The Public Enemies Era (1933-1935)

During the early 1930s, outlaws rampaged across much of America, seemingly robbing banks and kidnapping at will. Some of the more famous of these outlaws were Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie and Clyde, Machine Gun Kelly and Alvin Karpis and the Barkers, but John Dillinger was undoubtedly the star. A wave of celebrity kidnappings and the murder of four law enforcement officers in Kansas City in June 1933 during a botched attempt to rescue a veteran bank robber made it clear that a national police force was required. Local police were forbidden to cross state lines, so the Bureau of Investigation (later called the FBI), part of the Department of Justice, was an obvious candidate for this national police force. However, it had to pass through a steep learning curve since it was under-funded and its agents were not originally allowed to carry guns. A year later, almost none of the Public Enemies were alive and the FBI had become a national institution.

Image Credit:
By FBI - www.FBI.gov, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7317353

Cast of Characters:
John Dillinger-member of the Pierpoint Gang and leader of the Dillinger-Nelson Gang
Harry Pierpoint-leader of the Pierpoint Gang, which included John Dillinger, Charles Makley, Russell Clark, Ed Shouse and John “Red” Hamilton
Herman Lamm-developed the techniques of modern bank robbers, active in the 1920s
Harvey Bailey-veteran bank robber who mentored Machinegun Kelly, Alvin Karpis and Fred Barker
Fred Barker-leader of the Barker-Karpis Gang, which included Fred's brother Athur “Doc” Barker, George “Shotgun” Ziegler, Volney Davis, William Harrison, Bryon Bolton, Russell Gibson and Lawrence DeVol
Alvin Karpis-leader of the Barker-Karpis Gang, final public enemy to be caught
Homer Van Meter-member of the Nelson Gang and the Dillinger-Nelson Gang
George “Babyface” Nelson-leader of the Dillinger-Nelson Gang, which included Homer Van Meter, John “Red” Hamilton, Eddie Green, Tommy Carroll, Johnny Chase and Fatso Negri
Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd-Oklahoma-based bank robber who became a suspect in the Kansas City Massacre
Adam Richetti-Floyd's partner
Verne Miller-primary suspect in the Kansas City Massacre, former partner of Frank Nash and Harvey Bailey
Clyde Barrow-leader of the Barrow Gang, which included his brother Buck, Raymond Hamilton, Henry Methvin, W.D. Jones and his lover Bonnie Parker
Frank Hamer-famous former Texas Ranger who hunted down Bonnie and Clyde
George “Machine Gun” Kelly-bootlegger, bank robber and kidnapper

Sources:
Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34. Bryan Burrough
The Dillinger Days-John Toland
The Newton Boys: Portrait of an Outlaw Gang-Willis and Joe Newton (as told to Claude Stanush and David Middleton)
Herman “Baron” Lamm, the Father of Modern Bank Robbery-Walter Mittelstaedt
Baby Face Nelson: Portrait of a Public Enemy-Steven Nickel and William J. Helmer
Pretty Boy: The Life and Times of Charles Arthur Floyd-Michael Wallis
Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie & Clyde-Jeff Gunn
The Strange History of Bonnie and Clyde-John Treherne
The Tri-State Terror: The Life and Crimes of Wilbur Underhill-R.D. Morgan
Taming the Sooner State: The War Between Lawmen & Outlaws in Oklahoma & Indian Territory 1875-1941-R.D. Morgan
The Vendetta: FBI Hero Melvin Purvis’s War Against Crime, and J. Edgar Hoover’s War Against Him-Alston Purvis and Alex Tresniowski
Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover, Anthony Summers
J. Edgar Hoover: Secrecy and Power-Richard Gid Powers