"Baby Face Nelson Lester Joseph Gillis (December 6, 1908 – November 27, 1934), known by the alias George Nelson, better known as Baby Face Nelson, was an American bank robber in the 1930s. Gillis was given the nickname Baby Face due to his youthful appearance and small stature, although few dared call him ""Baby Face"" to his face. Criminal associates instead called him ""Jimmy"". Nelson entered into a partnership with John Dillinger, helping him escape from prison during the famed Crown Point, Indiana Jail escape, and was later labeled along with the remaining gang members as public enemy number one."
"called ""Melvin Purvis' 'G'-Men Detective Game."" Melvin Purvis Melvin Horace Purvis II (October 24, 1903 – February 29, 1960) was an American law enforcement official and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent. Given the nickname ""Little Mel"" because of his small boned 5′3″ (163 cm) frame, Purvis became noted for leading the manhunts that tracked such bank robbers as Baby Face Nelson, John Dillinger, and Pretty Boy Floyd, but his high public profile was resented by local law enforcement. Purvis asserted he had killed Floyd single-handed, others variously claimed that Floyd had been already wounded, or even that Purvis had"
"Melvin Purvis Melvin Horace Purvis II (October 24, 1903 – February 29, 1960) was an American law enforcement official and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent. Given the nickname ""Little Mel"" because of his small boned 5′3″ (163 cm) frame, Purvis became noted for leading the manhunts that tracked such bank robbers as Baby Face Nelson, John Dillinger, and Pretty Boy Floyd, but his high public profile was resented by local law enforcement. Purvis asserted he had killed Floyd single-handed, others variously claimed that Floyd had been already wounded, or even that Purvis had ordered Floyd summarily shot dead for"
"Nelson. The ""Chicago Tribune"" referred to their leader as ""George 'Baby Face' Nelson"" who received a sentence of one year to life in the state penitentiary at Joliet. Nelson escaped during a prison transfer in February 1932. Through his contacts within the Touhy Gang, Nelson fled west to Reno, where he was harbored by William Graham, a known crime boss and gambler. Using the alias ""Jimmy Johnson"", Nelson went to Sausalito, California, where he worked for bootlegger Joe Parente. During his San Francisco Bay area criminal ventures, Nelson most probably first met John Paul Chase and Fatso Negri, who later"
"Earle Nelson Earle Leonard Nelson (née Ferral; May 12, 1897January 13, 1928), also known in the media as the ""Gorilla Man,"" the ""Gorilla Killer,"" and the ""Dark Strangler,"" was an American serial killer, rapist, and necrophile. He was the first known American serial sex murderer of the twentieth century. Born and raised in San Francisco, California by his devoutly Pentecostal grandmother, Nelson exhibited bizarre behavior as a child, which was compounded by head injuries he sustained in a bicycling accident at age ten. After committing various minor offenses in early adulthood, he was institutionalized in Napa for a time. Nelson"
"John Paul Chase John Paul Chase (December 26, 1901 – October 5, 1973) 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"
"moved back to the Bay Area. Chase worked as a custodian in Los Altos, California until his death from cancer on October 5, 1973, outliving Hoover by one year, five months, and three days. John Paul Chase John Paul Chase (December 26, 1901 – October 5, 1973) 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"
"Von Buelow (on Sheridan Road). This job netted approximately $50,000 worth of jewelry. After the crime Chicago newspapers nicknamed the group ""The Tape Bandits"". On April 21, 1930, Nelson robbed his first bank, making off with approximately $4,000. A month later, Nelson and his gang netted $25,000 worth of jewelry from home invasions. On October 3, Nelson robbed the Itasca State Bank of $4,600; a teller later identified him as one of the robbers. Three nights later, he stole the jewelry of the wife of Chicago mayor Big Bill Thompson, valued at $18,000. She described her attacker, saying ""He had"
"the oil fields he would wear a white button-up dress shirt and slacks to work. The men on the rig began calling him ""Pretty Boy"" which was later turned into ""Pretty Boy Floyd."" According to one account, when the payroll master targeted in a robbery described the three perpetrators to the police, he referred to Floyd as ""a mere boy — a pretty boy with apple cheeks."" Like his contemporary Baby Face Nelson, Floyd despised his nickname. In 1929, Floyd was wanted in numerous cases. On March 9, he was arrested in Kansas City on investigation, and again on May"
"involvement in the ""Kansas City Massacre."" Floyd later appeared as a character in the 2008 comic book ""Pretty, Baby, Machine"". Pretty Boy Floyd Charles Arthur Floyd (February 3, 1904 – October 22, 1934) nicknamed Pretty Boy Floyd, was an American bank robber. He operated in the Midwest and West South Central States, and his criminal exploits gained widespread press coverage in the 1930s. Like several other prominent outlaws of that era, he was pursued and killed by a group led by Melvin Purvis. Historians have speculated as to which officers were at the event, local or the FBI: known accounts"
"him. Famous for his broad Pitmatic (County Durham pit village) accent (often mistaken for Geordie), self-deprecating humour and mastery of the mother-in-law joke, Thompson was affectionately known as ""The Little Waster"" due to his short stature, which he often played on during his act, describing himself as 'Little Bobby'. His most famous outfit was a worn out stripey jumper (Wooly gansey) and flat cap. His ever-present Woodbine cigarette stub, hanging from the corner of his mouth, was also an integral part of his on-stage persona. His attempts to move beyond North East England were limited by his accent and the"
"Van Meter, Tommy Carroll, and Eddie Green. With these men and two other local thieves, Nelson robbed the First National Bank of Brainerd, Minnesota of $32,000 on October 23, 1933 (equivalent to approximately $ in dollars). Witnesses reported that Nelson wildly sprayed sub-machine gun bullets at bystanders as he made his getaway. After collecting his wife Helen and four-year-old son Ronald, Nelson left with his crew for San Antonio, Texas. While there, Nelson and his gang bought several weapons from underworld gunsmith Hyman Lehman. One of those weapons was a .45 Colt pistol that had been modified so it was"
"Pretty Boy Floyd Charles Arthur Floyd (February 3, 1904 – October 22, 1934) nicknamed Pretty Boy Floyd, was an American bank robber. He operated in the Midwest and West South Central States, and his criminal exploits gained widespread press coverage in the 1930s. Like several other prominent outlaws of that era, he was pursued and killed by a group led by Melvin Purvis. Historians have speculated as to which officers were at the event, local or the FBI: known accounts document that local officers Robert ""Pete"" Pyle and George Curran were present at his fatal shooting and also at his"
"a baby face. He was good looking, hardly more than a boy, had dark hair and was wearing a gray topcoat and a brown felt hat, turned down brim."" Nelson and his crew were later linked to a botched roadhouse robbery in Summit, Illinois on November 23, 1930. In the ensuing gunfight, three people were killed and three wounded. Three nights later, Nelson's gang robbed a tavern on Waukegan Road, and Nelson committed his first murder of note when he fatally shot stockbroker Edwin R. Thompson. Throughout the winter of 1931, most of the Tape Bandits were rounded up, including"
"and was solely dependent from winnings as a ""common gambler"". He saw himself as a Roman general and statesman like Julius Caesar in the world of organized crime. He occasionally worked in the construction business in arranging contractors for repairs and renovations in South Philadelphia. He was a dour-looking man with a pockmarked face who stood at 5 foot 8 inches, weighed 183 pounds, had brown hair and brown eyes, and was well built. He reportedly had dark emotionless eyes, a bulbous nose and scowl that made press photographers back away from him. His pockmarked face is thought to be"
"William Miller (criminal) William ""Billy the Killer"" Miller (1906 – April 16, 1931) was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. In his brief criminal career, he committed numerous bank heists in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Oklahoma, and teamed up with George Birdwell and Pretty Boy Floyd during the early 1930s. Miller was born in Ironton, Ohio in 1906. He first earned his nickname ""Billy the Killer"" when, on September 18, 1925, the 19-year-old Miller killed his brother Joseph in a fight over a woman. Tried in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, he was acquitted of murder on the grounds that he"
"Marco Reginelli Marco ""Small Man"" Reginelli (1897 – May 26, 1956) was a New Jersey mobster who became underboss of the Bruno crime family and operated a famous nightclub in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Reginelli's nickname came from his short stature. Born in Nepezzano in the Abruzzo region of Italy, Reginelli immigrated to the United States in 1914 at age 17. He first settled in an Italian-American community in Penns Grove, New Jersey, with many neighbors from Valle San Giovanni and Teramo. Many of these immigrants worked at the nearby DuPont chemical factory. In the 1930s, Marco moved to Camden,"
"at Cincinnati, Ohio, and Bragg and or Smith at Louisville. Davis, still on convalescence, reported to General Wright, whose headquarters were in Cincinnati, offering his services. Wright ordered Davis to report to Nelson. In Louisville, Davis was put in charge of organizing and arming the citizens of Louisville, preparing for its defense. Nelson was quite an imposing figure over Davis. William Nelson got his nickname, ""Bull,"" in no small part to his stature. Nelson was 300 pounds and six foot two inches, described as being ""in the prime of life, in perfect health."" Davis was quite small in comparison, measuring"
"the apartment of Jimmy Probasco, a bar owner connected to the Chicago Outfit. Loeser operated on Van Meter on June 3. Unsatisfied with the results and, not coincidentally, with the pain of the operation, Van Meter attempted to kill Loeser on the spot. On June 30, Van Meter, Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and an unidentified fourth man robbed the Merchants National Bank in South Bend, Indiana, where Van Meter, serving as lookout, shot and killed patrolman Howard Wagner during the robbery. The fourth man, never identified, has been suggested at times to be Pretty Boy Floyd, Johnny Chase, or Fatso"
"his association with Baby Face Nelson in the early 1930s, possibly in March 1932. Little is known of his first meeting with Nelson, however a popular story claims Chase was the wheelman in a contract murder Nelson carried out in Reno. It is generally agreed among crime historians that Reno was the most likely place where the two first became partners, Nelson having connections in the local underworld and frequently hid out there while in Chicago and the general Midwest. On October 23, 1933, he and Nelson robbed their first bank together in Brainerd, Minnesota escaping with $32,000. Along the"
"Nelson de la Rosa Nelson de la Rosa Martínez ( – October 22, 2006), Mahow, was a Dominican Republic actor and one of the shortest men of the 20th and 21st centuries. Nelson measured 71 centimeters tall (about 2 feet 4 inches). De la Rosa starred in the 1987 feature Italian horror film made in Dominican Republic called ""Ratman"". During the 1990s Nelson continued his path to international success by becoming a staple guest at Venevision's television show ""Súper Sábado Sensacional"" in Venezuela, and, later on, he would be invited as a guest to Don Francisco's show, ""Sábado Gigante"", and"
"Samuel Corsaro Samuel ""Little Sammy"" Corsaro (1943 - July 5, 2002) was a mobster who belonged to the New Jersey faction of the Gambino crime family. His nickname ""Little Sammy"" came from his height of 5'5"". Born in Nutley, New Jersey, Corsaro later moved to Clifton, New Jersey. As a youth, he became involved in petty crime. In 1974, during a liquor store robbery in Morris County, New Jersey, Corsaro shot and killed a store clerk. Corsaro was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. In prison, Corsaro organized a program to teach inmates the upholstery and interior"
"Davis to report to Nelson. By September 18, Davis had recuperated to the point where he could resume command of the forces defending against the Confederate threat to Louisville. On September 20, Davis reported to Nelson. Nelson was quite an imposing figure over Davis. Nelson got his nickname, ""Bull,"" in no small part to his stature. Nelson was 300 pounds and six foot two inches, described as being ""in the prime of life, in perfect health."" Davis was quite small in comparison, measuring five foot nine, and reportedly only 125 pounds. Nelson ordered Davis to take charge of organizing and"
"Baby Face Finlayson Baby Face Finlayson is a fictional character in a comic strip in the UK comic ""The Beano"", first appearing in issue 1553, dated 22 April 1972. Baby Face Finlayson ""The Cutest Bandit in the West"" is an outlaw from the American Old West, and is, in fact, a baby. His name is derived from the real-life American gangster of the 1930s Baby Face Nelson (real name Lester Joseph Gillis). He was originally a minor character in Little Plum, but was later given a spin-off strip of his own. He rode around in a motorised pram, stealing everything"
"robbery is believed to have been Pretty Boy Floyd, based on several eyewitness identifications as well as the later account of Joseph ""Fatso"" Negri, an old Nelson associate from California who was serving as a gofer for the gang at this time. Another rumored participant was Nelson's childhood friend, Jack Perkins, also an associate of the gang at that time. (Perkins was later tried for the robbery and acquitted). When the robbery began, policeman Howard Wagner had been directing traffic outside; responding quickly to the scene and attempting to draw his gun, he was shot dead by Van Meter, who"
"into a bank safe's lock in advance to facilitate the robbery. Over time and extended use, the lock's tumblers left dents or marks on the wire that recorded the numbers that made up the combination. Use of this tool required George to enter the bank at least twice prior to executing a robbery, once to place the device and a second time to retrieve it. Using his architectural skills and the ""little joker"" helped him elude the police, and he was dubbed ""The King of Bank Robbers"". Later in life, Leslie and his associates were having problems. The gang believed"
"whom newspapers of the era dubbed ""Dillinger's aid"", had managed to elude the federal dragnet. By late November 1934, the new Public Enemy Number One was hid out in the isolated piney woods of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Bolstered by his new found status, the diminutive Nelson bragged he would rob, ""...a bank a day for a month."" On the morning of November 27, Nelson, sporting a thin mustache on his youthful face, Helen Gillis (Nelson's loyal wife), and John Paul Chase, Nelson's trusted right-hand man, departed Lake Geneva and traveled south, toward Chicago, on U.S. Route 12 (now U.S. 14)."
"suburbs. Nelson then became associated with members of the suburban-based Touhy Gang (rather than the Capone mob, as usually reported). Within two years, Nelson and the gang were involved in organized crime, especially armed robbery. On January 6, 1930, the associates forced entry into the home of magazine executive Charles M. Richter. After trussing him up with adhesive tape and cutting the phone lines, they ransacked the house and made off with approximately $205,000 worth of jewelry (equivalent to approximately $3 million in 2017 dollars). Two months later, they carried out a similar robbery at the bungalow of Lottie Brenner"
"blond hair, but being balding and frequently shaved. He had green eyes and wore contact lenses or glasses. He also had a scar above his right eyebrow and on his right knee and had a birthmark on his left ankle. He was described as a smooth talker, as arrogant and egotistical, liking cigars, cigarettes, and steaks. He also played bridge, enjoyed gambling, and watching sports, particularly baseball, for which he also worked as an umpire. During his criminal career, Paddock had numerous aliases, including Perry Archer, Benjamin J. Butler, Leo Genstein, Pat Paddock, and Patrick Benjamin Paddock. His nicknames included"
"George Remini George V. ""Big Georgie"" Remini (August 5, 1945-March 2007) was a New York mobster known as ""Fat Georgie"" or ""Big George"" within the Gambino crime family. In 1969, Remini was arrested and pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property from interstate shipment and was sentenced to three years in prison. He married an Austrian wife. He stood at 6'2 and weighed 300 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He lived in Annadale, Staten Island. FBI Special Agent Joseph O'Brien describes Remini as having a ""ruddy, unshaven face, blanched like a cauliflower... a hulking man, not fat but"
"nickname came from his short stature. According to professional thief Shirley Pitts, he had to attach wooden blocks to the pedals of his Rolls Royce car in order to drive it. Stephen Smith, who knew Clifford well, described him as handsome with wavy black hair combed back but an uncontrollable temper. Shirley Pitts said in her memoirs that Clifford ran several night clubs in London's west end while ""Mad"" Frankie Fraser described him as a ""mover, a buyer of gear"" (a fence) who shot Johnny Mangan twice in the head in 1979 and was tried for attempted murder but acquitted."
"(1886). Adam Worth Adam Worth (18448 January 1902) was a German-born American criminal. Scotland Yard Detective Robert Anderson nicknamed him ""the Napoleon of the criminal world"" (because of his short stature). He is widely considered the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional criminal mastermind James Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes series, whom Conan Doyle calls ""The Napoleon of Crime"". Adam Worth was born into a poor Jewish family somewhere in Germany. His original surname might have been ""Werth"". When he was five years old, his family moved to the United States and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Worth's father"
"Baby Face Nelson (film) Baby Face Nelson is a 1957 film noir crime film based on the real-life 1930s gangster, directed by Don Siegel, co-written by Daniel Mainwaring—who also wrote the screenplay for Siegel's 1956 sci-fi thriller ""Invasion of the Body Snatchers""—and starring Mickey Rooney, Carolyn Jones, Cedric Hardwicke, Leo Gordon, Anthony Caruso, Jack Elam and John Hoyt. Chicago mob boss Rocca manages to get Lester Gillis sprung from jail in Joliet. His motive is to have Gillis kill a labor organizer, but Gillis refuses, preferring to work with Rocca's gang on robberies instead. He meets mob moll Sue Nelson"