At the time of his death, he was 31 years old. Here are our sources: The Canadian View of the Confederate Raid on Saint Albans. 8. Today its very hard to pull off a bank job, yet each day approximately 20 banks are robbed in the U.S. alone! On February 13, 1866, a Tuesday, a group of riders rode into Liberty, Missouri. For most of the shootout, the deputies had been outgunned by the bank robbers and changes to the arming of the San Bernardino Sheriffs Department were the direct result of the gun battles following the robbery. North Hollywood shootout, 1997, deadly . This is how it works in America because the amount of money a bank gives up ($5-$7k on average) per bank robbery is infinitely less than the amount of business they'd lose if shit got wild in a bank full of customers. In case you havent heard, theres a movie (1967 Arthur Penn film) that details the adventures of Bonnie and Clyde. 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. Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were ambushed, in May 1934. Butch Cassidy (seated at right) and the Wild Bunch, one of several gangs which used Hole in the Wall Pass as a hideout. Nelson also demonstrated a propensity for violence and committed his first known murder during a botched tavern robbery. Answer (1 of 2): Let the Countdown begin: 10. In yet another gun battle with police, a second robber was killed. It is estimated he stole over $2 million from banks. 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 robbery was led by the notorious likes of outlaw Butch Cassidy and his sidekicks. Again, right tool for the job, that makes sense. The only money the gang managed to take during the robbery was a few bags of nickels. It was not their first bank heist, but it was the first in which they used the threat of force. The well-armed gangs often outgunned the police, and violent crime took an upsurge. By 1932 Nelson had been caught, convicted, and sentenced to prison, though he escaped during a prison transfer in 1932. Oh-so-coincidentally, the next day, six bandits got into the garage with keys in hand, then tied up . The gang were determined to free him, but first they needed cash to fund the break out. All three were identified by persons who knew them and subsequently captured by the Cleveland police. Guarino acted on the information given him by an employee at the World Trade Center, who also gave him his security pass. Their point of entry was a tunnel they dug from the sewers. In 1997, Los Angeles residents witnessed what became the deadliest bank robbery in the history of America. 10. In May 1936, the FBI located Karpis in New Orleans, and surrounded his car. Grim bank officials told Hunt that someone had . 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. The innovative group of bandits found a weakness in French supermarket Monopri. You can reach David on Twitter @david_s_grant and his website www.pulpscribbler.com. The police in automobiles were able to run them down quickly, and they were apprehended and taken to jail. It was unlikely that Floyd had been involved, but J. Edgar Hoover used the event as propaganda to further the cause of armed FBI agents. In August he robbed another, in Bluffton, Ohio. Dillinger in particular exploited the image by robbing banks but not the customers who were present when he committed his crimes (he was not above stealing their cars though). The robbery involved a political bribery scandal, surfboard repair kits and lots of dynamite. On the afternoon of November 24, 1971, a nondescript man calling himself Dan Cooper approached the counter of Northwest Orient Airlines in Portland, Oregon. David lives and works in New York City. She started screaming "lock the doors, lock the doors" but I ignored it and just kept walking like nothing was happening. November 1968, Why family believes Alcatraz escapees survived their journey. Barrow soon killed again, after a robbery at a grocery store where he shot the owner for showing resistance; during the robbery they stole just $28 and a few groceries. 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. ", "No. Frank Nash knocked over 200 banks in his time and is known by many as the most successful bank robber of all time. He would often flirt with female bank tellers whom he was robbing, and would also sometimes leap over the counter, a stunt he imitated from the movies. There has to be some disappointment that comes with getting caught because cameras picked up the license plate of a stolen getaway car. He was nicknamed slick for the many disguises he wore on the job. Martinez, an attractive college student, would approach a bank teller while talking on her cell phone. He escaped from prison but was sentenced, in absentia, to 12-15 years behind bars. Four days after his arrest, Dillinger oversaw the smuggling of weapons into his friends prison cells, and they escaped, but not before killing two guards. 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. He has killed more FBI agents than any other single American citizen. His numerous prison escapes also added to his legend. 2013, Bank Robbers In Motorcar. Most historians agree she was completely smitten with him, and willingly joined him as his partner in crime. I probably averaged around $5k per bank. 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. However, he has reportedly already died and was never brought to justice. They were never caught, and are believed to be behind similar heists in Paris during the following weeks. The story is an interesting tale of false accusation, coupled with the usual case of not-so-witting, post-heist behaviors of the robbers. Hamilton began his criminal career by robbing a gas station in Indiana, and being sentenced to a very long prison term of 25 years. Valerio and his associates entered the facility, pretending to be customers. I'd always thought, "If I was that rich, I could change the world instead of just piling up cash." Alarm buzzers and bells, which rang loudly inside and outside of the bank, were one of the earliest. Turns out she was talking with her accomplice, a boyfriend driving the getaway car outside the banks. 5. Sutton carried on his criminal career whilst on the run, but eventually ended up spending more than half his adult life in prison. Five days later they were arrested in Ohio. This makes the act of tunneling into a bank, or other unlawful entry such as forcing the locks, technically a burglary rather than a robbery, but in the public imagination they are one and the same thing for the most part. He obviously didn't realize the guy who had just walked out of the bank and past him had just robbed the bank. Feb 14, 1864, Missouri Bank Cashes In on Jesse James. When those convictions were overturned (they had been tried together) they have tried again, in separate trials, and again both were convicted. Bank robbery is a federal crime in the United States, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation defines the act of robbery as taking or attempting to take property through the use of, or the implied use of force. The pair robbed numerous banks as well as some gas stations and stores in rural areas. While most of the men waited outside two men went into the bank, which was staffed by only two men at the time, father and son Greenup Bird and William Bird. Hearst, the heir to millions, was kidnapped and later arrested as an accomplice with the Symbionese Liberation Armyafter they robbed a bank in San Francisco. The British Bank of the Middle East Robbery. Sometimes you are born into the lifestyle, and for Lester M. Gillis that came at the tender age of 12 when he first shot someone with a gun. Descriptions of some of the robbers led to arrests and authorities learned of plans for further robberies during interrogations, but the police were unable to locate the ringleader of the group, Harry Pierpont. However, instead of returning to prison, he went on the run. Hole in the floor Photo by Craig Sunter - Wikimedia. 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. Fred Barker and his mother were gunned down by the FBI in their homes, in 1935. The Norco shootout in the town of that name in California took place on May 9, 1980, between five bank robbers and deputies of the Riverside County and later San Bernardino County sheriff's departments. Authorities in four states joined in the search for the fugitives. 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. An illustration from an 1882 book on the lives of Frank and Jesse James and the Younger brothers. Herman Baron Lamm was a German American bank robber who is widely considered the father of modern bank robbery. Each year there are approximately 3,000-4,000 bank robberies. Jesse James. Willie Sutton loved using disguises to rob banks. It happened in Pennsylvania, in the Bank of Pennsylvania at Carpenters' Hall. He had black hair and a baby face. 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. FBI agent Melvin Purvis hunted down Pretty Boy Floyd to an Ohio field. 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. Charles Arthur Floyd was a gun happy bank robber who during his violent career cultivated a favorable image with the general public by spreading rumors that in the course of his robberies he also destroyed mortgage documents, saving many from foreclosure. He began to associate with big time Kansas City mobsters. The robber named Theodore John Conrad was at the top of the United States' most wanted list at the age of 20 when he was working as a bank teller at the Society National Bank in Cleveland, Ohio. Bank of Bangladesh Cyber Robbery ($81M) North Korean hackers attempted to steal $1B from the . AP. Sutton claimed he never actually said it. Is it strange that every time I walk into a bank I lightly case the joint? After being apprehended again, he was sentenced to 50 years imprisonment. "Part of my process did begin with how poorly I thought rich people handled their money. They were both convicted of the crimes in 1985 and sentenced to death for capital murder and several other crimes in connection with the robbery. ", On morals, and whether he regrets what he did. A determined J Edgar Hoover had even vowed to personally arrest Karpis. He spent his time planning heists with his new found friends, that they would commit shortly after being released. After the Northfield, robbery attempt led to the destruction of the James-Younger gang Jesse and his brother Frank escaped, and for a time lived under an assumed name in Nashville, Tennessee. He has also escaped from prison multiple times. Homer Van Meter was a young member of John Dillingers gang, with a reputation for being particularly bloodthirsty. The Central Bank of Iraq Robbery - $920 million. For John Hamilton, robbing banks wasnt his first choice. Dillinger was charged; however, many claim it was Hamilton who pulled the trigger. After linking up with the Dillinger gang, he participated in some other high profile bank robberies. Hunter. Unbeknownst to the three was that they were being monitored by security cameras, the film from which was broadcast that night on national television. 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! If you want to know the best heist films you should definitely watch our picks for the best Bank Robbery movies.Discover the best popcorn machine: https:/. 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. Whether armed with guns, coordinated with a gang or using explosives, anything was on the table if it meant leaving the building with bags of money. Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker left a trail of dead lawmen and bystanders in their wake during their crime spree of robbery and murder. 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. Library of Congress. The gang of outlaws which included Jesse and Frank James and the Younger brothers robbed banks, trains, stagecoaches, at least one fair, stores, and other victims from around 1867 until 1876, when a bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota went wrong for the criminals. Robert Grady Johnson (front ) and Jay Wesley Neill during the legal procedures which convicted them of the Geronimo bank robbery and murders. It took about fifteen minutes for the thieves to leave the World Trade Center, taking with them $1.6 million in cash. 3. Sam Bass 1851-1878. 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The Soboba Grab and Dash was a casino heist straight out of the Hollywood movies. Hunt rushed to the scene to begin investigating what would turn out to be the biggest bank robbery in San Antonio history. Over the next few years he participated in several bank robberies, and it was in this period that he acquired his nickname. But to me, the money was the chips, thats all.. FBI. He was executed at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in 2002, by lethal injection. Other aspects involved each gang member being assigned a job such vault man, driver or lobby man. 1986 FBI Miami shootout, deadly shootout between FBI and two bank robbers. The victim said: He was good looking, hardly more than a boy. He was later transferred to the State Prison, where he worked out an escape plan with John Dillinger. Cassidy was the ring leader of the gang known as the Wild Bunch, a group of Wild West criminals that loved to stick up banks, rob trains and then (presumably) drink whiskey and fight in saloons. To pull it off, a 25-member gang set up a fake landscaping business. After a failed escape attempt, and after serving 7 years, he applied for a 20 month leave of absence which was granted. He surrendered peacefully although no agents had brought any handcuffs, as they assumed Karpis would fight to the death. Spaggiari is one of the most famous bank robbers in history. W. D. Jones, Playboy Magazine. Bass's one and only big haul was in September of . Often several different gangs occupied it simultaneously, though they did not coordinate their various nefarious activities. I got out before the doors were locked, but a guy walking into the bank seconds later already found them locked. The banks, however, consider this kind of theft an acceptable loss, so that was okay with me being part of the loss that they consider acceptable. Eventually someone caught on, but talk about not being able to keep a good man (or bad man) down. At the time of his death, he was only 25 years old. 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. At the time, it was described as "the crime of the century." The gang gained entry to the warehouse from security guard Anthony Black. "One teller skimped out on me and didn't give me all I had asked for, and I told her, "You can do better than that." J.L. Though he's probably one of Texas's most famous outlaws, Sam Bass is widely regarded to have been a rather inept criminal. . The robbers shot up more than two dozen patrol cars and damaged a police helicopter. RCDSA. 300 million yen robbery. Lee Murray, who is thought to be the mastermind behind this robbery was caught in 2010 in Morocco. ", "In their top drawer, [tellers usually had] less than $10k. They killed at least nine people during their spree, including civilians. Pity. Unfortunately for Rountree he got caught each time he robbed a bank and ended up doing 12 years in prison where he eventually died. 7. . Modern day pop culture has kept the tradition alive with movies such as Point Break, HEAT and Reservoir Dogs. The robbery was a near disaster though he still managed to make a clean getaway. In addition to being a master bank robber he was also a master of escaping from prison (which is good when your job is robbing banks on the outside). 1988, Americas Own Robin Hood: The Dillinger Legend. The small explosion occurred in public outside the bank, causing witnesses to take notice of the man. 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 Rich Hill Tribune, August 19, 1909. They often took photographs of themselves posing together with the weapons they used during armed robberies. Following his escape from Allen County, Dillinger participated in at least ten additional bank robberies over the course of the next year, was captured again, escaped again, and became a subject of international notoriety. The robbers thought they were going to steal 3 million in cash. 9. Nov 18, 2020. The Great Northfield, Minnesota, Raid. Two bank robbers and one deputy died in the gun battle, nine officers were wounded. bank. Karpis nearly met his own violent death when the FBI located him in New Jersey. Arthur was a modern day Robin Hood, providing a service for people in need by stealing. 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. There was some armed resistance from the citizens of the town, and gunfire was exchanged leading to one townsman being killed and another wounded, with one of the raiders, wounded as well. After another robbery three months later, a composite sketch was finally able to be drawn up and . Baron Lamm died, aged 40, after a botched bank robbery when his gang crashed their getaway car. He was gunned down in the so called Battle of Barrington, but not before taking FBI agents Herman Hollis and Samuel P Cowley with him. 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. Dillinger and his gang began a spree of bank robberies across Indiana, accumulating over $300,000 in total. For his third escape, he dressed as a prison guard and carried a ladder to the prison wall at night; when the searchlight hit him he shouted: its ok! and nobody stopped him. I wouldn't steal from an individual person because I'm not comfortable with that. Votes: 20,895 | Gross: $0.42M Train robberies. With the robbers broadcasting their crime live over the airwaves, it's a mystery why the police never caught the Baker Street gang red-handed. Regardless, some of them found more success than others, however, all of them eventually were caught and persecuted. He was never caught and the loot from the heist was never found. John Dillinger was almost as famous as Al Capone. One of the fake heads used by the Anglin brothers and Frank Morris bank robbers all during their 1962 escape from Alcatraz. It was the largest bank robbery in U.S. history at the time. He was the last remaining public enemy, all the others having being captured or killed. I look for video cameras, security guard positioning and speculate where the vault is. 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. It was the first known instance of an automobile being used as a getaway car following both an armed robbery and a bank robbery. Butch was capable of robbing a bank with nothing but a pistol, but his men have been caught before. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. 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. Valerio Viccei was the mastermind behind the heist that took place on July 12, 1987 and resulted in a robbery involving $66 million, worth about $154.7 million as of today. The robbery was masterminded by Ralph Guarino, a career felon who associated with several members of organized crime, though he was not a member of a crew. I told him I was 100% sure that they had the amount wrong. Barrow was armed with a sawed-off shotgun. When he was paroled he vowed to never see the inside of another prison. During his criminal career, which was a short and violent one, he was only accused of personally killing one individual, an East Chicago police officer, though his associates killed many more while committing robberies and eluding capture. 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. 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. But what the terrified customers and police didn't know was that the bold robbery was merely a carefully crafted distraction to keep . The only caveat is, it's successful as long as you don't get caught. Whoever the culprits had been, they had burrowed through 100 feet of soil from a nearby sewer drain, and had drilled . The surviving Youngers were imprisoned, Bob Younger died while in custody in 1889, from tuberculosis. 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. Wikimedia. There are many perks to the gangster lifestyle; long life expectancy isnt one of them. In 1976, when Lebanon was in the midst of a civil war, a group of robbers decided to cash in on the confusion. Shirlee Pigeon, Riverside Sheriffs Association, 2010. Most bank robbers act solo or with groups of accomplices, but Bonnie and Clyde were the rare duo that went on a crime spree that included bank robberies as well as gas stations and retail outlets. The Brink's-MAT robbery occurred on November 26th, 1983, when six robbers broke into the Brink's-MAT warehouse at Heathrow Airport, London. But the James brothers aren't the only bank robbers to become household names. The most famous aspect of the Lamm Technique was casing the bank before the robbery, and planning getaway routes so as to leave nothing to chance. The two stormed into the casino, held everyone at gunpoint and tied up several of the casino staff. At this time, unemployment in the USA had risen to 25% and many more people were resorting to crime. The law eventually caught up with Floyd, and in 1930, he was arrested and charged with the robbery of the Sylvania Ohio Bank. As robbers and thieves, nobody was better than the comparatively low-profile Newton and his brothers, who later were popularized in a middling 1998 movie as "The Newton Boys."In a blink of about five years in the 1920s, the Newtons (and an occasional accomplice) pulled off about 70 bank heists (give or take a dozen), ripped off six trains and, in their pice de rsistance, cleared somewhere . Thomas Limerick, a onetime boxcar bandit, became a "public enemy" bank robber in the Gage County area in the 1930s. Still, theres got to be something to walking into the prison yard and being asked what you do and reply with Bank Robber. There are much worse things to put on your prison resume. "I never felt guilty because I didn't attack or assault anyone. 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. Baby Face didnt have a long career, killed by federal agents at the age of 25. One of the most famous bank robbers in American History, "Slick Willie" spent 11 years at Eastern State Penitentiary. On a Friday in 1976, Spaggiari led a team of 20 men into the bank vault. They were pursued by a hastily formed posse, and later by Pinkertons, but they eluded the chase. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Hamilton began his criminal career by robbing a gas station in Indiana, and being sentenced to a very long prison term of 25 years. made Dillinger a priority and brought him down one night in Chicago by shooting him several times in front of a mob of people, as if Dillinger planned it himself. 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. I was more alive when I was inside a bank, robbing it, than at any other time in my life. Karpis was raised in Kansas and began associating with criminals from an early age. As such, they've always been pretty intriguing, especially how old-fashioned they are in an age of hacking and cryptocurrencies. Hunter robbed his first bank when he was 86 years old. Photo: Stanislav Kozlovskiy / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0. The most famous of the gangs which used the pass was that known as the Wild Bunch, led by Robert Leroy Parker, also known as Butch Cassidy, and his partner Harry Longabaugh, known to history as the Sundance Kid. Floyd wasnt your typical gangster bank robber though; no, he was providing a service. ", "Walked in the bank and waited in line like a regular customer. Dillinger was killed in Chicago in 1934, and more than 15,000 people waited in line to view his body before his internment in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana. As a young man he enlisted in the US Navy, but was dishonorably discharged after he deserted. June 28, 2009, Family plot: Pretty Boy Floyd relative recalls his infamous uncle. After the cashier reluctantly complied the men made their escape with about $32,000, most of it in gold. On the way, Bowman stopped in Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri. It was later claimed that Butch Cassidy had been one of the robbers. The banks lost about $482 million due to robberies, or $4,213 per offense. Dale Ingram, Tulsa World. In January of 1934 Hamilton and his crew robbed over $20,000 from a bank and gunned downed an officer. He was not, but it was likely that the Sundance Kid was, and if so Cassidy certainly knew about the robbery, which took place as he was in Tipton, Wyoming, making plans for another train robbery.