#safecracking

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"TWO SAFES YIELD $280 TO EXPERT BURGLARS," Montreal Star. March 20, 1935. Page 3. ---- St. Catherine Street West Premises Visited ---- Two cases of expert safe-breaking were reported to police this morning.

At 8:10 o'clock, J. G. Page, manager of the Kelvinator Automatic Electric Refrigeration Company, 1632 St. Catherine street west, reported that about $150 in cash had been stolen from the safe during the night. Captain Corbett, of No. 10 police station, found that an acetylene torch had been used to drill holes in the door of the safe and that by this means and by the use of cold chisels and other tools, an opening, 10 inches by 12, had been made.

it The burglars entered the premises by tearing away two boards that had been nailed to the back door to replace temporarily the glass in which had been broken. They then took the safe from the office, which is in front, to the workshop in rear, where they did their work.

St. a At 7.45 David Tatler, manager of the Reo Motor Company, 1824 Catherine street west, found on entering the premises that his safe had been opened by someone using blow-torch to destroy the combination lock. The burglar took $130. He had entered the building through the coal chute in the neighboring lane.

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"SAFE CRACKERS FOILED AS FUSE FAILED TO WORK," Toronto Star. July 3, 1934. Page 19. --- Attempted to Gain Access to $5,000 in Gold in Refining Firm Safes ---- TOOLS LEFT BEHIND ---- Safe crackers made a determined but unsuccessful attempt to blow up two safes weighing four tons, and three tons each, containing $5,000 worth of gold, silver and platinum and $200 in cash in the office of the Imperial Refining Co., 36 Beverley St. The attempt was discovered to-day by Sidney Bromwich, manager, when he entered the office with his son. Indication that it was the work of expert cracksmen was made clear as one safe had been drilled and set up with a four-foot cord fuse which was inserted in the top of the safe and soaped open. The combination had been knocked off the safe.

The fuse had burned away at the bottom and did not go off. Whether the inner door was filled with nitroglycerine was to be determined by experts from the Taylor Safe Co.

The combination was smashed off a double door on the other safe and was found on the floor. Thieves left a bag of tools behind them, including three sledge hammers, a screw driver and a huge steel drill. There was no indication they had been using the electric light to drill the safe.

It is believed they entered the premises through a washroom window in the rear of the building.

The safe expert was to decide whether it would be wise for him to attempt to open it.

"We don't want any of our men to take any chances on blowing up the house and getting himself killed," E. H. Richards of the Taylor Co.. told The Star. "We will have an expert look it over. If he thinks it is dangerous we will have to get an explosive expert to handle it. We open all kinds of safes for people, even ones that have been partly dynamited. But if the charge is still in this one we will have to be careful."

Thieves broke into the United Cigar store, Spadina Ave. and King St., during the night, carrying away a baby safe and getting a large sum of money. This was the fifth time this store had been robbed of a safe in the past four years. The safe contained $130 in cash.

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"DES VOLEURS S'EMPARENT DE $250 DANS UN COFFRE-FORT," La Patrie. June 18, 1934. Page 3. --- Plusieurs autres vols d'argent et de marchandises sont commis en fin de semaine. ---- Un coffre-fort, contenant une somme de $250, a été brisé au cours de la nuit dernière par des cambrioleurs qui s'introduisirent dans la taverne Queen's, 3901 rue Saint-Jacques, après avoir brisé la vitre de la porte d'avant de la taverne.

Une fois dans l'établissement les briseurs de coffre-fort, descendirent le lourd meuble dans la cave où ils purent en forcer la porte tout à leur aise pour y enlever l'argent qui s'y trouvait.

Le vol a été découvert ce matin quand l'on ouvrit l'établissement. Les voleurs s'emparèrent également de cigarettes valant $55.

Chez Mme Alphe Gauthier, 1472 boulevard Saint-Joseph, Est, des voleurs, se servant de fausses-clefs, s'emparèrent de $250 en argent et d'objets divers.

Un autre vol, à l'aide de fausses-clefs, fut également commis chez M. Hervé Goulet, 3435 rue Berri, pendant l'absence des membres de sa famille. A cet endroit les cambrioleurs s'emparèrent de vêtements valant $235.

Chez M. Arthur Laferrière, 4220 rue Berri, les voleurs emportèrent pour $135 de lingerie.

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"YEGGS FOILED," Vancouver Sun. May 28, 1934. Page 1. --- ATTEMPT TO LOOT HOTEL SAFE FAILS ---- Yeggmen failed in their attempt to force the safe in the office of the Cobalt Hotel, 900 block Main Street, at 3:20 a.m. today.

Investigation led to the recovery of three slot machines stolen from The Better 'Ole Confectionery, 915 Main Street.

L. A. Proctor, night clerk at the hotel, told detectives that he had gone to the basement to stoke the furnace.

When he returned he discovered that yeggmen had been at work on the safe, having knocked off the combination dial and attempted to punch back the tumblers.

Detectives immediately commenced an investigation of the premises, and in the rear of the hotel found a disused wagon in which were the three slot machines stolen from the confectionery store.

The machines had been forced open and the contents stolen.

Burglars ransacked the office of McGlashant & Jenkinson Machine Works, Limited, 1604 Powell Street, on Sunday night, but failed to secure anything.

It is stated that three youths were seen leaving the premises.

Investigation disclosed that the contents of the office safe, which had not been locked, had been scattered around the office.

J. W. McLean reported the theft of a number of articles of jewelry from his home at 2535 West Fifteenth Avenue.

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"ROBBERS CARRY OFF LARGE SAFE, GET $300 HAUL," Winnipeg Tribune. May 8, 1934. Page 1. ---- Strong Box, Blown Open, Found on Stolen Truck In Transcona ---- A safe containing more than $300 in cash and cheques was carried away by robbers in an early morning raid on the A. R. G. Creamery Co., 623 Archibald st., St. Boniface. The safe was discovered later to- day, blown open and empty, on a stolen truck in Transcona.

A checker arriving at the plant about 6 a.m. discovered an office window forced open and the safe missing. St. Boniface police figure that the marauders must have broken in the plant after 4.30 a.m.. as a police constable called there at that time and saw nothing amiss.

Max Cohen, superintendent of the plant, who lives on the premises, heard no noises during the early morning. He explained that the motor of a new cooling system likely deadened the noise of the thugs moving the safe.

A piano moving rack found on the platform leads police to believe that it was used by the burglars to load the bulky safe onto a truck The safe was of the large type, standing almost four feet high. Police think a well organized gang is responsible for the burglary.

Following the report that a truck belonging to Bob's Transfer Co. had been stolen Monday night, the truck was located in Transcona about 10 a.m. today. The safe, wrapped in sacking and blown open, was found on the truck.

St. Boniface police are following up all clues in an endeavor to arrest the robbers.

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"Burglars Foiled In Smiths Falls," Ottawa Journal. May 7, 1934. Page 2. --- Constable Enters Warehouse When Safe Ready to Be Blown. ==== Special to The Journal. SMITHS FALLS, Ont., May 7. - Smart work on the part of the local police, early this morning, prevented a daring burglary at the Gamble Robinson Co., warehouse, situated on Victoria avenue, where Constable Beckett, on making his rounds, discovered the back door broken open and the safe combination removed, holes drilled, and soaped, and fuse laid ready to light. The policeman entered the building, but the would-be safe-blowers had been frightened away by his arrival and, although a thorough search of the district was made, no trace could be found of any suspicious persons. Reports from the company state that had the safe been blown no loss would have been sustained, as only papers of value to the firm were in it at the time of the attempted robbery.

Police are of the opinion that the affair is just another incident caused by the many men who are roaming the roads. Two other affairs which occurred here recently have also been credited to the transients. Friday night, a negro entered a local restaurant and, after partaking of a meal, refused to pay for it. Brandishing a razor he made his exit before police could be called, while on another occasion a number of small children at play on a street near the Canadian Pacific station were accosted by a strange man who made off with a bicycle, property of one of the boys in the party.

A strict check is being kept on all transients known to be in the district, and it is expected arrests will follow.

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"STOLEN TORCH OPENS SAFE TO $500 THEFT," Toronto Star. June 1, 1943. Page 8. ---- Old Stove Pipe Hole Used By Burglars To Enter Building ---- Milton, June 1 - After stealing an acetylene torch from a nearby garage, thieves entered the office of the King Calcium Products, Campbellville, and using the torch to cut open the safe stole $500 in Victory bonds and $35 cash this morning, police said.

They gained admittance to Early's garage by forcing a lock, officers reported. From there they took the acetylene torch and proceeded to the office of the King Calcium Products across the road. They made entry by opening an old stovepipe hole in the roof and cutting a hole in the ceiling to lower themselves into the building. After cutting a hole in a large safe with the torch, they made away with registered Victory bonds valued at $500, and $35 cash.

Not satisfied with this haul, they forced the lock on a refreshment booth adjoining Larly's garage where they stole a quantity of cigarettes and tobacco valued at $50, Provincial Constable John Reavley stated.

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"Voici la façade du comptoir Lyon-Alemand, rue Réaumur, à Paris, ou des perceurs de murailles ont enlevé 600 000 francs en or en forçant deux coffres. La bande dite des Marseillais a sans doute opéré. On voit sur notre deuxième photo l'un des coffres forcés, où la police judiciaire s'efforce de relever des empreintes. Et enjin sur la troisième la façon dont les cambrioleurs ont opéré, se laissant descendre de l'étage supérieur par une corde."

(Rol, FP, NYT)

- Police Magazine. 19 Novembre, 1933. No. 156. Page 14.