Bank Robbers & Thieves – Legends of America
Okay, so bank robbery is a serious no-no in the good ol’ US of A. The FBI (you know, those guys in black suits) define it as taking or trying to take someone’s stuff by force, or even just hinting at using force. But here’s the thing: some bank robbers became legends, almost like characters in a Western movie.
Think about it: the James brothers, Butch Cassidy and his Hole in the Wall Gang, the Younger Brothers—these guys are practically household names. And then, in a later era, you had John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, the Barker-Karpis Gang… the list goes on! These folks weren’t just criminals; they were part of American folklore, for better or worse.
Let’s dive into some of these characters and their stories, shall we?
The Usual Suspects (and Some You Might Not Know)
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George "Dutch" Anderson (1879-1925): This Danish dude wasn’t messing around. He teamed up with Gerald Chapman and ran a gang during Prohibition. Their biggest score? A cool $2.4 million from a U.S. Mail truck (that’s serious money, even today!). Anderson eventually got caught, did some time, escaped, and then met his end in a police shootout. Talk about a wild ride!
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John William Anglin and Alfred Clarence Anglin: These Georgia boys were pros at robbing banks. But their real claim to fame? Escaping from Alcatraz! Yeah, that Alcatraz. They vanished in June 1962 and were never seen again. Did they make it? Did they drown? It’s one of those mysteries that keeps people talking.
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Ashley Gang: These guys were all about causing chaos in Florida. Led by John H. Ashley, they were like the pirates of the land, hitting banks, hijacking stuff, bootlegging, and maybe even doing a little actual piracy on the high seas.
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John H. Ashley (1895-1924): As the head honcho of the Ashley Gang, John H. Ashley had a knack for making headlines. He and his crew terrorized Florida for over 15 years, engaging in everything from murder and bank robbery to hijacking, bootlegging, and even piracy on the high seas. His reign of terror came to an end on November 1, 1924, when law enforcement caught up with him.
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Harvey John Bailey (1887-1979): Known as a partner of Machine Gun Kelly, Bailey was considered one of the most successful bank robbers of the 1920s. Bailey stole over a million dollars and was thought to have been involved in the Kansas City Union Station Massacre. He was eventually captured and spent 31 years in prison, before he died at the age of 91 in Joplin, Missouri.
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Arthur R. "Doc" Barker (1899-1939): A member of the notorious Barker-Karpis Gang, Doc Barker was no stranger to trouble. His life of crime eventually led him to Alcatraz, where he met his end while attempting to escape in 1939.
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Kate "Ma" Barker (1873-1935): As the alleged matriarch of the Barker-Karpis Gang, Ma Barker was said to have played a key role in the gang’s spree of robberies, kidnappings, and other crimes between 1931 and 1935. Her criminal career came to a violent end in a shootout with police on January 16, 1935.
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Lloyd Barkdoll: This bank robber found himself behind bars in Alcatraz, where he attempted to make a daring escape in 1941.
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Barker-Karpis Gang (1931-1935): This gang was like a family business gone wrong. "Ma" Barker and her sons (Herman, Lloyd, Arthur, and Fred) teamed up with Alvin Karpis and other shady characters. They caused so much trouble in the Midwest that the FBI put them at the top of their "Most Wanted" list.
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George Kelly Barnes, aka "Machine Gun" Kelly (1900-1954): This guy’s nickname says it all. A big shot during Prohibition, Machine Gun Kelly was into bootlegging, armed robbery, and kidnapping. He even spent some time in Alcatraz before dying in prison.
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Edward "Eddie" Wilheim Bentz (1895-1936): Eddie Bentz was one of the shrewdest, most resourceful, intelligent, and dangerous bank robbers of the Depression era, partnered with such names as Machine Gun Kelly and Baby Face Nelson.
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George Birdwell (1894-1932): Partner and friend of Oklahoma outlaw Pretty Boy Floyd. Birdwell and Floyd robbed several banks in Oklahoma, including two banks, on one day on December 12, 1931, in Castle and Paden, Oklahoma. Alone, Birdwell attempted to hold up the bank in the African-American community of Boley, Oklahoma, in November 1932 and was shot from within the vault by a citizen.
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James Boarman: This bank robber’s career took a dark turn when he was sent to Alcatraz. During a 1943 escape attempt, Boarman was killed.
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Ford Bradshaw (1908-1934): At one time, Ford Bradshaw was the leader of the Cookson Hills Gang. He was suspected of numerous bank robberies in Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, and Nebraska and suspected of four murders. Constable Bill Harper killed him at Arkoma, Oklahoma, in March 1934.
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Tom "Skeet" Bradshaw: As the brother of the notorious bank robber and murderer Ford Bradshaw, Tom "Skeet" Bradshaw was no stranger to a life of crime. He was a member of the Cookson Hills Gang and a suspect in bank robberies in Vian, Oklahoma, and Chetopa, Kansas. In 1934, he was convicted of attempted murder and bootlegging.
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Al Brady (1911-1937): Wanted for murder and robbery in the Midwest, Brady was killed by FBI men in Bangor, Maine, in October 1937.
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Harold Brest: This Pennsylvania bank robber found himself in Alcatraz, where he participated in Floyd Hamilton’s 1943 escape attempt.
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Robert Carey (1894-1932): A Midwestern armed robber and contract killer responsible for many crimes during the Prohibition era, he was considered a suspect in the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929.
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James "Oklahoma Jack" Clark: A Depression-era outlaw and bank robber, he was a protégé of bank robber Hermann "Baron" Lamm. He participated in the gang’s final robbery against the Citizens State Bank in Clinton, Indiana, on December 16, 1930. The gang escaped with $15,567 in cash, but a posse tracked down Clark and others at Sidell, Illinois. In the ultimate gun battle, Lamm and two other gang members were killed. Clark and fellow gang member Walter Dietrich were arrested by authorities and extradited to Indiana. They were both sentenced to the state prison in Michigan City, Indiana, on bank robbery charges.
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Cookson Hills Gang (1932-1934): Led by Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd, the gang blazed a path of robbery and murder through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and Arkansas for 18 months.
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Joseph Paul Cretzer (1911-1946): A bank robber, Cretzer was sent to prison at Alcatraz, where he participated and was killed in the bloody "Battle of Alacatraz." He got involved in crime when he and Arnold Kyle formed the Cretzer-Kyle Gang, which robbed several banks along the West Coast. By 1939, he was listed as the FBI’s 4th most wanted man. He was sent to Alcatraz, where he tried to escape in May 1941, along with fellow prisoners Sam Shockley and Lloyd Barkdoll. His last escape attempt resulted in the "Battle of Alcatraz," in which he was killed on May 4, 1946.
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Benny and Stella Dickson: Benny and Stella Dickson were a husband and wife team who turned to a life of crime shortly after their marriage. They successfully stole over $50,000 in an eight-month period from August 1938 to April 1939.
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Dillinger Gang, aka The Terror Gang (1933-1934): This gang was like a supergroup of bad guys. Comprised by such unsavory charactors as Baby Face Nelson, Homer Van Meter, Eddie Green, Harry Pierpont, Charley Makely, Russell Lee Clark, John Hamilton, and Thomas Carrol. Led by John Dillinger, this ruthless gang spread terror across the Midwest from 1933 to 1934, killing as many as 16 people and robbing as many as 20 banks.
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John Herbert "Jackrabbit" Dillinger (1903-1934): Midwest bank robber during the early 1930s, Dillinger was a dangerous criminal responsible for the murder of several police officers who robbed at least two dozen banks and escaped from jail twice.
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Fleagle Gang: The Fleagle Gang was a group of early 20th-century American bank robbers and murderers.
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Jake Fleagle (1890-1930): Leader of the Fleagle Gang, wanted for robbery and murder, he was shot down in a running gunfight with police in Branson, Missouri.
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Charles Authur "Pretty Boy" Floyd (1904-1934): Bank robber and alleged killer, he was romanticized by the press. His first robbery was $3.50 in pennies from a local post office at the age of 18. Three years later, he was arrested and convicted of a payroll robbery.
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Rufus Franklin: This bank robber and car thief was sent to Alcatraz. During a 1938 escape attempt, he killed a custodial worker, was wounded, and was sentenced to life in prison for the murder.
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Roy Gardner (1884-1940): Stealing over a quarter of a million dollars in cash and securities, Gardner was the most famous escape artist and celebrated outlaw of his time.
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Floyd Garland Hamilton (1908-1984): An associate of the Barrow Gang, Hamilton was not involved in the final shoot-outs that killed the infamous Bonnie and Clyde. Continuing a life of crime, he maintained a lifestyle of robbery and was captured and sent to Alcatraz. In 1943, he tried to escape with three other men but was later apprehended. He was later sent to prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, and released in 1956.
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John "Red" Hamilton, aka Three Finger Jack (1899-1934): An associate of John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd, Hamilton was shot in a gun battle with the FBI and later died of his wounds.
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Raymond Elzie Hamilton, aka Floyd Beatty (1913-1935): An associate of the Barrow Gang, Hamilton was one of the best-known desperadoes of the 1930s.
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Charles E. Johnson: One of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives, Johnson committed burglaries and robberies between 1921 and 1953 and spent years in prison. He was convicted again in 1954.
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Anthony Michael Juliano: A thief responsible for at least 27 bank robberies in Boston, Massachusetts, and New York between 1973 and 1975.
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George Kimes: Oklahoma bank robber and brother of Matthew Kimes, the pair killed Sequoyah County, Arkansas Deputy Sheriff Perry Chuculate when he attempted to apprehend them. Later, the brothers were captured, and George was sent to prison in McAlester, Oklahoma.
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Matthew Kimes (??-1945): Oklahoma bank robber, murderer, and brother of George Kimes, Matthew led the Kimes Gang in the 1920s.
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Hermann K. "Baron" Lamm (1890-1930): A former German army officer, Lamm immigrated to the United States and soon put his military training to use as a bank robber. Lamm successfully robbed banks across the United States until he was killed in a shoot-out near Sidell, Illinois.
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James C. "Tex" Lucas (1912-1963): A bank robber and car thief, Lucas attempted to escape from Alcatraz.
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Frank Lee Morris (1926-??): Incredibly smart, Morris escaped from the Louisiana State Penitentiary while serving ten years for bank robbery. He was recaptured a year later and sent to Alcatraz in 1960. He, along with John and Clarence Anglin, escaped in June 1962 and was never seen again.
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George "Baby Face" Nelson, aka Lester Joseph Gillis (1908-1934): A major bank robber in the 1930s and partner of John Dillinger and Homer Van Meter, the FBI caught up with him in November 1934. In the gun battle that ensued, he was shot and killed.
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The Newton Brothers: The Newton Brothers were infamous for their robbing of railroads and banks, with most of their bank heists committed at night after they had cased the joint for several days. Using nitroglycerin, they would blow open the safes, take the cash, and quickly disappear. On one occasion, they robbed two banks in Hondo, Texas, on the same night.
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Rufe Persful: A gangster and bank robber, Persful was a trusty at Tucker State Prison Farm in Arkansas when he chopped off two fingers of his hand to gain a transfer to Springfield, Missouri. He was later sent to Alcatraz.
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Adam "Eddie" Richetti (1909-1938): Involved in the Kansas City Massacre, he was arrested and executed in the gas chamber of the Missouri State Penitentiary on October 7, 1938.
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Richard Sam Shockley, Jr. (1909-1948): Oklahoma bank robber and kidnapper, he was captured and sent to Alcatraz. He attempted to escape twice in 1941 and in 1946, in which officers were killed. He was executed for killing the officer on December 3, 1948.
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Edward Smith: Committed one of the first bank robberies in the United States on March 19, 1831, stealing $245,000 from the City Bank on Wall Street in New York City.
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William "Willie" "Francis Sutton (1901-1980): A prolific bank robber, Sutton stole as much as $2 million in his career and spent more than half his adult life in prison.
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Homer "Wayne" Van Meter (1906-1934): A bank robber active in the early 20th century, he was a criminal associate of John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson.
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Richard Reese Whittemore (1898-1926): Leader of a gang of jewel thieves in New York.
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Ted Huron Walters: Arkansas bank robber Walters was sent to Alcatraz and attempted to escape in August 1843. He was caught before he made it off the island.
Why Do We Remember Them?
Okay, so these guys were criminals, no doubt about it. But there’s something fascinating about their stories. Maybe it’s the daring escapes, the big scores, or the whole "us against the world" vibe. Whatever it is, these bank robbers and thieves have become a part of American history, and their legends live on.
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