Lincoln's Grave Robbers

Lincoln’s Grave Robbers, which chronicles a successful undercover police operation to protect Abraham Lincoln’s body, also illustrates The Hazards of Police Work, especially with employing an agent who is less than honest. Though it highlights the courage and resourcefulness of the Secret Service in thwarting the robbery of Lincoln’s tomb, Sheinkin’s book does not ignore the inherent pitfalls of Patrick Tyrrell’s policework, which relied on a “roper:” an undercover informer who aided and facilitated the planning of the crime. Following the axiom that it takes a thief to catch a thief, Tyrrell recruited Lewis Swegles, a career criminal, to penetrate one of James Kennally’s coney rings and secretly report all of its movements to him. While none of Tyrrell’s detectives could have successfully played this role, Swegles had the perfect curriculum vitae; he had a long criminal history and a fluency in underworld methodology, both of which helped him win his new partners’ trust. As Tyrrell once noted, to catch criminals, you often have to get your “hands dirty.” The entire operation was dangerous from start to finish because if Swegles’s true role came to light, not only would the endeavor fail but Tyrrell would have compromised the life and safety of one of his men.