New York, corner between Wall Street and William Street 1798

The 1831 City Bank of New York theft took place on March 19, 1831, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, New York,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, when

burglar Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murd ...

s stole $245,000 (1831 values) from the City Bank (now Citibank) on Wall Street, using a set of copied keys. The theft is regarded as one of the first bank heists in U.S. history. The amount stolen would come to over $52 million in 2013 currency. Initial reports variously reported the name of the culprits as Edward Smith, Edward Jones, James HoneymanA History of Heists: Bank Robbery in America
Jerry Clark, Ed Palattella and James Murray. A modern source, drawing on period newspapers, fingers James Honeyman and William J. Murray. Murray and Honeyman, who used both "Smith" and "Jones" as

aliases A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

, spent $60,000 before they were caught. Murray fled to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

while Honeyman remained in New York under an alias. Both were captured, convicted, and both sentenced to five years in

Sing Sing prison Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north of ...

.America's (Not Quite) First Bank Robbery
Jeff Nilsson,

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

, 16 March 2013 The

Connecticut Courant Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

reported that the suspect, Smith (Honeyman), was apprehended "due to the acuteness and indefatigable vigilance of High Constable Hays." Honeyman had been apprehended in the previous year for robbing "Mr. Schenck's store" in Brooklyn. He was a "Morocco (leather) dresser" by trade who kept a small shoe store on the Bowery where he allowed "dissipated profligates" to gather. Constable Hays found nothing during his first search of the Division Street rooms where Honeyman lived with his wife and two children. Tipped off by the keeper of the lodging house, who saw Honeyman carrying a trunk out of his rooms, the "acute" Constable Hays returned later in the week, and he decided to search the trunks remaining in the apartment. This time, he found most of the stolen money hidden under clothing in one of the trunks. The suspect was seized and taken to New York's colonial-era Bridewell prison. Authorities recovered: $57,328 in City Bank Notes; $501,118 in "various city notes;" $44,000 in Lansingburgh Bank Notes (a bank in

Lansingburgh, New York Lansingburgh was a village in the north end of Troy, New York, Troy. It was first laid out in lots and incorporated in 1771 by Abraham Jacob Lansing, who had purchased the land in 1763. In 1900, Lansingburgh became part of the Troy, New York, Cit ...

); $20,000 in notes issued by the "

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a common carrier anthracite coal canal across northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals at Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its western terminus at Phillipsburg, New Jers ...

"; $8,272 recorded as "uncurrent - belonging to S. & M. Allen"; and $40 worth of counterfeit notes. $63,000 of stolen money was never recovered, a sum that included 398

doubloon The doubloon (from Spanish ''doblón'', or "double", i.e. ''double escudo'') was a two-''escudo'' gold coin worth approximately $4 (four Spanish dollars) or 32 '' reales'', and weighing 6.766 grams (0.218 troy ounce) of 22-karat gold (or 0.917 fi ...

References

{{reflist Bank thefts 1831 in New York (state) 1831 crimes in the United States Crimes in Manhattan Citigroup