SCOTLAND YARD WANTS TO KNOW

NZ Truth, Issue 997, 3 January 1925, Page 6

SCOTLAND YARD WANTS TO KNOW

Who Is "Alfred Gray?" On Receipt Of Cabled Figures, Sydney Finger-Print Experts Reply And They Show That The Man Held In London Is O'Grady, A Notorious Australian "Dip" The Sydney C.1.8. (Criminal Investigation Bureau) recently received from Scotland Yard a cablegram asking for the criminal history of Alfred Gray. On its face this is a futile request. There are many Alfred Grays. And perhaps the man held by Scotland Yard is not even one of the Alfred Grays, but a mere annexer of that name. Scotland Yard, however, does not waste time m cabling futile requests. The cablegram also conveyed "Alfred Grays finger-print — or rather the numbers that enable a finger-print expert to identify the print if he has it m his collection. And when the Sydney finger-print experts followed up the lead given by Scotland Yard's figures, they found that the owner of the print, referred to, as Alfred Gray, is Alwyn O'Grady, better known to the Australian police and crooks as "Tibby" O'Grady. , "Tibby" O'Grady has a long record for theft from the person (that is, "dipping," or pocket-picking). Ho is one of the many Australian crooks who operated m the O!d Country m Wembley last year, and among whom Scotland Yard has made a haul. The arrest m the Old Country of- O'Grady tho "dip" was preceded by that of "Gentleman Jim" Casey, the high-class "con" man.

For many years (writes "Truth's Sydney Rep.) "Tibby O'Grady" stood out as one of the smartest and cleverest "dip-artists" m Australasia. His record is a long one — it covers two foolscap sheets of official paper — but his police history by no means covers J the whole of his activities. Born m Newtown, Sydney, thirtyfour years ago, "Tibby," like many another famous crook, cam© of respectable parents. . ' "Tibby's" father was employed as a traveller, and his work naturally kept htm away from his home a good deal. There were two other members of the family— Frank, who m later years became known as a boxer of moderate attainments, and -Eileen, a remarkably' pretty girl. Bad Companionship. As a boy, "Tibby" was very much like other boys, and he certainly did not reveal any characteristics likely to presage a life of crime. Nevertheless, the latent seeds were, there, and they only needed the necessary bad influence for their development. After leaving school, "Tibby" started life as a bootmaker, but he had not inherited the hard-working qualities of his mother, and he soon , began to drift. With a dislike for solid work, he began to leave his work alone., and to associate with bad companions. From that moment his . slide was pretty rapid, and he went from bad to worse. Nevertheless he was twenty before he made his first- public appearance m a Court dock. It was at the Sydney Central Police Court on February 4, 1910, that "Tibby" made his debut, and it was as the central figure m a "riotous behavior" drama.' During the next few months he made several 'appearances m various Sydney courts, and the charges varied from being a suspected person to playing "two-up." ! At Paddington early m. that year be was given six months' hard labor on a charge of being a suspected person. Against this conviction he appealed, and although ho lost the appeal the Court reduced his sentence to two months. , That decision probably influenced "Tibby" throughout his subsequent career. It gave him a love for appealing against decisions, and the way m which he would lodge an appeal practically the moment he had been convicted became m later years one of his principal traits. And it proved a characteristic well worth while, too. ■ •■ . . Then "Tibby" decided to give Victoria a run. He, made his last public appearance m Sydney m August of 1911, but he did not forsake the sunny city until a few months later. Melbourne apparently received him with open arms, but it wasn't very many months before those open arms closed suddenly and with a distinct tightness. In March, 1913, he found himself with I' 2 months' hard labor ahead of him for "larceny from the person." Released after having served his sentence, "Tibby" found the wanderlust urge strong upon him. History doesn't record ( whether it was an urge forced upon him by his friends of the Melbourne C.1.D., but the fact remains that "Tibby" decided there must be other parts of sunny Australia well worth visiting — and parts, too, where Jie would not be as unwelcome as m Melbourne or Sydney. Why ho selected Brisbane he alone knows, put there it is. So after a while m Melbourne, a trip to other parts, and a gentle anible through the country he hit Brisbane. An Appeal Artist. But Brisbane wasn't the. Land of Opportunity' and Golden Guineas that he had been led to expect. Towards the end of the year he was charged with attempting to steal from the person, which, m pure Australian, means "dipping 1 ," or picking, pockets. Then it was that ''Tibby," remembering his first experience of appealing, trumped the police's ace trick with a joker. . •..- --' He appealed against his conviction, and when the day came for him to face the judges he was not to be found. He had skipped to 'other parts. In the circumstances, his appeal ,was dismissed, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. But with it went %he order that Queensland didn't particularly desire his arrest, save m Queensland. Back m Sydney, he wasn't long m keeping out of the Law's clutches. "In one day, out the next,-' is an adequate description of "Tibby's" career at this time. He was not the sort of irian to idle away the time. He liked to work when the work was pocket-picking, and he soon piled up a reputation for himself as a slick "dip-artist." He had a love for horse-racing— a love which has become such a characteristic of the Australian temperament that guardians of public morals, like Federal Minister, Mr Pratten and New.- South Wales Treasurer, Sir Arthur Cocks, hold up their hands m dismay, , and loudly proclaim that gambling" will be the ruination of the Australian nation. But "Tibby's" love for the racecourse was not the result of a love for good horses. Rather was it fostered by a love of good, thick wallets arid thicker rolls. Hfe plied his trade with more or less success on the course, and doubtless made many 1 of those rich hauls which come, to every "dip-artist" sometimes during his life. : During 19i6 he ;v\>as awarded seve.ral sentences for being a suspected person and for assault, ia"nd early the following year he was ■ again m trouble m Sydney. Again he worked the trick of appealing against his six months' He bobbed up again m Melbourne. There he appeared at Flemihgtori, Caulfleld, and ,Danderiong, and. earned for himself sentences totalling close on two years. Arid it was at Danderiong: that, m the matter of Appeals, he registered the hat-trick. Appealing against his conviction, he for the third time forgot to answer the summons

when the fateful, day came round. Instead, he slipped quietly back to Sydney. ' A Trip to Wombley. Until the latter part of 1923 he made fairly regular appearances m Sydney courts. Finding that he Was becoming just a little too well-known on the racecourse, he began to work the trams. Two days after Christmas he was discharged when asked to answer a charge of being a suspected person. At this time the various papers were full of stories concerning the Wembley Exhibition, and "Tibby," his imagination fired by the wonderful descriptions of the super-exhibition, decided that, it was an opportune time for him to take a trip Home. The same thought had struck several of his closest friends, and on the "more the merrier" principle, they decided to go m a party. ■ . - Accordingly about half-a-dozen of theni: caught a vessel bound for Southampton. They travelled via Durban, and that was their undoing — at least for some of jthe party. When Durban was reached they didn't hanker to remain aboard ship while the vessel was being coaled. Some of them knew Durban, and others had heard stories of the sights to be seen. They decided on a gentle stroll ashore and a sight-seeing expedition m keeping with their bank- balances. But the more cautions members of the party, including 'Tibby," decided to stay aboard. In that decision they were lucky! for the Sydney C.1.8. had advised South African authorities of the party's departure from their home shores, and keen-eyed .detectives wore on the look-out for them. Tho Australian ."dips" didVt take much spotting, and when the party attempted to land they were promptly caught and arrested. A few days later they were placed aboard a Sydneybound vessel, and when "Tibby" and those who had not ventured ashore left Durban on the final stage of their journey Home, their mates were well on their way back to Australia. Some Were Successful. The ultimate fates of each individual member of the party which managed to land at Southampton are not known m Sydney, probably their luck varied considerably, and while one or two enjoyed a really successful time at the crowded exhibition, the majority crashed. The two who enjoyed the biggest measure of success are now back m Australia. According to the tales that are told, they enjoyed themselves immensely while m London, and had a right royal time — at other people's expense and on other people's money! Hut now, according to the Scotland Yard cablegram,' another member of that little select band of super-opti-mists, "TLbby," has gone the way of some of his fellows. The Sydney C.1.8.- does not know on what charge "Tibby" O'Grady is* being held by Scotland Yard, but if the charge is proved "Tibby's" lengthy Australian record (cabled Home m respons*e to Scotland Yard's inquiry) is likely to earn him a good spell m one of the aristocratic dwellings divided solely into bachelor flats.