Alvin Karpis

Alvin Karpis (August 10, 1907-August 26, 1979, born Alvin Karpowicz), nickname "Creepy" , was a noted criminal in the United States known for his alliance with the Barker gang in the 1930s. He was the last "Public Enemy" to be taken, a capture which elevated J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI to national prominence. His stay at Alcatraz, a little over 25 years, was longer than any other inmate interned there. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year (239th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Face The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... Public Enemy is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society. ... John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an influential but controversial director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... Alcatraz Island is located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California. ...

Early life

Karpis was born to Lithuanian immigrants in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and was raised in Topeka, Kansas. He started in crime at about age 10 running around with gamblers, bootleggers, and pimps. In 1924 he was sentenced to 10 years at the State Industrial Reformatory in Hutchinson, Kansas, for an attempted burglary. He escaped and lived with his parents for a time in Chicago. After moving to Kansas City, Missouri, he was caught stealing a car and sent back to the Reformatory. Transferred to the Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing, Kansas, he met Fred Barker who was in prison for killing a policeman during a car theft (The report of Fred Barker in prison for killing a policeman may be folklore--according to FBI records Fred Barker was in prison for burglary}. Barker was one of the notorious members of the "Bloody Barkers" as the newspapers of the time had called them. The Barker family included the brothers Herman, Lloyd, Arthur or "Doc", and Fred, the sons of Ma Barker. Growing up impoverished in a sharecropping family, all the boys soon turned into hardened criminals, robbing banks and killing without provocation. Doc, the leader, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1920 after murdering a night watchman. Herman committed suicide in 1927 after being badly injured in a shootout with police following a robbery. Lloyd was sentenced to 25 years in 1922 for mail theft. Ma did her part to help her sons. In her lifetime she was never wanted for, nor charged with, any crime. Nevertheless, she badgered parole boards, wardens, and governors to the point where she won Fred's release in 1931, and even managed to get Doc released on a governor's pardon. After he was released in 1931, he joined up with Fred Barker in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and they soon put together the Karpis-Barker gang. Nickname: Motto: Concordia Salus (in unity, prosperity) Coordinates: , Country Canada Province Quebec Founded 1642 Established 1832 Government  - Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area [1][2][3]  - City 365. ... Motto: Je me souviens (French: I remember) Capital Quebec City Largest city Montreal Official languages French Government - Lieutenant-Governor Pierre Duchesne - Premier Jean Charest (PLQ) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 75 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area  Ranked 2nd - Total 1,542,056 km² (595... This article is about the state capital of Kansas. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Hutchinson is the largest city and county seat of Reno County, Kansas, west of Kansas City, Missouri, on the Arkansas River. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country United States State Illinois County Cook & DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Nickname: Location in Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass Counties in the state of Missouri. ... Official language(s) English Capital Jefferson City Largest city Kansas City Largest metro area St Louis Metro[1] Area  Ranked 21st  - Total 69,709 sq mi (180,693 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 300 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ... Ma Barker Kate Ma Barker (October 8, 1873 - January 16, 1935). ... Sharecropping is a system of farming in which farmers who do not own the land work a parcel of land in return for a fraction of the parcels crop production. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Downtown Tulsa Tulsa is the second-largest city in Oklahoma. ... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area  Ranked 20th  - Total 69,960 sq mi (181,196 km²)  - Width 230 miles (370 km)  - Length 298 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ...

Alliance with Barkers

The Karpis-Barker gang became one of the most formidable criminal gangs of the 1930s. They did not hesitate to kill anyone who got in their way, even innocent bystanders. They robbed a number of banks, hijacked mail deliveries, and soon turned to the lucrative field of kidnapping. In 1933 they kidnapped William Hamm, a millionaire Minnesota brewer. His ransom netted them $100,000. Shortly after this, they abducted Minnesota banker Edward Bremer, Jr., whose ransom brought them $200,000. The group was led by Alvin, who had a photographic memory and was described as "super-smart" by fellow gang member Fred Barker. The other leaders were Doc and Fred, both now out of prison, and the gang included about 25 others. At this time a myth was started that Ma Barker ruled the gang with an iron fist, but the facts do not seem to support these claims. It is highly unlikely that criminals as adept as Karpis, and even Ma's sons for that matter, would have listened to her. Karpis later wrote about this subject in his memoirs: Face The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area  Ranked 12th  - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 8. ... Eidetic memory, photographic memory, or total recall, is the ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with extreme accuracy and in seemingly abundant volume. ...

"Ma was always somebody in our lives. Love didn't enter into it really. She was somebody we looked after and took with us when we moved city to city, hideout to hideout. It is no insult to Ma's memory that she just didn't have the know-how to direct us on a robbery. It would not have occurred to her to get involved in our business, and we always made it a point of only discussing our scores when Ma wasn't around. We'd leave her at home when we were arranging a job, or we'd send her to a movie. Ma saw a lot of movies."^{[citation needed]}

The kidnappings, however, would lead to the gang's end. The father of the kidnapped Edward Bremer Jr. was a friend of president Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR had even mentioned the kidnapping in one of his fireside chats, and fueled also by the Lindbergh kidnapping, the FBI and local police bureaus greatly stepped up their pursuit of those engaged in these type of crimes. The FBI had by this time organized a group of highly skilled agents called the "flying squads" who specialized in hunting down the leading public enemies, and much progress was being made. The year 1934 alone saw the deaths of John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, and George "Baby Face" Nelson. FDR redirects here. ... FDR shortly after giving one of his famous fireside chats The fireside chats were a series of thirty evening radio talks given by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1944. ... Lindbergh baby kidnapping poster. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American bank robber, considered by some to be a dangerous criminal, while others idealized him as a latter-day Robin Hood. ... Bonnie Parker (October 1, 1910 – May 23, 1934) and Clyde Barrow (March 24, 1910 – May 23, 1934) were notorious outlaws, robbers and criminals who travelled the Central United States during the Great Depression. ... Charles Arthur Pretty Boy Floyd. ... Lester Joseph Gillis (December 6, 1908 – November 27, 1934), also known as George Nelson but better known as Baby Face Nelson due to his youthful appearance, was a diminutive (5 4 tall) bank robber in the 1930s. ...

With these big-name hoodlums out of the way, the FBI stepped up one of the most persistent manhunts of the time for the Karpis-Barker gangmembers. One incident that aided the FBI greatly was when the gang shot and killed one of their own members, George "Shotgun" Ziegler. Ziegler had been one of the masterminds of the Bremer kidnapping, but after he collected the ransom money, which he kept most of, he began loudly bragging to underworld associates that he was the genius behind the kidnapping. It appeared the one-time hitman for Al Capone, and a lead suspect in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, had lost his senses, and the gang knew it couldn't risk having him spill valuable information. On March 22, 1934, members of the gang shot four slugs into Ziegler as he was coming out of his favorite restaurant in Cicero, Illinois, which nearly decapitated him. The assassins left the corpse, however, and ironicly FBI agents found names, aliases, addresses and other valuable information on the gang in Ziegler's pockets. Armed with this information the FBI used it to pick them off one by one, and soon they began getting the big names. Doc was captured on January 8, 1935, by Melvin Purvis who, nearly six months earlier, had hunted down John Dillinger. (Sent to Alcatraz, Doc was shot and killed by guards during an attempted escape in 1939.) Just one week later agents tracked down Ma and Fred at a cottage in Lake Weir, Florida. On January 16, Ma and Fred were shot to death after a 4-hour gun battle. Picture of The St. ... March 22 is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 8 is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... Melvin Purvis Melvin Horace Purvis, Jr. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Lake Weir is a freshwater lake located in southern Marion County, Florida. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Just after Ma and Fred's death, Karpis nearly met his own violent end when the FBI located him in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Karpis and a couple of other partners managed to shoot their way to an escape, though Karpis's eight-month-pregnant girlfriend Dolores Delaney was shot in the thigh by police. He continued his crimes with others, but had to be on the move more than ever as he was the fourth and last Public Enemy Number 1 left (the previous three having been killed). He did manage to pull off a crime that echoed times of the "Old West", a train robbery in Garrettsville, Ohio, which netted $27,000. After the death of Ma and Fred, Karpis sent word to J. Edgar Hoover that he intended to kill Hoover the way Hoover had killed Ma and Fred. Official language(s) English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ... Garrettsville is a village located in Portage County, Ohio. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ...

Pursuit and capture by FBI

The FBI had come a long way since its reorganization and renaming in 1935 (from the Bureau of Investigation, created in 1908). J. Edgar Hoover was appointed as the acting head of the Bureau in 1924 and completely transformed the agency. Despite its successes, however, the agency had many problems. In those days, when the application of science and technology to fight crime was still in its infancy, the agency was at the mercy of public citizens for information. Often agents were sent off to remote locales that turned out to be red herrings due to bad information. The personal nadir for Hoover came at an April, 1936 Senate hearing. Tennessee Senator Kenneth D. McKellar lambasted Hoover for the performance of the FBI and the fact that Hoover himself had never personally arrested anyone. After the hearing a determined Hoover vowed he would capture Karpis personally. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Look up red herring in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... A senate is a deliberative body, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature. ... Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Largest metro area Nashville Area  Ranked 36th  - Total 42,169 sq mi (109,247 km²)  - Width 120 miles (195 km)  - Length 440 miles (710 km)  - % water 2. ...

Hoover would not have to wait long. On May 1, 1936, the FBI located Karpis in New Orleans, and Hoover flew in to be in charge of the arrest. As a dozen or so agents swarmed over Karpis's car, Hoover announced to Karpis that he was under arrest. A couple of versions of the arrest are reported. One, told by Karpis in his memoirs, was that Hoover came out only after all the other agents had him seized. Only then did the agents call to Hoover that it was safe to approach the car. The official FBI version, however, states that Hoover reached into the car and grabbed Karpis before he could reach a rifle in the back seat. In fact, the car, a Plymouth coupe, had no back seat. The whole fiasco was further aggravated when Hoover told his men to "put the handcuffs on him"^{[citation needed]}. Not one agent had brought handcuffs and Karpis was tied up with the necktie removed from an agent's neck. Whatever the real story, the capture of Karpis catapulted Hoover's name into the public eye, and that name would be synonymous with law enforcement until he died in 1972 at the age of 77. May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... Plymouth sailboat logo used from 1996 to 2001 Plymouth was a brand of automobile based in the United States, marketed by the Chrysler Corporation from 1928 to 2001. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The capture of Karpis essentially ended the age of the big-name depression-era criminals. In addition to those mentioned earlier, others killed violently in the '30s were Jack "Legs" Diamond, Vincent "Maddog" Coll, Frank "Jelly" Nash, and Dutch Schultz. Al Capone was in Alcatraz and slowly going insane from syphilis. The country had gradually started to recover from the Great Depression and economic times had improved, and law enforcement agencies had improved as well. Jack Legs Diamond Jack Legs Diamond (1897-December 18, 1931), also known as Gentleman Jack, was the alias of Jack Moran, an Irish-American gangster based out of New York City. ... Vincent Mad Dog Coll (July 20, 1908—February 7, 1932) was an Irish enforcer for the mafia in early 20th-century New York City. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Alphonse Gabriel Capone (January 17, 1899 - January 25, 1947), popularly known as Scarface Al Capone, was an American gangster who led a crime syndicate dedicated to the illegal trafficking of alcoholic beverages during the time of prohibition in the 1920s and 1930s. ... Alcatraz Island is located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California. ... Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by Treponema pallidum. ...

Stay at Alcatraz

Sentenced to life imprisonment, Karpis was incarcerated at the recently formed Alcatraz federal penitentiary from August 1936 to April 1962. For six months in 1958 he had been transferred to the Leavenworth federal penitentiary, but was then returned to Alcatraz. His main job at Alcatraz was working at the bakery. He was far from a model prisoner, frequently fighting with other inmates. In April 1962, with Alcatraz in the process of being closed, he was transferred to McNeil Island Penitentiary in Washington state. While at McNeil he met a young inmate named Charles Manson. It is interesting what Karpis wrote about Manson in his memoirs "On the Rock: Twenty-five Years at Alcatraz" (written with Robert Livesey, published in 1980): 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the city in the state of Washington, see Leavenworth, Washington. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Official language(s) English Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18th  - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,827 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 6. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ...

"This kid approaches me to request music lessons. He wants to learn guitar and become a music star. 'Little Charlie' is so lazy and shiftless, I doubt if he'll put the time required to learn. The youngster has been in institutions all of his life--first orphanages, then reformatories, and finally federal prison. His mother, a prostitute, was never around to look after him. I decide it's time someone did something for him, and to my surprise, he learns quickly. He has a pleasant voice and a pleasing personality, although he's unusually meek and mild for a convict. He never has a harsh word to say and is never involved in even an argument."

After Manson had actually become somewhat proficient on the guitar, he asked Karpis for help in getting a job playing in Las Vegas as Karpis had contacts with nightclub and casino owners there. Manson even told him he would be bigger than the Beatles, but in the end Karpis decided to leave Manson on his own regarding his music career. Manson was moved to a Los Angeles facility in 1967, which proved to be one of the most ominous prison transfers ever. Later Karpis added "The history of crime in the United States might have been considerably altered if 'Little Charlie' had been given the opportunity to find fame and fortune in the music industry. He later became the infamous Charles Manson." This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For further information, see Las Vegas metropolitan area and Las Vegas Strip. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 as part of their first tour of the United States, promoting their first hit single there, I Want To Hold Your Hand. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...

Later years

Karpis was released on parole in 1969 and deported to Canada, although he initially had difficulty obtaining Canadian passport credentials, on account of having had his fingerprints removed by underworld physician Joseph Moran in 1934.^[1] For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... The tip of a finger showing the friction ridge structure. ... Joseph P. Moran (1905-1934) was a doctor known for catering to the Depression-era criminal underworld in the early 20th century. ...

He wrote his first memoirs in 1971 and published another memoir book in 1979 (v.s). During his first book tour across Canada for Public Enemy Number One for MacClelland and Stewart (published in the United States as The Alvin Karpis Story), Karpis, looking more like an accountant than a gangster, still showed a wry sense of humour. In Edmonton, Alberta, while shuffling Karpis between various interviews with the media, M&S book rep, Ruth Bertelsen made a stop at her bank. Asking Karpis if he wanted to come in with her, Karpis replied "No dear, you take care of the vault, I'll drive." He became a mentor to her young son until the obvious sociopathy of some of his advice to her child caused Ms. Bertelsen to break off their relationship.^{[citation needed]} Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ...

He moved to Spain in 1973. On August 26, 1979, he died by what was originally ruled suicide by authorities, as sleeping pills were found by his body, but later it was ruled death from natural causes. Some closer to the scene say foul play may have been involved. Robert Livesey, who co-wrote Karpis's 1979 book, said Karpis was not the type to have committed suicide. Livesey said Karpis was a survivor, having served 33 years in prison, and also stated Karpis was anticipating the publication of the book. Livesey believed Karpis had been introduced to pills and alcohol by his last girlfriend Nancy, to give a relaxing high, and perhaps Karpis accidentally over-indulged on one occasion, with fatal consequences. No autopsy was done, and Karpis was buried the next day in Spain.^{[citation needed]} Year 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year (239th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Suicide (Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of intentionally taking ones own life. ... A sedative is a substance which depresses the central nervous system (CNS), resulting in calmness, relaxation, reduction of anxiety, sleepiness, slowed breathing, slurred speech, staggering gait, poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes. ... Foul Play is a 1978 comedy/thriller film by Colin Higgins (the director of the cult classic Harold and Maude) starring Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Post-mortem, postmortem and post mortem redirect here. ...

Popular Culture

The myth of Alvin Karpis and the Barker-Karpis Gang along with their matriarchal leader Ma Barker itself inspired such fictional characters as Ma Beagle and the Beagle Boys published in the Scrooge McDuck universe. Ma Beagle Ma Beagle is a fictional character created for the animated series DuckTales. ... The Beagle Boys are a group of fictional characters from the Scrooge McDuck universe loosely based on the popular image of Ma Barker and the Barker-Karpis Gang. ... The Scrooge McDuck universe is the fictional world where Scrooge McDuck lives. ...

The Jesus Lizard feature a song titled "Karpis" on their album "Goat"

References

Footnotes

1. ^ Newton, M. (2002.) The Encyclopedia of Robberies, Heists, and Capers. Checkmark Books, an imprint of Facts on File, Inc. 0-8160-4489-9

Other sources

• Richard Kudish, CourtTV Crime Library
• Carl Sifakis, The Encyclopedia of American Crime, 1992

The Crime Library is an online collection of feature stories about crimes, criminals, and trials by various writers. ...

External Link

• Barker Karpis Gang