CRIMINALS’ COOL CHEEK.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16892, 17 November 1922, Page 6

CRIMINALS’ COOL CHEEK.

I AMAZING INSTANCES OF EFFRONTERY. I For cool cheek it would be difficult beat the unknown man who walked I into the London Law Courts one day | with a ladder under his arm. An imj portant case was being tried at the I time, but he did not allow this to distract him. His attitude was that of ! "Business before pleasure.” j He was hat lees ami in his shirfi- | sleeves, and he had on a green baize j pron such as furniture removers wear, j Plopping his ladder against the wall ! underneath wnere a large clock was ! hanging, he mounted the ladder, pro- • ciuced a screwdriver, and leisurely began to remove the screws which j tf stened the clock in place. His deliberate movements caused | many eyes to be turned in his direc- | t on—probably the case was a dull I cue—with tlie result that the Judge. | who sat facing the clock, admonished j h m for distracting the attention of ! the Court, and told him to hasten about his business. The man did so. and removed the remainder of the screws. Then, tucking the dock under one arm and the ladder under the other., he made his departure. Since that day neither he nor the clock has been heard of. KING OF BURGLARS. There are many cases on record .n wniCii auuacity naa ueen tne means oJ o ringing aouut qune asLumsmug lesuius. lucre is the case of Emil Strauss, ior aisucuiye, ine " ixiug pi x>eiim Uurgmres, Whose exploits rang unougu tile continental nets a year or two ms criminal career was a long one, erm as he naa been the auuior ot numerous undiscovered ourgianes he nan unuoubteuiy earned his men.name, ue certainly uvea up to it. however, wuen ne achieved a teat that is 6urely unparaneied lor skill ana pure auuacity. up to tile time when he was thirtytwo years ot age he had served terms oi imprisonment totalling, lour teen 3 ears, and w nen he emerged irom his iate&b spelt or connneinent he set his v its to wont once more to get a dishonest Jiving. i_us only dimouity was tua-t ne louna iumsea hampeied t>v luca or t/oois—burglar's tools. - lie remeuied tins by breaking into Beilin s equivalent or Scotland lard s i>iacK Museum— Lhe museum which contains ail sorts of relics and apparatus or crime—and, under tne very noses of the Benin police, got away with its choicest specimens oi up-to-date housebreaanig implements, 'll-ese, or course, he afterwards put to very practical use. SCHEMES FOR ESCAPE. Other of bis exploits show the remarkable -daring and coolness of the man—gifts that, rightly applied, w'ouid have raised him higher in the world than the most brilliant aud successful of his criminal enterprises could have done. Twice he escaped from prison, and twice, by means of his uiiflurried audacity and his knowledge of the ; I lace, he liberated his brother, who was also serving a term of imprisonment. His method was to “make up” as vx visiting .inspector. Having spent many mouths in the place himself as compulsory guest-, he knew the routine and t lie geography of the prison as well as the warders. His clever disguise prevented recognition and he j etod the part perfectly. He was admitted to the cells, obtained access iu clue course to that of his brother, and. in some way known onlv tc the two of them, liberated him. As it this was not tempting Fate enough, lie essayed the feat a second time. History repeated itself, and both he and his brother wore imprisoned again. Once more he escaped, and, made up again as an inspector, retui ned to the prison lor the purpose of setting his brother free. What is more, he was successful. Probably brother-love was as great an incentive as faith in his own "nerve,’ for in addition to thus impel ill mg his liberty he several times took the blame of some of his brother’s misdeeds In happier circumstances his scholarly ability—he was thoroughly at home with the- classics and was well up in Latin—and his brotherly love would have made him a shining example and gained him respect. As it v. as, unluckily for him, some queer mental kink directed him into the channels of crime. THE GOLDEN MOMENT. Even more remarkable for pure effrontery, to say nothing of off-handed t rimng with newly-gained freedom, t-as a recent exploit on the part of a Ireneh convict named Ernest Savy. Hus man, who had been serving a Lffro 1106 ! prisor ; at Brionde, Haute Loire, had completed his term and was due ior release. it. was called into the Bead Warder’s office to sign certain documents m connection wk-h hls discharge when there was an in teriuptioa and the official was called cut of the room for a few momenta, the almost immediately, the formalities were completed, and .he warder bade the conrict :W1 Sood luck. Then the prisfn gate! opened to l.berate Ernest Saw wffio forthwith took train for Paris" tt A i fe t\- h a“ rS " fter he had the Head Warder discovered that a sum ot money approximating £BOO, which he had had m his office, had disappeared. Tt had been there m the morning, and the only person who had entered the room during the day be-s-des himself was the discharged con''ict. The telegraph wipe* were set humming—only to disclose the fact that the time-expired prisoner had got off the train at some station between Brionde end Paris. The man has not been seen since ?nd the French police are still laments me r both the absence of their late acquaintance and the £BOO he borl owed. - ; Ti t-Bi ts. ’ *