However, we were never molested, nor was suspicion ever directed to Shinburn or myself on account of this robbery, great as it was. For weeks the press of the country teemed with items about it. Many and wild were the speculations as to who were the robbers, whence they had come and whither they had gone. But the truth has never been known until revealed in these pages--except to the robbers themselves and to the members of the police Bank Ring.
Furthermore, we sold all the government bonds without attracting the least attention to ourselves, though Detective George Elder was at one time pretty hot on the scent. However, his brother officers steered him off. Yes, he was even sent on several wild-goose chases after “suspected men” to keep him from interfering with us and our plans. The disposing of these bonds will make a good story. I may tell it later.
All of the non-negotiable paper that we took, amounting to eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars, turned up mysteriously one night on the steps of Captain Jourdan’s station-house, in Franklin Street, enclosed in the paying teller’s trunk, and was by the captain returned to the bank. Therefore the par value of the property that we actually realized on amounted to one million seven hundred thousand dollars. The government bonds, though, were worth at that time about one hundred and sixteen, if I remember rightly, which would make the real value of the entire property one million nine hundred and thirty-six thousand dollars. We did not realize this sum, however, as we had to sell the bonds at some discount.
The proceeds of the robbery were distributed as follows:--
Paid Insurance Agent Kohler $50,000 Paid our assistants, etc. 25,000 Paid Bank Clerk Taylor 275,000 Divided equally between Shinburn and myself 1,225,000 ---------- Total $1,575,000
The amount paid to the police was divided as follows:--
To James Irving, head of Detective Bureau $17,000 To John McCord, detective 17,000 To George Radford, detective 17,000 To James Kelso, detective 17,000 To Philip Farley, detective 17,000 To John Jourdan, Captain Sixth Precinct (afterward Superintendent) 17,000 To John McCord for Detective George Elder 17,000 To one other police detective 1,000 To Inspector Johnson 1,800 To John Browne 500 To Frank Houghtaling, Clerk Jefferson Market Police Court 10,000 -------- Total $132,300