Holden-Keating Gang

Holden-Keating Gang
Founded	July 15, 1930
Founded by	Thomas James Holden and Francis Keating
Founding location	Illinois
Years active	1926
Territory	Midwestern United States
Membership (est.)	14
Criminal activities	Armed robbery

Last updated April 07, 2019

The Holden-Keating Gang was a bank robbing team, led by Thomas James Holden (1896–1953) and Francis Keating (1899–July 25, 1978), which was active in the Midwestern United States during the 1925 and 1939. Holden was described by a spokesman for the FBI as "a menace to every man, woman and child in America" and was the first fugitive to be officially listed on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted List in 1950.^[1]

The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the American Midwest, Middle West, or simply the Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It was officially named the North Central Region by the Census Bureau until 1984. It is located between the Northeastern United States and the Western United States, with Canada to its north and the Southern United States to its south.

History

Early years

Before becoming one of the most notorious hold-up teams by the end of 19th century, Thomas Holden and Francis Keating robbed cargoes and train or bank deliveries. Their most successful heist was the hijacking of a truck in 1926; they escaped with $1,350,000. They eluded capture for two years before they were finally arrested by federal officers. In the end, Holden and Keating were both convicted on May 25, 1928, and sentenced to death.

Escape from Leavenworth and Midwest crime spree

They spent two years at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary before escaping on February 28, 1930. A fellow inmate George "Machine Gun" Kelly told them a forged access words to help them escape. Holden and Keating fled to Chicago, from where they came to St. Paul. After arriving there, they quickly formed a new gang who were recruited from the city's thriving underworld. This gang included Frank "Jelly" Nash, Harvey Bailey and George Kelly. They are all career criminals. The gang committed a series of significant daylight-robberies during 1930 and 1931.Some minors and fresh members who were not killed, but they made it as if they were died and fled to Russia.^[2]

Machine Gun Kelly American gangster, kidnapper and bank robber

George Kelly Barnes, better known by his nickname "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster from Memphis, Tennessee, during the prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thompson submachine gun. He is most well known for the kidnapping of the oil tycoon and businessman Charles F. Urschel in July 1933, from which he and his gang collected a $200,000 ransom. Urschel had collected and left considerable evidence that assisted the subsequent FBI investigation, which eventually led to Kelly's arrest in Memphis, Tennessee, on September 26, 1933. His crimes also included bootlegging and armed robbery.

Harvey John Bailey, called "The Dean of American Bank Robbers", had a long criminal career. He was one of the most successful bank robbers during the 1920s, walking off with over $1 million.

The gang's first robbery occurred on July 15, 1930, when they robbed a bank William, Minnesota and got $70,000. Harvey Bailey, George Kelly, and Vernon Miller participated along with at least four other men. Three of four alleged gunmen, who were called Mike Rusick, Frank "Wennie" Coleman, and Samuel "Jew Sammy" Stein, were found being shot to death at White Bear Lakelater. It is reported that this occurred because of a dispute led by Verne Miller.^[2]

White Bear Lake is a lake in northeastern Ramsey County and western Washington County in the U.S. state of Minnesota, in the northeast part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The city of White Bear Lake takes its name from the lake.

Lawrence De Vol joined the next robbery on September 9, 1930 and got at least $4,000,000 from a bank in Lincoln, Nebraska. After that, Eddie Bentz joined in. He took part in two cases. The first was on September 19, 1930, getting $2,400,000. And the second, which was his most successful one in his lifetime, was getting 2.6 million dollars from a safe. The gang then vanished, but Holding and Keating resurfaced several months later and robbed $58,000 from a pair of bank messengers in Duluth, Minnesota on October 2, 1931.^[3] In the same month, they joined Charlie Harmon and Frank Weber and robbed a bank in Menomonie, Wisconsin, taking away $1,300,000. James Kraft, the son of the bank president, was taken as hostage during the escape and later was found shot dead outside the town. The bodies of Harmon and Weber were also found by police, both being shot to death. Many believed they have been killed by the other robbers. Bob Newbourne, one of the suspects of Menomonie hold-up, later confessed to the robbery and was sentenced to be in prison until death.^[2]

Lincoln is the capital of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers 94.267 square miles (244.150 km²) with a population of 284,736 in 2017. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 71st-largest in the United States. The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area in the southeastern part of the state called the Lincoln Metropolitan and Lincoln-Beatrice Combined Statistical Areas. The statistical area is home to 353,120 people, making it the 106th-largest combined statistical area in the United States.

Edward Wilhelm Bentz was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. He was associated with several high-profile public enemies during his criminal career, including Harvey Bailey, Albert Bates, George "Machine Gun" Kelly and Baby Face Nelson. He was eventually captured by the FBI and sentenced to Alcatraz.

Duluth is a major port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Saint Louis County. Duluth has a population of 86,293 and is the 4th largest city in Minnesota. It is the 2nd largest city on Lake Superior. The largest is Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It has the largest metropolitan area on the lake, with a population of 279,771 in 2010, the second-largest in the state.

Time with the Karpis-Barker Gang

After the Menomonie heist, Holden and Keating joined the Alvin Karpis-Barker Gang. On June 17, 1932, they joined a gang made up of Karpis, Fred Barker, George Kelly, Harvey Bailey, Lawrence De Vol, and Verne Miller and robbed a bank in Fort Scott, Kansas for $47,000. Not only did they escape, but Frank Sawyer, Jim Clark and Ed Davis who were arrested and convicted of the robbery, did as well.^[2]

Alvin Francis Karpis, a Depression-era gangster nicknamed "Creepy" for his sinister smile and called "Ray" by his gang members, was a Canadian-born criminal of Lithuanian descent known for being a leader of the Barker–Karpis gang in the 1930s. Karpis led the gang along with Fred Barker and Arthur "Doc" Barker. There were only four "public enemies" ever given the title of "Public Enemy #1" by the FBI and he was the only one to be taken alive. The other three, John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Baby Face Nelson, were all killed before being captured. He also spent the longest time as a federal prisoner at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, serving twenty-six years.

Fort Scott, Kansas City and County seat in Kansas, United States

Fort Scott is a city in and the county seat of Bourbon County, Kansas, United States, 88 miles (142 km) south of Kansas City, on the Marmaton River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,087. It is the home of the Fort Scott National Historic Site and the Fort Scott National Cemetery. Fort Scott is named for Gen. Winfield Scott.

James Franklin "Frank" Sawyer was an American Depression-era bank robber and prison escapee. An associate of Jim Clark, Ed Davis and other fellow Oklahoma bandits, he was a participant in countless bank robberies throughout Kansas and Oklahoma between 1917 and 1933. He was wrongfully imprisoned for a 1932 bank robbery in Fort Scott, Kansas and spent almost 40 years in prison before he was pardoned by Governor Robert Docking in 1969.

Less than a month later, Keating and Holden were arrested by federal officers while they were playing golf with Harvey Bailey in Kansas City on July 7, 1932. The fourth robber, Bernard Phillips, slipped away during the process, but was later killed in New York City. It was reported that he was murdered by Frank Nash and Verne Miller, who suspected that he was an FBI informant.^[2]

Kansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city had an estimated population of 488,943 in 2017, making it the 37th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central city of the Kansas City metropolitan area, which straddles the Kansas–Missouri state line. Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a Missouri River port at its confluence with the Kansas River coming in from the west. On June 1, 1850 the town of Kansas was incorporated; shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued and the name Kansas City was assigned to distinguish them soon after.

Vernon C. Miller was a freelance Prohibition gunman, bootlegger, bank robber and former sheriff in Huron, South Dakota, who, as the only identified gunman in the Kansas City massacre, was found beaten and strangled to death shortly after the incident.

Return to Leavenworth and final years

Holden and Keating returned to Leavenworth, where they stayed for nearly two decades. Holden married on November 28, 1947. Two and half years later, he killed his wife and two of her brothers because of an argument in Chicago on June 6, 1949.^[2]

In March 1950, Holden was announced as the first official criminal on the FBI Ten Most Wanted List. Fifteen months later, on June 23, 1951, after his picture being published in a local newspaper ″The Oregonian″on June 20,^[1] Holden was spotted in Beaverton, Oregon by a local resident and acquaintance. By then he had been living in that region for some time under the fake name, John McCullough. He was arrested at his job site where he worked as a plasterer. After being extradited to Chicago, he stood on the courts, confessing the murder and was sentenced to life in prison. Two years later, Holden died in prison.^[2]

Keating returned to St. Paul and lived there until his death by a heart stroke on July 25, 1978.^[2]

Related Research Articles

Kate Barker, better known as Ma Barker and sometimes as Arizona Barker, was the mother of several American criminals who ran the Barker-Karpis gang during the "public enemy era" when the exploits of gangs of criminals in the Midwest gripped the American people and press. She traveled with her sons during their criminal careers.

John Paul Chase American bank robber and member of the John Dillinger gang

John Paul Chase was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. He was a longtime criminal associate of the Karpis-Barker Gang and most notably Baby Face Nelson who later brought him into the John Dillinger gang. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover once referred to Chase as "a rat with a patriotic-sounding name". Chase and Nelson continued to rob banks with John Dillinger until Dillinger's death in July 1934. After the death of Nelson in November 1934, Chase fled back to California where he was arrested a month later on December 27, 1934. Chase was sent to Alcatraz where he became one of the longest-serving inmates;.

Robert G. "Big Bob" Brady was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. A well-known Oklahoma bandit during the 1920s and 1930s, Brady was associated with Wilbur Underhill, Harvey Bailey and Jim Clark.

Jim Clark was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. A longtime career criminal in Oklahoma during the 1920s, Clark was associated with Wilbur Underhill, Harvey Bailey and Robert "Big Bob" Brady and remained a public enemy in the state of Kansas until his capture and imprisonment in 1934.

The Cretzer-Kyle Gang was a Depression-era criminal group led by Joseph "Dutch" Cretzer and Arnold Thomas Kyle during the mid-to late 1930s. Largely active in the West Coast, they were one of the few groups to gain national attention outside the Midwest and also one of the last groups to be captured by the FBI at the end of the decade. Cretzer was killed in a failed attempt to escape Alcatraz resulting in the 1946 prison riot.

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Volney Everett "Curley" Davis was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. A longtime Oklahoma bandit, he was the boyfriend of Edna Murray and an associate of both the John Dillinger and Alvin Karpis-Barker gangs during the 1930s.

Lawrence DeVol was an American criminal, bank robber, prison escapee and Depression-era outlaw. He was connected to several Midwestern gangs during the 1920s and 1930s, most often with the Barker-Alvin Karpis and Holden-Keating Gangs, and was also a former partner of Harvey Bailey early in his criminal career. DeVol is known to have killed at least eleven people during his criminal career, including six law enforcement officers.

Russell "Slim Gray" Gibson was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw associated with Alvin Karpis and the Barker Gang during the late 1920s and 1930s. Gibson spent much of his early criminal career with the Central Park Gang based in Tulsa, Oklahoma which included the Barkers, Volney Davis, Ray Terrill and other local criminal figures. He participated in his first major robbery when he teamed with Neal Merritt and James "Cowboy" Long to rob a bank messenger in Oklahoma City of $75,000. Gibson was arrested for this robbery but escaped from county jail prior to his trial.

Harold Eugene "Eddie" Green was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw during the 1930s, best known as a member of the John Dillinger gang. He was also associated with Frank "Jelly" Nash, Volney Davis and the Barker-Karpis Gang in his early career.

Herbert Allen Farmer, was an American criminal who, with his wife Esther, operated a safe house for underworld fugitives from the mid-1920s to 1933.

Frederick Grant Dunn (1905–1959) was an American criminal, burglar and bank robber whose career spanned over four decades from 1919 until his mysterious death in 1959. He led a small gang during the 1940s and 1950s, Dunn becoming referred to by the press as "the modern John Dillinger", and whose activities eventually resulted in his being listed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted in 1958.

Frederick George Barker (1901–1935) was one of the founders of the Barker-Karpis gang, which committed numerous robberies, murders and kidnappings during the 1930s. He was the youngest son of Ma Barker, all of whose children were criminals. He was killed in a lengthy gunfight with the FBI in 1935.

Wilbur Underhill Jr., often called "Mad Dog" or the "Tri-State Terror", was an American criminal, burglar, bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. He was one of the most wanted bandits in Oklahoma during the 1920s and 1930s and co-led a gang with Harvey Bailey that included many fellow Cookson Hills outlaws including Jim Clark, Ed Davis and Robert "Big Bob" Brady.

The Barker–Karpis Gang was one of the longest-lived criminal gangs during the Depression Era, spanning from 1931 to 1935. The gang was founded by Fred Barker and Alvin Karpis, and later joined by Fred's brother Arthur "Doc" Barker. Along with the three core members, the gang's network spanned up to 25 members at one point.

The Kraft State Bank robbery occurred on October 20, 1931 in Menomonie, Wisconsin when Charles Preston Harmon, Frank Webber, Francis Keating and Tommy Holden stole US$90,000 dollars from the Kraft State Bank.

References

1 2 Denson, Bryan (March 13, 2010). "Oregon has starring role as FBI's Most Wanted list turns 60". The Oregonian . Retrieved 14 March 2010.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Newton, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Robberies, Heists, and Capers. New York: Facts On File Inc., 2002. (pg. 137-138) ISBN 0-8160-4488-0
↑ http://zenithcity.com/thisday/october-2-1931-holden-keating-gang-robs-duluth-bank-messengers/

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[oregonian-1] 1 2 Denson, Bryan (March 13, 2010). "Oregon has starring role as FBI's Most Wanted list turns 60". The Oregonian . Retrieved 14 March 2010.

[Newton-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Newton, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Robberies, Heists, and Capers. New York: Facts On File Inc., 2002. (pg. 137-138) ISBN 0-8160-4488-0

[3] ttp://zenithcity.com/thisday/october-2-1931-holden-keating-gang-robs-duluth-bank-messengers/