The most noxious criminal organizations in the United States have existed in the larger cities, where they have resorted to a higher class of frauds and robberies. Those that have de voted themselves to the open country, on the other hand, have been made up of men of a lower criminal stamp, like our own gangs of outlaws, and have been guilty of murder and robbery with violence. Usually these bands have been composed ofyoung men, under the leadership of the most determined man in the company, as in the case of the Younger and James gangs, but there have been instances in which even women have been the leaders of such associations of lawbreakers. Louise Bou viers headed a society of 40 men, and the leader of one of the most heartless companies of In dian dacoits was a woman. While such bands of criminals have usually been recruited from the lower walks of life, instances are not want ing in which men of education and social posi tion have resorted to this method of gaining a livelihood. One society of thieves which ter rorized Mayence, in Germany, for several years, was led by an ex-priest, while the °Habits Noirs," or evening-dress gang, of Paris, was composed of persons of excellent social stand ing, who had met with financial reverses. In 1837 the authorities of Rome discovered and broke up an organized criminal society, many of the members of which were connected with the noble families of Italy. Among those ar rested were Count Dionisi de Traja and the Countess Angellucci de Traja, as well as sev oral members of the Pope's bodyguard, all of whom had been long esteemed as persons of an exemplary character. France has often been at the mercy of such criminal societies, and there is reason to believe that crime clubs exist at the present time.
In 1849 the Thiberts were disbanded, after they had been successful in pursuing all kinds of criminal operations. This association, which numbered more than 800 members, was com posed of every variety of criminal, all working, in perfect harmony, under one director. What one branch could not do, another accomplished, and there was no phase of crime which could not be undertaken. The disbandment of the Thiberts, however, was the signal for the or ganization of other associations along similar lines, and many of these societies were made up of seemingly harmless folk, men and women who lived in apparent respectability, or mem bers .of the same family who pursued their
careers of crime under the direction of one of their number. Such a man was Hippolyte Vil let, the leader of the Lamaire band, whose crimes remained unchecked from 1852 to 1855, when the criminals were exposed, and com pelled to pay the penalty of their murders and robberies on the gallows.
An instance of organized criminal effort was exposed by the police in Paris in 1888. This association, known as the Catusse-Menegant, was one of the greatest of modern bands of criminals, for, while it was under the direction of two men, located in Paris, its lines extended into every part of Europe. Everywhere it had its agents, bands ofpickpockets, horse stealers, housebreakers, confidence men and swindlers of every character. In addition to this it operated a banking house in London, through which it was a simple matter to negotiate its stolen stocks and bonds, or to dispose of its silver and gold. With such facilities the operations of the society were naturally enormous, and were only exposed at last through the clever work of the French detectives, assisted by officers from Scotland Yard. The real leader of the Catusse Menegant was a man named Chambon, who, under the name of Victor Chevalier, lived with his wife in the Rue Poteau. To all appear ances his sole business was that of conducting a livery stable. His arrest, and that of his lieutenants, was soon followed by confessions which enabled the police to arrest many other members of the association. They were found in all parts of Europe, and in almost every grade of society, but the evidence against them was so complete that nearly all were convicted and sentenced to more or less lengthy terms of imprisonment.
The uSystem,I) in New York, may be looked upon as the last modern criminal association in America. It was an alliance between certain gangs and gang leaders, with corrupt poli ticians and corrupt members of the police force. It met its death through the ef forts of Charles S. Whitman, then district at torney of New York, who convicted Lieutenant Becker, a high police official, with the murder of a gambler who disobeyed orders. Becker and his agents were electrocuted, Whitman was rewarded by being made governor of New York State, and the system received its death blow.