WOMEN BANDITS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 3 December 1926, Page 8

WOMEN BANDITS.

ROBBERY CAMPAIGN. EXPENSIVE FLATS. SYDNEY, Nov. 13. Extraordinary disclosures of a systemised campaign of robberies b\ <i clique of young women were made at Darlinghurst Court yesterday. One, Olga Solomon, 24 years of are, the owner of a £7OO motor car, wTrs sentenced to IB months’ imprisonment for theft of £7O from a planter on holiday’ from the Malay States. Ihe effort of the defence to establish a case of mistaken identity, revealed another woman, 24 years of age, fashionably attired, and also the owner of a motor car. Demurely she admitted 74 convictions under the Police Offences Act. Judge Edwards said the planter (Tim Ingram Brocklebank) had re lire red a public service in coming forward and revealing a contemptible crime, the circumstances of which in a great number of cases would never have been disclosed. Plain Clothes Constable Maher stated that he could say no word in favour of the woman Solomon, who was known to the police as a crafty, relentless thief. Hitherto it had been impossible t-o sheet charges of theft home against her, and she had twice ,been acquitted of thefts of large sums. The woman collaborated with other at-tractive-looking young women to lure men away to flats to-he robbed. Invariably they chose the very best residential quarters, and took fashionable Hats at high rents. They frequently shifted, but always managed to secure the right places through au ingenious system with confederates for gaining references of character. INGENIOUS SYSTEM.

Their methods of robbing their victims were equally ingenious, and frequently varied, he added ; but it was their one strong point that they restricted their prey to married men or ships’ officers who would he sailing almost immediately. With married men they had the assurance in the circumstances under which the thefts were committed that the victims would shrink from publicity, or, at least, that a court case was a remote contingency. Thus a conviction had been extremely difficult to obtain. There was a theatrical display of tears and moans by the convicted woman and the other who had come forward in the effort to establish the alibi.