to
be able to hire from him the part we desired. Scarcely had Mr. O’Kell
moved into his new quarters than he was approached by a man calling
himself Kohler, who represented himself as being an insurance broker,
and stated that he wished to hire the rear part of the basement. Mr.
O’Kell was only too willing to sub-let. As Kohler was Shinburn’s
brother-in-law, we were soon in possession of the long-desired field
of action. At this time we notified the Bank Ring--the police--of our
enterprise, and arranged for the necessary protection.
And so we drew nearer and nearer to the coveted goal. But let it not
be thought that all was plain sailing from then on. Far from it! for,
though we were now directly under the president’s office, yet we were
also right beside the steps that led to the offices and the janitor’s
living apartments. Two police beats met at the bank corner, and here
the policemen on those beats would meet and idly swing their clubs
while they gossiped by the half-hour. Then the Fulton Street officer
would wander to the janitor’s entrance, where nearly every evening the
janitor and his wife would sit until after ten o’clock. Here another
conversation would take place.
Of course at such times it would be impossible to do any pounding; and
at no time would it do to allow the least amount of light to shine
through the windows. To obviate this latter difficulty, we hung thick
blankets over the windows, which so covered them that not the least
particle of light could get through. At the same time these blankets
served to deaden the noise.
Owing to the other burglaries which had been undertaken while
waiting to hire the basement office,--and chiefly to the Westminster
affair,--we did not get down to the Ocean Bank business until well
along in May. From observations we had made we decided that it would
be best to complete the job on a Saturday night, as this would, if
necessary, give us two nights and one day, and May 23 was fixed upon.
We had had a special set of tools made by an expert, and on May 22
these, together with my explosives and a hydraulic jack, were stored in
Kohler’s office. All the locks to this office had been changed by its
new tenant, and everything was in readiness to begin the attack on the
ceiling the next night.
Saturday I gave orders to have a coach ready, with the team in harness,
at my stable, and to be kept so all night in case of any emergency
call. And we warned our lieutenants in the room opposite the bank to
be continually on the alert. At five o’clock in the afternoon Shinburn
and I were in the office with the doors locked, shutters closed, and
blankets up, waiting for the janitor to finish his work in the bank and
retire to his quarters.
But the janitor did not retire until after ten o’clock; and, in the
meantime, we sat in the office, not daring to make any noise lest we
be detected by those sitting on the steps without. It was very tedious
watching, and it tried our patience to the utmost; but at last we heard
the welcome sound of the closing and locking of the door which led to
the upper floors, and we immediately prepared for action.
It had been decided to cut up through the bank floor at a place between
the dead wall at the Fulton Street end of the building and the front of
the president’s desk. This plan was adopted because, in case we should
get through the floor and yet not be able to complete the job the same
night, the carpet could be replaced over the hole at that point with
the least likelihood of its detection.
This spot was very near the Fulton Street side, and, therefore, great
care had to be exercised lest the noise of our operations should be
heard outside. Consequently, while one did the cutting the other kept
his ear glued to a joint in the window shutter, with a string in hand,
one end of which was tied to the other’s wrist.
When the plastering of the ceiling was removed, we expected to find
an open space between the girders of the floor above. But, instead,
we found the space filled with rubble set in cement--a solid mass
fourteen inches thick. Here was a dilemma. We had come prepared with
tools to cut wood and steel only, and had no implements with which to
dig through this obstruction. There was nothing else to do but put off
further operations for a week, and, in the meantime, get the necessary
tools.
Then a new difficulty presented itself. There was the hole in the
plastering, which, with a bank overhead, would appear a very suspicious
circumstance to even the most casual observer. It must be hidden. We
used up all the mucilage in the office in plastering paper over it, but
still it was only too apparent. We could do no more that night, so we
watched our opportunity and got away unobserved.
Early Monday morning we scoured the furniture stores to find some
article that would be tall enough to cover the break. At last we found,
in a second-hand shop in Canal Street, a solid mahogany wardrobe which
would serve our purpose. With very little dickering with the Jew owner
we bought it and had it hauled to Kohler’s office, where we placed it
under the break.
With the aid of books and boxes the wardrobe served its purpose
admirably,--and also formed a first-class receptacle for our tools.
On the Friday following our enforced stoppage, as previously related,
we had obtained the necessary tools for digging through the cement, and
they were safely deposited in Kohler’s office. We had also arranged
for heavily padding the floor beneath the hole so as to catch any
debris that might fall, and we were ready to continue the work on the
following night. But at this point Taylor informed us that arrangements
had been made to have the bank’s quarters painted and decorated, the
work to be done on Sundays and after banking hours on week days, and
that the start was to be made the next day. This, of course, knocked
our plans on the head for the time being, and naturally was a sore
disappointment to us, as well as a source of great danger.
Our work had now reached that stage where the utmost caution was
necessary--the least slip might bring suspicion upon us. If some one
were to spy the break in the ceiling or doubt the legitimacy of
Kohler’s insurance business, all would be up with us. Then, too, we had
before us the continual fear that the combination of the bank’s vault
lock would be changed, necessitating more long, weary weeks of waiting
until Taylor should be able to secure the new numbers.
However, these were the risks of the business, and we were perforce
obliged to lie low until the coast was clear. At last, on Friday, June
5, Taylor informed us that the painters would not work the following
night or Sunday. This was welcome news, and we decided to use the time
of their idleness in putting in our work. Our preparations were already
made, and, except to order the coach to be in readiness, and notifying
the lookouts across the street to keep a sharp watch, there was nothing
to do but await the appointed hour.
At five o’clock Saturday evening Shinburn and myself were again locked
in Kohler’s office with everything in readiness to get to work just as
soon as the coast was clear. But, as on other occasions, the janitor
and his wife sat on the steps and the patrolman loitered around till
nearly eleven o’clock.
At last, the coast being clear, we began work. We had removed quite a
portion of the obstructing masonry, when clang! bang! whiz! a section
of the fire department was upon us. A fire had broken out in the near
neighborhood. One of the hydrants was near the bank corner. An engine
was attached to it, and pumped away until three o’clock in the morning,
while a crowd of people stood about, many leaning against the railing
right in front of us.
This, of course, precluded our doing any work until too late to be able
to complete the job that night. Therefore, when quiet again reigned
outside, we slipped out and sought our beds. We did not deem it wise to
try to get back into the office that Sunday evening, so we decided to
wait until the next favorable Saturday.
Three weeks passed, and the painters held the premises; but on June
27 they again took a vacation. Taylor having duly apprised us of this
beforehand, we once more prepared for work. So much of the tunnelling
had already been done that, given half a chance, we had every hope of
finishing the trick this time.
Experience had taught me that, notwithstanding our strong police
protection, it was always best to have an anchor to windward in case
of capture, in the shape of a good round sum to use as a basis for
negotiations for liberty. This anchor, of course, had to be in the form
of part of the loot, otherwise no dicker could be made. One cannot
dicker with a bank for immunity from prosecution when that bank has
lost nothing. Therefore, we devised a scheme to make sure of the anchor
in case we were caught.
Kohler had a key to the old lock on the door between his office and
that of O’Kell. Thus, while after the change of locks O’Kell could not
come into our quarters, we could still go into his. From the south side
of O’Kell’s office was a toilet room that had a small window fronting
on Greenwich Street. Our keys gave us access to this. We arranged that
one of our lookouts should make periodical trips past this window, and,
should he see a certain sign, he should continue a block or two, and
then, returning, come close to the window and stoop as if picking up
something. By this time we would have entered the vault and secured
a box containing a sealed package, of which Taylor had informed
us, supposed to contain one hundred thousand dollars in government
bonds. This package I was to hand to the lookout as he stooped, and
he was then to take it at once to my rooms and then follow the other
instructions which I had given him.
It had been further arranged that, on his way to my rooms with the
precious package, the lookout man was to stop at my stable and notify
my coachman, who had orders to drive at once to Cortlandt Street ferry
and there await further instructions.
The night was excessively warm, and the janitor, with a crowd of
neighbors, sat on the steps until after eleven o’clock, while Shinburn
and I, stripped to our underclothes, sweltered in the close air of the
office. At last, the chatter above having ceased, the chatterers having
sought their apartments, and the patrolman being away, we pulled out
the wardrobe and went to work with a will.
Nothing happened to deter us except the momentary passage of some
pedestrian, and by two o’clock we had cleared away all the masonry,
leaving the wood floor bare. Through this we cut, taking care not to
injure the carpet above. A hole being cut in the floor, we pushed up
the carpet and in a twinkling we were in the president’s office. The
iron shutters on the bank windows hid us from view from the outside and
we had a clear road to the vault.
But what if the combination had been changed! I rushed to the door,
twirled the dial plate, and--the door was open. To get the keys of
the inner doors from their secret resting-place was but the work of a
moment, and then we were inside of the vault. There, exposed to our
view, were various boxes containing the securities of the bank and of
many of its customers who used this as a place of deposit for their
valuables.
Taylor had told me where in the vault to find the box containing the
sealed package. This box I at once broke open, took the package, and
went to the toilet room off O’Kell’s office. In order to save time, the
signal that I had arranged for the lookout man was made to work by a
cord. One end of this cord was attached to the signal, the other end I
carried with me as we went to the vault.
As soon as the vault was opened, I pulled the cord. As luck would have
it, the signal was displaced just before the lookout passed, so that
when I reached the window I had but a few moments to wait before he was
back, and that part of the scheme was completed. Meanwhile, Shinburn
had so fixed the lock of the front doors to the bank that it could not
be opened without a locksmith, and we were free from fear of intrusion
from that direction; at least until we should have time to relock the
vault and get below.
From the toilet room I returned to Kohler’s office and proceeded to
pass the tools up through the hole to Shinburn. This was no small
undertaking, for the shutters of the bank had holes near the top which
precluded our having a light in the president’s room. I had had to
work the combination by the light of a cigar, and some of the tools
were pretty heavy, the hydraulic jack alone weighing one hundred and
twenty-five pounds.
All of the tools were wrapped in cloth to prevent clashing; yet it was
ticklish business, lest they should strike against something and so
make noise enough to be heard outside. At last they were all up without
mishap, and I followed. Our next act after getting the tools into the
vault was to close the doors and strike a light.
We then went to the various boxes and sorted their contents, taking
such securities as were negotiable and putting them in a satchel. We
found much jewelry, but did not take any. That was not our graft, and,
besides, we felt that we would have a full load with the money and
bonds. As we inspected them, we placed the boxes at the far end of the
vault and when through with the last one we turned our attention to the
tellers’ safes.
We commenced with the receiving teller’s safe, cutting a small opening
directly over the lock bolts to enable their being pushed back. But
the cutting, or drilling, of steel by hand is very slow and hard work,
and it was not until eleven o’clock in the morning that the bolts were
sprung and the doors of the safe opened. The contents of this safe
were gone over and all that were negotiable were put in the satchel
containing the other valuables, and the satchel let down into Kohler’s
office, so that we might be sure of that much were we disturbed in our
further work.
We then began upon the paying teller’s safe, which was much stronger
and more difficult than the other. We tried our wedges, endeavoring
to force them in with the jack, for we had worked so long and so hard
without any nourishment that we were too fagged out for hard drilling.
But the quarters were too close to work the jack, and we were forced to
resume drilling.
When about halfway through the door, we were obliged to desist through
sheer exhaustion. We therefore closed and locked the vault’s outer
doors, repaired the front door lock, and crawled down into our office.
In going down I pulled the president’s chair over the hole, put down
the carpet as best I could, and replaced the section of the floor we
had cut out; this we braced from below so that it could not give way if
trodden upon.
We then took the satchel, the contents of which, now, were worth about
a million and a half, and, watching our opportunity, slipped out into
the street and made our way with our precious burden to Cortlandt
Street ferry, where we found my carriage. Getting in, we started
up-town, trusting to our outlook in the room opposite the bank to
notify us if anything happened.
On arriving at my rooms, Shinburn and I washed off the grime, donned
clean clothing throughout, and, leaving the satchel in a safe place,
went out to recruit our wasted strength with a square meal. After
satisfying the inner man, we paid a visit to Detective Jack McCord at
his house in Amity Street, and told him what we had accomplished.
About seven o’clock in the evening we were driven back to the Astor
House; from there we walked to the room where the lookout was. He
reported that no one had entered the bank since our departure, but we
could see the janitor and his wife sitting on the steps opposite.
Feeling that they would remain there several hours, Shinburn and I
returned to the Astor House, secured two rooms, and, giving orders to
be called promptly at one o’clock, proceeded to get a much-needed rest.
The clerk forgot to call us until nearly two o’clock, when we hastened
into our clothes and made for the bank. Here we were again delayed,
and it was not until nearly three o’clock that we were able to get an
opportunity to slip into our office unobserved. Lighting a cigar, I
crawled up through the tunnel, followed by Shinburn. By cigar light I
worked the combination, while Shinburn again put the front door lock
out of kilter, and we were soon in the vault.
An inspection of the work that had yet to be done on the paying
teller’s safe convinced us that we could not succeed by drilling in the
short time left at our disposal, and that we must employ other means.
Consequently we decided to call the fire department to our assistance.
So I slipped across the street to the lookout, and told him to go, in
about twenty minutes, to the window in the toilet room, watch for the
signal, and as soon as he saw it to turn in a fire alarm. Then I went
back to the bank, fortunately not having to wait my chance. Shinburn
and I at once set to work with wedges and copper hammers to make a seam
between the jamb and the door of the safe so that we could insert
explosive. Finally everything was ready, the charge was connected with
a battery which Shinburn held outside the vault, and the vault doors
closed. I pulled the signal string and then we waited. By and by we
heard the rumble and gongs of the fire carts; and just as an engine
swept by the bank, Shinburn turned the switch, the charge went off, and
as we returned to the vault, we found the safe door lying on the floor.
We made short work of gathering the contents of the safe, which we
crammed into the teller’s trunk kept there.
As we left the vault, I dropped a package containing two hundred
thousand dollars in gold notes among the debris, where it was found
later by the bank officials. This seeming carelessness on my part, and
of which the daily press made much, picturing the chagrin the looters
would feel when they learned of what they had left, was the fulfilment
of a promise I had made to Taylor. He did not wish the bank to be
forced into insolvency, and had insisted that this amount should be
left in order to enable the bank to meet its clearing house obligations
on the morning succeeding the robbery.
So, while it went against the grain to leave so much good money, as
well as to have the reputation for such carelessness, yet I kept my
word, and the bank met all its obligations that day.
We lowered the trunk through the tunnel and went down ourselves,
having relocked the vault and taken the other steps to obliterate all
signs of our mode of ingress. Shinburn remained in Kohler’s office, on
guard over the trunk, while I went to the ferry where my carriage was
to be.
When I reached the ferry-house, no carriage was to be seen. Minutes
passed and still I waited in the greatest apprehension. It was nearly
time for the bank janitor to come down, and my fears were wrought up to
the highest pitch. I had about concluded to go back and chance taking
the loot away by hand when the team came up. It had been delayed by the
jam caused by the alarm of fire we had sent in.
With a great load lifted from my mind I jumped into the carriage and
away we started. We drove to opposite the office door. I then went in
and found Shinburn about as much wrought up as I had been. He told me
that the janitor had already come down, and was, even then, in O’Kells
office. This shows the nerve of the man. He could sit quietly in that
office, awaiting my return, while the janitor might at any moment
detect the robbery and give the alarm. Shinburn was certainly a very
nervy man.
The presence of the janitor in the next office necessitated careful
management on our part if we would get away undetected. We could
hear him moving round in cleaning up the room. We got everything in
readiness, and, when from the sound we judged that the janitor was
where he could not see us as we left, slipped out quickly. The driver
started the team and away we went, undetected, with the cashier’s trunk
full of plunder.
We went directly to my apartments, sending the team back to the stable.
Once in my rooms, we opened the trunk and counted its contents. The
total amount of the two hauls was two million seven hundred and fifty
thousand dollars, made up as follows:--
Cash $125,000
Cash left as per agreement 200,000
U. S. government bonds 1,475,000
Miscellaneous bonds, salable 100,000
Miscellaneous bonds, unsalable 850,000
----------
Total $2,750,000
Thus was accomplished the greatest bank robbery on record, so far as
the amount stolen was concerned. To preserve its existence, the bank,
contrary to the usual method in such cases, gave out its loss as much
_less_ than the actual amount. I believe it stated the amount stolen to
be about two million dollars. This would be about right--taking out the
miscellaneous bonds not salable.