Mr. and Mrs. George Atwood
George Atwood was arrested on August 26, 1897 for stealing letters from street boxes. While serving his five-year sentence, his wife, Mrs. Atwood found herself being questioned by postal inspectors for her role in crimes.
George Atwood's Crimes
In 1897, George Atwood was tracked down by postal inspectors for his part in the stealing of letters from street boxes. Upon his arrest in August, he was discovered with a key to his wife's trunk, which contained unopened letters, stamps without postmarks, and enclosed checks for various sums.
He was placed on trial in September 1897 and pleaded guilty after confessing to George Stebbins, the city marshal of Springfield. Mr. Atwood was sentenced to five years in federal prison. In October 1897, when Mrs. Atwood (alias, Agnes) went to visit her husband in jail, she was arrested as an accomplice to her husband's crimes.
Mrs. Atwood's Investigation
Since the letters were found in Mrs. Atwood's trunk, she was investigated as an accomplice for her husband's crimes. Mrs. Atwood claimed she had no idea of her husband's doings and was unaware that the items in the trunk were stolen. Luckily, Mr. Atwood corroborated her story, and Mrs. Atwood was released. However, it was largely suspected that Mrs. Atwood was heavily involved in her husband's crimes.
After his release in 1902, Mr. Atwood did not cease to steal mail from letter boxes. He was once again arrested in 1903, this time along with his wife. Again Mrs. Atwood was able to fool investigators. This time, she claimed she was not the same Mrs. Atwood who was arrested in 1897 alongside Mr. Atwood.
Arrest and Punishment
Mrs. Hattie Atwood (Gibson), claimed that they met in 1902 after his release from prison and that she married Mr. Atwood in October 1902 in Yarmouth, Maine. Mr. Atwood corroborated her story, saying he and his former wife split prior to being released from prison. Unfortunately, inspectors were unable to determine if the current Mrs. Atwood was the same as the one arrested in 1897, due to their use of aliases in legal documents. Since Mr. Atwood cooperated with authorities, Mrs. Atwood was released once again.
After being released from prison, Mr. Atwood went right back to rifling the mail. And he was able to recruit new criminals to create a small ring of mail thieves that was active from 1903 to 1907. He was arrested again in 1904 and 1907 and indicted both times, but he was not convicted Mr. Atwood was not heard of again after the 1907 arrest.
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