Dutch Heinrichs

Henry D. Neuman or Neumann (fl. 1860–1874) was a German-born American burglar, bank robber and gang leader known as Dutch Heinrichs.[1][2][3][4] A member of Chauncey Johnson's burglary gang during the late 1860s, he was also the founder of the Hell's Kitchen Gang which terrorized West Manhattan for over two decades.[5][6]

Dutch Heinrichs
Born
Henry Neuman

Northern Germany
NationalityGerman-American
Other namesCharles Neuman
Edward Neumans
Dutch Heinrich
Dutch Hendricks
George Gardner
George Gardnier
James Ryan
OccupationCriminal
Known forNew York burglar and gang leader; founder of the Hell's Kitchen Gang.

Biography

Early life and criminal career

Born Henry D. Neuman in northern Germany, he immigrated to New York with his family as a child. Having a respectable middle class upbringing, it is unknown motivations that led him to pursue a criminal career. He was involved in petty theft as a teenager, referred to as "The Flying Dutchman", and was associated with the Greenthals and the Mandlebaums. In 1860, he was arrested after stealing a watch from a man at the corner of Broadway and Canal Street, presumably his first criminal act,[7] for which he was convicted and spent two years in New York State Prison. During his time in prison, he became friends with noted bond robber Chauncey Johnson and joined his gang upon his release. He eventually became his chief lieutenant and was involved in numerous robberies with the gang including $16,000 from the Adam Express Company, $21,000 from the Vesey Street robbery and, most notably, the theft of $1,000,000 in bonds from industrialist Rufus L. Lord. Other participants in the robbery included Jack Tierney and Hod Ennis.[8][9]

In 1865, he was charged with stealing two bags of gold worth $10,000 from the Bank of Commerce as well as a later robbery in Philadelphia but was acquitted in both cases. On March 6, 1866, he attempted to steal a package from the Broadway Bank containing a $2,283 deposit, but was caught by passersby as he exited the bank.[10][11] In June 1867, he appeared in court three months later and pleaded guilty to grand larceny.[12]

Although Heinrichs earned a substantial sum from his criminal activities, he usually gambled it away as soon as he earned it. On one occasion, he was said to have lost $23,000 after a major bank robbery. Once night in 1867 however, he walked into a Chatham Street faro parlor with $3 and ended up walking out with $5,000 and broke the bank.[9] He later married the sister of sportsman, gambler and sometime confidence man Tom Davis.[13]

Hell's Kitchen Gang

In 1868, Heinrichs organized the Hell's Kitchen Gang whose members committed street muggings and petty theft in the areas between Eighth Avenue and Thirty-Fourth Street. He later joined with Ike Marsh and the Tenth Avenue Gang launching a campaign against the Hudson River Railroad which included extortion, breaking and entering, destruction of railroad property and armed robbery. Both Heinrichs and Marsh co-led the gang until Henrich began facing legal problems during the early 1870s.[5][6]

Imprisonment and later years

On January 15, 1870, shortly after his release from Blackwell's Island, Heinrichs and three "well-dressed, gentleman looking" men appeared at several Uptown Manhattan banks including the Bleecker Street Savings Bank, Manhattan Bank and the East River Bank among others but quickly left as soon as they were spotted by bank officials. They eventually gave up took a downtown trolley car where they disappeared.[14]

On February 14, 1872, two unidentified men stole $33,000 in bonds belonging to the New London and Ashland Railroads from the banking firm of J.S. Kennedy & Sons at their Cedar Street office. Information provided by a private detective led to Heinrichs' arrest and the investigation was taken over by Wall Street detectives. Central Office detectives came to his defense claiming Heinrichs had been held in custody at the time the robbery occurred. He had been suspected of stealing a watch from C. Godfrey Gunther, former Mayor of New York, however the gang leader's evidence was refused at trial. Convicted of grand larceny, he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment.[7]

Initially sent to New York State Prison, he was sent to The Tombs eight months later. Heinrichs soon began exhibiting signs of extreme violence and paranoia while in prison. On September 24, 1872, he attacked his cellmate Jacob Rosenzweig believing he was spying on him. He reportedly did not recognize his lawyers when they came to visit him.[9] His council successfully appealed to the Supreme Court for a retrial. As a result of the court's review of his case, a precedent was set in state criminal law that "when a party on trial avails himself of the recent statute allowing an accused to be a witness on his own behalf, he is not disqualified to testify by reason of a former conviction or felony".[15] On May 7, 1873, officials announced that Heinrichs would be committed to the insane asylum at Wards Island.[7]

References
  1. Crapsey, Edward. The Nether Side of New York, Or, the Vice, Crime and Poverty of the Great Metropolis. Sheldon & Company, 1872. (pg. 84-85)
  2. Costello, Augustine E. Our Police Protectors: History of the New York Police from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. New York: A.E. Costello, 1885. (pg. 333)
  3. Moss, Frank. The American Metropolis from Knickerbocker Days to the Present Time. London: The Authors' Syndicate, 1897. (pg. 25)
  4. Harlow, Alvin F. Old Bowery Days: The Chronicles of a Famous Street. New York and London: D. Appleton & Company, 1931. (pg. 333)
  5. Federal Writers' Project. New York City: Vol 1, New York City Guide. Vol. I. American Guide Series. New York: Random House, 1939. (pg. 155)
  6. Nadel, Stanley. Little Germany: Ethnicity, Religion, and Class in New York City, 1845-80. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990. (pg. 87) ISBN 0-252-01677-7
  7. ""Dutch Heinrichs" to be Sent to an Insane Asylum." New York Times. 08 May 1873
  8. Sutton, Charles; James B. Mix and Samuel A. Mackeever, ed. The New York Tombs: Its Secrets and Its Mysteries. Being a History of Noted Criminals, with Narratives of Their Crimes. San Francisco: A. Roman & Co., 1874. (pg. 255-256)
  9. "Dutch Heinrichs; Sketch of a Noted Criminal's Career. He is Said to be Mad--A New Trial to be Had --How the Prisoner Conducts Himself in the Tombs--Beating a Man in the Cell". New York Times. 28 Nov 1872
  10. "Daring Robbery In A Bank; A Package Containing over $2,000 Snatched from the Teller's Desk in the Broadway Bank - The Thief Arrested and the Money Returned". New York Times. 07 Mar 1866
  11. "News of the Day; General News". New York Times. 07 Mar 1866
  12. "Crime In The Metropolis; The Court of General Sessions". New York Times. 02 Jun 1867
  13. "Killed By His Victim; The Notorious Tom Davis Caught In A Swindle. Attempting The "Sawdust Game" On A Texan Aid Shot In The Presence Of His Brother." New York Times. 01 Sep 1885
  14. "The Plot to Rob The Banks; "Dutch" Heinrichs, the Celebrated Bank Thief, Visits Several Banking Houses but Fails to Secure any Booty." New York Times. 11 Jan 1870
  15. "Dutch Heinrich and Rosenzweig Granted New Trials". New York Times. 19 Nov 1872
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.