Confidence Queen Bertha Heyman
SEASON 3 : EPISODE 41
AUGUST 7, 2024
Tonight’s story is about a Victorian con artist. A female con artist, at that! She was known as the “Confidence Queen” and was considered by the New York City police department to be - quote "the boldest and most expert of the many female adventuresses who infest the country.” Let’s get to know her, shall we?
This is the story of Bertha Heyman
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Listen via Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, or where ever you listen podcasts.
The bonus content on Patreon for this episode is about a case from the Mysterious Murders chapter of NYPD Detective, Thomas Byrnes’ Professional Criminals of America book - the same book that profiles our girl Bertha Heyman from the regular episode this week.
This is the story of Benjamin Nathan
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ARTICLES
Daily Alta California, Volume 42, Number 14162, 10 June 1888
‘Big’ Bertha Heyman, the Confidence Queen
The Prussian Grifter Who Swindled Her Way to Her Own One-Woman Show
True Crime Sunday: Big Bertha Heyman
Bertha Heyman: “Big Bertha” or the “Confidence Queen”
Professional Criminals of America
Article clipped from The Anaconda Standard
VICTORIAN SOCIETY TIPHistory of the New York City Police Department
Law Enforcement’s Evolution and the Requirements to Become a Police Officer
English and American policing in the late 19th century
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INTRO
Hello everyone, welcome to A Good Night for a Murder, a Victorian true crime podcast.
My name is Kim, and tonight’s story is about a Victorian con artist. A female con artist, at that! She was known as the “Confidence Queen” and was considered by the New York City police department to be - quote "the boldest and most expert of the many female adventuresses who infest the country.” Let’s get to know her, shall we?
This is the story of Bertha Heyman
But first, a Victorian society tip.
TIP
We’re going to talk about the New York Police Department in tonight’s story a little bit so I thought a good tip to share would be how one became a police officer in the Victorian era.
Now our story takes place in the US, but the structure of US law enforcement agencies was heavily influenced by the UK model, so we’ll start there
The first Metropolitan Police Department was formed in London in 1829 by former Home Secretary, Robert Peel, following the passing of the Metropolitan Act of 1829
Prior to this, law and order was enforced only by parish constables
The name does have religious roots but it ultimately referenced a civil “parish,” meaning a geographical location or territory
Parish constables were usually unpaid, part-time,
and were primarily responsible for things like monitoring trading standards and pubs, catching rats and loose livestock, lighting signal beacons, providing local lodging and transport for the military, providing building control, attending inquests, and collecting taxes.
If there were any crimes to solve, the community was just sort of expected to resolve it amongst themselves
This, as you might imagine, was not working well
So in 1856 the County and Borough Police Act was passed
The Act pretty much said you need to make a police force
If you do, one quarter of the costs for pay and clothing for constables would be covered by the Treasury.
Citizens were not happy about this
They viewed it as the government impeding their right to free speech and were fearful police would just arrest anyone who disagreed with them.
They were doubly unhappy that their tax dollars would now be used to such a thing
Regardless though, it happened, and the newly formed force was ready to start accepting new recruits
What I’m about to go over is applicable to the Metropolitan police of London, though they did set the precedent for the rest of the UK
Though the age range was variable for some time, the basic requirements were as follows:
You had to be:
20-27 years old
A minimum of 5’7”
Fit and healthy
Able to read and write, and
Have a clean background free of poor or indecent behavior
Oh, and you had to be a man, of course…
Most recruits were from the military or unskilled backgrounds - meaning farm boys
1 in 5 applicants were accepted, after which the new recruit would receive 1 - 2 weeks training, and in later years 3 - 5 weeks
Recruits were drilled twice daily by an instructor and were also trained in operating an ambulance
After that, they were sworn in as a constable and their on-the-job training could begin
Once placed, they received their officer number and uniform, including an arm band to be worn on duty,
For transparency police were required to wear their uniforms any time they went out in public
Constables were not issued firearms at this time as another way to gain the trust of the public
Initially, they spent some time observing local police court to learn about how police conducted investigations, then they were sent out under the charge of a more experienced officer
Eventually they were considered a full-fledged duty man where they would spend 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, looking out for any of the following:
"disturbances to be quelled and crowds dispersed, doubtful characters to be watched and obstructive costermongers and street vendors to be 'moved on', endless questions to be answered and directions given; stray dogs to be seized, pickpockets, beggars, drunken persons, and other actual or suspected offenders to be arrested, besides innumerable minor breaches of the law to be reported."
For this work, a constables pay started at 25 shillings and 6 pence a week and would increase a shilling a year to the limit of 33 shillings and 6 pence
Those who rose through the ranks to become sergeant, station officer, inspector or even superintendent could expect a salary up to £400 a year.
In 1890, the provision of pensions for constables was introduced
Constables were only allowed five days off every year, which were unpaid
They were required to request permission to marry or even go to lunch with a member of the public,
They were also not allowed to vote in elections
Unmarried officers were given the option to live in the divisional section house for 6 or 7 shillings a week
These were a barracks style community living situation which included a bed, hot supper, and use of the police library and common rooms
Turnover on the force though, was high
Though it was considered good, steady work for those of poorer classes, those from better off backgrounds were quicker to leave for better work, especially if they did not rise through the ranks quickly
Overall though, constables were often dismissed for drunkenness
This was not their only problem though,
Between 1831 and 1840, the average number of complaints against the police was 411 per year
A little over half were made against specific officers, whereas the rest were simply complaining that the police were not really helping anything
All they did was “hassle” the community members and did little to stop robberies or other crimes from occurring
And by and large the public was not wrong
Review of police records showed that police only investigated what they wanted to, avoiding situations that might make them look bad
Corruption was a problem as well
A blind eye was often turned where favors could be exacted.
Bribes were common, and brutality was standard practice.
While the Metropolitan police were sorting out their growing pains, the US, especially New York City, came to realize they were experiencing many of the same problems
In America, the purpose of early law enforcement efforts was apprehend runaway slaves
Later they served as lamplighters and night watchmen, and eventually organized into municipal agencies in the 1800s
Prior to 1845, NYC’s population of 320,000 was served only by a force of 1 night watch, 100 city marshals, 31 constables, and 51 municipal police officers
In 1845, the new Metropolitan police was formed, which closely aligned with the UK model
1857 it became official that the Metropolitan force would consolidate and replace the Municipal Police
This went badly…
The Municipal police did not want to go quietly into the night, so while the new Metropolitan police force formed, the Municipal force remained, leaving the city effectively with 2 competing police departments!
One source described the situation as follows:
“Chaos ensued. Criminals had a high old time. Arrested by one force, they were rescued by the other. Rival cops tussled over possession of station houses. The opera buffa climax came in mid-June when [a] Metropolitan police captain ... attempted to deliver a warrant for the mayor's arrest, only to be tossed out by a group of Municipals. Armed with a second warrant, a much larger force of Metropolitans marched against City Hall. Awaiting them were a massed body of Municipals, supplemented by a large crowd ... Together, the mayor's supporters began clubbing and punching the outnumbered Metropolitans away from the seat of government. ...The Metropolitans gained the day after the [State-controlled] Seventh Regiment came to its rescue, and the warrant was served on Wood. This setback for the mayor was followed by another: on July 2 the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the state law. Wood knuckled under and disbanded the Municipals late in the afternoon of July 3, leaving the Metropolitans in possession of the field”
It wasn’t over though!
The green Metropolitan officers were not prepared for the rioting that broke out in the city the next day
Ultimately, they were rescued by the anti-catholic, anti-irish criminal gang, the Bowery Boys, who got involved due their rival gang, Irish-immigrant gang the Dead Rabbits, organizing an attack on the Metropolitan police
Eventually the State Militia restored order but things still weren’t over!
Over the next 20 years the NYPD would be involved in a number of NYC riots
Like our friends in the UK, the NYPD was subject to numerous complaints of police brutality, especially in poor immigrant neighborhoods
Similarly, corruption was rife as officers frequently took bribes to overlook crimes such as illegal liquor sales, or worse - or turned a blind eye in cases of voter fraud
Multiple committees to address ethics and introduce reform were established, but change was slow in coming and, as all true crime fans know, overcoming systemic corruption is an ongoing effort, even today.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Before we jump in, I want to welcome new Patreon subscribers Emma, Eden, Kelley, and Christina.
Thank you all so much for your support, I am so glad you’re here.
Everyone shouted out tonight joined at the Housekeeper and Butler tier, which means that right now they also have access to the bonus content that accompanies this episode, as well as 30+ other bonus content episodes
So if you enjoy this episode and want to hear more, please consider checking out A Good Night For a Murder on Patreon
There is also a new Housekeeper and Butler tier exclusive series this season that is only available on Patreon called A Good Night Snack
The Good Night Snack series covers more so Victorian lifestyle, notable people, and events, whereas these regular episodes focus usually on one case.
If you’re a fan of dark Victorian era history, maybe just consider joining for one month, and binging some of the content that’s up there now
Try it out, see if you like it, maybe stick around, and know you can cancel at any time
Some of the Good Night Snack episodes that are up there already are about Victorians and their obsession with Egyptian mummies, the History of Madame Tussaud’s wax museum and her chamber of horrors, and the story of the 1916 shark attacks that oddly follow the plot of the movie Jaws!
There are two other lower tiers too, and, of course I’m very thankful for any support you can give,
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those are all free things you can do that would really help out and make my frosty little Victorian obsessed heart sing
CONTENT WARNING
A Good Night for a Murder is a true crime podcast that does cover stories including death, violence, sexual assault, and other adult themes.
Please take care while listening.
EPISODE
Bertha Heyman was born Bertha Schlesinger in 1851 in Prussia
She immigrated to the US in 1878.
The details of where she spent her time and when are hazy, but it sounds like she bounced back and forth between New York City and the Chicago and Milwaukee areas
She was married at least twice
Once to a man named Fritz Karko, who she lived with in New York
And later to a man named John Heyman, which is how we came to know her as Bertha Heyman,
Though it hardly matters since she made up aliases left and right to accompany her many cons
Her MO in New York usually went a little something like this:
She often pretended to be a wealthy woman who, for reasons out of her control, was unable to access her money at that time
She always stayed at the best hotels and actually employed a maid and a domestic servant, and was always name dropping her famous friends
She frequently targeted men who were attracted the fortune she claimed to have, who would in turn buy her expensive gifts, take her out on town, and put her and her staff up at the finest hotels
Then she’d disappear taking whatever gifts or loans they’d extended to her with her
And no one was sacred to her - there were several times she victimized those who had helped her out in the past
In one case, she targeted a man by the name of Mr. Brandt who she had hired to work for her
She spun a yarn that convinced him to loan her $1,000, and then she just dropped him and disappeared.
Not that she didn’t get caught occasionally though
So frequent and prolific were her scams that it was said she moved through the “New York Penitentiary as if she were in a revolving door.”
In one notable arrest from September of 1880, Bertha was traveling by train from the Chicago area to New York, when she befriended a sleeping car conductor
By the time the train pulled in to New York, she has convinced him she was the recipient of a large estate, and would love to hire him to manage it for her
She just needed to borrow a little bit of money to pay some fees she owed before she could fully receive the rights to what was hers
Upon arriving in New York, the conductor had agreed to lend her the money and quit his job to come work for her
When they exited the train station he accompanied her to a large house she claimed to own, which he took as proof of her wealth
Bertha managed to string him along for awhile before he realized no new job was forthcoming, then he sued her
The case never amounted to much though and we can presume the conductor slunk back to his previous employer to ask for his old job back
A similar case was reported upon in the Chicago Tribune involving one Tilly J. Perrin of Chicago
That story read:
“She [claimed she] was heir to a large estate, and she was paying a New York lawyer $6,000 a year to look after it.
Then she suggested that if [Perrin] wished to give up his place he might manage her estate.
The offer was accepted … Perrin was only obtaining $80 per month, and Mrs. Heyman had agreed to make his salary $2,000 a year.
After Perrin had resigned his place, the ‘Queen’ began borrowing money from him to pay small debts.
At least $1,038, had been obtained when Perrin insisted on entering upon the duties of his agency.
The satisfaction that he obtained was her promise that when she came into possession of all her property through Mr. Robert Bonner, who, she said, was her guardian and executor of the will under which she was the heir, the money he had loaned her would be refunded and his duties as agent would begin.
Perrin finally came to the conclusion that the woman was not to be believed, and, despairing of ever obtaining from her his money without compulsion, brought suit against her.”
In June of 1881 Bertha stood trial for stealing $250 and two gold watches from an elderly woman she was boarding with on Staten Island.
She was acquitted, but police had a plan this time…
As she was leaving court after the acquittal, she was arrested again!
This time the charge was for conning two New York City businessmen out of a total of $1,460 – which is nearly $47,000 today.
In another case, she swindled one T.W. Morris of New York, after writing him a bad $13,000 check
This time she was arrested by the Pinkerton detectives,
I love how everyone in the country is looking for her and they just can’t hold her down…
This report from the The Kansas City Times may help explain why –
They wrote:
· “Since her arrest she has been a prisoner only by name. She occupies a suite of apartments in the court house; has been attended by a maid; and is treated to carriage rides every day.
· She has been at many excursions, and spends much of her time in attendance at scenes of festivity in the city.
· To such an extent is this carried that she is called ‘The Princess’ by the residents of the village of Richmond.
· In conversation she is most plausible and graceful, and presents an air of injured innocence that induces many credulous person to believe she is really a wronged and persecuted woman.”
During one of her revolving door stints in prison in October of 1881, she managed to con a man out of his own hard earned money from behind bars by promising him a job
She also related to him that she owed some debts she wanted to pay off while in prison, but the funds to do so was tied up in a cash box that contained money and other valuables
If he could advance her the money for those debts, she’d pay him back with whatever fortune was in her secret treasure box
She conned more money out of him by saying she also needed to bribe the warden to commute her sentence
When all was said and done, Bertha had conned the man out of his entire life savings of $900, which would be $29,000 today
In another incident, in August of 1883, she was sentenced to 5 years in Sing Sing Prison for defrauding a Wall Street broker
Using forged securities, she had convinced him she was worth $8 million dollars!
As to why she did it, Bertha said that she was not interested in getting rich herself - she claimed she gave most of her money away to the poor
In Bertha’s own words, she said - "The moment I discover a man's a fool I let him drop, but I delight in getting into the confidence and pockets of men who think they can't be 'skinned.' It ministers to my intellectual pride."
By 1886, Bertha had earned a spot in famed New York City detective Thomas Byrnes’ book of Professional Criminals of America
Byrnes is an interesting character his self…
He was born in Ireland in 1842 and immigrated to America as a child
He served in the Civil War, afterwards became a firefighter, then joined the police as a patrolman
He quickly rose in the ranks to become Detective Bureau chief in 1880
The expression to “give someone the 3rd degree” largely comes from him
Byrnes likely borrowed it from the Freemasons where the ceremony to advance to a Third Degree of Master Masons included an interrogation.
Nowadays if we say someone really “gave you the third degree,” we mean they were, like, aggressively questioning you about something
In 1886, he published the book of Professional Criminals of America
This book chronicled nearly 400 criminals including their mug shot, physical description, and the record of their crimes
It also included several chapters covering police methods, criminal methods for different types of crimes, a state-by-state list of police commutation laws, AND a chapter on “Mysterious Murders”
If you’re curious on what Detective Byrnes deemed the, “The most celebrated, and certainly most mysterious, murder that has ever been perpetrated in New York City…” that is what I’ll cover in the bonus content for this episode on Patreon
More on that later, for now, back to our girlfriend Bertha and her shenanigans
Here is how Bertha’s entry from Detective Byrnes’ book read:
Bertha Heyman, alias Big Bertha, Confidence Queen.
Thirty-five years old in 1886. Born in Germany. Married. Very stout woman. Height, 5 feet 4½ inches. Weight, 245 pounds. Hair brown, eyes brown, fair complexion. German face. An excellent talker. Has four moles on her right cheek.
Her sentence will expire in April 1887. She has the reputation of being one of the smartest, confident women in America… She possesses a wonderful knowledge of human nature and can deceive those who consider themselves particularly shrewd in business matters.”
IF I was the sort of person who couldn’t help be a little proud of a Victorian era woman who liked to put one over on arrogant men, I’d be awfully pleased with that description of Bertha…
In 1888, Bertha moved to San Francisco with a man named Willie Stanley who she was was her son - or at least they were presenting themselves as mother and son…
In San Francisco, Bertha reconnected with Rabbi A.J. Messing, who she knew from her childhood in Prussia
Rabbi Messing is a very prominent, respected member of the elite Jewish community in San Francisco and the Beth Israel Congregation
Bertha confessed to Rabbi Messing that she had strayed, and married a man not of Jewish faith, who has now left her widowed with a very large fortune that she is unsure she can manage by herself
She would like to get married again, but this time to someone of her own faith
She would go so far as to offer $1,000 to the person who could introduce her to her next husband…
Rabbi Messing said, “Meet my brother in law, Abraham!”
And in a matter of days, Abraham had proposed to Bertha
But Bertha’s “son” Wiliie disapproved of the quick courtship, and to smooth things over between them, Abraham paid him $500
Willie also expressed his dissatisfaction with many of the jewels Abraham gifted to his mother, saying they were too old fashioned, and he should let him have them so he could take them to be reset in something more to his mother’s taste
So, Abraham turned over the jewels to him too
Bertha spent the next week or so attending numerous fancy soirees wearing an expensive new wardrobe all purchased by her new fiance
And then, she and Willie skipped town
When it was discovered a donation check she’d written to Beth Israel had bounced, Abraham realized he may have been taken
When he went to file a police report, even before he had finished telling his story, the officer receiving the report pulled out Detective Byrnes’ Professional Criminals of America book and turned directly to the page with Bertha’s picture on it
He asked, “Is this the woman?”
To which Abraham responded, yes, it was!
Poor Abraham was truly flabbergasted
Police managed to track Bertha and Willie to Texas where they were both arrested and extricated back to California
Regarding the trial, the Daily Alta California, reported:
As the case made its way through court, Bertha’s story reached the ears of producer Ned Foster
Foster offered to bail Bertha out of jail in return for her cooperation in putting on a one-woman show to tell her story
Eventually, Willie was found guilty, but Bertha was acquitted!
It’s likely that the publicity from her upcoming show played a part in her acquittal
The show titled the Confidence Queen was kind of a comedy that portrayed Bertha as the victim of all of these predatory men until she managed to outsmart them
It was also littered with self-depreciating comedy directed at Bertha’s appearance and weight.
The show was also considered very scandalous as Bertha would often appear wearing flesh-colored tights!
Eventually she was joined by an actor who went by the name Oofty Goofty, that specialized in what we’d probably call slapstick comedy
The pair would parody scenes from Romeo and Juliet including the balcony scene where Bertha in the role of Juliet would be on the ground due to her weight
Her show was a hit and toured all over the west coast!
Despite it being about the irony of how unattractive Bertha was and how easily she could still sucker men out of their money, she was constantly pursued by suitors where ever she went
The success of her show was still not quite enough to inspire Bertha to earn an honest living though…
She ended up running a con on her manager, Ned Foster, by telling him that her suitcase had a false bottom, containing $10,000 in Canadian bonds and thousands of dollars in jewelry.
She asked him to handle the sale of the stolen goods for her to keep her out of further trouble and eventually he agreed to pay her $1,600 for the suitcase
Before Bertha could close the deal though Foster snuck in to her room and discovered the whole thing was a lie, there was no false bottom, let alone cash and jewels in the suitcase
It would seem from here on out, Bertha floated around the US, possibly managing her tour herself, or managing various theaters putting on other shows
On May 24 in 1901, the newspaper the Anaconda Standard out of Anaconda, Montana ran a headline that read, “Big Bertha Has Passed: Death of Noted Fat Confidence Woman and Divekeeper”
The article went on to detail that Bertha, who had operated a casino theater in Butte, Montana for a number of years since 1893, had passed away in Chicago earlier that week
It read:
This paper, no doubt, intended to be disparaging, but I don’t think Bertha would have cared, as she was in every sense of the word a “confident woman.”
I’m curious to know what you think about Bertha though
In a time when women couldn’t own property, have their own bank account, vote… how mad can we be when a woman finds a way to make her own way and be independently wealthy?
I covered con artist Cassie Chadwick in season one who did somewhat of the same thing
They were dismissed because these men thought they were smarter than them
Bertha even said her self if a man was just naive, she’d stop targeting them
But if they were arrogant about it, well then she had no problem taking them for all they were worth
If you head on over to Instagram, TikTok or YouTube @agoodnightforamurder, you can let me know there.
I’ve posted some photos of Bertha, including her mugshot from the Professional Criminals of America book.
You can also see the photos and source links for this episode on the episode blog on my website at agoodnightforamurder.com
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The bonus content for Housekeeper and Butler tier Patrons for this episode is about a case taken straight from Detective Byrnes’ Professional Criminals of America book that he called “The most celebrated, and certainly most mysterious, murder that has ever been perpetrated in New York City…”
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And I will talk to you again soon