Northampton Bank robbery
On January 26, 1876, the Northampton Bank in Northampton, Massachusetts, was robbed of $1.6 million in cash, bonds, and other securities by the Rufus Gang, which was led by Thomas Dunlap, Robert Scott, and George Leonidas Leslie. Leslie planned the robbery, but did not participate on the day. It was the largest bank robbery in U.S. history at the time. 75 depositors lost their money.
In 1874, the bank hired safe manufacturer Herring & Co. to install a new lock on the vault. Herring & Co. sent William Edson, a bank robber and traveling sales agent for the company. In 1875, he copied the key to the vault and to the bank and gave them to the Rufus Gang. On the night of the robbery, they got the safe combination from the bank's cashier, Mr. Whittlesey, whom they tortured at his house until he gave it up.
After the robbery, Leslie cut ties with Dunlap and Scott over their use of violence, which was not a part of his plan. Edson was caught, and was freed after turning state's evidence. Dunlap, Scott, and member Billy Connors were sentenced to 20 years in prison. Scott eventually returned the securities to the bank in an unsuccessful attempt at gaining leniency. Leslie was not implicated until the investigation into the Manhattan robbery, but he was never convicted.
Background
Northampton Bank, also known as the First National Bank of Northampton or the Northampton National Bank, was a bank located at 135 Main Street, Northampton, Massachusetts, 150 miles from New York City. It was one of the leading financial institutions of the city. The bank's cashier was Mr. Whittlesey, also spelled Whittlesley. In 1874, the bank decided to increase their security by installing a new cylinder pin-tumbler lock on the vault. They hired safe manufacturer Herring & Co. to bring an employee over to install the lock. William D. Edson, bank robber and traveling agent for Herring & Co., was the one who Herring & Co. sent over. He had made copies of keys used in previous bank robberies.George Leonidas Leslie, was an architect, art patron, socialite, and bank robber who moved to New York City in 1869. Law enforcement claimed he was involved in 80% of all bank robberies in the United States between 1869 and 1879, including the theft of $800,000 from Ocean National Bank in New York City in 1869, and the theft of $2.7 million from the Manhattan Savings Institution in New York City in 1878. He would often become a depositor of the banks he robbed, and replicated the interiors of the banks in a warehouse so that his gang could meticulously practice the heists. He invented a device named "the little joker" which could crack a safe's combination.
Thomas Dunlap and Robert Scott were the ringleaders of the Northampton robbery. They had come from Chicago to New York after the Great Chicago Fire of October 1871. They were already known to the police in New York as bank robbers. Dunlap and Scott would give their possessions from the robberies to Fredericka "Marm" Mandelbaum, who would then fence it for them. In January 1876, they had robbed a bank on Sixth Avenue in New York City by themselves, and were allegedly planning to rob a bank in Elmira, New York, with Edson.
Planning
Those were involved were Leslie, Dunlap, Robert Scott, "Billy" Connors, Billy Porter, Gilbert Yost, James Burns, Johnny Irving, "Red" Leary, and Thomas "Shang" Draper, though the ones who ultimately robbed the bank were Dunlap, Scott, Connors, Irving, Porter, Draper, and Yost. Out of the group, Leslie was the only one not known to New York police and the Pinkerton detective agency as a criminal.Initially, Dunlap and Scott had asked Mandelbaum about their plan to rob the Northampton bank. Mandelbaum let the two contact Leslie, who agreed to mastermind the robbery for a fee of $20,000. Connors was eventually involved. Leslie had never worked with Dunlap, Scott, or Connors before. Leslie was not involved with the burglary physically, though he planned every part of it; it was Scott who had asked Leslie for his expertise. They chose a code name for their group, which was the "Rufus Gang", or Rufus Ring, named after Robert Scott. Northampton National Bank was chosen because it had vaults and safes that were easy to open, and various sources claimed the vaults contained large cash reserves. They found out about the bank through Edson, who recommended the bank in exchange for a share of the stolen money. The amount agreed to was $50,000.
Edson visited Dunlap and Scott at the Wyoming Valley Hotel in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on August 5, 1875. Dunlap sent Edson a telegram to invite him:
WILKESBARRE, Pa., Aug 5, 1875. To W.L. Edwards, 241 West Fifty-second street, New York.Handwriting on that telegram and one other belonged to Dunlap. At the hotel, in the hotel registry, the names "R.C. Hill" from Boston, and "Wm. D. Edson" were written. Dunlap wrote the signature for "R.C. Hill" and Edson wrote his name.
Come to-morrow.
R.C. HILL.
Starting in September, the group, including Leslie, travelled between Brooklyn and Northampton, to plan and watch the bank employees and deputy sheriff. They planned how they would escape, and where they would hide the money. They knew that the bank's night watchman leaves at 4 a.m. Leslie planned for the money to be hid in the Bridge Street Cemetery, which was just off the main thoroughfare of Northampton, and was close to the train station, which would be used as the getaway, and Bridge Street School; at some point, a base of operations was set up in the school's attic. It was decided to not use the roof to get inside the bank, as the third floor of the bank was the private residence of Judge Thomas Forbes. The gang decided to find a bank employee who might offer his involvement for a cut of the resulting money, so they spent several days observing Whittlesey. They found out "everything about him, his family, and their routines." His house was about two-thirds of a mile from the bank. They decided he could not be bribed, and found another way to use Whittlesey to their advantage. They found Whittlesey left work at 4 p.m., and then the night watchman, Deputy Sheriff Henry Potter stayed overnight. After learning this, Edson became involved.
On November 22, Edson went to the bank to found out what he could about the vault and the safe combination. Edson told the bank manager, Thomas Warriner, that he was on there on Herring & Co. business, and that he had to examine the vault as part of "routine maintenance" on the safe. Warriner said the vault keys were a little "tight", and Edson said he could fix that. Warriner allowed Edson to remove the locks, and take them along with the vault key and the bank key. He took them back to his private boarding house in town where he worked on them. He made wax impressions of the keys, which he then gave to Dunlap and Scott. Edson went back to the bank, returned the keys, and suggested that a new vault combination should be made, but only one person, John Whittlesey, should know it. Warriner agreed, and Edson left. A new combination was made, that both Whittlesey and Warriner knew about. The last thing investigated were the hours of Henry Potter. They found Potter left at 4 a.m. and Whittesey opened at 8 a.m., leaving 4 hours in which the bank was unattended. Leslie approved the final plan.
After several months, Leslie eventually turned his plans over to Dunlap, Scott, and Connors. The three then secured the involvement of Leary, Porter, Draper, Irving and Yost, who had been recommended by Leslie. Leslie had chosen them for their experience and indebtedness to Fredericka "Marm" Mandelbaum, Leslie's mentor, which made them less likely to betray the group. Another reason was that Leslie had been having an affair with Shang's wife Babe, and Red's wife Kate. Shang and Red being in Massachusetts meant there was more time for Leslie to be with the women in New York.
At some point, the gang tried twice to rob the bank, but failed.
A few weeks prior, the gang met at a livery yard, and they told someone there that they had planned to do a surprise party in Holyoke. A hostler was able to get a clear look at one of the robbers, who was unnamed. On the morning of January 25, 1876, Dunlap and Scott were witnessed in Springfield, Massachusetts, by Albert Holt, paymaster of the Boston and Albany railroad company. Dunlap and Scott met three other men at two different points. Holt also saw Scott and Dunlap enter a store in Springfield on the 26th.
Robbery
At 12 a.m. on January 26, 1876, Whittlesey was at his home asleep. Also in the house was his wife, her niece, Mattie White, a girl named Annie Beaton, a married couple, Mr. and Mrs. T.B. Cutler, a servant, Kate Nugent, and other family friends. The men put on masks and then carried lanterns while entering Whittlesey's home. Inside, they would refer to each other in numbered code. They stopped all the clocks so the people inside would have no idea what time it was. They woke everyone in the house up, made them dress, handcuffed them, and brought them into Whittlesey's room, making them "as comfortable as possible." They started taking Mr. Whittlesey downstairs, and Mrs. Whittlesey begged them not to hurt him. Downstairs, he was handcuffed to a chair. Dunlap and Scott began their interrogation of him; Scott held a gun to Whittlesey's head, and Scott said he should give the numbers without hesitation. Whittlesey gave them false combination numbers; when he could not repeat the numbers, he was beaten. He eventually gave them the right combination. His gold watch was taken. Around 4 a.m., the gang bound and gagged everyone, leaving Whittlesey downstairs, and left for the bank. They left two guards at the house. They used a key Edson had made to get in the bank. The group got inside the vault and collected everything they saw. Then they returned to the home, resecured the group's bonds, and the whole gang left the house. Most of the stolen securities were left under a stop at the Bridge Street School. Most of the gang left the town by the train station, though some left by horse and carriage, and returned to the livery stable. Around 6:30 a.m., Mrs. Whittlesey freed herself from her restraints and screamed from her bedroom window: "They've taken my husband and are robbing the bank! They're all at the bank! Please help my husband!" Several men walking to their work heard her, and notified the police.1.6 million in cash, bonds, and other securities was robbed. It was the largest bank robbery in American history at the time. The money was made up of $75,000 of Ohio and Mississippi railroad bonds, $12,000 in bank bills, $6000 in government notes, $5000 Missouri bonds, and a large number of bank notes. About 75 depositors lost their money. The negotiable securities were mostly useless to the group, and the non-negotiable securities had no value unless could sell them back to the bank.