Buglaries in Chenango Co., NY - 1897

Safe Blown by Experts - Norwich, NY

Chenango Union, April 29, 1897

 

Expert safe crackers operated on the large Herring safe at the postoffice early Saturday morning.  One of the doors was blown open by a charge of dynamite which broke the lock leaving access to the safe easy.  Inside the safe, however, was a so-called burglar proof vault of chilled steel, and either because the burglars were pressed for time or because they did not have the tools with which to operate upon the vault, it was not disturbed. The only booty secured was about $15 which belonged to Postmaster Jones, and was in one of the tills outside the burglar proof vault.

 

Immediately after the Greene [Chenango Co., NY] robbery Postmaster Jones had the safe moved to the front part of the office, where it is in full view from the street.  It was further protected by a gas light which was left burning all night, and which was burning when the burglary was committed.

 

The burglary was first discovered by Harry Leach, one of the clerks, when he opened the office in the morning.  He immediately summoned Sheriff Payne and Postmaster Jones, but there was no clue whereby a search for the burglars could be instituted.  The fact of the robbery was telegraphed to neighboring towns and the officer, asked to be on the lookout for suspicious characters.  At Greene two men were arrested on suspicion, but they proved to be two persons from Norwich selling horseradish.  They were released. The night operator at Sherburne sent word that he saw three men stealing a ride on the D.L.&W. freight train which passes through here about the time the robbery is supposed to have been committed. The Utica chief of police was requested to interview the crew of the train and obtain a description of the men and where they left the train. No clues were received from that quarter, however, and the officers are entirely in the dark. 

 

One suspicious individual was seen in Norwich on Friday evening, but his whereabouts could not be ascertained Saturday, and whether he was one of the gang will probably never be known.  That the work was that of experts is evidenced by the fact that the safe was drilled at a point where it would be most likely to break the lock without doing great damage to the safe, and from the fact that the charge was just large enough to do the work intended without making a loud explosion.  The explosion  was heard by several people at the Eagle, who were awake at the time, but they thought nothing of it.  The authorities surmise that the operators were the same that entered the Greene postoffice several weeks ago, but there is nothing to identify them. A number of safes in business places at Cortland were cracked on Thursday night, and it is equally probable that the Norwich burglary was the work of that gang.

 

The postoffice at German was entered by burglars last Thursday night and about $50 in stamps stolen.  No clues.