OPINION — The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree, they say. More than a century ago, investigators desperately hoped that it would prove true in a big criminal case. As we’re about to discover, things didn’t work out that way.
It all started on a Friday in late September 1898. Gunmen robbed a Missouri Pacific Railroad train’s express car near Leeds, Missouri. That was where valuables were kept, and it’s believed the bad guys got away with a bundle. Some sources say the haul was about $40,000 (more than $1 million today).
The railroad bosses brought in agents from the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. It was the world’s largest private law enforcement agency at the time. Its services came with a hefty price tag, meaning the rail carrier wasn’t fooling around. It was paying big bucks, and it expected big results.
