He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. 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Nelson was arrested for theft and joyriding at age 13, and was sent to a penal school for 18 months. One of the main things I learned from research was that an overwhelming number of people are caught because they didn't do it solo. The depredations of the roving criminal gangs of the depression years led to bank robbery becoming a federal crime in 1934, if the bank was a National bank or a member bank of the Federal Reserve System. He surrendered peacefully although no agents had brought any handcuffs, as they assumed Karpis would fight to the death. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images. The next day, the depot was robbed. The riders escaped pursuit by a posse. Today its very hard to pull off a bank job, yet each day approximately 20 banks are robbed in the U.S. alone! He is the mastermind behind the Socit Gnrale Bank heist. Jay, Clarke, Universal Press Syndicate, Chicago Tribune. John Dillinger spent nine years in prison for assault and battery committed while he was robbing a grocery store, and spent his time there being tutored in the art of bank robbery. He took part in the Dillinger gangs last bank raid, in which four innocent bystanders were murdered. After this, Nelson began to rob banks with Homer Van Meter and Eddie Green. A crowd gathers at Chicagos Biograph theater after the death of John Dillinger, July 22, 1934. The year was 2005 and at only 19 years of age, the "Cell Phone Bandit," Candice Rose Martinez, was famous for her bank robbery execution. The night watchman was murdered in this incident, and Davis was sentenced to life imprisonment. The two men had extracted roughly $60,000 from the Savings Association, and though many historians attribute the robbery to being led by Jesse James, it was never officially solved. The crime spree started with the robbery of the South Marion State Bank in November 1924. Bank robbers became part of American folklore in many cases, among them being the James brothers, Butch Cassidy and the Hole in the Wall Gang, the Younger Brothers, and in a later era John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Willie Sutton, and many others. In prison he met Fred Barker who was serving a sentence for bank burglary. On September 26, 1933, a total of 10 men, including . However, this was invented by a reporter who never even interviewed Sutton. While traveling and searching for new ways to put some money in his pocket for a better life, he stumbled upon Mike . The pair and their group were famous for carrying thefts from trains and banks. His reply was: Because thats where the money is. "I think morality is very subjective. Kent, UK; 2006. Online. After exiting the theatre the FBI were waiting for him and he was shot down as he tried to escape down a nearby alleyway. 5. Maybe it was how they asked for the money, their appearance or getaway. Because I enjoyed it. Hoover wouldnt have to wait long. According to reports, 18 perpetrators are still at large. Two of them, John and Clarence, were transferred within the federal prison system after attempting to escape from Atlanta, first to Leavenworth, where they also attempted to escape, and finally to the allegedly escape-proof prison at Alcatraz. Dillinger was paroled in 1933, at the height of the great depression, when a convicted criminal had almost no option of employment. Butch and Sundance were alleged to have been killed in 1908 in South America, though their exact fate remains in question. Most historians agree she was completely smitten with him, and willingly joined him as his partner in crime. Homer Van Meter was a young member of John Dillingers gang, with a reputation for being particularly bloodthirsty. Parker was soon arrested during a botched robbery of a hardware store, although she was soon released having not been charged. During his first brief stint in prison, the director of research wrote the following: This fellow is a criminal of the most dangerous type. After getting pinched for robbing a gas station, he met John Dillinger and others in prison who taught himthe trade, and then escaped prison to work with Dillinger and his associates. Library of Congress. 9 Million was stolen (which translates to $21.6 Million today). Wikimedia. In 1997, Los Angeles residents witnessed what became the deadliest bank robbery in the history of America. Young had contacts with Confederate agents in Canada, who authorized the raid on St. Albans, which was actually the simultaneous robbery of the three banks in the town. She just shrugged -- palms up like a little kid -- and said, "That's all I got." OK, in terms of actual . He had black hair and a baby face. Dillinger was portrayed by Jonny Depp in the 2009 film Public Enemies, though the film has some major inaccuracies, such as the timeline of deaths of Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson. Starr liked to rob banks during the day, sometimes with his picture pasted on a Wanted Man poster on the very walls of the banks he robbed. 2013, Bank Robbers In Motorcar. Barrow was killed instantly by a headshot and Parker, in the passenger seat, was sprayed with bullets soon afterwards. Sam Bass 1851-1878. The two were killed in an ambush in Louisiana on May 23, 1934, and the murderous Clyde Barrow and blithe Bonnie Parker remain romanticized in the twenty-first century. Many of the crimes which were attributed to Jesse James were done so after his death, and sometimes by other criminals in the hope of throwing off pursuit. It was hit during the night of June 1 to 2, 1899, and the story as it's often told is the heist was pulled off by Butch Cassidy and his gang. The remaining three were taken into custody. Later, when Parker was visiting her mother, officers moved in to arrest her again, but Barrow and an associate gunned them down, committing what was Barrows first murder of a lawman. Lebanon's civil war was in full swing. Someone should have. In the late 1920s Lester Gillis, who used the alias George Nelson, was developing a budding criminal career by performing home invasions stealing cash, jewelry, and furs, and robbing stores and taverns. When those convictions were overturned (they had been tried together) they have tried again, in separate trials, and again both were convicted. One of the largest bank robberies of all time was committed without the use of force, without any injuries, and without any real chance of catching the perpetrators or recovering the missing cash. At this time, unemployment in the USA had risen to 25% and many more people were resorting to crime. He married Beryl Hovious, in 1924, but the marriage ended in divorce. Other aspects involved each gang member being assigned a job such vault man, driver or lobby man. Moral sense is perverted and he has no intention of following anything but a life of crime He is a murderer at heart, and if society is to be safeguarded, his type must be confined throughout their natural lives.. He began to associate with big time Kansas City mobsters. Because no bodies were ever found, the US Marshal service still considers the escape to be an open case. After a bank robbery it wasnt uncommon to find Pretty Boy handing out bags of cash to people and ripping up mortgage papers also stolen from the bank. It happened in Pennsylvania, in the Bank of Pennsylvania at Carpenters' Hall. He was jailed for four years last April. Police caught him 15 minutes later with the knife and 410 in cash stolen from a Tesco in King's Lynn, Norfolk. Hole in the floor Photo by Craig Sunter - Wikimedia. During the heist, a police officer was gunned down and Dillinger was officially charged with the murder, even though many witnesses named Hamilton as the shooter. The safety deposit raid in 1971 is one of the most baffling in British criminal history, and rumours that its true purpose has been covered up by the British establishment . Townspeople raised the alarm and armed men were awaiting the robbers as they exited the bank. Mug shot of Lester Gillis, alias George Nelson, known to history as Baby Face Nelson. Nelson decided to form and run his own gang of bank robbers in 1933, on October 3 they robbed the First National Bank of Brainerd, Minnesota, during which Nelson used a Thompson submachine gun to fire indiscriminately at bystanders on the street as they made their escape. He was a master of disguise who often impersonated a postal telegraph messenger, police . It was 12:38 in the afternoon on January 13, 2006, when the call went out to police: a bank robbery in progress. "They just want to give you what you want and for you to get the hell out of their bank.". All three were identified by persons who knew them and subsequently captured by the Cleveland police. I look for video cameras, security guard positioning and speculate where the vault is. In 1998, robbers struck the Bank of America at 1 World Trade Center in New York City, a feat believed to be impossible after the increase in security at the complex following the bombing in 1993. September 25, 1992, The Norco Bank Robbery. As in the earlier days in the west, where criminals such as Jesse James gained the sympathy and even the admiration of citizens who agreed with their activities, some of the famous robbers and murderers of the days of the roving gangs became folk heroes among the poor and the outcast of the depression. He was buried by Dillinger. The Bank of Montpelier/Facebook. Whilst incarcerated, he began to associate with prominent bank robbers such as John Dillinger, Harry Pierpoint and Homer Van Meter. Cattle rustling. The robbery involved a political bribery scandal, surfboard repair kits and lots of dynamite. Answer (1 of 2): Let the Countdown begin: 10. Jesse was murdered there by Bob Ford in 1882 in St. Joseph. Arguably the third largest heist in history, a robbery masterminded by . The bank was closed for renovations at the time, so the gang took its time, spending days breaking in and several hours emptying boxes. Pretty Boy Floyd believed in having the right tool for the job, which is why he always brought his machine gun to a bank job. Wikimedia. I simply walked up to them when it was my turn to be helped, and I told them -- usually via handwritten instructions on an envelope -- to give me their $50s and $100s. In May 1936, the FBI located Karpis in New Orleans, and surrounded his car. FBI agent Melvin Purvis hunted down Pretty Boy Floyd to an Ohio field. They were shot over 50 times, including numerous headshots on each corpse. He was famous for his likable personality and charm. No referenda as to which road to take. He was acquitted in both cases, and though Missouri had other cases in which the surviving James brother could have been charged, he was never again brought to trial. As the gang became notorious, Dillinger rose to the top of the list of Public Enemies, with other members of his gang filling out most of the top ten. Insane, huh? On April 23, 1934, the gang were confronted by police and, during a getaway, Hamilton was wounded and died shortly after. Wikimedia. This led Dillinger to be admired by many who considered the banks who foreclosed on homes and farms as the real enemy. The surveillance footage was issued worldwide via news channels, giving Martinez instant bank robber street cred as well as notoriety she probably didnt want. Famous American Bank Robbers. Oh-so-coincidentally, the next day, six bandits got into the garage with keys in hand, then tied up . One of the most famous bank robberies is that of the Coffeyville raid in Kansas. The Hole in the Wall Pass in Wyoming was an easily defended, difficult to approach hideout for several criminal gangs which took sanctuary there from the 1860s through the early twentieth century. His numerous prison escapes also added to his legend. The duo and their gang went on to rob numerous other stores and banks before their downfall. October 18, 2009, Baby Face Nelson. These gangsters graduated into armed robbers and became known as the Tape Bandits, of which Nelson was a respected member. Johnson was sentenced to four life sentences and Neill was again given the death penalty. The young men produced shotguns and ordered the chief cashier, a man named Birge, and his aides to hand over all available cash. Is it possible he is still alive? The Great Northfield, Minnesota, Raid. Amazingly, they were never caught. However, they would discover that the bank's vault had been looted. One of the men asked for change for a ten-dollar bill, and as William opened the cash drawer the men produced pistols and demanded that a sack be filled with all the available cash. The gang were determined to free him, but first they needed cash to fund the break out. They fled to the north. Over a dozen people were murdered by this duo until cops finally killed them. The 300 million yen robbery caught the interest of international media when it took place in 1968. Bank robberies are a major plot device in films, particularly the once-popular western genre, though in reality bank robberies in the American western frontier days were relatively rare. Here are 15 of the greatest bank robbers of all time, some with a little fame, others not as much and some the basis for major motion pictures. You can reach David on Twitter @david_s_grant and his website www.pulpscribbler.com. Most bank robbers, at least the popular ones, had characteristics that set them apart. theunredacted 26 Feb 2018. Seventy-five stab wounds were inflicted on the three employees, and the stabbings only ended when they were interrupted by the entry of three customers, who were taken to the back at gunpoint and shot in the head. The gang soon became one of the most formidable in the country, brutally murdering anyone who stood in their way as they robbed banks, even innocent bystanders. The pair robbed banks together during the 1930s. Five days later they were arrested in Ohio. . The year was 2005 and at only 19 years of age, the Cell Phone Bandit, Candice Rose Martinez, was famous for her bank robbery execution. In 1984, the First National Bank of Chattanooga in Geronimo, Oklahoma, was the site of one of the most vicious bank robberies in American history on December 14 of that year. Theodore J. Conrad pulled off one of the biggest bank robberies in Cleveland's history. This time he escaped through a tunnel along with other convicts, although he was recaptured the same day. Wikimedia. They would commonly participate in gun battles with police, in which innocent bystanders were often killed. In 1881, the brothers returned to Missouri. ; Arrest the Culprit Green. The New York Times. He was convicted of bank robbery in Ohio and sentenced to 15 years in the infamous Ohio State Penitentiary in November of 1930 but escaped and continued his life of crime. The brothers were sentenced on federal charges and later received additional time on state charges. John Dillinger was almost as famous as Al Capone. On that Friday morning, after months of planning two armed bank robbers entered and robbed the North Hollywood Bank of America branch in California. Think Natural Born Killers without Rodney Dangerfield and Quentin Tarantino/Oliver Stone script/director drama. The first time he was serving a 30 year sentence for robbery, he used a smuggled gun to hold a prison guard hostage, before using a ladder to scale the prison wall. The attempted robbery of the First National Bank of Northfield on September 7 was stopped when the clerk refused to open the safe, claiming that it was equipped with a time lock which prevented him from doing so, while another clerk fled out the back door, wounded in the shoulder. Butch Cassidy: Butch Cassidy was the leader of one of the famous robbery gangs, Wild Butch Gang. In yet another gun battle with police, a second robber was killed. 300 million yen robbery. While it's too early to say whether the Berlin coin robbery will go down in history like the following 10 unsolved heists, it definitely fits the bill as an interesting crime caper. Sutton was the Cal Ripken of bank robbers, participating in over 100 bank robberies over a 35-year span. So he told the police, the police told the bank, the bank checked the video..and they saw her take it. 5. Eventually the F.B.I. The surviving Youngers were imprisoned, Bob Younger died while in custody in 1889, from tuberculosis. On September 26, 1933, a total of 10 men, including Hamilton, escaped using smuggled guns from the recently paroled John Dillinger. When Jesse read newspaper reports of robberies which were attributed to him he often wrote to the papers editor protesting his innocence of the crime in question. The bells notified law enforcement of a robbery taking place in the bank, and often caused the robbers to flee without obtaining any, or at least not very much, cash for their efforts. At 9:24 am, a riddle of bullets was fired by Philip after he spotted a parked police vehicle 60 meters from the building. They remained at large until two days later when they were encountered in the general region of the second shootout. These were shown in the newspapers to give the impression the duo were enjoying a lavish lifestyle, when in fact they lived under immense stress and were constantly on the run. Over the next few years he participated in several bank robberies, and it was in this period that he acquired his nickname. "I never felt guilty because I didn't attack or assault anyone. The two stormed into the casino, held everyone at gunpoint and tied up several of the casino staff. When a man going by the name Brushy Bill Roberts (above, left) surfaced in Texas in 1950 seeking pardon for the crimes of Billy the Kid, the media took notice. However, instead of returning to prison, he went on the run. The driver then sped off, and since the make and model of the vehicle were not reported in the Tribune, it is impossible to determine what speeds were attained, but they were pursued by citizens and police also in automobiles.