Henry D. Neuman or Neumann (
fl.
''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...
1860–1874) was a German-born American burglar, bank robber and gang leader known as Dutch Heinrichs. A member of
Chauncey Johnson's burglary gang during the late 1860s, he was also the founder of the
Hell's Kitchen Gang which terrorized
West Manhattan for over two decades.
[Federal Writers' Project. ''New York City: Vol 1, New York City Guide''. Vol. I. American Guide Series. New York: Random House, 1939. (pg. 155)][Nadel, Stanley. ''Little Germany: Ethnicity, Religion, and Class in New York City, 1845-80''. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990. (pg. 87) ]
Biography
Early life and criminal career
Born Henry D. Neuman in
northern Germany
Northern Germany (, ) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city-states Hambur ...
, he immigrated to New York with his family as a child. Having a respectable middle class upbringing, it is unknown motivations that led him to pursue a criminal career. He was involved in petty theft as a teenager, referred to as "The Flying Dutchman", and was associated with the Greenthals and the
Mandlebaums. In 1860, he was arrested after stealing a watch from a man at the corner of
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
and
Canal Street
Canal Street may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Canal Street (Manchester), Manchester, England
* Canal Street, Oxford, Jericho, Oxford, England
United States
* Canal Street (Buffalo), a street and district at the western terminus of the Er ...
, presumably his first criminal act,
[""Dutch Heinrichs" to be Sent to an Insane Asylum." New York Times. 08 May 1873] for which he was convicted and spent two years in
New York State Prison. During his time in prison, he became friends with noted bond robber
Chauncey Johnson and joined his gang upon his release. He eventually became his chief lieutenant and was involved in numerous robberies with the gang including $16,000 from the
Adam Express Company, $21,000 from the
Vesey Street
Vesey Street ( ) is a street in New York City that runs east-west in Lower Manhattan. The street is named after Rev. William Vesey (1674–1746), the first rector of nearby Trinity Church (Manhattan), Trinity Church.
History
The intersection ...
robbery and, most notably, the theft of $1,000,000 in bonds from industrialist
Rufus L. Lord. Other participants in the robbery included
Jack Tierney and
Hod Ennis.
["Dutch Heinrichs; Sketch of a Noted Criminal's Career. He is Said to be Mad--A New Trial to be Had --How the Prisoner Conducts Himself in the Tombs--Beating a Man in the Cell". New York Times. 28 Nov 1872]
In 1865, he was charged with stealing two bags of gold worth $10,000 from the
Bank of Commerce
Bank of Commerce (), commonly known as BankCom, is a universal bank in the Philippines and licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). BankCom is the banking arm of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (SMC). It has a total ...
as well as a later robbery in Philadelphia but was acquitted in both cases. On March 6, 1866, he attempted to steal a package from the
Broadway Bank containing a $2,283 deposit, but was caught by passersby as he exited the bank. In June 1867, he appeared in court three months later and pleaded guilty to grand larceny.
Although Heinrichs earned a substantial sum from his criminal activities, he usually gambled it away as soon as he earned it. On one occasion, he was said to have lost $23,000 after a major bank robbery. Once night in 1867 however, he walked into a
Chatham Street
Park Row is a street located in the Financial District, Civic Center, and Chinatown neighborhoods of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street runs east–west, sometimes called north–south because the western end bends to the sout ...
faro parlor with $3 and ended up walking out with $5,000 and
broke the bank.
He later married the sister of sportsman, gambler and sometime confidence man Tom Davis.
Hell's Kitchen Gang
In 1868, Heinrichs organized the
Hell's Kitchen Gang whose members committed street muggings and petty theft in the areas between
Eighth Avenue and
Thirty-Fourth Street. He later joined with
Ike Marsh and the
Tenth Avenue Gang launching a campaign against the
Hudson River Railroad
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
which included
extortion
Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...
,
breaking and entering
Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...
,
destruction of railroad property and
armed robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...
. Both Heinrichs and Marsh co-led the gang until Henrich began facing legal problems during the early 1870s.
Imprisonment and later years
On January 15, 1870, shortly after his release from
Blackwell's Island
Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. It is about long, with an area of , and had a ...
, Heinrichs and three ''"well-dressed, gentleman looking"'' men appeared at several
Uptown Manhattan
Upper Manhattan is the northern section of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary has been variously defined, but some of the most common usages are 96th Street, 110th Street (the northern boundary of Central Park), 1 ...
banks including the
Bleecker Street Savings Bank,
Manhattan Bank and the
East River Bank among others but quickly left as soon as they were spotted by bank officials. They eventually gave up took a downtown trolley car where they disappeared.
["The Plot to Rob The Banks; "Dutch" Heinrichs, the Celebrated Bank Thief, Visits Several Banking Houses but Fails to Secure any Booty." New York Times. 11 Jan 1870]
On February 14, 1872, two unidentified men stole $33,000 in bonds belonging to the
New London and
Ashland Railroads from the banking firm of J.S. Kennedy & Sons at their
Cedar Street office. Information provided by a private detective led to Heinrichs' arrest and the investigation was taken over by
Wall Street
Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
detectives. Central Office detectives came to his defense claiming Heinrichs had been held in custody at the time the robbery occurred. He had been suspected of stealing a watch from
C. Godfrey Gunther, former
Mayor of New York
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
, however the gang leader's evidence was refused at trial. Convicted of
grand larceny
Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...
, he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment.
Initially sent to New York State Prison, he was sent to
The Tombs
The Tombs was the colloquial name for Manhattan Detention Complex (formerly the Bernard B. Kerik Complex during 2001–2006), a former municipal jail at 125 White Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It was also the nickname for three prev ...
eight months later. Heinrichs soon began exhibiting signs of extreme violence and paranoia while in prison. On September 24, 1872, he attacked his cellmate Jacob Rosenzweig believing he was spying on him. He reportedly did not recognize his lawyers when they came to visit him.
His council successfully appealed to the Supreme Court for a retrial. As a result of the court's review of his case, a precedent was set in state criminal law that ''"when a party on trial avails himself of the recent statute allowing an accused to be a witness on his own behalf, he is not disqualified to testify by reason of a former conviction or felony"''.
["Dutch Heinrich and Rosenzweig Granted New Trials". New York Times. 19 Nov 1872] On May 7, 1873, officials announced that Heinrichs would be committed to the
insane asylum
The lunatic asylum, insane asylum or mental asylum was an institution where people with mental illness were confined. It was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital.
Modern psychiatric hospitals evolved from and eventually replace ...
at
Wards Island
Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Island, in New York City. .
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heinrichs, Dutch
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing
Emigrants from the German Confederation to the United States
Criminals from New York City