The Coups Of A "Con" Man

NZ Truth, Issue 996, 27 December 1924, Page 6

The Coups Of A "Con" Man

Good Looks, Keen Wits h New Zealander Who Perverted Natural Gifts But Leaves Behind a Hint of What Might Have Been His name was not Fred. O'Neil, but that doesn't matter m this story. He died m Melbourne Hospital two years ago, a victim to T ( B., and even to the last gasp showed the buoyant spirit ;that dominated him through life — a* life wasted and misspent, but filled with more vicissitudes and amazing experiences than is believable m these dont-put-that-tale-over-me times. Fred. O'Neil came to Australia from New Zealand about twenty years ago. Of medium height and weight, always dapper m dress, with a bright, smiling, good-looking face, and extremely confident manner, he had a remarkable faculty for making you take him at whatever valuation ho cared to put upon himself. ;

He was one whose early upbringing had left him a young man of violent temper and no scruples, when the financial aspect looked hazy. Yet, to those who knew him when the tide turned— and he counted his money only m thousands of pounds — O'Neil •was, m his sober moments, as gentle and generous to all and sundry as a thoroughbred girl-child Is to her , baby brother. My first experience of O'Neil was at Winton, North. Queensland. I was standing on the corner where met the two principal streets of that dusty and prosperous centre of the grazing industry. . O'NEIL'S AUCTION. Around a big caravan from which the tilted cover had been removed, three young men of line appearance and a couple of local laborers were busy erecting a series ,of broad running boards extending on trestles for thirty feet or so from the sides and back of the waggon, which was brilliantly lighted with acetylene lamps, and gaily decked with flags covering piles of merchandise. • ■ It was the boom -year of r O6. On the morrow the big grass-fed races were to begin, and naturally a crowd, had gathered to watch the proceedings described above. Preparations being complete, the tall silk-hatted spokesman of the trio mounted' the caravan and was smilingly giving.a helping han.d to the second young dandy, when a short, lean, whiskered man. m tight riding cords, but otherwise ordinary clothes, touched the latter on the shoulder and said m a- sharp, gruff voice: •■..•■ "Is your name O'Neil — Frederick O'Neil?" "It is!" replied the young dandy. "Well, Tm the sergeant of police, and I'll give you ten minutes to get this contraption removed from here, and another hour to clear out of town, otherwise I'll put the lot of you m the lock-up." .. "Just one moment; Sergeant," smiled O'Neil with a touch of injured dignity m his voice, ,"I have here an authority from the Mayor of Winton to, conduct one of our famous and entertaining auction sales for one week from to-night," he continued with calm assurance.; The police officer took the note from O'Neil, and putting it m his pocket, snapped out: ; "The Mayor has not seen the telegram- I have here- from the ; police at Charters Towers, advising me of the complaints lodged there about your famous auction sales. So pack up and get out, D'yo hear?" It was then that I saw a part m the complex make-up of the man who, years after, had judges, barristers, and ■■at! the sleuths of Scotland Yard, "Paris, New Zealand and Australia wondering and astounded at the audacity and variety of his contempt for written laws and the; manner of his breaking them. In Paris he had been dubbed Antaeus by' the Gendarmes, after having been beaten up by them m a cafe brawl. PERSONAL MAGNETISM. Drawing the sergeant aside as if by some magnetic power of personality, O'Neil began to talk m low and earnest tones.- - For some moments it seemed hopeless, but gradually I saw the stevn look fade from the whiskered face of the lean officer, who then spoke calmly and m the hearing of those around: "Well, you can go on to-night, but i£ there's any shady business I'll stop you, understand, and to-morrow I will have full particulars from other towns and act according to them." To-morrow never came to Fred. O'Neil and his party during that week at Winton, for every night a crowd gathered round the running boards of his caravan, to buy his wares, and enjoy the witty' sallies of his silkhatted spruiker and the other swelldressed assistant. What happened to O'Neil during the next six years .is not definitely known, except that he travelled all the States of Australia, following various callings, on and off the racecourses and show-grounds, always keeping within the law, and rising and falling with the fortunes of the gods.. PROFITS 'FROM PUNTING. Then m the autumn of 1912 he landed .m Melbourne with -a few pounds, and before many weeks his punting successes were the talk of the town. Then came the weights for the V.R.C. Grand Nationals, and Wingarra, a horse of little known quality, came into the market. O'Neil backed it at Williamstown and it won. Before leaving the course he played up a lot of his winnings on the horse for the National Hurdles, run on the following Saturday, and it won. O'Neil banked £6000 on the Monday; applied for a paddock license at Caulfield and Flemington, and both were granted. Going on fielding and punting, he was again hopelessly "broke" a fortnight before the Caulfield Cup. Then he won a few hundreds at Flemington m October, and put it. all on Uncle Sam for the big Heath event. The late Mr. Reid's grand horse won, ar'd O'Neil was again m funds; Betting like Bob Sievier m his hey,day, and spending money almost as prodigally, the man I saw at Winton reached the padaoclc at Flemington on Cup Day with a big liability ; against Duke Foote-MJie record; short- priced; favoriter-and had also an equally large risk should Piastre be beaten, but Mr. Brown's fine stayer won from bis brother's brilliant favorite, . and Fred O'Neil needed orily another "thou" on the settling day to be able to draw a cheque for £30,000. . What followed, these eventful incidents has been told m the stewards' rooms and Law Courts of Victoria and discussed all : over Australia. - Fred O'Neil heeded not the tons of good advice that came , m from all quarters. He bought a moderatelypriced home at St. "OKilda,. got married to fa .pretty . Bendigo girl; but : invested not' another -pound. *i > v ;'V- ;.■■■.- V-.Th'en/rh'e.';flp;oded-.the'i : newßp'aperß of the; Commonwealth .with half and fullpage ads; -took a suite of expensive offices m Collins; Street, and v fr6m these broadcasted thousands of lists with .unheard of concessions and prices that made ptmters In , the back-country gasn with amazement. Then came the matter ; of a steeple-; chafe which had been widely discussed m the , clubs on account of the extraordinary manner bin which '•', ' certain people backed the worst horse m the race, and further, the dignity of the :

pace shown by all the other startersr— "v glaring case of a 'stewed' fleld" was openly declared. Fred O'Neil they said. ■- NEDDY WITH A HEADACHE. Later at Caulfleld there was a misunderstanding between these , people about a division of some money said to have been got out of a Horse that had developed a headache after the betting started on the race, .and O'Neil (being the person who diagnosed the case) got m holds with the people who were to pay his fee. Shortly after this various persons, m the shape of jockeys, trainers, and bookmakers, taxied to the V.R.C. office to get m first with their versions of what had been taking place. O'Neil and others "went out" for life, and, later, from the flat, or the extreme outside, he directed his staff of commissioners until one morning his banker called him into his • room to tell him that his balance at current account was . a has-been. • O'Neil struggled on with his office business, but after the Newinaiket and Cup of that year he grave up. and with a bare hundred pounds m the world, left Australia for Lonflon. Landing m the big city with a wife and six pounds m cash, he put up at the Strand Palace, and m a "week's time had' lost both his wife and his money, for, imagining that he saw a well-dressed "knut" ogling' her m the great lounge one afternoon, O Nei! promptly "stoushed" the dandy, and then, through the benevolence of a former friend m Australia, he regained his liberty. \ Finding that his wife had gone "back to Bendigo" and the "knut" waiting with a bill for £20 damages awarded him by the Court, O'Neil took a boattrain and reached Paris with less than a pound sterling m his pockets. Back m London three months later, with £2000 m his wallet, he looked as nice a man as could be seen m the haunts of the grand around the West. ■ UNDER SUSPICION". He played the races, with varying luck; faro and baccarat clubs welcomed him as a genial free-handed player and splendid loser. Approaching the war-break,, O'Neil found things very bad, for men, from the "Yard" had become inquisitive, and at two hotels he was asked to pass over his roomtag and take a walk without his luggage. Then came the most sensational episode of his life up to that time. Dead -broke, and without even , his overcoat, he walked into the Strand from his last hotel m Norfolk Street. Reaching the Savoy, he coolly entered the vast hallway and passed into the almost empty smoking lounge. Seeing a dark-complexioned gentleman sitting at a table, O'Neil approached it and sat down behind a writing pad. • Presently he looked up and smilingly apologised for intruding, but could the gentleman give him any idea of the time that a Prince Line bout was to sail next day for South Amorica? . Strange to say, the gentleman could, because he was leaving by that very boat. That evening the 1 largest headlines ever seen m London's papers told the story of what followed Fred O'Neil's chance inquiry from the dark-complexioned man who sat m the lounge of the great Savoy Hotel. I remember quite' distinctly some of those head-liners. ', One opened with: "A Modern. Jack Sheppard." Another: "Astounding Robbery at the Savoy Hotel." The "Westminster Gazette';*" special extra told the story under these head-lines; ! "AMAZING TRANSFER OF A MONEY BELT" To the "CON. MAN OF THE CENTURY." "At 4.30 this afternoon a most audacious robbery of a belt containing a large amount of money and valuable securities took place at the Savoy Hotel. ■ . , . { "Senor Juan Salvador, a South American business gentleman, was sitting m the smoking room of the Savoy Hotel, when a wellrdressed and good-looking man took a seat at the table opposite him and began to write a letter. "Presently he addressed the senor, asking him politely for some information regarding the starting time. of a steamer leaving for Buenos Aires to-morrow. s "Thoroughly disarmed and /quite impressed by the ease and apparent sincerity of the stranger's manner, and believing him to be a guest at the hotel, Senor .Salvador told him the time' and other particulars of the boat's sailing, and, further, that he was sailing by the ship. "Then the conversation took another turn. The stranger casually- mentioned his anxiety regarding a 'parcels of diamonds that he was taking down to Rio, and asked his shipmate-to-be if ho thought it advisable to hand the parcel, valued at £40,000, to the purser for safe custody, or keep it m his pocket m case of a collision or other mishap to the ship. ' "Senor Salvador kindly refrained from giving advice on such a momentous matter, but mentioned that he always carried his money and valuables enclosed m a belt which hfe, was wearing at that moment. ; "The stranger expressed surprise at such a thing, and putting a 'finger to his handsome lips enjoined care m speaking of his precious hoard. "'He couldn't understand the mak* of a belt that would not be noticed through It causing a bulge round the waist. And then, amazing to relate •he. suavely asked if the senor would let him see the belt, so that he could have a similar one made to fit him* and, more amazing still, the guileless South American removed his belt and handed it to the stranger. "What followed is now iike a dream to Senor Juan Salvador. 'The diamond owner 1 promptly girdled his own waist with 'the soft' but firmly made belt Standing up to survey himself m an adjacent mirror, he expressed his gratitude ;to his newly-found friend for getting him;, out of a dilemma. ■ 'When, to the best of the senor's recollection, the stranger spoke to a~ person who had; apparently beckoned to him from a doorway three yards distant, and with, an apologetic^ 'One TOoment; sir,' he went to the door, and that is all the victim distinctly remembers, ', V ; -7!.'< <:■/■■:■■[ ' '\. - '■'; ■ "Ten minutes passed, and even then the senor felt , no. anxiety about the stranger's absence; but a few moments - later when : a steward came through the- door he asked him if the gentleman with whom he had been conversing, was still m the passage. "The steward said, there was nobody there> and further paid he

wouldn't know the gentleman; also, 'Why?' "Scotland Yard knew why m 60 seconds. All London knew it shortly after our first extra five minutes later. "All the world will know it m a few hours; but up to going to print with ■ his part of the story, nobody knows 'where' the man with the £40,000 • worth of diamonds has gone with the I South American's belt, which contained £500 m notes, bonds, and other. ! securities, a steamer' ticket and some private papers.' "Scotland Yard says that no similar crime of the last 50 years has created such excitement as this astounding robbery. Every available man is scouring London for the amazing bandit." WHAT O'NEIL REALLY DID. Thus the story was told by the "Westminster Gazette," but the morning papers had fuller and more complete accounts, with surprising variance m their descriptions of the appearance of the robber, and the manner of his exit from the scene. What O'Neil really did when he faded through the door of the smoker was to coolly turn into another hallway leading toward the main passage,, which goes straight through to the Embankment. Then, turning east, he strolled along the Embankment till he t reached Surrey Street. Turning north; he reached the Strand, and entering an hotel he soon found a place wherein he could examine the contents of the belt. Then he took a stiff glass of brandy, and making a bee-line, for the Norfolk, paid his account, and securing his luggage taxied to the Imperial, Russell Square, where, he secured a room. . That night, m full evening dress suit and crush hat, clean-shaven and debonair; he was "up West" with a couple of friends; and next midday "special editions" told of the return by parcel post of the "Savoy Hotel victim's" money belt, with everything

intact except the real money. It was an action typical of Fred O'Neil. The true story was known to Scotland Yard one week after the senor had sailed for South America; but meanwhile war had been declared, and m the absence of a prosecutor, O'Neil was gathered, and with three or four others, deported quietly to Canada. From the Dominion up north he made his way back to Australia, and later, m 1915, he was arrested at Liverpool, New South Wales, for attempting to pass a spurious £5 note. He was intoxicated at the time, but as a warrant was out for him m Perth he was remanded to West Australia for trial. His subsequent escape from Fremantle Gaol caused a sensation, de-. spite the excitement of the war, and some garbled accounts of his career were printed m many papers m the Eastern ' States, with sarcastic references attending his escape. p'Neil reached New Zealand, and soon was doing a booming trade m certain lines, but his through over-indulgence . m strong, drink and a reckless disregard for his health brought about his downfall m the land of his birth. » Sent to trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years' hard labor; but the ravages of his later j'pars of worry and dissipation had marked him down for an early release from further strife against the cares of this world. . Two years and some months ago he was released from gaol and given a passage back, to the scepe of his tremendously successful entree into rac-. ing as a big punter and fielder. O'Neil died as stated m the Melbourne Hospital three months after his arrival from New Zealand; and although absolutely penniless and quite broken m health he had many callers from all grades of society right up till the day of his death; and it is record-, ed that all the expenses of his quipt but impressive funeral were defrayed by one of, the most successful followers of; the turf In Australia. Thus ended the fitful and extraordinary life of one who might have been a. great man had fate otherwise decreed. V ' , ■