© 2008, 2023 Christian Cassidy
December 13, 1908, Salt Lake City Herald
(Believed to be Winnipeg police mugshots)
On December 5, 1908, “...the most notorious and dangerous diamond robbers on the continent” walked into Porte and Markle Jewellers at 300 Portage Avenue and attempted to steal a diamond ring.
Newspaper headlines may have exaggerated the characteristics of the gang and at one point it appeared that they weren't even a gang at all. It was a case with a number of twists and turns that got coverage in several cities around North America.
Here's a look back at events that one Tribune reporter wrote "would be a matter of much difficulty to find the exact truth".
Porte and Markle was a well-known Winnipeg jeweller established in 1897 when watchmaker Thomas Jeffares Porte arrived here from Picton, ON and opened shop on Main Street. In January 1907, he joined forces with George Markle who also came from Ontario and operated an optometrists practise since around 1902.
The men decided that their new enterprise required a new, larger retail store on Portage Avenue in addition to the Main Street shop. The location they chose was in the newly constructed "New Aikins Block" at 298 - 302 Portage Avenue, (which was rechristened the Somerset Block soon after opening.)
The store opened on Friday, April 5, 1907 with members of the Royal
Alexandra Hotel Orchestra playing selections from Strauss, Schubert,
Beethoven and Mozart. The store expanded to take up the neighbouring
storefront in 1910.
A Free Press story said, "Finished throughout in mahogany, the interior of the store presents a very rich and attractive appearance which is greatly enhanced by the superb display of diamonds and other stones." The goods were displayed in glass cases throughout the store.
This was in a bustling section of Portage Avenue with the Lyceum Theatre on one side and the massive T. Eaton Co. store on the other. The above photo shows the streetscape in 1915, though this was the year after Porte and Markle moved further up Portage and their sign is no longer visible on the Somerset block (right).
A Free Press story said, "Finished throughout in mahogany, the interior of the store presents a very rich and attractive appearance which is greatly enhanced by the superb display of diamonds and other stones." The goods were displayed in glass cases throughout the store.
This was in a bustling section of Portage Avenue with the Lyceum Theatre on one side and the massive T. Eaton Co. store on the other. The above photo shows the streetscape in 1915, though this was the year after Porte and Markle moved further up Portage and their sign is no longer visible on the Somerset block (right).
The store attracted more than just shoppers on the afternoon of Saturday, December 5, 1908. The details of exactly what happened that day vary from newspaper to newspaper, but this is an accurate account based on several stories.
A well-dressed man with a thick accent and limited English entered the store and told Markle he wanted to buy a ring for a young lady. He was shown to the diamond room and spent 45 minutes browsing before choosing a stone that cost $325. He asked Markle to hold the ring so that he could bring the lady around after she got off work at Robinson's store to make the final decision.
The couple visited the store just after 6 p.m. and were shown to the diamond room. She was cool about the ring and asked to look at some other items such as diamond earrings.
Their attention soon turned back to the ring and the two seemed uncertain if they would buy anything at all. The man put the ring back on the tray in an "irritable manner" which made Markle suspicious. He examined it right away and saw that it did not have the Porte and Markle mark inside - the ring had been switched for one with what Markle later admitted was a very good quality fake diamond.
When Markle called the man out, he said he got it mixed up with another ring he was carrying and tried to put the real one back. When he looked towards the door and saw that the security lock was on, Markle exclaimed that he had a gun and would shoot if he did not surrender. (Markle didn't have a gun, he just grabbed at a wad of keys under his jacket.)
According to Markle, the man put his hands up and was "bowing and whining" to be let go. The woman then called the man a "dirty creep" for bringing her out to pull such a stunt and began crying.
Thomas Porte was working in the front of the store and heard the commotion. Through the window of the diamond room he saw Markle give him their signal to call police.
When questioned at the police station, the woman told police her name was Sadie Copeland, 26, and that the key in her purse was for an apartment on Elgin Avenue near Princess Street.
Police went to the address and found a case containing a great deal of new and used jewellery, a number of high-quality fake diamonds and rubies, pawn tickets for jewellery shops in Chicago, and a lump of gold likely made from melted down objects. There was also a mink coat and some silk dresses.
Also in the apartment was 18-year-old Alfred Morris Copeland, Sadie's brother. On his person they found two diamond rings, one later identified as having been stolen from Dingwall's Jewellers on Portage Avenue days before.
Police also arrested a man named Alexander Matthews at an address on Garry Street.
After further confessions, police discovered that the ringleader of the gang was a Russian-born 31-year-old named Philip Greenbaum. He was apparently an international jewel thief who had worked his way through Europe and Hong Kong before taking up residence in various cities in the U.S..
Newspaper stories spoke of "the switching game" that jewellery theft gangs like to use. There was a lookout who stayed near the entrance, the protagonist who wanted to purchase the item, and the decoy who would distract the shop clerk whilst the protagonist switched the real items for fakes.
In the Dingwall robbery, it was reported that all three were believed to be in the store at the time but staff didn't realize that the ring shown to Greenbaum had been switched until later in the day. Greenbaum was the only one staff could positively identify.
How the gang ended up together in Winnipeg came out at their trial on December 22nd at the police court. They faced charges related to the robbery of Dingwall's and the attempted robbery of Porte and Markle. Again, the information provided in the two daily papers doesn't always match and there were several holes and contradictions in the testimonies of the three accused.
One thing all three made clear was that they didn't intentionally assemble in Winnipeg to commit robberies.
Sadie had been married to Greenbaum in the U.S. but left him, (some reports say divorced him), after a few weeks because he did not provide for her and she found out he was a gambler. Months later, she was involved with Matthews, a black man from Minneapolis, and in August 1906 they relocated to Winnipeg and rented a room above a Chinese-owned laundry on Garry Street. (Matthews was released soon after his arrest as police determined that he had no involvement in the robberies.)
Meanwhile, Sadie's brother connected with Greenabum in the U.S.. Alfred testified that he unexpectedly bumped into him in Salt Lake City and the two hung around together visiting different cities with Greenbaum covering their expenses. Greenbaum asked Alfred to go to Winnipeg about a week before the Dingwall robbery to try to play "peacemaker" between him and Sadie.
Greenbaum came to Winnipeg days later at the request of Alfred who thought there was a chance of a reunification with his sister. The trio met outside the general post office and Greenbaum presented Sadie with a diamond ring, (likely the one stolen from Dingwall's.)
The three then moved in together to a furnished apartment on Elgin Avenue.
There was no mention at the trial of hatching a plan to rob Porte and Markle or any other jewellers. If Sadie and or Alfred knew of it, or even knew how Greenbaum made his money, they played ignorant and it appears that Greenbaum didn't implicate them.
Greenbaum was found guilty of both the robbery of Dingwall's and attempted robbery of Porte and Markle. Magistrate Thomas Daly said to him "the public must be protected against men of your class" before sentencing him to five years and three years respectively.
A Free Press reporter noted that "Greenbaum's face took on a frightened expression as he realized the full import of the sentence and seem dazed".
What happened to Greenbaum is not known as he is never mentioned in local newspapers again. Even if he served his full sentence, he would have been just 39 at the time of his release.
Greenbaum's status as an international jewel thief trumpeted by the police and newspapers in the days after his arrest doesn't seem to have come up at his trial and may have been sensationalized by police and / or the media. If another jurisdiction did want Greenbaum, they could have applied for his extradition but in those days Manitoba would not have let him go until he served out his sentence here first.
As for Sadie and Alfred Copeland, their charges had already been reduced to receiving stolen goods by the time the trial started and Magistrate Daly believed that they played no role in Greenbaum's crimes. A Tribune reporter concluded that they were "persons who appear to be weak-minded rather than vicious."
When Daly dismissed them, Sadie called out: "Thank you, sir, thank you and may God bless you all." The two left court with their father who had travelled from the U.S. to attend the trial.
December 8, 1908, Salt Lake City Herald
There is a final twist to this story.
Back at the time of the initial arrests, newspapers in Salt Lake City took an interest in the case. The Salt Lake City Herald noted that "Alfred Copland and Alex Matthews are well-known to local police. Copland operated here a few years ago and was arrested for the switch game." (In Salt Lake City, Sophie and Alfred seemed to have used a variation of their last name - Copland instead of Copeland. Sophie also appears to have used the last name Wilson at times.)
A further story in the Salt Lake Tribune quoted the Salt Lake City chief of detectives as saying there were no outstanding warrants for any of them but confirmed that Alfred had been arrested in 1904 and was banned from the city. He turned up again in 1907 and was arrested and driven to the city limits.
Another story days later in the Herald sated that Greenbaum and the Copelands had previously been arrested In Salt Lake City for doing the switch game. They offered to return the merchandise and instead of a trial opted to be driven out of town and banned from returning to the city.
The story went on to say, "Previous to this trick, Sadie Copland and Alfred Copland, who claim to be brother and sister, were arrested on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon" in a dispute with the owner of a Salt Lake City laundry.
The Salt Lake Intermountain Republican referred to Philip Greenbaum in one of its stories as a "one-time notorious Salt Lake diamond crook".
What
exactly happened in Salt Lake City and Winnipeg will forever remain a mystery.
It appears, though, that the four arrested after the attempted Porte
and Markle robbery had criminal connections to each other and Sadie and Matthews may have come to Winnipeg as an advance
team to be joined later by the other two to begin a robbery spree.
Perhaps Winnipeg police weren't interested in conducting a lengthy international investigation for what amounted to $500 in merchandise where both victims got their property back. Salt Lake City police repeatedly said they had no outstanding warrants and no other police departments appear to have come forward looking for them.
The antics at the trial may have been pre-planned by the gang. If they ever got caught, they knew to plead ignorance and would either get a slap on the wrist after returning the goods, or, worst-case scenario, the only one to face a serious penalty would be the protagonist and they could regroup again in the future.
Perhaps Winnipeg police weren't interested in conducting a lengthy international investigation for what amounted to $500 in merchandise where both victims got their property back. Salt Lake City police repeatedly said they had no outstanding warrants and no other police departments appear to have come forward looking for them.
The antics at the trial may have been pre-planned by the gang. If they ever got caught, they knew to plead ignorance and would either get a slap on the wrist after returning the goods, or, worst-case scenario, the only one to face a serious penalty would be the protagonist and they could regroup again in the future.
There may have been more to Sophie's willingness to confess after her arrest and pleading ignorance to Greenbaum's crimes. Perhaps she did get mixed up in a life that she no longer wanted for herself or her brother.
Someone in the gang certainly spilled the beans about Greenbaum - and maybe even exaggerated the scale of his crimes - as Winnipeg police couldn't have known so much about his criminal background the day after his arrest if there were no outstanding warrants on file.
Rolling over on Greenbaum could have lead to the lesser charges she and Alfred faced at trial and their eventual release. With Greenbaum incarcerated, they were free to get on with their lives.
The Tribune reporter who wrote that there "would be a matter of much difficulty to find the exact truth" in this case likely didn't know how true that statement would end up being.
March 5, 1914, Winnipeg Tribune
As for Porte and Markle, the firm continued on at their Portage Avenue store and were well-known watch and clock makers. A large example of their work is their clock in the Wainright AB train station and their smaller timepieces can still be found on antique websites around the world.
In 1913, the firm amalgamated with the local division of Henry Birks and Sons and they became the managing partners of the combined store. This arrangement lasted until 1921 when Markle retired from the business and moved to Vancouver. Porte stayed on as vice-president of Winnipeg's Birks store until he left around 1925 to become president of Winnipeg's Tourist and Convention Bureau.
For more about Birks' Winnipeg history.
This is an update of a much shorter blog post about the robbery written back in 2008.
1 comment:
Very interesting, as always. Just a note: you switch to calling Sadie Copeland 'Sophie' a number of times.
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