William O'Brien (1850 – unknown), better known as Billy Porter but also known by the alias William or Billy Morton, was an American burglar and underworld figure in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

during the mid-to late 19th century. He and partner

Johnny Irving Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Variant ...

were longtime members of the

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 ...

along with Little Freddie and Michael "Sheeny Mike" Kurtz. He was present during the 1883 gunfight at

Shang Draper Thomas "Shang" Draper (1839–1883) was a criminal shanghaier, saloon keeper, and criminal gang leader in New York City along the city waterfront. Criminal career Shang Draper ran a waterfront saloon in his native New York City, where he perfo ...

's saloon in which Irving was shot and killed by rival John "Johnny the Mick" Walsh. O'Brien then killed Walsh and was himself gunned down by Shang Draper. Although surviving his wounds, he was tried for, and acquitted of, Walsh's death. Like many of the Dutch Mob, O'Brien was also associated with the infamous bank robber

George Leonidas Leslie George Leonidas Leslie (1842–1878) was an architect turned bank robber. Early life and education George Leslie was born in 1842, two years after his parents arrived in America from England. Early into his childhood, his father moved the fami ...

and his gang. Nearly a year after the Walsh murder trial, he was among those suspected of Leslie's murder in 1884. He was among those profiled in

Thomas F. Byrnes Thomas F. Byrnes (June 15, 1842 – May 7, 1910) was an Irish-born American police officer, who served as head of the New York City Police Department detective department from 1880 until 1895, who popularized the terms "rogues' gallery" and " t ...

's ''Professional Criminals of America'' (1886).

Biography

William O'Brien was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1850. He was a printer by trade but began his criminal activities at a young age. By early adulthood, O'Brien had been arrested in almost every major city in the United States''Defenders and Offenders''. New York: D. Buchner & Co., 1888. (pg. 105) and was considered "second to no one in his business". According to former

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

police detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

in ''Professional Criminals of America'' (1886), he was described as By the mid-1870s, he and partner

became members of the

, a major

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

pickpocket Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. A th ...

ing gang, which operated east of The

Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. "B ...

between

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

and Fifth Streets. Asbury, Herbert. ''The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the New York Underworld''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. (pg. 183) He and Irving were among the many underworld figures also associated with Marm Mandelbaum.Walling, George W. ''Recollections of a New York Chief of Police: An Official Record of Thirty-eight Years as Patrolman, Detective, Captain, Inspector and Chief of the New York Police''. New York: Caxton Book Concern, 1887. (pg. 275, 286, 400-402) It was during this period that he took part of a number of major robberies with his partners in crime. On October 11, 1877, he was arrested with Irving, Joe Dollard and

for stealing $2,000 worth of silk hat linings from E. Tilges' warehouse on Broome Street. He was held in custody in default of a $4,000 bail set by Justice Morgan, but was subsequently released from police custody. O'Brien was again arrested with Irving on June 5, 1878, and transported to authorities in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

where they were wanted for the burglary of Mr. Betterman's dry goods store in Williamsburg in which $5,000 worth of silk and $1,400 in cash were stolen. Neither man could be properly identified, however, and charges were dropped. A little over two months later, the two were arrested in the company of

Gilbert Yost Gilbert Yost (died July 10, 1886) was a New York criminal and burglar associated with George Leslie and later the Dutch Mob. He was arrested with Leslie after robbing a jewelry store in Norristown, Pennsylvania in 1870 and, while Leslie was able ...

at O'Brien's Brooklyn residence at No. 152 Pachen Avenue. O'Brien was charged with the burglary of Martin Ibert's Sons' flour and grain store on Graham Avenue which had occurred the previous day. He was tried twice for the burglary, both trials ending in a

hung jury A hung jury, also called a deadlocked jury, is a judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority. Hung jury usually results in the case being tried again. ...

, and he finally escaped with Irving from Raymond Street jail on June 1, 1879. The two fugitives fled to Boston, and from there traveled to

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

where, with Joe Dollard, they burglarized C.R. Linke, then a major jeweler in the city, breaking into its safe and stealing watches and silverware valued at $15,000 on June 27, 1879. Three days later, the three successfully eluded private detectives sent from New York to capture them. On July 23, he and Irving also escaped from police in

Passaic, New Jersey Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,78 ...

but O'Brien was eventually apprehended in New York on September 28, and delivered to Sheriff Reilly in Brooklyn. He was tried and convicted by Judge Moore on October 23, 1879, and sentenced to five years imprisonment in the Kings County Penitentiary. On the morning of October 16, 1883, O'Brien accompanied Irving to

Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...

saloon. While there, they became involved in an altercation with John "Johnny the Mick" Walsh, an underworld rival, resulting in Walsh drawing a pistol and killing Irving. O'Brien then drew his own weapon and killed Walsh and was immediately shot by Draper. He was seriously wounded but eventually recovered from his wounds (at least one account claims he fled the saloon after killing Walsh and was arrested by a nearby police detective). He was arrested for the shooting and charged with murder, however, he was acquitted by a jury on November 20, 1883. Almost a year after the trial, O'Brien and Irving, then running the so-called Pachen Avenue Gang in Brooklyn, were among those suspected in the unsolved murder of George Leslie, which had occurred back in the summer of 1878.Lardner, James and Thomas Reppetto. ''NYPD: A City and Its Police''. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2000. (pg. 75) During his imprisonment at "Crow Hill", O'Brien's mother died and left him $12,000. O'Brien is claimed to have "well provided for his mother and sisters".Ellis, Havelock. ''The Criminal''. London: Walter Scott, 1890. (pg. 154) He kept a low profile following his release and soon left for

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

with "Sheeney" Mike Kurtz in February 1884. They had considerable success committing burglaries in England, France and Germany, netting them each $25,000 each, before returning to the United States in January 1885. That same month, on January 14, 1885, O'Brien was arrested in New York City for his alleged involvement in the robbery of Emanuel Marks & Son, another jewelry store, in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

. The robbery, which occurred the same month he had left the country, resulted in the theft of $14,000 in jewelry. He was taken back to Troy to stand trial and it was expected that, were O'Brien not convicted, he would be tried in a separate robbery in Brooklyn where he was suspected of robbing Haydn's jewelry store a year before. The same day of his arrest, Kurtz was arrested in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

and extradited to Troy where he was tried as an accessory. In the late-1880s, his criminal career was profiled in ''Professional Criminals of America'' (1886) and ''Defenders and Offenders'' (1888). The latter publication referred to O'Brien as "one of the most celebrated crackmen and bank burglars in America".

Biography

References

Further reading