 Bill soon came to know some of the leading criminals in New York, including Joseph C. Ashley, Samuel Drury, Catherine Davenport, Jim "Cupid" Downer, William Parkinson, James Honeyman, Dick Collard, James Arlington Bennet, and William "One-Eyed" Thompson.With some in this group, Bill became involved in the 1845 Poughkeepsie Barge robbery led by Honeyman, who was already famous for his part in the 1831 City Bank of New York theft.In 1847, Bill was again a perpetrator of a famous burglary, this time of the jewelry stores of Currier & Trott and of Widdefield & Company.in Boston.