However, he has reportedly already died and was never brought to justice. (Bank Robber) Willie Sutton, born as William Francis Sutton, was an American bank robber notorious for his prolific criminal career which lasted for forty years. Votes: 20,895 | Gross: $0.42M The robbers were armed with rifles, handguns, and shotguns. In addition, banks lost an estimated $482 million due to robberies. The following year he robbed a bank in Grand Haven, Michigan. 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.. 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 sheriffs departments. The men beat a guard unconscious but were soon apprehended. The . It happened in Pennsylvania, in the Bank of Pennsylvania at Carpenters' Hall. The Great Northfield, Minnesota, Raid. Gillis would become known as Baby Face Nelson and despite being very short (54) and small (133 lbs) he was a dangerous individual during the golden age of gangsters. Of course Chaz rarely made it to class; instead, organizing bank heists to steal more federal money. 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 robbed a bank in Ohio, but was captured soon after. The exact number of men who entered the town and gathered together in front of the Clay County Savings Association differs; according to accounts it was anywhere from ten to fourteen. Knightsbridge Security Deposit Robbery of $98 Million, 1987. Amazingly, they were never caught. Hamilton, along with Dillinger, were public enemy number one (or one and two I guess) as their gang robbed several banks around the Chicago area. His means of robbing banks were never violent; in fact the machine gun he carried was empty. 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. Along with his partner Sundance Kid, the couple was famous for famous historic robberies. His reply was: Because thats where the money is. Not fake talking on her phone as a distraction, but carrying on an actual conversation while slipping the teller a this is a robbery note. Increased security in the aftermath of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing did not prevent Ralph Guarino and colleagues from robbing Bank of America there. Kent, UK; 2006. After exiting the theatre the FBI were waiting for him and he was shot down as he tried to escape down a nearby alleyway. 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. He was shot dozens of times, and several of his fingers were blown off. After being arrested and imprisoned in the escape proof Lake County jail, Dillinger was able to use a carved wooden pistol to trick guards, and lock them in his cell. Most of the robbers were caught but the gold remains at large. Published Tue, Jul 31 2012 12:33 PM EDT Updated Fri, Sep 13 . He was pissed, of course, because it wasn't closing time, and he thought he had gotten there too late. On April 23, 1934, the gang were confronted by police and, during a getaway, Hamilton was wounded and died shortly after. In April 1930, Nelson robbed his first bank and got away with $4000. 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. The bank was closed for renovations at the time, so the gang took its time, spending days breaking in and several hours emptying boxes. Dillinger wanted to be more famous than Capone and let everyone know who he was. 5. Shots were fired at the robbers outside while their three companions were still inside, who shot the clerk in the head and fled. Two of them survived, as did a fourteen-month-old child, who was not shot because the robbers ammunition ran out. 7. . Floyd robbed more than thirty banks and killed at least ten men during his criminal career. He managed to shoot his way to an escape, although his pregnant girlfriend was shot in the thigh. 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. Geronimo bank robbery in Geronimo, Oklahoma, 1984, resulted in the deaths of three bank employees and one customer. While traveling and searching for new ways to put some money in his pocket for a better life, he stumbled upon Mike . Barrow was armed with a sawed-off shotgun. However, instead of returning to prison, he went on the run. 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. The pursuit included the local militia, who killed or captured the remaining members of the gang. The Barker family were a notorious gang of siblings who robbed banks and killed without provocation. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 2019, out of 267,988 robberies, 1.4% were linked to banks. I look for video cameras, security guard positioning and speculate where the vault is. The Banco Central burglary Stolen: $71.6 million. 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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. As great of a criminal as Butch Cassidy was, there are still questions as to how he died. He was executed at the Ohio State Penitentiary in October 1934, after a failed escape attempt left him severely wounded. Modern day pop culture has kept the tradition alive with movies such as Point Break, HEAT and Reservoir Dogs. 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. During their exceedingly violent career together the pair probably robbed less than a dozen banks, and in several cases the robbery was interrupted by law enforcement, forcing the thieves to flee before securing all of the cash, often in a hail of bullets from Clyde Barrows weapon of choice, the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). 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. 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. It was not their first bank heist, but it was the first in which they used the threat of force. Guarino acted on the information given him by an employee at the World Trade Center, who also gave him his security pass. 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. 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. In February 1933, bank robberies had become so common in some parts of Texas that private banker R. P. Henry, who with his sons ran a bank in Lancaster, Texas, took to hiding cash in file cabinets, rather than keeping it in the vault safe, in expectation of a visit from criminals. 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. The cab driver sets American Zed up with Zoe in his Paris hotel. Elisha Converse was a founder and president of the bank in which his son was murdered in the first armed bank robbery in American history. The robbers were armed with rifles, handguns, and shotguns. After robbing the wife of the Chicago mayor, he earned his nickname. Later in life, Nelson became involved with some local gangsters, driving bootleg alcohol for them through the Chicago suburbs. 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. Eventually, most of the Tape bandits were rounded up, including Nelson. A crowd gathers at Chicagos Biograph theater after the death of John Dillinger, July 22, 1934. Cold-blooded murder. He was buried by Dillinger. The first bank robbery caught on camerafrom 1957. Security Pacific Bank, Norco, California, 1980, deadly shootout between local law enforcement and five bank robbers. Wikimedia. Eric A. Aguilera and his accomplish Luda Ramos robbed The Soboba Casino in Las Vegas in 2005. Prior to that action, a bank robber in Ohio could escape to a bordering state such as Kentucky or Indiana and avoid pursuit and arrest. 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. 1. Whilst in prison he tried to escape with another prisoner. They fled to the north. Fred Barker and his mother were gunned down by the FBI in their homes, in 1935. ", On morals, and whether he regrets what he did. 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. Theodore J. Conrad pulled off one of the biggest bank robberies in Cleveland's history. 5. 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. September 25, 1992, The Norco Bank Robbery. The Youngers never admitted that Jesse and Frank James were part of the foiled robbery. 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. Two bank robbers and one deputy died in the gun battle, nine officers were wounded. The pair robbed numerous banks as well as some gas stations and stores in rural areas. "Only the Internet. 2003, The Great Northfield Raid Revisited. Here are some of the most notorious bank robberies or robbers in American history. 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. Valerio and his associates entered the facility, pretending to be customers. Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were ambushed, in May 1934. He has also escaped from prison multiple times. Hamilton began his criminal career by robbing a gas station in Indiana, and being sentenced to a very long prison term of 25 years. He was alone at work when Edward Green entered the bank. In December a robbery attempt was foiled when a bank worker pushed an alarm button, forcing the would-be robbers to flee empty-handed, but a week later they were more successful at a bank in Upland, Indiana. Spaggiari is one of the most famous bank robbers in history. I told him I was 100% sure that they had the amount wrong. 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". June 28, 2009, Family plot: Pretty Boy Floyd relative recalls his infamous uncle. By 1909 automobiles were being used to race across the country, as did this Model T, and to rob banks. 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. 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. He ended up being sentenced to a long prison term for a train robbery. Green was not a suspect at first, the citizens of Malden unable to believe that a man in his position was capable of such a heinous crime. They were able to do so thanks to the driver, who was not an accomplice but was provided along with the vehicle, which had been rented by the two bank robbers. 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. Warsaw Daily Times. Online. There's one . The pair robbed banks together during the 1930s. Bass's one and only big haul was in September of . 01/10/2022. As a punishment, Van Meter spent two months in solitary confinement where he was severely beaten by guards. 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. He wasnt hurt, but the car was disabled, and soon after he engaged in a chase with police. 3. Library of Congress. Ted Conrad was working as a teller at the . Journalist Smith (Now Go to Hell) delivers a rollicking portrait of his cousin Daniel David Courson, the scion of a prominent evangelical Christian family who is also a notorious bank robber.According to Smith, the Coursons are "a gilded evangelical Christian Camelot," with members serving as megachurch pastors and missionaries in California and Oregon and . The post-war violence between the former Confederate supporters and Unionists led to him being a popular figure among the former, despite the frequency and violence of his crimes. By then Jesse James had been dead for seven years, but the two remaining Younger brothers, Jim and Cole, continued to maintain their silence over any crimes committed by the James brothers, including the Northfield robbery. Floyd was killed in an Ohio field on the night of October 22, 1934, though several different versions of the events that night emerged from the participants in the shooting and witnesses. Mug shot of Lester Gillis, alias George Nelson, known to history as Baby Face Nelson. He was later transferred to the State Prison, where he worked out an escape plan with John Dillinger. It was September 21, 1991. Often several different gangs occupied it simultaneously, though they did not coordinate their various nefarious activities. 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:/. 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.