{"id":6588,"date":"2016-03-09T00:12:11","date_gmt":"2016-03-09T05:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=6588"},"modified":"2016-03-09T00:26:05","modified_gmt":"2016-03-09T05:26:05","slug":"fainting-bertha-and-other-rats-of-pittsburghs-underworld","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/03\/09\/fainting-bertha-and-other-rats-of-pittsburghs-underworld\/","title":{"rendered":"Fainting Bertha and other “rats” of Pittsburgh’s underworld"},"content":{"rendered":"

\""Fainting <\/a>
“Fainting Bertha” and two other notorious pickpockets, Dot Rayno and Marie Burns, in the 1925 Pittsburgh Daily Post. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"These <\/a>
These pickpockets could have stepped out of a James Cagney movie. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Closer <\/a>
Closer view of the “dips.” <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Frank <\/a>
Frank Hayes tried the fleece a man at a Pittsburgh bus terminal in 1943, only to discover a set of handcuffs on his intended victim, who happened to be a city detective. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Police <\/a>
Police nabbed George Mason as he carefully used a razor to slice a man’s trousers so he could remove a wallet at Lappin’s Cafe on the North Side in 1951. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Police <\/a>
Police arrested pickpocket Fred Schell in September 1951. He liked working auction sales, public meetings and conventions. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Joseph <\/a>
Joseph Frank, 59, and his partner Lewis Taylor, 69, were picked up after lifting a railroad worker’s wallet in June 1952. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Women, <\/a>
Women, don’t leave your purse in view of unscrupulous customers, warned the Pittsburgh Press in 1966. (Ed Morgan\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Pittsburgh <\/a>
Pittsburgh detectives show a typical set up using three confederates. Man in the middle is the victim. (Stewart Love\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Open <\/a>
Open handbags are a pickpockets dream, warned the Pittsburgh Press in 1963. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\nAs spring approached in 1925, the Pittsburgh Daily Post warned its readers: \u201cFainting Bertha,\u201d member of the most despised fraternity of lawbreakers, would soon be stalking victims in the Golden Triangle.<\/p>\n

Fear of this woman with an odd nickname kept authorities awake at night. Infamous as one of the \u201cyellow dogs\u201d of crime, Fainting Bertha, aka Margaret Reilly, never drove a knife into anyone\u2019s torso or put a bullet in a poor soul\u2019s brain.<\/p>\n

No, much worse. Fainting Bertha was a pickpocket.<\/p>\n

Here in the \u2018Burgh, we\u2019re obsessed with wallet-lifters. The Pittsburgh Press called them \u201crats,\u201d hated even by other criminals. \u201cA good burglar, stickup man or safe-blower would sooner fondle a rattlesnake than have it known he ever numbered a \u2018cannon\u2019 (as pickpockets were known) among his associates,\u201d the Press wrote in 1927.<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh newspapers considered it a civic duty to show readers the methods utilized by professional \u201cdips.\u201d A Post-Gazette photo file labeled \u201cPickpockets\u201d contains several pictures of city detectives awkwardly and sometimes comically demonstrating various methods of thievery. Accompanying stories, which offered blow-by-blow accounts a typical pickpocket operation, certainly alerted readers, though we couldn\u2019t help but notice the articles also served as textbooks for aspiring thieves.<\/p>\n

Pickpockets in the 20s and 30s wore suits and ties and sported fedoras or straw hats on their heads. They were a stern, unsmiling and rather mean-looking crew. We know this because our files contain dozens of pickpocket mug shots. These guys look like they stepped out of a James Cagney gangster movie.<\/p>\n

This was the golden era of pickpockets, a time when thieves acquired magnificent nicknames. Lurking along Pittsburgh\u2019s sidewalks were criminals like Crooked Neck Smitty, Shoe String Kid, Knee Pants Kid (he stood 5-foot-2), Silent Sam, Silk Hat Harry and Sleepy City Jake.<\/p>\n

Then there was Fainting Bertha. She earned her moniker by feigning illness and collapsing during court appearances. The act often kept her out of the pokey. Her arrest record dated to 1923, when she was picked up in a Downtown department store on suspicion she\u2019d lifted thousands of dollars in cash.<\/p>\n

\u201cClothed in the latest style garments and maintaining a dignity that was astounding,\u201d wrote the Daily Post, \u201cdetectives thought they had made a mistake, but when they noticed the English accent of their prisoner, they concluded to take her to headquarters for questioning.\u201d<\/p>\n

We found no stories indicating Fainting Bertha was British, mind you. Nor could we determine why speaking with an \u201cEnglish accent\u201d would render someone \u201csuspicious\u201d in the eyes of a Pittsburgh police detective.<\/p>\n

Umbrella Jack gained fame by dropping lifted wallets into a folded canopy. Praying Emma invited holy retribution by preying upon kneeling church-goers. Scissors Mary carried snub-nosed clippers to snip purse handles and make off with entire handbags.<\/p>\n

Many pickpockets were transient — they moved between East Coast cities and Chicago; Pittsburgh was simply a stop along the way. Others followed a bird-like pattern, migrating north when the weather warmed and victims gathered at carnivals and circuses.<\/p>\n

Pickpockets loved the holidays, when gullible “suckers” loaded with cash\u00a0squeezed into trolleys and department stores. Police responded in 1940 by assigning twenty detectives to protect the wallets and purses of Christmas shoppers in the Golden Triangle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lads on the pickpocket detail were chosen because of their memory for faces,\u201d reported the Post-Gazette. \u201cEach spent a few hours each week studying 3,000 mug shots of convicted con men and leather lifters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh tried to make life difficult for dips by passing a law allowing magistrates to sentence known pickpockets to three months of hard labor without the option of paying a fine. \u201cThis sentence can be carried out regardless of whether the thief has committed a crime or not,\u201d The Pittsburgh Press wrote in 1927. \u201cThe law merely requires that he be seen in a crowd or any place where the public congregates.\u201d<\/p>\n

The newspaper admitted questions about the law\u2019s constitutionality, but wrote that no one had been tempted to test a statute aimed squarely at the rats of the underworld.<\/p>\n

Our city\u2019s obsession with pickpockets continued for several decades. The Pittsburgh Press devoted a portion of Roto Magazine in February 1973 to yet another story and photo layout explaining the manner in which a team of pickpockets set up and then fleeced the unsuspecting.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t the same, though. The only nickname we found in the story was \u201cJostling Jerry.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

She and her fellow “dips” were the most despised of the city’s criminal element<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesFainting Bertha and other “rats” of Pittsburgh’s underworld<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[947],"tags":[958,959,1036,1348],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Digs.previewImage.jpg?fit=2000%2C1125&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9091,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/09\/13\/stories-from-pittsburghs-dungeon\/","url_meta":{"origin":6588,"position":0},"title":"Stories from Pittsburgh’s dungeon","date":"September 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Basement cells at a now vacant prison once terrified those confined there.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Digs.20180828_Prisob03.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4927,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2015\/01\/28\/pittsburgh-bank-robberies-from-the-past\/","url_meta":{"origin":6588,"position":1},"title":"Pittsburgh bank robberies from the past","date":"January 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Bank robbery scenes: unrecognizable, wild and weird.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Bank-robberies-4.jpg?fit=1200%2C809&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2147,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/01\/11\/may-2-1932-the-trial-of-pittsburgh-mayor\/","url_meta":{"origin":6588,"position":2},"title":"The trial of Pittsburgh Mayor Charles Kline","date":"January 11, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Charles Kline (he\u2019s the one smoking the cigarette) can be remembered for many things.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-12-17-at-12.04.12-AM.png?fit=1200%2C571&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1832,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/05\/01\/pittsburghs-liberty-avenue\/","url_meta":{"origin":6588,"position":3},"title":"Pittsburgh\u2019s Liberty Avenue","date":"May 1, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"In Amsterdam, it\u2019s called De Wallen. In London, it used to be King\u2019s Cross. And in Pittsburgh, in the 1970s and \u201980s, it was Liberty Avenue.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/tumblr_mll1vd2nTU1rr5swxo2_r1_1280.jpg?fit=793%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2553,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/09\/06\/the-case-of-rodney-woodson-in-photographs\/","url_meta":{"origin":6588,"position":4},"title":"The case of Rodney Woodson in photographs","date":"September 6, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"A goal of the photographer was not to defend Rodney Woodson, but rather to humanize him.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/tumblr_m9w4e4Ruph1rr5swxo1_1280-e1418793807844.jpg?fit=1200%2C656&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":688,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/05\/07\/pittsburghs-unsolved-diamond-theft\/","url_meta":{"origin":6588,"position":5},"title":"Pittsburgh\u2019s unsolved diamond theft","date":"May 7, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"\u201cMuseum \u2018Out\u2019 $75,000 Gem,\u201d read a Pittsburgh Press headline.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/tumblr_n5627eTYCF1rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C822&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6588"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6588"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6606,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6588\/revisions\/6606"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}