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Dutch Mob
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Dutch Mob
The Dutch Mob was a New York pickpocket gang during the late nineteenth century.
Formed during the late 1860s by Little Freddie, "Sheeny" Mike Kurtz, and Johnny Irving, former members of the Italian Dave Gang, the Dutch Mob soon became one of the largest pickpocket gangs in the United States numbering around 300 members. Operating in the Manhattan neighborhood east of the Bowery, the area between Houston and Fifth Streets was known as a "pickpockets paradise" to the local press. A common tactic of the gang was to stage a street fight and pickpocket the gathering crowd. A variation of this technique was to have several gang members pick a fight with a victim where he would be "rescued" by other gang members posing as innocent bystanders and have his pockets picked while being rushed through the crowd.
However, when Anthony J. Allaire was appointed precinct captain in 1877, police "flying squads" were sent to clear the district attacking anyone who was suspected or resembled a pickpocket or other criminal and by the end of the year few members of the gang remained.
The same area would become home to another gang of mostly teenaged pickpockets, the Crazy Butch Gang, in the late-1890s.
One of the founding members, "Sheeny" Mike Kurtz (or Mike Whelan) jointly ruled the gang along with Little Freddie and Johnny Irving during the 1870s. He was eventually imprisoned at Clinton Prison and sentenced to 18 years and 6 months on March 30, 1880, although he was possibly later released on appeal. He would later have a successful career as a bank robber and jewelry thief with Irving during the 1880s and 90s before his death in New York.
In 1894, Kurtz was arrested with "Dutch" Fred Ryder and ex-policeman Michael Malone in connection with the robbery of the Albert J. Knoll's Jersey Street saloon in Elizabethtown, New Jersey on April 2, 1894. The three burglars agreed to turn state's evidence against David McAdams, sportsman and manager of the Red Jacket Hotel, who they claimed arranged the robbery and hired them to rob the hotel in exchange for a percentage of the expected $800 in cash.
Johnny Irving (b. 1844–1883) lead the gang along with Mike Kurtz and Little Freddie and had a successful burglary career with Billy Porter during the 1870s and 80s.
In August 1878, he and Porter were arrested on suspicion of robbing a Williamsburg dry goods store of $4,000 the previous month, however police were forced to release the two due to lack of evidence. After being under police surveillance, police were able to gain sufficient evidence after finding stolen silk and jewelry as well as burglar's tools and a combination safelock.
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Dutch Mob
The Dutch Mob was a New York pickpocket gang during the late nineteenth century.
Formed during the late 1860s by Little Freddie, "Sheeny" Mike Kurtz, and Johnny Irving, former members of the Italian Dave Gang, the Dutch Mob soon became one of the largest pickpocket gangs in the United States numbering around 300 members. Operating in the Manhattan neighborhood east of the Bowery, the area between Houston and Fifth Streets was known as a "pickpockets paradise" to the local press. A common tactic of the gang was to stage a street fight and pickpocket the gathering crowd. A variation of this technique was to have several gang members pick a fight with a victim where he would be "rescued" by other gang members posing as innocent bystanders and have his pockets picked while being rushed through the crowd.
However, when Anthony J. Allaire was appointed precinct captain in 1877, police "flying squads" were sent to clear the district attacking anyone who was suspected or resembled a pickpocket or other criminal and by the end of the year few members of the gang remained.
The same area would become home to another gang of mostly teenaged pickpockets, the Crazy Butch Gang, in the late-1890s.
One of the founding members, "Sheeny" Mike Kurtz (or Mike Whelan) jointly ruled the gang along with Little Freddie and Johnny Irving during the 1870s. He was eventually imprisoned at Clinton Prison and sentenced to 18 years and 6 months on March 30, 1880, although he was possibly later released on appeal. He would later have a successful career as a bank robber and jewelry thief with Irving during the 1880s and 90s before his death in New York.
In 1894, Kurtz was arrested with "Dutch" Fred Ryder and ex-policeman Michael Malone in connection with the robbery of the Albert J. Knoll's Jersey Street saloon in Elizabethtown, New Jersey on April 2, 1894. The three burglars agreed to turn state's evidence against David McAdams, sportsman and manager of the Red Jacket Hotel, who they claimed arranged the robbery and hired them to rob the hotel in exchange for a percentage of the expected $800 in cash.
Johnny Irving (b. 1844–1883) lead the gang along with Mike Kurtz and Little Freddie and had a successful burglary career with Billy Porter during the 1870s and 80s.
In August 1878, he and Porter were arrested on suspicion of robbing a Williamsburg dry goods store of $4,000 the previous month, however police were forced to release the two due to lack of evidence. After being under police surveillance, police were able to gain sufficient evidence after finding stolen silk and jewelry as well as burglar's tools and a combination safelock.