Needless to say, she got fired. Dale Ingram, Tulsa World. Anyway, here are the stories of five famous bank robberies. August 3, 2012, 3 Gunmen Rob Guards of $1.6 Million at World Trade Center Bank. Wikimedia. Also, Starr starred in a silent movie based on his criminal activity titled A Debtor to the Law. 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. He asked for credentials, so they shot him and Dillinger escaped with them. 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. Bass's one and only big haul was in September of . According to reports, 18 perpetrators are still at large. 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. So I never let anyone (not even my wife or best friend) know what I was doing. They were pursued by a hastily formed posse, and later by Pinkertons, but they eluded the chase. Security Pacific Bank, Norco, California, 1980, deadly shootout between local law enforcement and five bank robbers. Although Jesse James was never tried for any of his crimes, his brother Frank was twice, acquitted both times. 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. The chase covered seven miles before police caught up with them. Butch was capable of robbing a bank with nothing but a pistol, but his men have been caught before. He was cornered by over 200 police, and shot himself in the head to avoid punishment. It was not their first bank heist, but it was the first in which they used the threat of force. He writes about pop culture and humor, he is also a degenerate gambler (which he also writes about). 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. The most notorious outlaws of the Wild West have long been . 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. When a group of armed robbers burst into a Buenos Aires bank on Jan.13, 2006, they immediately grabbed the attention of investigators, seasoned hostage negotiators and media outlets, who broadcast the tense standoff with police throughout Argentina. James was not positively identified by any witnesses (though he was well known in the area), and none of the money was ever recovered. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. 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. 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. Butch Cassidy (seated at right) and the Wild Bunch, one of several gangs which used Hole in the Wall Pass as a hideout. It's almost a nostalgic thing. 3. 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. Central Bank of Iraq by urrizato - Wikimedia. Wikimedia. 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. Nelson robbed his first bank in April 1930, another in October, and in Chicago that year robbed jewelry from the mayor of Chicagos wife. I don't use that to make bank robbery "okay" but that's what made it okay for me at the time. He surrendered peacefully although no agents had brought any handcuffs, as they assumed Karpis would fight to the death. Two of them survived, as did a fourteen-month-old child, who was not shot because the robbers ammunition ran out. This marked the beginning of forty-four minutes of endless shooting all caught live. In April 1925, Pierpont was arrested in Detroit and was soon returned to Indiana to face trial. A posse of rangers opened fire into Barrows stolen car as he approached, at high speed, down a rural Louisiana road. Wikimedia. The story is an interesting tale of false accusation, coupled with the usual case of not-so-witting, post-heist behaviors of the robbers. 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. When talking about famous thieves, one can't leave out Albert Spaggiari. Parker was soon arrested during a botched robbery of a hardware store, although she was soon released having not been charged. After this, Nelson began to rob banks with Homer Van Meter and Eddie Green. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. The infamous Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus was one of the nations most notorious prisons when Pierpont was sent there for execution. Two bank robbers and one deputy died in the gun battle, nine officers were wounded. Bank of Bangladesh Cyber Robbery ($81M) North Korean hackers attempted to steal $1B from the . Because I enjoyed it. Mikhaylich was known as the Holiday Bandit due his frequent robberies in late December. People worth millions dont typically get involved in robbing banks (unless of course that is how you made your millions). Jay, Clarke, Universal Press Syndicate, Chicago Tribune. Cold-blooded murder. During his first brief stint in prison, the director of research wrote the following: This fellow is a criminal of the most dangerous type. 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. Once the driver realized what was happening, he manipulated the vehicles controls to cause the engine to stall, after they had covered the seven miles aforementioned, and the robbers were forced to continue their flight on foot. Someone should have. 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 . John Dillinger (June 22, 1903-July 22, 1934) While the Great Depression that ravaged the 1930s created a perfect storm that propagated the country with scores of robbers looking to make an easy . 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. 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 . The newly formed group of escapees became the first Dillinger gang. Train and stagecoach robberies were more common since they could be carried out in remote locations, without having to contend with the inconvenience of local law enforcement. In May 1936, the FBI located Karpis in New Orleans, and surrounded his car. The raiders protested that the action had been a legitimate act of war and the Canadian authorities released them but returned the money to Saint Albans. I keep telling myself that if I live to be old (over eighty) that would be a good time to try heroin or other drugs because, why not? Although Al Capone had been named Public Enemy Number One by the city of Chicago in 1930, John Dillinger was the first to hold the title as bestowed nationally by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The banks customers were shoved aside and gathered with the employees, all of them forced to lie on the floor while Barrow watched over them with the shotgun and Hamilton filled a sack with the cash from the drawers. I told him I was 100% sure that they had the amount wrong. To me, its just natural, given that a. He escaped from prison but was sentenced, in absentia, to 12-15 years behind bars. After the second gun battle in San Bernardino County, the surviving robbers escaped into the San Bernardino Mountains. On Feb. 10, 1997, Bowman and Kirkpatrick robbed the Seafirst Bank of $4,461,681.00. Online. These crimes labelled Van Meter 18th on the public enemies list. Fred Barker and his mother were gunned down by the FBI in their homes, in 1935. I look for video cameras, security guard positioning and speculate where the vault is. May 2, 2004, Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend. In Indiana, Van Meter robbed a police station with Dillinger. Feb 14, 1864, Missouri Bank Cashes In on Jesse James. He was executed at the Ohio State Penitentiary in October 1934, after a failed escape attempt left him severely wounded. The Central Bank of Iraq Robbery - $920 million. Shots were fired at the robbers outside while their three companions were still inside, who shot the clerk in the head and fled. In yet another gun battle with police, a second robber was killed. ", "No. May 6, 1925, Its an old up! Sutton carried on his criminal career whilst on the run, but eventually ended up spending more than half his adult life in prison. It was the largest bank robbery in U.S. history at the time. They fired grenades, mortar rounds, and bullets into the building. 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 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. 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. 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. 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. A driver remained in the car. The Burrowing Burglars. Approximately a year later, the same man robbed another Spokane bank, stealing $14,000, this time setting off a dye pack that he was given. The police in automobiles were able to run them down quickly, and they were apprehended and taken to jail. Often several different gangs occupied it simultaneously, though they did not coordinate their various nefarious activities. Oh-so-coincidentally, the next day, six bandits got into the garage with keys in hand, then tied up . Dillinger and his gang, which included for a time notorious gangster George "Baby Face" Nelson, were suspected of robbing $52,000 from the First National Bank in Mason City on March 13, 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. June 28, 2009, Family plot: Pretty Boy Floyd relative recalls his infamous uncle. Hole in the floor Photo by Craig Sunter - Wikimedia. Because no bodies were ever found, the US Marshal service still considers the escape to be an open case. Martinez, an attractive college student, would approach a bank teller while talking on her cell phone. The robbers thought they were going to steal 3 million in cash. Baron Lamm died, aged 40, after a botched bank robbery when his gang crashed their getaway car. He did a Reddit Ask Me Anything yesterday, and it yielded some fascinating stuff. Previously they had broken into banks after hours, hoping to avoid any injury to themselves or others. Hoover wouldnt have to wait long. After being on the run for two years, Nelson robbed his first major bank. He committed his first major robbery in the 1920s, burglarizing a hospital in Tulsa. 1988, Americas Own Robin Hood: The Dillinger Legend. Most of the robbers were caught but the gold remains at large. A mere boy a pretty boy with apple cheeks.. Is it possible he is still alive? Given he was born in 1866, not likely. He has killed more FBI agents than any other single American citizen. 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. It was 1976 in Beirut. 1. In August he robbed another, in Bluffton, Ohio. At the time, it was described as "the crime of the century." The gang gained entry to the warehouse from security guard Anthony Black. They often took photographs of themselves posing together with the weapons they used during armed robberies. At the time of his death, he was 27 years old. Wikimedia. Votes: 20,895 | Gross: $0.42M Wikimedia. One of the thieves, the one who had worn a ski mask, made it as far as Albuquerque, New Mexico before he was arrested two days following the robbery. Exactly my point, you are 86, why not? She started screaming "lock the doors, lock the doors" but I ignored it and just kept walking like nothing was happening.