ACROBATIC BURGLAR.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 289, 10 November 1925, Page 5

ACROBATIC BURGLAR.

“WIZARD OF WEST END.”

GAOL FOR AUSTRALIAN

, LONDON, Oct. 28. George William McCraig, alias William Craig, aged 30, an ex-jockey and son of a Tasmanian cattle dealer, and described as the most dangerous criminal—“the Wizard of the West End”—was sentenced to-day to three years’ imprisonment for being found on the premises of the Grosvenor Hotel with intent to commit a felony. He had a long list of convictions. The newspapers declare that McCraig made burglary a scientific profession and became a master craftsman, operating behind a powerful gang of Australian crooks, including Robert Delaney, the “cat burglar,” who is now in gaol. McCraig, who is an expert judge of precious stones, had handled £20,000 worth of jewellery and valuables. He was not only a criminal genius, but performed acrobatic marvels in climbing porticos and staokpipes. Once, in New York, he broke in on the sixth floor of a nine-storey building.

His reappearance in England coincided with “cat burglaries” in Park Lane and Mayfair. He twice broke his leg, first when assisting a confederate to escape, and again when a housemaid discovered him in a .house in which he had fallen asleep, and he jumped out of a window.