educated guess that the thief was Maroney, who would have had access to Adams’s pouch keys. He mailed back his hunch.
Sanford summoned Pinkerton to Alabama and told the detective that he’d already had Maroney arrested and charged with theft. But the company had nothing other than circumstantial evidence against him, and the arrest caused an uproar among the leading citizens of Montgomery, who supported Maroney. Afterall, Adams Express was a Yankee company and this was the eve of the Civil War. Maroney was a local man, and he had local support. He got out on bail. The situation was verging on disaster for Adams Express.
Pinkerton brought in a five-person team, including Kate Warne, who is widely credited with being the nation’s first woman detective. * The group suspected that Maroney had stashed the money in a safe place until the heat blew over. They needed to figure out where the money was and prove that Maroney had stolen it. They tailed Maroney’s wife as she dropped off a letter to Philadelphia, which tipped them off that she had relatives in that area. When she relocated to the outskirts of Philadelphia, Pinkerton dispatched agents to Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. One operative set up a watch-repair shop in the village as a cover operation and began gathering information on the Maroney family’s activities.
Pinkerton sent in Kate Warne, posing as a society wife. Supplied with a lavish wardrobe, she played her part to the hilt, and wangled an introduction to Mrs. Maroney. Over the course of their chats, Warne pretended to confide in her, claiming that her own husband had gotten rich as a counterfeiter.
Meanwhile, Pinkerton maneuvered to have authorities rearrest Maroney, and when they did, Pinkerton placed an operative, John White, undercover in the same jail cell, ostensibly charged with forgery. Pinkerton then unleashed an elaborate scheme of psychological warfare against the hapless, imprisoned Maroney. An undercover agent was assigned to court Mrs. Maroney in Jenkintown, and to make sure he was seen with her in public. Pinkerton began to barrage Maroney, still in jail in Alabama, with anonymous letters claiming that his wife was having an affair. On her next visit to theprison, Mrs. Maroney admitted she’d been out with the stranger, confirming Maroney’s darkest suspicions.
Sitting right there in the jail cell was Pinkerton’s operative John White, ready to serve as a shoulder for Maroney to cry on over his wife’s supposed infidelity. White hinted to Maroney that it was possible to bribe the authorities to get out of jail early, and when White’s “lawyer”—another of Pinkerton’s actors—showed up to release him, Maroney took the bait. He begged White to help him get out, too, no matter how much it cost. Maroney was desperate to reach his wife. White agreed to help once he’d gotten out of jail, and he encouraged Maroney to get word to his wife that he’d need the stolen cash for bribe money. Maroney sent a message to his wife to dig up the money from its hiding place and give it to White, who Maroney thought would bring it to Alabama and help arrange his release from prison.
When she got the message, Mrs. Maroney wasn’t sure that the scheme was a good idea. After all, Maroney was under suspicion of theft, and getting caught with the cash might seal his fate. But Pinkerton had foreseen that Mrs. Maroney might balk, and had a plan to encourage her along. The anxious woman turned to her new best friend and asked what to do. Kate Warne advised her that paying the money was the best plan. The couple could head out west with their booty, and escape the Alabama authorities.
When Mrs. Maroney handed the money over to White, only $400 of the total amount stolen was missing.
In late 1855, Maroney went on trial in Montgomery, White never having returned to release him. He was shocked to see White called to the stand to testify against him. Realizing he’d been set up and the state had all the
Sanford summoned Pinkerton to Alabama and told the detective that he’d already had Maroney arrested and charged with theft. But the company had nothing other than circumstantial evidence against him, and the arrest caused an uproar among the leading citizens of Montgomery, who supported Maroney. Afterall, Adams Express was a Yankee company and this was the eve of the Civil War. Maroney was a local man, and he had local support. He got out on bail. The situation was verging on disaster for Adams Express.
Pinkerton brought in a five-person team, including Kate Warne, who is widely credited with being the nation’s first woman detective. * The group suspected that Maroney had stashed the money in a safe place until the heat blew over. They needed to figure out where the money was and prove that Maroney had stolen it. They tailed Maroney’s wife as she dropped off a letter to Philadelphia, which tipped them off that she had relatives in that area. When she relocated to the outskirts of Philadelphia, Pinkerton dispatched agents to Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. One operative set up a watch-repair shop in the village as a cover operation and began gathering information on the Maroney family’s activities.
Pinkerton sent in Kate Warne, posing as a society wife. Supplied with a lavish wardrobe, she played her part to the hilt, and wangled an introduction to Mrs. Maroney. Over the course of their chats, Warne pretended to confide in her, claiming that her own husband had gotten rich as a counterfeiter.
Meanwhile, Pinkerton maneuvered to have authorities rearrest Maroney, and when they did, Pinkerton placed an operative, John White, undercover in the same jail cell, ostensibly charged with forgery. Pinkerton then unleashed an elaborate scheme of psychological warfare against the hapless, imprisoned Maroney. An undercover agent was assigned to court Mrs. Maroney in Jenkintown, and to make sure he was seen with her in public. Pinkerton began to barrage Maroney, still in jail in Alabama, with anonymous letters claiming that his wife was having an affair. On her next visit to theprison, Mrs. Maroney admitted she’d been out with the stranger, confirming Maroney’s darkest suspicions.
Sitting right there in the jail cell was Pinkerton’s operative John White, ready to serve as a shoulder for Maroney to cry on over his wife’s supposed infidelity. White hinted to Maroney that it was possible to bribe the authorities to get out of jail early, and when White’s “lawyer”—another of Pinkerton’s actors—showed up to release him, Maroney took the bait. He begged White to help him get out, too, no matter how much it cost. Maroney was desperate to reach his wife. White agreed to help once he’d gotten out of jail, and he encouraged Maroney to get word to his wife that he’d need the stolen cash for bribe money. Maroney sent a message to his wife to dig up the money from its hiding place and give it to White, who Maroney thought would bring it to Alabama and help arrange his release from prison.
When she got the message, Mrs. Maroney wasn’t sure that the scheme was a good idea. After all, Maroney was under suspicion of theft, and getting caught with the cash might seal his fate. But Pinkerton had foreseen that Mrs. Maroney might balk, and had a plan to encourage her along. The anxious woman turned to her new best friend and asked what to do. Kate Warne advised her that paying the money was the best plan. The couple could head out west with their booty, and escape the Alabama authorities.
When Mrs. Maroney handed the money over to White, only $400 of the total amount stolen was missing.
In late 1855, Maroney went on trial in Montgomery, White never having returned to release him. He was shocked to see White called to the stand to testify against him. Realizing he’d been set up and the state had all the
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