Australian "Magsmen"

NZ Truth, Issue 997, 3 January 1925, Page 7

Australian "Magsmen"

♦ — — ■ Their Deeds Oversea y Rogues Who Have Rogued In England With Success But Within The Last Year Most Of Them Have Found Their Goal— ln Gaol What is a "mag&man"? The slang dictionary says that a magsman is a swindler "who watches for countrymen and 'gullible' persons, and persuades them out of their possessions. Magsmen are wonderful actors. . . . They are very often men of superior education . . . . faultlessly dressed and highly accomplished.", . In the Old World capitals, the haunts of world-criminals, the Australian strain is well known. For some time (as the cablegrams, have on various occasions given evidence). Australian magsmen and con. men reaped a harvest among the well- ' to-do gullibles of England and France, but latterly (writes "Truth's" Sydney rep.) they have fallen on evil days.. ... Practically all the top-notchers are enjoying the hospitality of Governments. "Bludger Bill" Warren Jis proving a distinct ornament' to a famoU3 French bastille. Barney Barnard- and "Slab" Brennan are holidaying at Lewes. "Nobby" Melaney has gone into retirement for three years. Walter McDonald — "Little Mac" to his pals — can write with authority concerning Wormwood Scrubs. And for five years Maudsley Dudley, Alfred D'eane, Charlie Mansfield, alias Charles McNeilly, and Gilbert Marsh will know only bachelor flats m various parts of Merrie England.

And now (adds "Truth's" Sydney rep.) it looks ag if "Gentleman Jim," baptised James Francis Casey, will go to join one or other of his old friends. He has fallen into the far-flung net of Scotland Yard, ;and when an Australian 'magsman does that — well,- the Yard makes few mistakes. Only two or three of the real topno'tchers remain to grace the tables of the Cafe Monica and the Cafe Royal. Turned to Bookmaking. "Molly" Moran, king of them all, has -i turned from the broad and easy path for an equally easy but narrower roacj, i and nowadays you can see him calling the odds at Ascot, Newmarket, Kempton, and the other famous . courses of | the historic Mother Country. Queenslander Eddie Naughton, tired of the States, has again crossed the Atlantic, • and is keeping up the best ti-aditions of the Commonwealth. But over on the Riviera things are brighter. Here- at the pleasure resorts, which yearly attract thousands of rich tourists, a gang of Australian magsmeh is making life worth while on other people's cash. They are unknown to the local police and to Scotland Yard, but their photographs all . fig- . ure m the Sydney C.l.B's art gallery.. To this gang, Monte Carlo, Nice, • and the other, popular resorts, are proving Broken Hills and Kalgoor- ! lies. All is sunshine and easy j money, and the historicness of Lon- j don, the color of Pari>s, the height of New Yorki make no appeal- to them. They stay on the. Riviera even when | it is the off-season, and it is this fact j which has spelt success for these con. men, who, m Sydney, were rated as mere third-class magsmen. j They have avoided making the mistake which most Australians have per- I petrated when they have left for fresh I fields. ".'', I ■ Arriving m dull London, they, have one and all made a bee-line for the gay and bright colony, which a short yean or two ago was gathered round the Cafe Royal. Even a high-class magsman can be homesick, and longing to talk of the wattle and the gum, his first impulse is to renew old acquaintanceships and friendships. But his old friends are known to the men of the Yard, and quickly, too, they get to know him. Then it is only a matter of his making a break, and — Nemesisl In the days of its heyday, the Cafe Monica, and 1 the Cafe Royal, were both worth visiting. There you-, could meet the brains of Australia's mags- -j men, those geniuses of the graceful manner and easy tongue, who lived on the fat of the land without ever lifting a finger to anything but easy work. Entertained An Old "Friend." Harry Mann, M.L.A. for Western Australia, and many other notable celebrities, have found their way to the Cafe Monica. Mann, who was at the time Chief Detective Inspector m West Australia, went, by special invitation, and when he strolled into the Monica, he found that he was the , guest, of the evening. Magsmen and'con. men had joined forces to give him a banquet — and what a banquet it proved! You can't beat the Australian magsman when it comes to entertaining. That dinner was a highclass and exclusive affair, and it Was a dinner that would have pleased even the most fastidious ! " gourmet. The dainty morsels were of the choicest type imaginable,, and the- 'champagne — well, it WAS champagne! Around the gaily-decorated table sat all the notable Australian magsmen m London, everyone attired m evening dress. There was "Slab". Brennan and Barney Barnard, turf experts; goodhearted "Little Mac," plucky "Nobby" Melariey, who, years ago, .cleaned up a notorious London push; gifted Eddie Naughton, and many others. Brennan and Barnard worked the racecourses, and found mugs plentiful. : ,: .•, .-■...;■■ , The latter was peculiarly isuited to understand con. work. He was the owner of a smooth and boyish ' countenance, and looked as innocent as a white lily. 'That face proved his fortune. x People entrusted him with money to back "certainties'" with a feeling of absolute security. They never dreamt for -a moment that the pink-cheeked youngster was a man- of many experiences, and a shrewd rogue to boot. But eventually the partners slipped. Barnard fled to the Continent, but. his: partner got five years' for obtaining money by card^sharping tricks. At the same time Maudsley Dudley, Alfred 1 ' Dean, Charlie Mansfield, and Gilbert Marsh, -all exponents of cardsharping tricks, were sentenced to five years' penal servitude at the Old Bailey.. Warren and Peg-leg Smith. "Bludger Bill" Warren was another Australian who made good— -or bad— m England. -In Sydney he was considered of little account, and was absolutely debarred from the high -class clubs frequented by such men- as "Gentleman Jim," "Nobby," . and the rest. ■..■"■ . - : With experience, however, Warren burst out intofull bloom. He became the leader of one of the best organised and most successful of the international gangs troubling Scotland Yard and the Paris Surete. , When captured eai'ly, last year, he was just about to make a get-away, and his arrest created something of a sensation. . ,■•','■ "Nobby" Melaney was another highclass expert m the art of getting money for nothing. He was one of the older hands m Australia, and left Australia over 22 years ago\ Africa claimed him first, arid after four .years' grafting there, he turned up m London. . • ' Ever since "Nobby" has kept flitting between London and Paris, but he crashed m February of last year. At the Old Bailey he was given three years' penal servitude for a confidence trick. ■.;.": "Peg-leg": Smith crashed at the same time, but he managed to- escape with a shorter sentence— ten., months' imprisonment. L: Smith had been working the old imposture trick, and, as Captain Matthe;w Biggar, he fovmd money easy, to obtain.

Then there was Gerald Riviere, probably the best-known of all Australia's great con. men. Like Barnard, Riviere is a pinkcheeked, bright-eyed man with the face of boyhood, and his pleasing appealing voice has brought *"him quite as much cash as hta boyish.appearance. Riviere has served many sentences, but he has a knack of squirming out of trouble when it comes as an eel squirms when he's landed high And dry. He started off with 18 months' under the Borstal system, while his most recent sentence was m 1922, when he was handed 18 months' imprisonment at the Old Bailey for obtaining £1000 by fraud. ' It was m 1915 that Riviere landed m Sydney. His run of success had somehow or other . stopped abruptly, and when he stepped off the English boat his financial assets were negligible. But, ever an optimist, the soft- ,' spoken Gerald made straight for one of the biggest hotels, and not until he was well installed m a handsome suite of rooms did he turn his attention to obtainirig"the '.' wherewithal to pay for his extravagant tastes. He was not long m discovering a partner. His pal was just the ihan he wanted — a good talker, a good looker, and a good tipster. Successful Tipslingers. Gerald's offsider was well-known, m. the racing game, and he had several sources which provided the "dinkum oil." -. These good things were whispered into the ears of wealthy squatters and equally wealthy city magnates, and they all fell as a rule. When they had collected their winnings they always handed over a solid present for ''the boy on top." ' ' The only boys that saw the money were Gerald and his pal, .and- it - enabled them to bask m the.&unshine of luxury, and to stay only at the high-cla^s hotels, suoh as the Australia and Menzies.But one day they slipped. • The accomplice posed as the owner of a certainty, but the man to whom they told their tale was the closest friend of the real owner. After that they went from one failure to another. Their luck had absolutely deserted them, and one settling day they found themselves with nearly £1000 to meet, and not a penny m hand! They weren't at the settling, and things looked pretty bad for them. But the soft-voiced, gentle-lbok-/ing Gerald saved the situation. He married money, and his father-in-law, Barney Allen, the well-known bookmaker, found that his tall and languid, son-in-law was a harder hitter than a string of favorites. In a few years he had paid thousands of pounds out m settling the spendthrift's debts. Five years after he landed here Riviere left for London, and two years later — m 1922 — he fell into a trap. He obtained £1000 from an engineer on a representation that he knew of a certain system to beat the books. It was an old dodge, but it worked— until 'the dupe wanted his winnings. Then Gerald crashed, and went m for 18 'months. • Still Going Strong. Eddie Naughton was another tiptop con. man, and he is the only one of; the, first-class now keeping his reputation'up m London. Naughton started m a small way, but quickly rose to great heights, and after he had been at the game for something like five years, embarked on a world tour. Only twice was he arrested on tha tour — once m Holland, and on the other occasion m Denmark. He was convicted each time for false pretences, and served short sentences. Back m Sydney, he turned racehorse owner, arid his string included some pretty good sorts. Australian:. Sun. Grey Abbey, and Romani ,won some good races for him. Naughton y crashed through a little rumpus outside a Sydney hotel. His past was laid bare, and — Well, no longer did Naughton own horses. The A.J|C. saw to that. America next claimed this romantic rogue, and there he served a sentence or two for false pretences. Charlie Mansfield, who got five years early -last year, along with several others, is another whose career is particularly interesting. Charles McNeilly is his real name, but to pals and partners -he's known as "The Dude." Charles . always wears a silk hat and a frock coat, and he's swindled his way through" life m a really amaz.ing way. A specialist m hotel robbery, Mc-^ Neilly was responsible for an audacious job m Sydney some years back. He swept every bedroom on one floor of the Hotel Australia bare of all cash and valuables, and, skipping to London, settled-down to business there. He specialised m French mugs and tourists who crossed the. Channel, but eventually finding things a trifle too warm, he set out for America. He proved a rank failure m the Land of the Almighty Dollar, which somehow or other refused to find its way into "The Dude's" pocket. He served his sentence and went back to England — and a five years' sentence. ' . ' . . i.