262. Rector, Rollie, robbery, 20
263. Limerick, Thomas M., robbery & kidnapping, life
264. Lloyd, Jack, armed robbery, 99
265. Unsell, Oubrey, robbery & kidnapping, 50
266. Eagen, Earl, kidnapping, life
267. McCain, Rufus R., robbery & kidnapping, 99
268. Barker, Arthur(Doc), kidnapping, life
269. Binkley, Homer, kidnapping, life
270. Cert, Warren, robbery, 15
271. Davis, Volney, kidnapping, life
272. Kralz, John, armed robbery, 15
273. Verheul, Ernest, robbery, 25
274. Leaman, William F., robbery, 25
275. Rhodes, Jack, postal law & assault, 25
276. Pivaroff, James, postal law & assault, 25
277. Clay, Clarence C., kidnapping, 40
278. Brammer, Webb, robbery & assault, 25
279. Carter, James A., robbery, 27
280. Clayton, Hicks, armed robbery, 25
281. Kales, Louis, armed robbery, 25
282. Huffsettler, John W., robbery, 15
283. Harper, Francis, hostage & robbery, 25
284. Persful, Rufe, robbery & kidnapping, 20
285. Sadler, Herman, robbery, 45
286. Neumer, Richard, robbery & car theft, 45
287. Butcher, Hugh, counterfeiting, 5
288. Dupont, John, car theft, 3
289. Johnson, Roy, car theft, 4
290. Brown, Charles E., robbery, 8
291. Minor, Andrew D., 2nd degree murder, 20
292. Sullivan, Ralph, assault, 7
293. Conway, Brian, murder, 18
294. Harpin, Harold, kidnapping & car theft, 25
295. Donald, Phoenix, kidnapping, life
296. Strang, John A., assault, 25
297. Sawyer, Harry, kidnapping, life
298. King, William P., robbery, 25
299. Farmer, Elmer, kidnapping, 20
300. Miller, Robert V., counterfeiting, 20
301. Gilmore, Dewey, murder, 99
302. Brown, Floyd, robbery, 27
303. Gulick, Virgil, kidnapping & car theft, 25
304. Cooper, Russell, murder, 99
305. Porter, Frank H., postal laws, 5
306. Lambert, Robert E., counterfeiting, 11
307. Bentz, Edward L., robbery, 20
308. Williams, Frank, counterfeiting, 4
309. Epplesheimer, Frank, robbery & assault, 25
310. Nichols, Robert, car theft, 1
311. Davis, A.W., drug act, 2
312. Amin, Pierce, income tax, 2
313. Cossack, Loeb L., robbery, 50
314. Garrett, Donnie, white slavery, 7
315. Fitzgerald, Charles, kidnapping, life
316. Nelson, Neils, kidnapping, 15
317. Yanowsky, Charles, illegal interstate com, 3
318. Medley, Philip H., murder, life
319. Stein, Joe, I.R.S.violation, 8
320. Fleisher, Harry, I.R.S. violation, 8
321. Reese, Fred, armed robbery, 25
322. Campbell, Harry, kidnapping, life
323. McKinney, Marshal, rape, life
324. Dimenza, Philip, armed robbery, 22
325. Karpavicz, Alvin, kidnapping, life
326. Selbin, Jack, I.R.S. violation, 8
327. Fleisher, Sam, I.R.S. violation, 8
328. Sparger, Clarence, robbery, 25
329. Walker, Jack, robbery, 12
330. Malloy, Frank, conspiracy, 2
331. Galatus, Richard, conspiracy, 2
332. Farmer, Herbert, conspiracy, 2
333. Hawk, Henry, car theft, 4
334. Parker, Homer Z., kidnapping, 20
335. Franklin, Rufus, robbery & car theft, 30
336. Bequette, Charles, robbery, 6
337. Von Glahn, George, counterfeiting, 5
338. Murietta, Lorenzo, assault & rape, 40
339. McDonald, John, assault on high seas, 5
340. Anderson, Allie T., white slavery, 5
341. Wylie, Arlin, kidnapping & robbery, life
342. Robideaux, Jeff, murder, life
343. Hesley, Daniel, armed robbery, 25
344. Ripley, James, robbery, 25
345. Murphy, P. E., impersonation, 8
346. Koonen, Ernest, robbery, 15
347. Deane, Claud R., impersonation, 6.5
348. Snyder, Lee, conspiracy & extortion, 30
349. Edwards, Edison, kidnapping, 20
350. Backner, Joseph, kidnapping, 20
351. Seals, Taylor, counterfeiting, 13
352. Harvey, Leland, robbery & car theft, 8
353. Philips, Bob, car theft, 3
354. Wells, Ernest, extortion, 25
355. Howda, Elzear, robbery, 15
356. Palmersino, Carmine, counterfeiting, 7
357. Holmes, Kelly W., housebrkng & larceny, 6 to 20
358. Hewitt, George, kidnapping & impers, 13
359. Harris, James, robbery, 3 to 15
360. Spinks, Donald, murder, 30
361. Brown, Fred, robbery, 15
362. Lynch, William, robbery, 27
363. Kendrick, William, armed robbery, 25
364. Dixon, Major, armed robbery, 25
365. June, Harold, sodomy, 10
366. Sladowski, Henry, W., robbery, 25
367. Lovvorn, J. A., counterfeiting, 23
368. Conley, John C., robbery, 25
369. Brandt, Rudolph, robbery, 25
370. Martin, William, armed robbery, 25
371. Lucas, William, armed robbery, 25
372. Myers, H. L., armed robbery, 25
373. Minntole, Alfred, kidnapping & robbery, 15
374. Brunnette, Harry, kidnapping, life
375. Shatz, Morris, narcotics, 25
376. Giacalone, Vito, counterfeiting, 10
377. Gebhart, Marvin, robbery, 25
378. Phipps, Earl, armed robbery, 20
379. Robinson, Thomas, H., kidnapping, life
380. Brest, Harold M., kidnapping & robbery, life
381. Melton, Virgil, armed robbery, 25
382. Moore, J. E., robbery, 14
383. Cannon, Jerry, kidnapping & robbery, 10
384. Logan, Harry J., kidnapping & robbery, life
385. Pickens, Elmer B., kidnapping/robbery/murder, life
386. Saccotelo, James, robbery & assault, 25
387. Franzeen, Richard C., counterfeiting, 30
388. House, Evans, robbery, 9
389. Sullivan, John L., robbery & assault, 17
390. Hansen, Frederick T., robbery & assault, 22
391. Fusco, Charles E., robbery & assault, 25
392. Kreaz, Robert, robbery, 10
393. Janaway, Carl, kidnapping & car theft, 10
394. Cumby, Ernest, car theft, 7
395. Remine, Ramon, robbery & car theft, 27
396. Stewart, J. L., forgery, 26
397. Fisher, George, kidnapping, 7
398. Martinez, Jesus, interstate theft, 3
399. Moffitt, Tom, kidnapping & car theft, 25
400. Lewis, Charles, robbery, 25
A rumor has persisted that a batch of convicts was shipped to Alcatraz to fill the place and get the industries working. The probability is difficult to refute. The crimes and records shown here seem to support such a possibility.
The first thirty or so prisoners were military convicts and their retention blurs things a little. But, examine the crimes and sentences of the low to middle 300 numbers. It is hard to believe that these almost petty criminals were the nation's hard cases.
E. F. Chandler claimed some of them shouldn't have been on The Rock, but he also warned that you could NOT automatically accept a short sentence as denoting a nicer person. Some of the shortest timers were among the nastiest.
Guard Chandler also claimed the less dangerous convicts sent to Alcatraz helped control the genuine crazies. In a sense, their presence diluted the danger and ma
de serious uprisings more difficult.
Robert Stroud, the so-called "Birdman," was shipped to Alcatraz because he was both dangerous and a continual annoyance. Stroud was a one-time offender who proved himself unstable by killing and injuring while confined in Leavenworth Penitentiary. His work with birds made him a household name, and his prison's regulations were not drawn to control the activities of such a visible figure (including processing his immense amount of "bird related" mail). By sending Stroud to The Rock, his violence ended—as well as his massive correspondence and publishing.
On Alcatraz, Stroud had no birds and virtually no mail or visitors. Stroud is not a part of this volume because he did not arrive until 1942—when things were easier—but he exemplifies convicts who fought the system and lost.
In comparison with our current prison populations, a racial breakdown of Alcatraz convicts is interesting. Of the first 400, 362 were Caucasian (White), 9 were American Indian, and 28 were Negro (Black). 1 convict was listed as Mexican. Sociologists might make much from these figures. Any federal prison's population percentages these sixty or more years later would be markedly different.
Crimes are of interest, too. We now have almost a preponderance of drug related convictions. But on Alcatraz, only 12 of 400 were so classified.
It is important to recognize that all Alcatraz prisoners were convicted of federal offenses. Many of the robberies were of post offices or even mail trains. Assaults were often on postal clerks, who were federal officials. Robbery of a general store, which might get a criminal three years under local law, brought the full weight of the feds down because the store had a rural post office tucked into a corner.
If a thief drove his stolen car across the state line, his crime became federal, and the vaunted FBI could be brought in or the culprit turned over to federal authorities.
One might rob a state bank and live safely in an adjoining state, but if the criminal chose a national bank—look out! He had committed a federal crime and would be hunted to Timbuktu and back.
Rape was generally not a federal crime unless the rapist was military or if the victim was a federal official. Then the game changed, and the penalties were severe. Eight rapists were imprisoned in Alcatraz: three were serving life sentences, one had 40 years, three got 20 or more years, and one received a 5 year confinement. But, how did sodomy become a federal offense, one worthy of moving a convict to Alcatraz? We have no answer.
Among its first four hundred convicts, Alcatraz did have 46 lifers. Another 28 inmates were serving 40 or more years—virtually life sentences. A number . . . Lucas, number 224, and Franklin, number 335, come to mind . . . were resentenced to life.
Early parole was not common in those days. By the time the bad boys got out, their violent days were faded memories, the youthful fires were ashes, and most were not heard from again.
Because a half-century has passed since their moments in the sun, we are likely to have forgotten how Alcatraz big names gained their reputations. It would seem worthwhile to review a few of the more prominent.
GEORGE "MACHINE GUN" KELLY – number 117, bootlegger, bank robber and kidnapper, did time in Santa Fe prison and Leavenworth before being transferred to Alcatraz.
Almost everyone who saw Kelly remarked on the innocence of his appearance and his mild-mannered ways. Among convicts it was observed that Kelly "did not want any trouble," although he did enjoy talking about his outlaw days.
In 1933, Kelly (who gave himself the nickname of "Machine Gun") kidnapped a wealthy oil man, Charles Urschel. $200,000 in ransom was paid, and Urschel was released. The kidnappers held Urschel for nine days in a remote building, and the alert and clear-thinking captive carefully recorded sounds and smells of his surroundings. He was able to assist the FBI with clues to the location of his imprisonment. The feds found the house on a ranch where Kelly's wife lived. The FBI trailed Kelly across sixteen states before cornering him. When trapped, however, "Machine Gun" gave up without a fight.
With the horrors and rages of the Lindbergh baby's kidnapping fresh in the national mind, most kidnappers of the thirties were given life sentences. "Machine Gun" Kelly was among them.
ALBERT BATES – number 137, safecracker, burglar, bank robber, and kidnapper, had served time in Carson City prison, Colorado state penitentiary, and Utah state prison before he entered Leavenworth and finally Alcatraz. At the time of his federal capture, Bates was wanted in five states. Albert Bates sided George Kelly in the Urschel kidnapping. Unlike Kelly, who required a long chase, Bates was caught in Colorado a month after the crime with a convincing number of the FBI's marked twenty-dollar bills in his possession.
ARTHUR "DOC" BARKER – number 268, kidnapping and believed to have committed murder and bank robbery, had done time in Oklahoma State Prison and escaped from Tulsa.
ALVIN "OLD CREEPY" KARPIS (listed on Alcatraz rolls as ALVIN KARPAVICZ, his legal name – number 325, burglar and kidnapper, was imprisoned in Hutchinson, Kansas reformatory, Lansing prison and Oklahoma state prison, before arriving at Alcatraz.
Karpis and Barker are listed together as part of the justly infamous "Ma" Barker gang. "Ma" and sons committed horrendous crimes across the Midwest. She and a son were shot and killed in Florida while resisting arrest. The Barker gang boasted more than a dozen members who came and went as their crimes demanded. In the end, a total of nine gang members ended up on Alcatraz, three were incarcerated in other prisons, and six had been killed.
The Karpis/Barker gang committed two big-time kidnappings that focused attention on them and accelerated their eventual demise. In 1933, William A. Hamm of St. Paul was kidnapped for $100,000. In 1934, Edward C. Bremmer was kidnapped for $200,000 ransom.
Karpis was called "Old Creepy" because of his bent over, shuffling walk. The posture kept his head down and he glanced upward from eye corners, apparently preferring to examine knee caps—or thereabouts. On Alcatraz, Karpis was more or less laughed at. He had no status among convicts and simply did his time. "Doc" Barker was another matter. A dangerous plotter, Barker was shot to death during a 1939 escape attempt.
HARMON M. WALEY – number 248, kidnapper and common criminal, served time in Idaho state prison, Walla Walla, Washington state prison, McNeil Island, and Alcatraz.
On May 24, 1935, Waley seized nine-year-old George Weyerhaeuser, son of the wealthy timber family. Waley and a confederate chained the boy within a hole prepared in the forest outside Issaquah, Washington. After a day they moved their captive to another hole near Kanaskat, Washington.
The kidnappers demanded $200,000 ransom. While they waited, they moved their prisoner to Idaho (where he was chained to a tree) and later to Spokane, Washington.
The ransom was paid on May 30, 1935, and the boy was released the next day in forests near Issaquah. The ransom money was marked, and on June 8, 1935, Waley and his wife were captured while spending some in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Trials were quick in those days. On June 21st, just two weeks after his capture, Waley was tried in Tacoma, found guilty, and sentenced to forty-five years. As an accomplice, Mrs. Waley received twenty years.
WILLIAM DAINARD was also Waley's conspirator in the kidnapping. Dainard dodged the law for many months but was caught in San Francisco in May 1936. He was sentenced to sixty years.
Harmon Waley arrived on Alcatraz on July 7, 1935. Dainard did not reach Alcatraz until 1939, via Leavenworth, with stops at the Springfield mental facility.
Waley began as an Alcatraz wild man. Enraged that he had been transferred from McNeil to The Rock, Waley refused to conform. E. F. Chandler has no kind words for Waley. Sullen and insolent, Waley was his own worst enemy. He participated—fruitlessly—in every prison disturbance. Even the inmates disliked him, and Waley was involved in numerous fights—none of which he won.
During a hunger strike in 1936, Waley was strapped to a hospital table and fed via a tube through his nose. Finally confined to "D" block, without privileges, and lacking any companionship, Waley gave up. He s
ettled down and did his time, after softening The Rock not a bit. By 1939 when Dainard arrived, Waley had conformed and was no longer a danger.
William Dainard resented Waley's lesser sentence of forty-five years as compared to his own sixty years for the same crime, and the two convicts were not overly friendly.
Roy Gardner
ROY GARDNER – number 110, burglar, jewel thief, deserter, smuggler, mail and train robber, served time in a reformatory, San Quentin, McNeil Island, Leavenworth, and Atlanta before arriving at Alcatraz in the first convict shipment.
It is difficult to write objectively about Roy Gardner. It seems to be human nature to admire or respect anyone who is outstanding at his craft. Among outlaws, Roy Gardner and Robin Hood are examples. If there was a Robin Hood, he was ultimately only a thief. The same should be said about Gardner but darn it, he was different.
Gardner was fifty years old when he came to Alcatraz in 1934. His criminal record went back to 1902.
He was convicted of many crimes, and he admitted to dozens more.
However, Gardner's fame came not from his criminal history but because of his incredible series of prison breaks and escapes from police custody.
Roy Gardner's more notable escapes included one from the state reformatory at Boonville, Missouri as early as 1902. He escaped from a Mexican prison while waiting to be shot in 1909. En route to McNeil Island in 1920, he escaped two armed guards. When recaptured in 1921, he escaped while again being transported to McNeil.
Gardner was captured during a robbery and again shipped to McNeil Island prison. McNeil was a maximum security prison, and once held there, it was believed Gardner was in for good. No such luck! During a convict baseball game, Gardner went over a fence, swam to the mainland and was gone again. It was still 1921 and McNeil Island had held him only a few months.
When the feds got him again, Roy Gardner went to Leavenworth and Atlanta. In both prisons he attempted a ploy of pretending insanity with the intent of being assigned to and escaping from a less heavily guarded medical facility. He was unable to convince authorities of any mental problems and his plan failed. Instead, Gardner joined with other convicts who attempted to storm their way from Atlanta. The attempt failed but it made certain that Roy Gardner would be on the first boat to Alcatraz.
Upon his arrival on The Rock, Gardner told Warden Johnston that he was burned out and gave his word that he would cause no trouble as long as he was there. Gardner was proud of his given word and did his Alcatraz time without incident. He is given credit for designing a carrier for moving garbage from the dining hall. He did not join in strikes and made no escape attempts. He was personable and likable.
Alcatraz: The Hardest Years 1934-1938 Page 8