CHAPTER XX
THE DETECTIVE BUREAU
The main spoke in the wheel at the Central Office is the Detective Bureau. Less than sixty years ago this branch of the service was organized as a separate and independent Bureau.
Sergeant Lefferts was one of the earliest commanders of the Detective Squad. This was in 1857, and he held it for one year. Headquarters was then on Broome Street. After Lefferts, Captain George W. Walling, afterwards Superintendent, commanded the City Hall Precinct. He took charge of the Detective Bureau and held it from 1858-60. Then Chief John Young took charge of the Bureau from 1860-67. He was assisted by Sergeant Lefferts. After him came Capt. Jas. J. Kelso, who held it for three years. He was followed by Capt. James Irving, who was in charge from 1870-75. After him came Captain Kealy who held it for four years.
In 1880 Inspector Byrnes took charge of the Detective Bureau and held it twelve years. This was longer than any other man. During this period he completely reorganized it, putting it on a more scientific basis. Byrnes was followed by Captain McClusky, Steven O’Brian and Titus, each of whom held it in turns. In 1901, when Commissioner Greene was made head of the Police Department by Mayor Low, Inspector Brooks and Captain Langan were jointly in charge of the Detective Bureau, but the former held it only a few months.
In an interview with a well known Inspector, who is one of the best of our city detective experts, I asked him what were his methods in detecting crime. He replied, “I have no methods but hard work. Each case must be a law to itself. We have no cast iron rules for discovering crime.” Then the Inspector went on to say, “When a crime has been committed we consider first of all the underlying motives. If it is a burglary or a ‘hold up,’ it is more than likely it was done for plunder. If a murder, it was doubtless done for revenge. If it is a case of much importance we put a couple of good men upon it. Follow up the clues, search the pawnshops, watch the haunts of criminals and work on till the property and crooks are discovered. Careful work always brings good results.”
“The detective methods in vogue fifteen years ago,” said the Inspector, “would be useless to-day.” “With the evolution of the criminal there must needs be a change in the detection of crime. Here is a letter from a fellow in State Prison,” said the Inspector; “this fellow is willing to ‘squeal’ on his ‘pals’ who are on the outside, provided he gets his liberty. Of course we cannot promise him any such luxury, it is the Governor’s prerogative to pardon, not ours.”
The twentieth century criminal makes a business of crime. A man of this character made bold to tell me that he had been a thief for nearly forty years and he meant to be a thief to the day of his death. He refused to work for a living. Pickpockets and thieves of the lower order make a business of following circuses, county fairs, picnics, races and conventions, and they always make a good haul at such places. A few days before the Dewey Parade in this city, September, 1900, which drew together from one to two hundred thousand strangers, Captain George W. McClusky, then Chief of the Detectives, captured nearly four hundred well known crooks in his dragnet and locked them up till the “show” was over. In this crowd there were tramps, pickpockets, sneak thieves, second story men, country thieves, professional criminals of every ilk, including the irresponsible thief. They were held in prison for a few days as suspicious characters. After the crowds left the city they were discharged. While locked up in the Tombs they were in an ugly mood and abused every one in sight.
If the direct perpetrators of a crime cannot be found in the ordinary way, then our modern Sherlock Holmes must fall back upon “clues” and follow them up to their legitimate end. But if there are no clues, then the brainy detective must work out a satisfactory solution of the mystery for himself and solve it. The method of Thomas F. Byrnes, who had been long and successfully connected with the New York City Police Department, was to bring the suspected criminal back to the scene of the crime for sake of the startling effect. If an atrocious homicide had been committed Chief Byrnes usually took the murderer back to the place where the deed was done, and then watched him. If a burglary, and the property found, it would be placed before the suspect and be watched.
Criminals are made of different classes or types. The beginner in crime is often a petty offender. He steals small sums although never arrested. The scale is a descending one, rather than ascending. Few men leap over a moral Niagara all at once; they are going down hill gradually for a long time before the law gets hold of them. After a few years the man who was once a greenhorn plans crime like a general who plans a campaign. It is then that the Department needs an expert Sherlock Holmes to capture them.
The history of a crime is often full of thrilling experiences and when unraveled by a keen-minded detective and all the details of the plot laid bare, the final revelations show it to be the work of a master mind. The great crimes of the past hundred years were not the work of ignoramuses but of men capable of commanding an army. They were brainy criminals.
In the Old World many of the best detectives when searching for criminals disguise themselves as cabmen, truckmen, and collectors of old clothing. They also work in factories, foundries, potteries, coal mines, or indeed, any place where they can secure a clue.
Detective McCleevy, of the Edinburgh Police, became a rag collector in order to catch a murderer. He went along one thoroughfare for several days crying, “Rags, rags, rags.” Then he entered a dark alley where the murderer was hiding, and who offered him a bundle of bloody clothing to carry away. After this he secured his man.
Some years ago the Pinkertons took a tip from the Old World detectives and put men in the coal mines of Pennsylvania where they lived with the miners and finally captured the whole band of Molly Maguires and put them out of business.
The Scotland Yard detectives of London not only work among various toilers in their efforts to discover crime, but keep in touch with 30,000 crooks, many of them being ticket-of-leave men. In this way they know where they can be found when wanted. The movements of those who continue in crime are watched night and day. When a crime is committed an old crook is arrested and unless he can prove a clear alibi he must stand for the job.
But the best and cleverest detectives are said to be the French, if we may judge from results; and the reason for this is, they keep a register, not only of all criminals in France, but also of their plans, aims and movements. A few years ago the National Chief of Police in France had the names of 20,000 depraved characters who spent their lives in crime. At that time there was less crime in France than in any other part of Europe. If the police will keep themselves informed of the movements of criminals they will know where to find them when wanted. This is the secret of the best police service.
The present head of the detective Department is Inspector James McCafferty. He has risen from the ranks and owes his present position to Commissioner Bingham, who had confidence in him by making him chief detective. Mr. McCafferty calls his Bureau the greatest detective system in the world. This is certainly not because of the number of insolvable crimes it has cleared up in the past few years. The fact is hundreds of murders, hold-ups, atrocious assaults, robberies, burglaries, larcenies and almost every crime on the calendar remain unsolved. In all seriousness, the people have a right to ask, what is the matter with the best paid police force in the world? Why don’t the police arrest the criminals and put them in jail? That is certainly a fair question.
Some time ago Coroner Julius Harburger passed some scathing remarks on the Police department. He said he was tired of sitting in his office and waiting for the police to arrest murderers now at large. Then he cited the case of Elsie Sigel, Samuel Bersin, Joseph Pogano, the unidentified woman of Thirteenth Street, and Joseph Juliano and Michael Millelo, who were killed by “Jack” Vigarato, a saloonkeeper of Harlem. He told also of a woman in whose home on West 110th Street a girl died after an operation. Reminded that he had recounted only six murders, the Coroner remarked:
“I can’t think of the other two. They come so fast it’s hard to keep track of them.”
“But have the police no clues in all those murders?” the Coroner was asked.
“Clues?” repeated Mr. Harburger, “No, not even a suspicion. They ‘haven’t got anywhere,’ as Inspector McCafferty says.
“While I am about it, I might just as well tell you that there have been 130 murders in the last two years in which the perpetrators have escaped. Put that down. I say there have been 130 of them. Doesn’t it seem fine for a city of this size to have a police department that can’t catch a murderer unless he handcuffs himself and gives himself up?”
Then the Coroner remarked: “In the last twelve months more murders have been committed in this city and more murderers have escaped than in any other place on the face of the globe. Let the police explain that, if they can.”
The Stool Pigeon
An important link between the police and the criminal is found in the stool pigeon. The old saying that “It takes a thief to catch a thief” was never truer than in its application to what the ward detective calls “the stool.” When a uniformed or plain clothes policeman is assigned to a precinct the first and foremost thing he does is to find out “What he is up against.” In other words, he sets himself to study carefully the situation; he finds out who are the thieves, pickpockets and all round crooks in his bailiwick. Then he seeks out some one of this class he can trust, and forthwith makes a confidant of him. Indeed, he enters into a regular agreement with the “stool” of the district or ward that in return for “inside information” on crookedness he will give him full protection and even immunity from arrest. The work of the stool pigeon is to associate with criminals as a sort of spy, so as to find out all that is worth knowing and even assist them in crime, then report to the ward detective.
When a burglary has been committed that baffles the police, one or more stool pigeons are put on the case and are paid for their services. If they cannot locate the crooks or the gang, perhaps they can tell where “the goods” may be found and by their help the police are able to recover wagon loads of “loot,” the accumulation of many robberies. Some time back in the seventies of last century Thurlow Weed, who exerted a commanding influence in the counsels of the Republican party second to none in his day, was riding in a Broadway ‘bus and had his gold watch stolen. Mr. Weed deeply deplored the loss of his time piece which had been given to him as a present by some friends. He communicated his loss to the police. The pawn shops were searched, but it could not be found. A score of stool pigeons were implored to find it without delay. Then one of them found the man that stole it and requested him to return it at once to the police, which he did, after which the police were highly commended for their smartness.
Some time ago a noted forger and counterfeiter was sent up the River for five years. He had been doing “crooked” work for some years in this city and would doubtless never have been detected had it not been for a “stool pigeon” with whom he had been in prison in former years, whom he had befriended not long before by giving him meals and lodging when out of employment. The stool pigeon reported everything to the police and the old man was caught “red-handed.”
As a rule there is no honor among thieves. One old criminal who is also a well known “stool pigeon” is in great demand by the police when out of prison, but he is hardly out before he is back again. He knows the criminal classes well and is able to furnish the police with first class information on crookdom. And they in turn see that he is not sent to State Prison but to the penitentiary for short terms. He has sent so many men to “do time” by the information with which he has furnished the police that if they found him in State Prison they would kill him. A traitor, a spy and a spotter are always detested by criminals. It is true, stool-pigeon ethics is not of a high order, but what else can the police do? In resorting to such expedients they simply fight the Devil with the Devil’s own weapons. Without this a large number of the crimes that are committed would never be detected.
Ex-Policeman Bissert who had been sent to Sing Sing by Recorder Goff in November, 1901, was detested by scores of crooks whom he had been instrumental in sending there. After reaching Sing Sing Bissert became a marked man. Many of the old time crooks knew him well. When the Appellate Division decided that he should have a new trial and had returned him to the Tombs, he made the remark to one of the desk keepers, that he would rather go to hell than go back to Sing Sing again, as his life was made miserable all the time he was there. One who was then serving a sentence afterwards informed me that whenever Bissert showed himself in the shops, the dining room, or in the yard his associates took a delight in “jeering” at him and calling him all kinds of profane names!
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