On October 19 the citizens of the town were held at gunpoint on the town common while the raiders robbed the banks, drove off the towns horses to discourage pursuit, and fled to Canada. Rebecca Seales, The Daily Mail. Sutton claimed he never actually said it. In March the crime spree began again, and in that month alone three additional Indiana banks were robbed by Pierpont and his associates, in New Harmony, Kokomo, and Laketon. He was tied up with a necktie and eventually sentenced to life imprisonment, which he served in Alcatraz. 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. 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. Barrow was killed instantly by a headshot and Parker, in the passenger seat, was sprayed with bullets soon afterwards. The cab driver sets American Zed up with Zoe in his Paris hotel. 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. Parker was soon arrested during a botched robbery of a hardware store, although she was soon released having not been charged. At this time, unemployment in the USA had risen to 25% and many more people were resorting to crime. 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. The next day, the depot was robbed. It was 1976 in Beirut. J. Edgar Hoover exploited the rash of bank robberies during the Great Depression to increase the authority of the FBI and his own personal influence. On April 23, 1934, the gang were confronted by police and, during a getaway, Hamilton was wounded and died shortly after. This led Dillinger to be admired by many who considered the banks who foreclosed on homes and farms as the real enemy. Willie Sutton. Beginning in late 1924 and stretching into the early spring of 1925 a series of bank robberies throughout Indiana baffled authorities, as bank after bank found itself victim to a gang which simply vanished into thin air following the robberies. "Part of my process did begin with how poorly I thought rich people handled their money. Fred Barker and his mother were gunned down by the FBI in their homes, in 1935. AP. Hole in the floor Photo by Craig Sunter - Wikimedia. Online. Wikimedia. A legend of the Wild West, in addition to robbing banks James was an expert train robber, because if you cant get your kicks robbing banks then try to steal from something that is moving! John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd, and several others, were cheered by those who had been hurt by the banks during the collapse of many of them in the early days of the depression. In the early afternoon of April 12, 1957, Steven Ray Thomas and Wanda DiCenzi entered the St. Clair Savings and Loan in Cleveland, and while Steven held a teller at gunpoint Wanda stole about $2,000 from the cash drawers, and the two made their escape, driven from the scene by a third accomplice, Rose ODonnell. There are many perks to the gangster lifestyle; long life expectancy isnt one of them. Cassidy ordered the bank vault's location and made away with a box full of money amounting to more than twenty thousand dollars. On the way, Bowman stopped in Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri. Ted Conrad was working as a teller at the . Jesse James. As the sons of migrant farmworkers, they had often visited Michigan in the spring and early summer as their parents picked fruit. As tropes in crime films go, the slick bank heist is one of the most romantic and frequent, ripe for cool cinematography, interesting costume and brazen dialogue. On February 13, 1866, a Tuesday, a group of riders rode into Liberty, Missouri. The robbers escaped in a car to a nearby town, where Bonnie Parker awaited them in another car, though in transferring between vehicles some of the money was dropped. It is important to keep in mind that Butch Cassidy and his "Hole-in-the-Wall Gang" are one of the few successful bands of bank robbers during this time period. Floyds support from the public was especially evident in Oklahoma, where residents sheltered and protected him, in return for financial largesse, an eventuality which infuriated J. Edgar Hoover. Think Natural Born Killers without Rodney Dangerfield and Quentin Tarantino/Oliver Stone script/director drama. No deliberation. So many classic movies have been made with the premise of a bank robbery, many based on the jobs pulled from people on this list. The only caveat is, it's successful as long as you don't get caught. A determined J Edgar Hoover had even vowed to personally arrest Karpis. Limerick joined the Maurice Denning gang in 1934, and their spree of heists . Townspeople raised the alarm and armed men were awaiting the robbers as they exited the bank. The British Bank of the Middle East robbery. It took about fifteen minutes for the thieves to leave the World Trade Center, taking with them $1.6 million in cash. It is estimated he stole over $2 million from banks. In January of 1934 Hamilton and his crew robbed over $20,000 from a bank and gunned downed an officer. After this, Nelson began to rob banks with Homer Van Meter and Eddie Green. The Birds were then ordered into the vault and the two men left. French "Vacuum Gang" Since 2006, in France, an unknown gang of thieves have been emptying supermarket safes, using nothing more than a drill and a modified vacuum cleaner. I studied countless reports of other robberies that had gone wrong and people who were caught. Unfortunately for Rountree he got caught each time he robbed a bank and ended up doing 12 years in prison where he eventually died. After the Kansas City massacre, in which three police officers and an FBI agent were killed when escorting Frank Nash during a change of custody (Nash was also killed), Pretty Boy Floyd was named by the FBI as one of the gunmen. He escaped from prison but was sentenced, in absentia, to 12-15 years behind bars. The pursuit included the local militia, who killed or captured the remaining members of the gang. Although rumored to have been a nice guy, he murdered his partner, Nollie Humpy Wortman, after they completed a job. Maybe its not balls; maybe cocky is the right word to describe him. Wikimedia. At the time of his death, he was 31 years old. After the robbery, they went their separate ways and headed back to their homes. In June 1986, bank officials opened for business on a Monday morning to find a 20-by-25-inch hole in the bottom of the vault, deposit boxes strewn all over the floor and about $172,000 in cash . There's been a lot of train robberies in American history, but one of the most famous is likely the robbery of the Union Pacific Overland Flyer No. In 1976, when Lebanon was in the midst of a civil war, a group of robbers decided to cash in on the confusion. 7. . Eventually someone caught on, but talk about not being able to keep a good man (or bad man) down. At 9:24 am, a riddle of bullets was fired by Philip after he spotted a parked police vehicle 60 meters from the building. Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were ambushed, in May 1934. 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. 7. Arguably the third largest heist in history, a robbery masterminded by . The most significant result of the St. Albans raid was the shift of public opinion in Canada regarding support for the Confederacy, with the majority turning against the Confederate activity in Canada, and there were no more raids launched across the northern border. 10. Martinez and her boyfriend would rob 4 banks in Northern Virginia, stealing just under $50,000 before they got caught and prosecuted. His case was eventually thrown out . 5. The earliest recorded bank heist in the States, as far as we know, was in 1798. No one pulled off more armed robberies in New York since Mikhaylich started his holiday spree in 2009. ", "Walked in the bank and waited in line like a regular customer. They fired grenades, mortar rounds, and bullets into the building. They remained at large until two days later when they were encountered in the general region of the second shootout. 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. On January 17, 1950, 11 men steal more than $2 million ($29 million today) from the . Most bank robbers, at least the popular ones, had characteristics that set them apart. Oh-so-coincidentally, the next day, six bandits got into the garage with keys in hand, then tied up . Robbing banks was Dillingers bread and butter, and often included elaborate plans that placed him front and center, demanding attention of security, tellers and customers. Bank robbery statistics from 2020 report there were zero bank robberies for 12 months in South Africa. On Feb. 10, 1997, Bowman and Kirkpatrick robbed the Seafirst Bank of $4,461,681.00. Here are 10 of the most famous and notorious of these outlaws of the Wild West. He would simply slide a piece of paper with the word ROBBERY on it to the teller. Green had come to rob the bank, and the fact that he was so well known meant that he could not leave behind any witnesses. Anyway, here are the stories of five famous bank robberies. After participating in numerous small time robberies, he was eventually jailed for 5 years. News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. His demise finally came when he attended the Biograph Theatre, in Chicago. All three were identified by persons who knew them and subsequently captured by the Cleveland police. The Bureau of Investigation (BOI), formed in 1908, expanded into the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the 1920s and became involved in the investigation of bank robberies and the apprehension of the robbers in the 1930s. Barrow was imprisoned in 1927, for robbery of a gas station and it was here that he committed his first killing. One of the fake heads used by the Anglin brothers and Frank Morris bank robbers all during their 1962 escape from Alcatraz. Though he's probably one of Texas's most famous outlaws, Sam Bass is widely regarded to have been a rather inept criminal. His means of robbing banks were never violent; in fact the machine gun he carried was empty. Before the American Civil War, most thefts from banks were burglaries, among them the taking of over $150,000 from the Bank of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1798, when the thief or thieves entered the bank after hours, leaving no sign of force. The Soboba Grab and Dash was a casino heist straight out of the Hollywood movies. There's no discussion. Also, Starr starred in a silent movie based on his criminal activity titled A Debtor to the Law. 3. The Central Bank of Iraq Robbery - $920 million. Where do we find this stuff? The men were John, Clarence, and Alfred Anglin, and they did not wear masks. Because I enjoyed it. Eventually the F.B.I. Kent, UK; 2006. After Pretty Boy Floyd was killed Nelson inherited the designation of Public Enemy Number One. On September 26, 1933, a total of 10 men, including Hamilton, escaped using smuggled guns from the recently paroled John Dillinger. Dillinger buried his friend at the home of Volney Davis and Edna Murray. One difference of course is that he used a machine gun versus a bow and arrow. She started screaming "lock the doors, lock the doors" but I ignored it and just kept walking like nothing was happening. They impersonated police officers, telling the Sheriff they had come to extradite Dillinger to Indiana. The newly formed group of escapees became the first Dillinger gang. Shootouts. Robbing a bank is the ultimate risk and reward, full of thrills, hard cash and consequences if caught. Online, The Boss: J. Edgar Hoover and the Great American Inquisition. After ensuring that the teenager was alone in the bank, Green shot him in the back of the head and left with about $5,000. I just told them what I wanted, and they complied. The robbers thought they were going to steal 3 million in cash. The robbery had yielded a haul of about $20,000, most of which was recovered and the three surviving robbers were convicted of 46 felonies for their crimes, and all three were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Liddell: The Kingdom of God is not a democracy. They were pursued by a hastily formed posse, and later by Pinkertons, but they eluded the chase. When Guarino was identified as the leader of the robbery he was taken into custody at his home on Staten Island, and within a few days he arranged to work as an informant, transferring information to the FBI and New York authorities on the activities of his various mob contacts. I enjoyed everything about it so much that one or two weeks later Id be out looking for the next job. The murderers and thieves, Jay Wesley Neill, who did the killings, and Robert Grady Johnson, were arrested on December 17 in a San Francisco hotel, traced there by the trail of marked bills which had paid for their transit. The following year he robbed a bank in Grand Haven, Michigan. He obviously didn't realize the guy who had just walked out of the bank and past him had just robbed the bank. He was later transferred to the State Prison, where he worked out an escape plan with John Dillinger. Thom Hatch. In 2005-2006, Clay Tumey "studied and perfected the art of bank robbery", never getting caught but still going to prison about five months after his last robbery because he turned himself in, serving "three years and some change". Frank Nash knocked over 200 banks in his time and is known by many as the most successful bank robber of all time. After exiting the theatre the FBI were waiting for him and he was shot down as he tried to escape down a nearby alleyway. Historians have labelled the 1930s as the Public Enemy era; a time when a small minority of criminals stood out as being particularly notorious and were hunted determinedly by the police and FBI. At the time of the robbery, Jesse James was bedridden as he recovered from a chest wound, and while it is likely that the thieves were members of the gang with which Jesse later rode, he was most likely not present at the robbery which later became known as his first. Under the circumstances, I was as nice as I could possibly be to the bank employees because I did feel a little sympathy for them. Frank surrendered to the authorities later that year and was tried for two robberies, one in Missouri and one in Alabama. He ran errands for gangsters when he was 10 years old, and soon garnered a reputation for reliability. Horse thievery. Ted P. Yeatman. These gangsters graduated into armed robbers and became known as the Tape Bandits, of which Nelson was a respected member. 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. The crime spree started with the robbery of the South Marion State Bank in November 1924. The trio then proceeded to rob a bank in Minnesota for $32,000. Mikhaylich never wore a mask and at 65 it is surprising he had a successful 2-year run before finally being caught. In February 1864, Green was arrested and after questioning admitted that he had committed the murder and robbery, informing the authorities where the remaining money was hidden. Bells and sirens were replaced in many cases by silent alarms, which sent a signal to law enforcement, allowing them to confront the robbers as they exited the buildings, after several instances when robbers reacted to the loud alarms by shielding themselves with employees and customers as hostages. Jesse James fame was so widespread that many towns claim to have been robbed by him, despite little evidence of it being true. He was a master of disguise who often impersonated a postal telegraph messenger, police . Dillinger broke out, however, and Hamilton joined him once again to commit more robberies. "I think morality is very subjective. The story is an interesting tale of false accusation, coupled with the usual case of not-so-witting, post-heist behaviors of the robbers. Barrow was armed with a sawed-off shotgun. Jesse James is arguably Americas most famous thief and murderer, certainly the most famous of the western outlaws during the two decades which followed the American Civil War. On April 23, 1934, the gang were confronted by police and, during a getaway, Hamilton was wounded and died shortly after. The Banco Central burglary Stolen: $71.6 million. It goes without saying that it takes balls to rob a bank, so I guess the term brass balls would apply to Henry Starr. In March of 1934, Nelson partnered with John Dillinger to rob the Security National Bank in Sioux Falls, followed a week later by the First National Bank of Mason City, Iowa. He was shot dozens of times, and several of his fingers were blown off. Shots were fired at the robbers outside while their three companions were still inside, who shot the clerk in the head and fled. Votes: 20,895 | Gross: $0.42M It was the largest bank robbery in U.S. history at the time. James started as a soldier in the Civil War and then, after the war was over, set out to knock off financial institutions to become rich. Stolen: 53.1 million ($83 million) This brazen heist remains the largest cash robbery in British history and was executed with a more violent vision . They were shot over 50 times, including numerous headshots on each corpse.
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