Tag: armed robbery
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George Harsh – Great Escaper and the ‘Milwaukee Thrill Slayer.
Before George Rutherford Harsh, Jr. became a crucial member of the Great Escape he became the ‘Milwaukee Thrill Slayer,’ at least according to the Georgia newspapers. Shot down on a bombing raid over Cologne in 1943 while serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force and a confirmed troublemaker in the eyes of his guards, Harsh…
CrimeScribe
1944, armed robbery, Atlanta, Canada, capital punishment, clemency, Cologne, crime, crime and punishment, Dapper Dick, dead man walking, death penalty, Death Row, death sentence, Depression, Eagle Squadrons, electric chair, England, escape, Georg Harsh, Georgia, Georgia Prison and Parole Commission, Georgia State Prison, Gestapo, Governor E.D. Rivers, Great Escape, History, Lonesome Road, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Thrill Slayer, murder, murderer, old sparky, Pearl Harbor, RCAF, Richard Gallogly, Royal Canadian Air Force, Stalag Luft III, Texas, The Great Escape, Toronto, true crime, tunnel, Wally Floody, Wisconsin, World War 2 -
Dallas Egan, a half-pint of whiskey (to the last drop).
Armed robber and murderer Dallas Egan was rather younger than Gardner when he died on the gallows in San Quentin’s ‘Hangman’s Hall.’ Courtesy of Governor James ‘Sunny Jim’ Rolph, Egan may well have been drunk as well. It was by Rolph’s order that Egan was plied with whiskey before his execution and it had…
CrimeScribe
armed robbery, Bank of America, Black Friday, California, capital punishment, Clinton Duffy, Condemned Row, Court Smith, crime, crime and punishment, Dallas Egan, death penalty, death sentence, executed, execution, Folsom, Folsom Prison, George Turcott, Governor James Rolph, Governor Lynch, Guard Jack Peart, Hangman's Hall, History, Homer Rogers, Ida, J.J. Smith, James Johnston, Judge Pacht, Madera Tribune, murder, Oakland Cabriolet, San Quentin, San Quentin Prison, Sunny Jim, Sweet as Apple Cider, true crime, William Kirkpatrick -
On This Day in 1926 – Gerald Chapman, America’s first ‘Public Enemy Number One.’
“Death itself isn’t dreadful, but hanging seems an awkward way of ending the adventure…” – Gerald Chapman to his lawyers after being condemned to hang for murder in 1925. ‘Gerald Chapman’ was his favorite alias, but his real name was probably George Chartres. Given that records are sketchy and Chapman was always evasive about his youth,…
CrimeScribe
Abe Reles, Al Capone, Allie Tannnenbaum, American Express, armed robberies, armed robbery, Atlanta, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Auburn, Auburn Prison, Ben Hance, Charles Loerber, Charlie Wolfe, condemned, Connecticut, Count of Gramercy Park, death penalty, Dutch Anderson, executed, Federal Government, Frank Gray, gallows, George Anderson, Gerald Chapman, hanged, Indiana, John Dillinger, John Gotti, Joseph Rosen, Leonard Street robbery, Lepke, Lepke Buchalter, Louis Capone, Massachusetts, Mendy Weiss, murder, New Britain, New York, New York City, New York State, Patrolmsn Skelly, President Calvin Coolidge, President Coolidge, President Franklin Roosevelt, prison, Public Enemy Number One, Sing Sing Prison, upright jerker, US Supreme Court, Walter Shean, Wethersfield Prison -
Rufus ‘Whitey’ Franklin, the incorrigible’s incorrigible.
Today, Rufus Franklin (‘Whitey’ to his friends) is a name largely forgotten. In the South during the 1930’s Franklin was a crook well-known the South’s law enforcement and penal system alike. Born in Alabama in 1916 Franklin was the incorrigible’s incorrigible, a crook so dedicated he would likely have never gone straight even if pardoned…
CrimeScribe
Alabama, Alcatraz, armed robbery, Atlanta, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, bank robbery, Battle of Alcatraz, Bernard Coy, California, Clarence Carnes, D Block, dark cells, Dark Hole, Dayton, escape, escape from Alcatraz, escaped, escapers, escapes, FBI, Florida, gas chamber, Georgia, Harold Stites, James Tex Lucas, Joe Cretzer, Kansas, Kentucky, Kilby Prison, Leavenworth, Lieutenant Philip Bergin, Marvin Hubbard, Miran Thompson, Mississippi, National Bank Robbery Act 1934, Ohio, robbery, Royal Cline, Rufus Franklin, Sam Shockley, San Quentin, Silent System, solitary, solitary confinement, supermax, Tennessee, Tex Lucas, Texas, The Hole, The Rock, Thomas Limerick, Whitey Franklin, Yellow Mama -
Dwight Beard, a tale of two cities and (at least) two murders.
Unlike in Dickens’ classic novel Dwight Beard did not go to the guillotine as an act of redemption. The nobility so prized by Dickens (himself opposed to capital punishment) simply wasn’t in Beard’s nature. On 4 June 1937 he sat in the ‘Texas Thunderbolt’ at Huntsville, riding the lightning for a murder during one of…
CrimeScribe
1924, 1935, armed robbery, Augustus Buonos, Bonnie & Clyde, Caldwell County, capital punishment, Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery, Charles Dickens, crime, Dallas, death chamber, death house, death penalty, Death Row, death sentence, electrocute, electrocuted, executed, execution, executioner, Fort Worth, Georgia, Grove Hill Memorial Park, Howard Hinton, Huntsville, Joe Byrd, Joe Palmer, John Roberts, murder, murdered, murderer, North Carolina, old sparky, Peckerwood Hill, Raleigh, Raymond Hamilton, ride the lightning, Sydney Carton, Texas, Texas Thunderbolt, true crime -
On This Day in 1957 – Robert Eugene ‘Bobby’ Carter, last man executed in Washington D.C.
It’s quite unlikely that many people, even DC residents, remember cop-killer Robert Carter. Arrested for murdering police officer George Cassels on 11 July 1953, Carter was never likely to win clemency from the courts or from the President who had sole pardoning authority within the District of Columbia. On 27 April 1957 Carter…
CrimeScribe
1957, armed robbery, capital punishment, Carl Breitfeller, condemned, convict, crime, crime and punishment, criminal, criminals, DC Jail, death, death penalty, District of Columbia, Earl McFarland, electric chair, electrocuted, electrocution, executed, execution, executions, exeutioner, George Berti, George Cassels, German spies, History, imprisonment, life, life imprisonment, Luger, mandatory death penalty, murder, murdered, murderer, New York, old sparky, Operation Pastorius, prison, Robert Carter, South Carolina, true crime, USA, Washington, Washington DC, Washington Post -
On This Day in 1890 -Martha Place, the first woman in the electric chair.
A free chapter from my book ‘Murders, Mysteries and Misdemeanors in New York,’ available now. Like many countries the US has an at times contradictory attitude to its death penalty, no more so than when a woman faces execution. Women account for fewer than 5% of death sentences in the US and less than 1%…
CrimeScribe
1934, Abe Reles, Albert Anastasia, Amos Squire, Angel of Death, Anna Antonio, appeal, appealed, appeals, armed robberies, armed robbery, assassin, assassinated, assassination, Atlanat, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Attica, Auburn Prison, bank robbery, bathtub booze, Ben Hnace, Big Greenie, Big Moose Lake, books, bootleggers, bottlegging, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Combination, Brownsville, Buffalo, Bugsy Siegel, Burton Turkus, capital punishment, carbon monoxide, Carlyle Harris, Charlie the Bug Workman, Chester Gillette, clemency, Condemned Cells, Connecticut, crime, crime and punishment, Daniel Kreisberg, death house, death penalty, Death Row, death sentence, death warrant, District Attorney, Dow Hover, drugs, Durable Mike, Dutch Anderson, Dutch Schultz, Eddie Lee Mays, Edwin Davis, electric chair, electrocuted, Elliott method, Elliott technique, entertainment, Erie County, Erie County Sheriff, Ethel Rosenberg, executed, executiioner, execution, Fonthill Media, Francis Pasqua, Frank Abbandando, Frank Manzella, Frederick Tenuto, Friendly Bar and Grill, Friendly Tavern, gallows, gangs, gangsters, George Anderson, George Westinghouse, Georgia, Gerald Chapman, Germantown, Governor Rockefeller, Governor Thomas Dewey, Grace Brown, Grover Cleveland, hanged, hanging, Happy Maione, Harlem, Harold P Brown, Harry Green, Harry Greenburg, Harry Maione, Helen Ray Fowler, Herkimer County, History, hitman, hitmen, Holmesburg Prison, Iron Mike, Iron Mike Malloy, Italy, jerk-em-up, Joe Masseria, John Hurlburt, Joseph Francel, Judge Irwin Davidson, Julius Rosenberg, Kid Twist, last meal, Leon Czolgosz, Leonard Street robbery, Lepke, Lepke Buchalter, Lewis Lawes, Lewis Pilcher, literature, Lonely Hearts Killers, Lord High Executioner, Louis Buchalter, Louis Capone, Louis Lepke, Lucky Luciano, Mafia, Martha Beck, Martha Place, Mary Farmer, Massachusetts, Max Rubin, Mendy Weiss, Midnight Rose, Mike Malloy, morphine, Mr Arsenic, murder, Murder Inc, Murder Incorporated, Murder Trust, murdered, New Jersey, New York, New Yorkers, old sparky, Oreste Shillitoni, Palace Chop House, paper box kid, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Phil, President Calvin Coolidge, President Coolidge, President Grover Cleveland, President William McKinley, prison, prisoner, prisoners, prisons, Prohibition, Public Enemy Number One, punishment, Ray Fernandez, Raymond Fernandez, Raymond Street Jail, Red Murphy, robberies, robbery, Robert Buchanan, Robert Greene Elliott, Roxalana Druse, Ruth Snyder, Salvatore Maranzano, Sing Sing Prison, slaughter house, State Electrician, suspension hanging, Syndicate, the Commission, The Dasher, the Rosenbergs, the Syndicate, The Tombs, Theodore Dreiser, Thomas Dewey, Thomas Edison, Thomas Mott Osborne, Tombs Jail, Tony Marino, true crime, upright jerker, US Supreme Court, USA, Vermont, Vito Genovese, Warden Kirchwey, Wethersfield, Wethersfield Prison, Wilfred Denno, William Kemmler, WILLIAM KEMMLER Willie Sutton, Willie Sutton, Willie the Actor, writing -
On This Day in 1932, Michael Malloy – The Man Who Would Not Die
They had started with the obvious: alcohol. That should have been a simple, effective means of their victim destroying himself rather than the Trust taking the additional risk of actually murdering him. Insurance fraud was not a capital offence then or now; first-degree murder no longer is in New York State, but in 1932, it…
CrimeScribe
1934, Abe Reles, Albert Anastasia, Amos Squire, Angel of Death, Anna Antonio, appeal, appealed, appeals, armed robberies, armed robbery, assassin, assassinated, assassination, Atlanat, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Attica, Auburn Prison, bank robbery, bathtub booze, Ben Hnace, Big Greenie, Big Moose Lake, books, bootleggers, bottlegging, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Combination, Brownsville, Buffalo, Bugsy Siegel, Burton Turkus, capital punishment, carbon monoxide, Carlyle Harris, Charlie the Bug Workman, Chester Gillette, clemency, Condemned Cells, Connecticut, crime, crime and punishment, Daniel Kreisberg, death house, death penalty, Death Row, death sentence, death warrant, District Attorney, Dow Hover, drugs, Durable Mike, Dutch Anderson, Dutch Schultz, Eddie Lee Mays, Edwin Davis, electric chair, electrocuted, Elliott method, Elliott technique, entertainment, Erie County, Erie County Sheriff, Ethel Rosenberg, executed, executiioner, execution, Fonthill Media, Francis Pasqua, Frank Abbandando, Frank Manzella, Frederick Tenuto, Friendly Bar and Grill, Friendly Tavern, gallows, gangs, gangsters, George Anderson, George Westinghouse, Georgia, Gerald Chapman, Germantown, Governor Rockefeller, Governor Thomas Dewey, Grace Brown, Grover Cleveland, hanged, hanging, Happy Maione, Harlem, Harold P Brown, Harry Green, Harry Greenburg, Harry Maione, Helen Ray Fowler, Herkimer County, History, hitman, hitmen, Holmesburg Prison, Iron Mike, Iron Mike Malloy, Italy, jerk-em-up, Joe Masseria, John Hurlburt, Joseph Francel, Judge Irwin Davidson, Julius Rosenberg, Kid Twist, last meal, Leon Czolgosz, Leonard Street robbery, Lepke, Lepke Buchalter, Lewis Lawes, Lewis Pilcher, literature, Lonely Hearts Killers, Lord High Executioner, Louis Buchalter, Louis Capone, Louis Lepke, Lucky Luciano, Mafia, Martha Beck, Martha Place, Mary Farmer, Massachusetts, Max Rubin, Mendy Weiss, Midnight Rose, Mike Malloy, morphine, Mr Arsenic, murder, Murder Inc, Murder Incorporated, Murder Trust, murdered, New Jersey, New York, New Yorkers, old sparky, Oreste Shillitoni, Palace Chop House, paper box kid, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Phil, President Calvin Coolidge, President Coolidge, President Grover Cleveland, President William McKinley, prison, prisoner, prisoners, prisons, Prohibition, Public Enemy Number One, punishment, Ray Fernandez, Raymond Fernandez, Raymond Street Jail, Red Murphy, robberies, robbery, Robert Buchanan, Robert Greene Elliott, Roxalana Druse, Ruth Snyder, Salvatore Maranzano, Sing Sing Prison, slaughter house, State Electrician, suspension hanging, Syndicate, the Commission, The Dasher, the Rosenbergs, the Syndicate, The Tombs, Theodore Dreiser, Thomas Dewey, Thomas Edison, Thomas Mott Osborne, Tombs Jail, Tony Marino, true crime, upright jerker, US Supreme Court, USA, Vermont, Vito Genovese, Warden Kirchwey, Wethersfield, Wethersfield Prison, Wilfred Denno, William Kemmler, WILLIAM KEMMLER Willie Sutton, Willie Sutton, Willie the Actor, writing -
On This Day in 1932 – Francis ‘Two-Gun’ Crowley,provided inspiration for James Cagney
He was no relation to notorious Satanist Aleister Crowley, but had more than a touch of the Devil in him just the same. Born in New York City on October 31, 1912 (fitting for someone as scary as him) he lasted only 19 years before walking his last mile at Sing Sing’s death house on…
CrimeScribe
1944, Abe Reles, Albert Anastasia, Amos Squire, Angel of Death, Angels with Dirty Faces, Anna Antonio, appeal, appealed, appeals, armed robberies, armed robbery, assassin, assassinated, assassination, Atlanat, Atlanta, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Attica, Auburn Prison, Baby Face Nelson, bank robbery, Ben Hnace, Big Greenie, Big Moose Lake, books, bootleggers, bottlegging, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Combination, Brownsville, Buffalo, Bugsy Siegel, Burton Turkus, capital punishment, carbon monoxide, Carlyle Harris, Charles McLaughlin, Charlie the Bug Workman, Chester Gillette, clemency, clemency denied, Cody Jarrett, Condemned Cells, Connecticut, crime, crime and punishment, death house, death penalty, Death Row, death sentence, death warrant, District Attorney, Dow Hover, drugs, Durable Mike, Dutch Anderson, Dutch Schultz, Eddie Lee Mays, Edwin Davis, electric chair, electrocuted, Elliott method, Elliott technique, Elmer Burke, entertainment, Erie County, Erie County Sheriff, Ethel Rosenberg, executed, executiioner, execution, Fats Duringer, Fonthill Media, Francis Crowley, Frank Abbandando, Fred Burke, Frederick Tenuto, Friendly Bar and Grill, Friendly Tavern, gallows, gangs, gangsters, George Anderson, George Knight, George Westinghouse, Georgia, Gerald Chapman, Germantown, Governor Rockefeller, Governor Thomas Dewey, Grace Brown, Grover Cleveland, hanged, hanging, Happy Maione, Harlem, Harold P Brown, Harry Greenburg, Harry Maione, Helen Ray Fowler, Herkimer County, History, hitman, hitmen, Holmesburg Prison, Howard Baker, Howard Usefof, Iron Mike, Iron Mike Malloy, Italy, James Cagney, James Cassidy, jerk-em-up, Joe Masseria, John Dillinger, John Hurlburt, Joseph Francel, Joseph Milano, Judge Irwin Davidson, Julius Rosenberg, Kid Twist, Killer Burke, last meal, Leon Czolgosz, Leonard Street robbery, Lepke, Lepke Buchalter, Lewis Lawes, Lewis Pilcher, literature, Lonely Hearts Killers, Lord High Executioner, Louis Buchalter, Louis Capone, Louis Lepke, Lucky Luciano, Machine Gun Burke, Mafia, Martha Beck, Martha Place, Mary Farmer, Massachusetts, Max Rubin, Mendy Weiss, Midnight Rose, Milano Gang, morphine, Mr Arsenic, murder, Murder Inc, Murder Incorporated, Murder Trust, murdered, New Jersey, New York, New Yorkers, old sparky, Oreste Shillitoni, Palace Chop House, paper box kid, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Phil, President Calvin Coolidge, President Coolidge, President Grover Cleveland, President William McKinley, prison, prisoner, prisoners, prisons, Prohibition, Public Enemy Number One, punishment, Queens, Ray Fernandez, Raymond Fernandez, Raymond Street Jail, robberies, robbery, Robert Buchanan, Robert Greene Elliott, Rocky Sullivan, Roxalana Druse, Rudolph Duringer, Ruth Snyder, Salvatore Maranzano, Sing Sing, Sing Sing Prison, slaughter house, Slick Willie, State Electrician, suspension hanging, Syndicate, the Commission, The Dasher, the Rosenbergs, the Syndicate, The Tombs, Theodore Dreiser, Thomas Dewey, Thomas Edison, Thomas Mott Osborne, Tom Dewey, Tombs Jail, Trigger Burke, true crime, Two-Gun Crowley, upright jerker, US Supreme Court, USA, Vermont, Virgil Richardson, Vito Genovese, Warden Kirchwey, Wethersfield, Wethersfield Prison, White Heat, Wilfred Denno, writing -
On This Day in 1958 – Elmer ‘Trigger’ Burke.
Elmer Francis Burke to be exact, AKA ‘Trigger’ or ‘Machine Gun Burke’ due to his fondness for the Tommy gun. He was also fond of the double-barrelled shotgun, habitually carrying a .45 automatic as well. An extortionist and freelance hitman-for-hire, Burke had an extensive record even before joining the US Army Rangers to get early…
CrimeScribe
1944, Abe Reles, Albert Anastasia, Amos Squire, Angel of Death, Anna Antonio, appeal, appealed, appeals, armed robberies, armed robbery, assassin, assassinated, assassination, Atlanat, Atlanta, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Attica, Auburn Prison, Baby Face Nelson, bank robbery, Ben Hnace, Big Greenie, Big Moose Lake, books, bootleggers, bottlegging, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Combination, Brownsville, Buffalo, Bugsy Siegel, Burton Turkus, capital punishment, carbon monoxide, Carlyle Harris, Charles McLaughlin, Charlie the Bug Workman, Chester Gillette, clemency, clemency denied, Condemned Cells, Connecticut, crime, crime and punishment, death house, death penalty, Death Row, death sentence, death warrant, District Attorney, Dow Hover, drugs, Durable Mike, Dutch Anderson, Dutch Schultz, Eddie Lee Mays, Edwin Davis, electric chair, electrocuted, Elliott method, Elliott technique, Elmer Burke, entertainment, Erie County, Erie County Sheriff, Ethel Rosenberg, executed, executiioner, execution, Fonthill Media, Frank Abbandando, Fred Burke, Frederick Tenuto, Friendly Bar and Grill, Friendly Tavern, gallows, gangs, gangsters, George Anderson, George Knight, George Westinghouse, Georgia, Gerald Chapman, Germantown, Governor Rockefeller, Governor Thomas Dewey, Grace Brown, Grover Cleveland, hanged, hanging, Happy Maione, Harlem, Harold P Brown, Harry Greenburg, Harry Maione, Helen Ray Fowler, Herkimer County, History, hitman, hitmen, Holmesburg Prison, Howard Baker, Howard Usefof, Iron Mike, Iron Mike Malloy, Italy, James Cassidy, jerk-em-up, Joe Masseria, John Dillinger, John Hurlburt, Joseph Francel, Joseph Milano, Judge Irwin Davidson, Julius Rosenberg, Kid Twist, Killer Burke, last meal, Leon Czolgosz, Leonard Street robbery, Lepke, Lepke Buchalter, Lewis Lawes, Lewis Pilcher, literature, Lonely Hearts Killers, Lord High Executioner, Louis Buchalter, Louis Capone, Louis Lepke, Lucky Luciano, Machine Gun Burke, Mafia, Martha Beck, Martha Place, Mary Farmer, Massachusetts, Max Rubin, Mendy Weiss, Midnight Rose, Milano Gang, morphine, Mr Arsenic, murder, Murder Inc, Murder Incorporated, Murder Trust, murdered, New Jersey, New York, New Yorkers, old sparky, Oreste Shillitoni, Palace Chop House, paper box kid, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Phil, President Calvin Coolidge, President Coolidge, President Grover Cleveland, President William McKinley, prison, prisoner, prisoners, prisons, Prohibition, Public Enemy Number One, punishment, Queens, Ray Fernandez, Raymond Fernandez, Raymond Street Jail, robberies, robbery, Robert Buchanan, Robert Greene Elliott, Roxalana Druse, Ruth Snyder, Salvatore Maranzano, Sing Sing, Sing Sing Prison, slaughter house, Slick Willie, State Electrician, suspension hanging, Syndicate, the Commission, The Dasher, the Rosenbergs, the Syndicate, The Tombs, Theodore Dreiser, Thomas Dewey, Thomas Edison, Thomas Mott Osborne, Tom Dewey, Tombs Jail, Trigger Burke, true crime, upright jerker, US Supreme Court, USA, Vermont, Virgil Richardson, Vito Genovese, Warden Kirchwey, Wethersfield, Wethersfield Prison, Wilfred Denno, William Kemmler