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..,...., ,, , ~ OReilly on Racing 1 Dan Campion of TRPB Is Able To Make Himself Inconspicious By TOM OREILLY JAMAICA, L. I., N. Y., May 13. — Occasionally, over the years, various actors have been known to bill themselves as "the man with a thousand faces." There were several such back in the old days of vaudeville. It is doubtful if anyone has ever encountered ..,...., ,, , such such a a character character in in real real life life but, but, out out at at Jamaica Jamaica race race track, track, if if you you such such a a character character in in real real life life but, but, out out at at Jamaica Jamaica race race track, track, if if you you know him, it is possible to find a gentleman who has somehow contrived to make himself appear exactly like a thousand other guys and one whom you never would notice in a crowd. That would be detective captain Daniel J. Campion, former famed head of New York Citys pickpocket and confidence squad now working for the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau. There are few details in the sleuthing profession that Dan Campion has overlooked and building up an appearance that would be inconspicuous in any crowd is not one of them. In fact he has done such a good job on this detail that when I asked one of his friends to point him out to me, he laughed and said, "funny thing. Yknow he looks like every other Irishman you ever saw." Actually, Actually, Dan Dan is is a a strong-jawed, strong-jawed, blue-eyed blue-eyed Celt, Celt, on on the the slight slight ~ Actually, Actually, Dan Dan is is a a strong-jawed, strong-jawed, blue-eyed blue-eyed Celt, Celt, on on the the slight slight side, with neat brown hair parted in .the middle. He is in his early fifties and has a pleasant smile. He affects a typical racegoers get-up with sports jacket, slacks, a neutral neutral colored colored sweater sweater and and a a soft soft hat. hat. If If he he were standing on a corner, with a group neutral neutral colored colored sweater sweater and and a a soft soft hat. hat. If If he he of fellows, on the West Side of New York, a -you would pay less attention to him than any of the others and if a fight started you would figure him as the first innocent bystander to get mauled. You would be sadly mistaken, of course, because at the age of 23 he was seriously considering earning a living with his maulies as a featherweight fighter, from the East Sides tough gas house district. Can Baffle Would-Be Expert It is a curious thing, but there are people in this world, who, at one time or another, have had small, unimportant brushes with the law, mostly over traffic violations, and claim they can tell a cop on sight. There is also a large criminal population, about 15,000 ex-cons, in this town, which • has the same feeling. Any fellow who gets around has bumped into similar types and l they all claim they can "smell a cop a mile 8 off." These are the babies whom Dan c Campion can baffle, because, although if c you examine his features closely you will J quickly realize that he is far from a weak character, he has studied the art of acting J naturally in his current surroundings, to 5 such a degree, that he seems to fade right f into the scenery. This is no accident, but high art. f ! One of the first things Dan Campion f learned about pickpockets and shoplifters a was the fact that they do not act naturally in a crowd. On the subway or at a race track, in stead of studying the feminine forms in their tabloids or the thoroughbred form in their charts, they are constantly t looking over the crowd and taking special if notice of its pockets and handbags. These actions give them away to the experienced cop. He also realized that a detective who a was constantly studying various people wasnt acting too naturally, either, so for a full quarter century he has concentrated r on being inconspicuous at all times. If he t cant achieve it, nobody can. t The above are my own observations after £ listening to Dans friends and finally meet- r ing him. He does not boast about this accomplishment, or, for that matter, even r mention it in his new book, "Crooks Are g Human, Too." Prentice-Hall, .95. In j the book, done with Myron M. Stearns, he j. simply tells, in straight-forward fashion, of 8 many fascinating experiences he had chas- , ing pickpockets and confidence men. The c book leaves you with several interesting j bits of knowledge to mull over. Regarding f confidence men, we all know the old adage € that goes, "You cannot cheat an honest r man." Its the fellow who hopes to get something for nothing who gets "conned." j And it is this larcency in the hearts of 3 nearly everyone that the confidence man works on. I liked particularly the way Dan . put it: "If you think you have no larceny at all " please tell me about the last time you j found a few dimes in a phone booth and ■ returned them to the telephone company." " He had us all there! Campion, however, is not the sort of copy who thinks everybody is a crook. He just a realizes that all of us are likely to get into . positions, such as that telephone situation, j • l 8 c c J J 5 f f ! f a t if a r t t £ r r g j j. 8 , c j f € r j 3 . " ■ j " a . j that are too tempting to overlook. He is also known among the thieves as a "square cop," who is aware of the compulsion that drives some people beyond the law and will give them a break. He tells of a successful "dip" who had retired from the racket to • enter legitimate business in Chicago but, I | , even though he had a thousand dollars in! his own pocket, couldnt resist the temptation I to lift a wallet containing 30 bucks, in [ I New Yorks subway. Now the gentleman never visits New York any more without first notifying the police that he is coming and will be here on legitimate business, with their permission. Campion also makes it clear that wherever pickpockets can operate with impunity, larger crimes are committed right on their heels. This apparently occurs because a first class hold-up artist or bank robber sees the pickpockets, whom he considers far beneath him, making a good living in certain locality, he feels sure that he can earn a better one in the same place. At any rate this he has found to be true in most police departments, sometimes with the tough guys trying the finger act and then deciding to shoot their way out when arrested. In his home, of course, Campion made his share of big pinches. One of his greatest assets is a remarkable memory for faces, which he has exercised and perfected across the years. When he looks over the police files of wanted people he doesnt easily forget those faces. Once, at the track, he picked up a "con" man who had swindled thousands of old ladies out of large sums. He questioned this man just by having seen his photograph in the police files. He is one of the few knowledgeable students of crime committed by real gypsies and a fine article on his ability in that department was written by Joe Mitchell in the New Yorker magazine a year or so ago. He enjoys race track work because the hours and surroundings are pleasant. Most of the people he "fingers" at the tracks are touts and few of them are arrested. They are simply told to take off and not come back. When a crime has been committed though, Campion takes his man into custody. "Of course, everybody at the track is, in sense, a tout," he says, "sincepals like to tell each other what they are playing. Moreover, everybody likes to be touted by the proper people and there is no expression more widely heard than What do you hear?" However, the people we are concerned with are the Double Teamers and other hustlers who approach total strangers. We watch for them and do our best." Campions best, I might add, is the finest. A week or two ago he went up to Havard for a "cram course" in legal medicine. When I asked why, he replied, with a chuckle, "Well, it certainly couldnt hurt me." He was gone before I could ask what he learned about weeds and pills and other interesting illegal items. Whats the connection between arsenic and the old races? Come with me, son I
