#1942 stateville escape

[madlitparanormal]

You wouldn’t know just by looking at the above picture, that this man murdered thirty three people. If you hadn’t seen him before, you may just think that he was a normal member of society. In fact, he was a well known, well liked, successful citizen to most.

Childhood:

John Wayne Gacy Jr. was born on March 17, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois to father John Stanley Gacy, a mechanist and a WWI veteran (June 20, 1900-December 25, 1969 —Merry Christmas) and mother Marion Elaine Robinson, a stay at home mom (May 4, 1908-December 6, 1989).

Gacy Jr. had a good and stable relationship with his mother and his two sisters, one older and one younger, but his relationship with his father was strenuous. John Stanley Gacy was an alcoholic and mentally and physically abusive towards his wife and all three of his children.

One of Gacy Jr.’s earliest memories is of his father beating him with a leather belt. The reason? John had accidentally disassembled a group of car engine parts that his father had previously put together. A second memory he had was of his father hitting him over the head with a broom stick so hard that he was rendered unconscious. Gacy Sr. Consistently belittled him and often told him he’d never be anything, leaving John to feel that he was never good enough.

In 1949 John W. Gacy was caught fondling a young girl. His father whipped him with a razor strop as punishment. Shortly after this incident, at seven years old, John was sexually assaulted by a friend of the family. The man would often take Gacy Jr. for rides in his truck where he would violate the boy. He would never disclose this information to his father, afraid that he would blame him for the occurances.

Among other problems, John Wayne Gacy suffered a congenital heart defect and was not able to keep up with other children. He spent a year being hospitalized after fainting one afternoon. His father assumed that he was trying to gain attention and sympathy from others and saw his son as a complete failure.

John Wayne Gacy, also known as the infamous Killer clown, was a seemingly upstanding citizen of Waterloo, Iowa where he and his first wife had moved shortly after Gacy graduated and gained a degree in business. He was someone the town looked up to, someone who was charming and charitable. John dressed as a clown to attend fundraising events, parades, and was even hired to perform at children’s birthday parties. At one point in his life he was a a member of the Democratic Party and even a candidate running for and gaining the title of precinct captain. He was a highly liked member of a charity group called the Jaycees, the honored man of they year as well as Vice President of his charity group. Gacy held secretive meetings to induct new members of Jaycee. He would rent out hotel rooms, hire prostitues, and host orgies to convince people to join.

In 1966 he managed three KFC properties making the equivalent to today of $115,000 per year, plus a share of earned profits from the restaurants. His wife, Marlynn, maiden name Meyers, gave birth to two children, their son Michael in 1966 and their daughter Christine in 1967. One of his sisters told reporters that he was an amazing father and that he truly loved his children and she knew that because growing up in their household, love and affection was not a learned behavior. John once described this portion of his life as perfect. Even his father said he had been wrong about his son, that he did turn out to be something.

His marriage was secretly rampant with taboo fetishes. He and his wife engaged in swinger activity. They would often go out together and go home with someone else. These sexual acts were consensual among him, his wife, and their numerous partners.

Gacy and one of his sisters:

In 1967 John W. Was convicted of sodomy with a 15 year old boy named Donald Voorhees. Donald was the son of a fellow member of the Jaycee group that John had been socially accepted in. Gacy paid the boy fifty dollars to keep quiet but his silence didn’t last long. Gacy was charged and convicted of only sodomy after claiming the interaction was consensual even though he was twenty five years old. He was hit with a maximum sentence of ten years. Shortly after his sentencing his wife Marlynn divorced him.

In prison he took to working in the kitchen. Surprisingly, one thing he really was accomplished in was cooking. His knowledge of kitchen work could have come from not only helping his mother but working at KFC.

Due to his fathers death in 1969, Gacy changed. He began acting out while serving time yet out of the ten year sentence, John only served a year and six months. He was released for good behavior. He felt that his fathers death was his fault, that his father had died of shame.

When he was released he immediately moved to Chicago to start over. There he met another woman named Carole Hoff. Carole was recently divorced with two young girls. John had opened up to her about his jail time and his sexuality and while hesitant, she decided she could move past it. In 1972 the couple married, Carole’s two girls called Gacy “daddy” and loved him. However, in 1976 Hoff divorced Gacy after learning of one of his victims, John Butkovich.

On December 21st of 1978 John Wayne Gacy went into a pharmacy to discuss a possible renovation project on his home. He found a teenager, Robert Piest, and asked him about a summer job doing some construction work. The teenager told his mother and went to Gacy’s house to further discuss the job he had in store. When the boy didn’t return home his mother filed a missing persons report. Because he was seen at the store at the time of the boys disappearance, the police went to Gacy to find Robert. What they uncovered when they conducted their search led to Gacy’s arrest.

At the age of thirty six, Gacy confessed that between the years of 1972 and 1978, between the ages of thirty and thirty six, he abducted, sexually assaulted, tortured, and murdered at least thirty three young men and buried most of their bodies in a shallow grave in the crawl space beneath his house where he lived with his wife and two children (for the first four years of his killing spree until Carole divorced him). His most common method for killing the young men was a tourniquet, used for suffocation and asphyxiation. A few of his victims were stabbed to death. His first murder of Timothy McCoy in 1972 was unexpected and unplanned. After engaging in sexual acts with the boy, Gacy grabbed a knife and stabbed Timothy in the chest. From then on, Gacy continued his killing spree. He had opened up a door of emotional, physical, and mental release that he had never felt before.

After killing them, Gacy would embalm his victims which he learned how to do while working temporarily in a mortuary in Las Vegas, Nevada when he ran away from home to escape his father earlier in life. He would then systematically cover the shallow graves in quicklime to accelerate the decomposition process. Of those victims that weren’t buried in the crawl space, five were dumped in the Des Plaines River. One body was also discovered in his garage.

He was arrested and began his trial 1980. The prosecution question his sanity and Gacy played along, telling them that the murders were committed by an alternate personality.

At thirty six years old, he was sentenced to twelve death sentences as well as twenty one natural life sentences. This meant that John Wayne Gacy was sentenced to death twelve times even though you can generally only die once (of course other circumstances can come into play) and with a general life expectancy of seventy years old in the year 1980 for men, Gacy would serve no less than at least 1,470 years in prison outside of the death sentence. Naturally, no one could live to that age so the basic mentality was that he would never be released from prison and he would be executed by the state.

Gacy spent fourteen years on death row until he was executed by the state of Illinois. During his time in prison he did a lot of painting and created a lot of visual art pieces, and some were even sold at an auction.

Identified Victims:

Timothy McCoy

John Butkovitch

Darrell Sampson

Randall Reffett

Samuel Stapleton

Michael Bonnin

William Carroll

James Haakenson

Rick Johnston

Kenneth Parker

Michael Marino

William Bundy

Gregory Godzik

John Szyc

Jon Prestidge

Matthew Bowman

Robert Gilroy

Russell Nelson

Robert Winch

Tommy Boling

Jon Mowery

William Kindered

David Talsma

Timothy O’Rourke

Frank Landingin

James Mazzara

Robert Piest

Unidentified Victims:

Male aged 14-18

Male aged 23-30

Male aged 18-22

Male aged 15-24

Male aged 22-32

Male aged 17-22

Execution: Stateville Correction Center, Crest Hill, Illinois

On May 9, 1994 Gacy was allowed a private picnic with his family. I have not yet found which family members he spent time with but my assumption would be his sister(s) after two cases of divorce.

For his last meal he ordered a bucket of Kentucky fried chicken, fried shrimp, French fries, strawberries, and Diet Coke.

That evening he visited with a Catholic priest, one of the few people allowed to visit on your execution day, before being escorted to the Stateville execution chamber.

His form of execution was Lethal Injection. A clog in the IV delayed the execution for a short period of time but was quickly put back on track.

John Wayne Gacy’s final statement to his lawyer before his execution stated that killing him would not compensate for the murders he committed and that the state was in turn, murdering him. He even attempted to recant his confession before his death.

John Wayne Gacy was a diagnosed psychopath. He had no remorse, no empathy, and no regards for human life. He even went as far as saying he never committed any murders and he blamed others for his “unfortunate” circumstances.

It took Gacy Jr. 18 minutes to die after lethal Injection. He was prounounced dead at 12:58 AM on May 10, 1994. He was fifty two years old.

His final words: “Kiss My Ass!”

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"HOOK TO SCALE WALL FOUND IN STATE PRISON," Chicago Tribune. November 22, 1942. Page 1. ---- A new escape plot was discovered and frustrated yesterday at the Stateville penitentiary near Joliet when a hook, 30 feet long and designed to scale the prison walls, was found buried under a coal pile. Warden Joseph E. Ragen, who made public the find, said that the hook consisted of three metal pipes, each 10 feet long. Each pipe end was threaded so that the pipes could be connected into one length. The end of the top length was fitted with a large, steel hook, which had been welded on. The prison wall is 32 feet high so that the pipe hook, in the hands of one or more convicts. could easily have reached the top of the wall. Ragen said he doubted the pipe was made in preparation for the escape Oct. 9 of Roger Touhy and six other desperadoes, who are still at large. They used guns. On Nov. 9 Warden Ragen foiled another escape plot when he discovered that three convicts had sawed away the bars of their cell and replaced them with wood.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"FBI AGENTS TELL HOW FUSILLADE KILLED 2 FELONS," Chicago Tribune. December 31, 1942. Page 7. ---- Seek to Link Touhy and Gang to Holdup ---- How federal agents killed two of the Touhy gang of escaped convicts last Monday night was told yesterday as the government attained custody of the five catured alive.

Earl J. Connelley, assistant director of the federal bureau of investigation, told a coroner's jury about the shooting as other agents were seeking to determine whether the Touhy gang was responsible for the $20,000 holdup of an armored car on Dec. 18. The bodies of Eugene Lanthorn, alias James O'Connor, and St. Clair McInerney were on slabs near by as Connelley gave an account of the shooting. Lanthorn, 36 years old, was slain in his third escape from the prison, where he was serving a 1 year to life term for armed robbery imposed in 1932. In May of that year he fled but was shot and captured in a robbery. In 1936 he pulled the masterlight switch of the prison and scaled the wall on a ladder he contrived, but was caught the next January in Kenosha, Wis. McInerney's death closed a life sentence he was serving, under the habitual criminal act, imposed in 1937 after a safe blowing attempt which followed two previous robbery convictions. He was 30 years old. Nelson in Minneapolis. Held at the FBI headquarters here were Roger Touhy, Basil Banghart, Edward Darlak, and William Stewart. In federal custody at Minneapolis was Matthew Nelson, the last of the gang of seven who escaped from the Stateville prison on Oct. 9 and the first to be caught.

"Eugene Lanthorn and St. Clair McInerney [the subjects of the inquest) escaped from the Stateville prison on Oct. 9," said Agent Connelley in starting the story of the battle at 1256 Leland avenue on Monday night. "We sought them as violators of the draft law. A subsequent investigation showed they had taken refuge at 1256 Leland avenue in apartment 31. Trapped in Own Flat. "On Saturday, Dec. 26, and Sunday.Dec. 27. agents of the governmentidentified the two men thru visualobservation. On Monday when thetwo left their apartment we placedmen in it and also in apartment 21.on the floor below, and in apartment33, down the corridor. We waited fortheir return.

"Monday night about 11 o'clock the two men approached the door. One,I think it was Lanthorn, placed a key in the lock. The door opened and they started to enter. At that time a command was given: "Stick up your hands. We are federal officers." Connelley didn't say so in his testimony, but it was understood he was one of the men inside the room. 20 to 40 Slugs in Each. There were shots by the two men and subsequent firing by the agents on the second and third floors, he said. "The agents used 38 caliber revolvers and 12 gauge shotguns. There is a possibility that magnum ammunition was used."

[Police ballistics experts said that magnum ammunition is fired from a specially designed magnum pistol, which is one of the two hardest hitting hand weapons in existence. It is a .357 caliber cartridge, which with a 150 grain powder charge has a muzzle velocity of 1,512 feet per second, against 800 feet for the .38 caliber police special cartridge which is the same size and carries the same weight of powder. The only other hand gun with similar hitting power is the 9 mm. Luger pistol, they said.]

The body of each convict was pierced by 20 to 40 bullets or shot-gun slugs, coroner's physicians said. As far as was known no government agent was hit.

Two pistols were turned over to the coroner and said to have beentaken from the bodies of the slain convicts. One, a 45 caliber pistol, had been fired twice. The other, 30-38 revolver, had not been fired. May Transfer Banghart. The jury held the shooting of the two men was justifiable homicide and extended congratulations and commendations to the government agents.

United States Atty. J. Albert Woll announced that four of the recaptured convicts would be turned over to the state authorities for return to prison probably by the end of this week. The government may decide to send Banghart to a federal prison, Woll said, in as much as he is under a 36 year sentence for a mail robbery in North Carolina.

Spencer J. Drayton, special agent in charge of the FBI in Chicago, said his aids still were questioning Touhy, Banghart, Darlak, and Stewart. He said there had been no admissions of guilt in the Buick plant robbery.

Because the escaped convicts were known to have had little money on Dec. 17 and to have had plenty afterward, however, it was believed they robbed the armored car.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"FORBIDS CONVICT LABOR ON PRISON WATCH TOWERS," Chicago Tribune. December 1, 1942. Page 14. --- Convict labor is not being used in the erection of new towers on the Stateville penitentiary walls, Warden Joseph E. Ragen said yesterday as he reported progress of the work. Two of the towers are nearly completed, he said, and three others are under way. Construction delay was due to difficulties in getting the material needed, not to a labor shortage, he said. The towers are to be of brick around a framework of wood. The 4 by 4 inch beams needed for the braces were particularly hard to get, harder to get than the carpenters and other mechanics needed, Ragen said. Convicts do some of the work on the ground, inside the walls, but they are not allowed on top. On foggy days Ragen permits no convicts to be outside the cellhouses, he explained. If they are in the yard and a fog appears they are hurried to their cells and kept there the rest of the day.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"G-MEN KILL 2; FBI CHIEF HERE," Chicago Tribune. Decembeer 29, 1942. Page 1 & 6. --- GANGSTERS IN FLAT BUILDING ARE AMBUSHED --- Police Hear Touhy's Pals Slain. ---- (Pictures on page 6.) Two men, reported to be members of the "Terrible Touhy" gang that staged a daring escape Oct. 9 from the Stateville prison, were shot and killed late last night by federal bureau of investigation agents on the second floor landing of an apartment building at 1256 Leland avenue.

The slain men were reported reliably to have been St Clair McInerney, 31, safe blower and robber, and James O'Connor, 36, bandit. Both were serving life sentences.

Two other members of the gang were reported to have been captured.

Witnesses who viewed the bodies said that a high powered rifle lay across the chest of one of the slain men, which police said was an indication that they were aware of the identity of their ambushers.

Hoover Takes Charge. J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, entered the Bankers building at 105 West Adams street at 1:15 this morning and proceeded immediately to the 21st floor where the FBI offices are located.

A reporter who recognized him asked, "You're Mr. Hoover, aren't you?" Hoover nodded his head, and the reporter continued, "Have you any comment to make on the shooting?"

The FBI chief replied that he would have no statements to make "before several hours."

The shooting occurred after federal agents sprung an elaborate trap. Ambushes had been set inside and outside the building. FBI automobiles, their motors kept running, were parked in strategic locations on the street and in adjacent alleys, and armed agents commanded all en- trances and lower floor windows. The agents also took over several apartments in the building, including apartment 31 on the third floor, which was occupied by the gangsters, and apartment 21 on the second floor commanding the stairway.

Let Four Men Enter Ambush. It was shortly before midnight when four men, attired in workmen's garb, entered the building. They were known to the waiting federal agents to be the men they wanted and were permitted to enter the building unmolested.

Once inside, two of the men apparently became alarmed and fled toward the rear, while the others mounted the steps, to be met at the landing with a blast of machine gun and shotgun fire. Both, police said, were killed instantly.

Police, who later were barred from the premises, were admitted shortly after the shooting and viewed the dead men. Lt. Robert Welling of the Town Hall station said that neither was Roger Touhy, leader of the seven gangsters who fled prison, or Basil [The Owl] Banghart, his chief lieutenant.

Identify O'Connor as Tenant. Mrs. Anthony Battaglia, manager of the apartment building, is reported to have identified photographs of O'Connor as the man who rented the apartment from her on Dec. 10 under the name of Peterson.

She and other occupants of the building also are reported to have identified pictures of Touhy and Banghart as frequent visitors to the "Peterson" apartment. Other members of the gang who fled Stateville prison are William Stewart, 43; Matthew Nelson, 40, and Edward Darlak, 31, all criminals under life sentences. All save McInerney and Darlak were members of the Terrible Touhys.

The Touhy gang was sentenced to life imprisonment, after a career of crime and terrorism that has few parallels in Chicago, upon conviction of the kidnaping of John [Jake the Barber] Factor.

Watched Place for Weeks. The federal agents were reported to have laid their trap with extreme care. They were said to have known of the presence of the suspects for several weeks, but reportedly refrained from staging a raid in the hope that the entire gang could be seized.

The elaborateness with which they prepared their ambush recalled the thoroness of the planning which led to the death from FBI bullets of John Dillinger as he left the Biograph theater, 2433 Lincoln avenue, on July 23, 1934.

Since shortly after the alleged gangsters' occupancy of the apartment, federal agents, posing as workmen and professional men, had maintained constant tenancy in the building, first in one apartment then another, it was reported.

Their identification of the men was effected thru the simple expedient of entering the apartment when its occupants were gone and looking for fingerprints, it was said. These were said to have been found in abundance upon more than 50 half gallon beer bottles Police reasoned that the gangsters refrained from returning the bottles, as is usually done, for fear that their prints might fall into police hands.

Victims Carry Big Sums. Considerable sums of money were reported found on the bodies of the two slain men, it was reported $1,000 in the pockets of one, and $500 on the other. Mrs. Battaglia said that the man who was known as Peterson informed her that he wanted the apartment for himself and his wife. He paid his rent by the week, and on Christmas day, she said, he knocked at her door and handed her $10.

A 16 year old boy, David Black, who lives at 1260 Leland avenue, immediately adjacent to the Norwood apartment building in which the gangsters had their hide-out, was a witness to part of the affray.

Boy Sees Two Men Flee. He said his attention was attracted by gunfire, presumably from a ma- chine gun. Running to the window he saw the darkened cars parked along the street and in the alley, armed men standing in readiness. During the shooting, he said, he saw two men run north into the alley, then the G-men poured out of their cars with guns in their hands."

HISTORY OF TOUHY GANG Touhy, once the head of the murderous Terrible Touhy gang, andBasil (The Owl] Banghart, the gang's machine gunner, led the escape of five other desperadoes over the walls of Stateville prison last Oct. 9.

Prison officials found in an investigation later that the convicts had obtained four pistols while in the prison. They also procured ladders inside the walls, and when the stage was set began their carefully planned break,

With Touhy and Banghart were James O'Connor, an undersized bandit who had escaped twice before from the same prison; William Stewart, lanky Chicago bandit leader; his old time associate, Matthew Nelson; Edward Darlak, 31 years old, murderer of a Chicago policeman, and St. Clair McInerney, 31, a safeblower and bandit. The latter two, prison officials said, may have escaped in the confusion which followed the Touhy break, but are listed as missing with them.

The first move came when a garbage truck driven by Jack Cito, a convict, stopped at the prison's kitchens.

Touhy dashed out of the bakery in which he worked armed with a pair of scissors. He slashed at a guard, knocked him down, and drove off with the truck. He drove a mile and a half across the prison grounds to the mechanical shops and stores, picking up somewhere en route his other pals.

The truck, with Touhy at the wheel, backed down a ramp into a loading tunnel under the machine shops. Touhy and Banghart jumped out immeditely and beat William Dahler, foreman of the mechanical shop who was working a gang of convicts there preparing scrap metal for loading.

Slugged with Gun. They hit him with a gun and slashed a 2 inch gash in his scalp. Touhy left Dahler to the others of the gang and went feet first thru the service window into the mechanical stores room, confronting Samuel Johnson, the guard on duty there. He snipped telephone wires with his scissors and aided by Banghart, who came thru the gate door, armed, demanded ladders.

They loaded the ladders onto the truck. Lt. George Cotter arrived in the tunnel and was beaten and dumped on the truck. Touhy and Banghart took the white caps that, Johnson and Cotter wore to identify themselves as guards and drove the truck toward the northwest prison gate at tower No. 3.

There they opened fire on Herman Kross, the tower guard, wounding him. They set up their ladders, took Kross's keys to the outer tower stairway and calmly went down the outer tower stairway and to Kross's automobile, parked outside. They made their escape in the car, which was found abandoned near a filling station at St. Charles road and Villa avenue in Villa Park, DuPage county,at 10:45 p. m. the next night,

Kross, 51 year old resident of Lockport, and two other guards, Roy C. Everton, 51, of Plainfield, who was in tower No. 2, and Joseph L. Montonye, 31, of Lovington, who was in tower No. 4, were discharged as a result of the investigation which followed the escape. Kross was only slightly wounded by the desperadoes' bullets.

Manhunt Is Widespread. The hunt for Touhy and the desperate men he led blanketed the United States.

The FBI, circularizing their descriptions, described Touhy and Banghartas "two of the most desperate and dangerous criminals at large today." They were variously reported as having been seen in Chicago and suburbs for a week or more after the escape. Police in far distant places also were told that the convicts had been seen, but no one found an actual trace of them.

BLAME GUARD IN ESCAPE Two guards at Stateville prison yesterday testified that Herman Kross, suspended guard, could have frustrated the Oct. 9 escape of Roger Touhy, Basil Banghart and five other convicts had he used the guns or bombs with which he was equipped.

The two guards, Lt. George R. Cot-ter and Officer Samuel Hill, gavetheir testimony at a hearing before Robert L. Hunter, president of the Illinois civil service commission, in the Will county courthouse.

Kross testified that he had seen the garbage truck which the prisoners had commandeered coming across the prison yard, but had attached no significance to it. He did not realize that an attempted escape was in progress until the prisoners leaped from the truck, placed a ladder against the tower, and started shooting.

Asked why he did not return the fire, or toss a bomb, Kross said that he was sick from the effects of a bullet that had nicked him, and was too confused to act. Hunter said the civil service commission would review the testimony and decide whether Kross will be formally discharged. Kross is charged with failure to perform his duty.

"FBI Agents Slay Two In Raid on North Side Flat," Chicago Tribune. December 29, 1942. Page 6. ---- Clockwise from top left: Roger Touhy, leader of band of escaped convicts who were believed to be target of FBI raid on northside last night when two men were slain.

Basil (The Owl) Banghart, who fled prison with Touhy and five other men last fall.

St. Clair McInerney, who wa sbelieved to have been slain in the FBI raid last night. He escaped from prison with the Touhy gangsters.

James O'Connor (left), who was believed to have been one of the men slain, and Matthew Nelson. Both were members of the Touhy gang who participated in the prison break.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"PRISON BREAK IS PREVENTED BY TUNING FORK," Chicago Tribune. November 10, 1942. Page 17. ---- Stateville Trio Placed in Solitary. ---- (Picture on page 10.) Three convicts at the Stateville penitentiary were in solitary confinement yesterday because Warden Joseph E. Ragen believes in tuning forks. His tuning fork on Sunday night failed to get a ring when used on the bars of the window in the cell of Frank Garing, William Burke, and Robert Pond. The reason there was no ring was because the bars were of wood.

The convicts had laboriously sawed thru the window bars, and had snapped them off. Pieces of wood were fashioned to take the places of the removed steel and the wood was painted so that on casual inspection the substitution could not be detected. But the tuning fork did.

Working Two Months. Warden Ragen, who recently returned to the management of the prison where he had become recognized as one of the ablest men engaged in prison work, said the convicts had been working toward an escape for at least two months. "They planned to climb down the outside of the prison on a foggy day or night," Ragen said, "and to go to the furniture factory where they would nail together an improvised ladder which would enable them to scale the wall. Sunday night might have been their night but we were a few moves ahead of them. Test All Prison Bars. "Every bar in the Stateville and Joliet prison is being tested. If any others have been cut we will discover them. The entire prison is undergoing a shakedown today. A shakedown means that every inch of the prison is searched, mattresses and pillows are opened and examined, and every possible hiding place inspected. Already we have found many knives."

The three occupants of the cell had used emery dust and a piece of steel to cut the bars, it was explained. Two Serving Life. Garing and Burke were sentenced in Cook county to life imprisonment as habitual criminals. Pond was sentenced in 1938 to one year to life from McLean county, and the parole board had ruled that he was to serve until 1949 after which he was to be turned over to the federal government to serve a 10 year sentence for a postoffice robbery.

Garing had been paroled several times on previous sentences, but each time returned to his old trade as a robber. Burke was also a repeater.

TRIBUNE Photo: .Warden Joseph E. Ragen inspecting bars sawed apart by Stateville convicts. They were discovered with tuning fork. (Story on page 17)

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"FBI Starts Wide Search for 7 Who Fled Prison," Chicago Tribune. October 29, 1942. Page 14. ---- The Federal Bureau of Investigation has organized a nation-wide hunt for Roger Touhy, Basil Banghart, and the five other outlaws who fled with them from Joliet penitentiary Oct. 9. This was announced yesterday by A. H. Johnson, agent in charge of the Chicago FBI office, after he had received a memorandum on the hunt from J. Edgar Hoover, FBI chief.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"TOUHY'S ESCAPE MADE AN ISSUE BY DEMOCRATS," Chicago Tribune. October 15, 1942. Page 4. ---- Springfield, Ill., Oct. 14 [Special].- Democratic candidates Raymond S. McKeough for United States senator and Benjamin S. Adamowski for congressman at large served notice tonight the recent escapes of Roger Touhy and Basil Banghart from Stateville penitentiary will be a campaign issue. Before fewer than one thousand people at a rally here the leaders of the Democratic caravan declared Gov. Dwight Green's administration "must be held accountable" for the jail break.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"PRISON ESCAPE QUIZ CENTERS IN SMUGGLED GUNS," Chicago Tribune. October 16, 1942. Page 17. ---- T. P. Sullivan, state director of public safety, conferred yesterday with Warden E. M. Stubblefield at Stateville prison on new developments in the search for the seven convicts who escaped last Friday. It was Sullivan's first appearance at the prison since Saturday, when he visited the scene of the escape with Gov. Dwight Green and heard the governor order a thoro inquiry. The inquiry centered in one question: How were the guns used in the break smuggled inside the prison walls? Guards reported that three guns were seen, and at least one was fired-a .45 caliber automatic pistol. Warden Stubblefield was continuing his examination of all staff members at the penitentiary. During the day Joseph Benard, 32 years old, a former guard, was given a lie detector test in the Chicago detective bureau. Lieut. Thomas Kelly said Benard was a guard in the prison from Aug. 6 to Oct. 1, when he resigned. His home is at 2817 Emerald avenue. After the test Lieut. Kelly said the questioning had revealed nothing to indicate that Benard had any con- nection with Roger Touhy and Basil Banghart, the leaders of the prison break.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Stateville Warden Quits; Sullivan In Charge," Chicago Tribune. October 19, 1942. Page 1 & 17. ---- GOVERNOR ACTS IN PRISON QUIZ: ASSAILS CRITICS ---- Orders New Guard Towers Built. ----- (Picture on page 17.) Warden Edward M. Stubblefield of Stateville penitentiary resigned last night within two hours after Gov.Dwight H. Green had placed the prison in chargeof T. P. Sullivan, state director of public safety.

Stubblefield issued this brief statement:

"I have tendered my resignation to the director [Sullivan] and the governor, effective immediately, in order that the director may have a free hand in a comprehensive and thoro investigation into the deplorable incident of a week ago last Friday.

"The incident to which Stubblefield referred was the escape of Roger Touhy, Basil [The Owl] Banghart, and five other convicts.

Sullivan took charge while Stubblefield was returning from Chicago, where the retiring warden presented his resignation to Gov. Green.

Promises Military Strictness. Sullivan promptly announced that the prison would henceforth be operated as tho it were a military institution, with full recognition of the desperate character of the inmates.

The safety director placed the military régime into effect as he entered the penitentiary to take charge. Instead of announcing himself and ordering the guards to let him in, he telephoned from the prison gate to Walter Moody, former chief of the state highway police who was appointed deputy warden last week.

Moody hurried to admit him, but Sullivan insisted upon passing thru the so-called electric eye gate, where an electric beam detects any metal upon the person entering. [The seven convicts who escaped carried gunsthat had been smuggled into the prison.]

Submits Himself to Search. Sullivan surrendered his pearl handled revolver before taking the electric eye test. He turned his suitcases over to guards for search.

"Everybody who enters the prison;from this time on will go thru them electric eye," said Sullivan.

Sullivan emphasized that Stubblefield's resignation was voluntary and that its acceptance implied no criticism of the retiring warden.

No criticism of Stubblefield came from the governor, who is personally is directing the inquiry into the escape. Stubblefield himself has blamed they escape on the fact that the war and9 defense industries have taken 120 of his guards in the last two years, and that he has been forced to replace them with inexperienced men.

Family to Move Soon. Stubblefield and his wife and daughter remained in their quarters at the prison last night. The ex-warden said that they will move as soon as possible to his farm home-estead at Brighton, in Macoupin county, where he was formerly sheriff.

Stubblefield has been in public life for 20 years. He was an assistant warden under previous governors. In 1934 Alfred M. Landon, then governor of Kansas, engaged him as assistant warden of the Kansas prison at Lansing, where he remained until 1937. Gov. Green made him warden of the Stateville and Joliet prisons a year ago. The two prisons are under one management, with an assistant warden in charge at Joliet under the warden's direction.

Gov. Green issued this statement relative to increasing the efficiency at the prisons yesterday before sending Sullivan to take charge: "In keeping with my promise to advise the people of the results of the Investigation into the shocking escape of seven convicts from the Stateville prison, Oct. 9, I am stating to the public those conclusions made after a week of intensive inquiry into every phase of the prison break and outlining the immediate steps to remedy the faults revealed. I have devoted the most of my own time to the inquiry, and since I personally went to Stateville and inspected the prison and questioned guards and other witnesses I have received constant reports from officials of the state penal administration.

"Loose statements regarding conditions at Stateville prison and circumstances of the prison break have been both spoken and written. Some of them are utterly without foundation, made doubtless in the effort to convert the escape into political capital as the election draws near. So that the public may be rightly informed, the situation at Stateville now, and before the escape of the Touhy-Banghart gang, should be clarified.

Tells Personnel Difficulties. "Conditions have existed at Stateville prison which call for remedies.

These conditions have been caused largely by the almost insurmountable obstacle of obtaining the best personnel. I am sure that every one realizes the serious deterioration of service in every line of effort except in concentrated war industry. It has been exceedingly difficult to maintain the high standards of efficiency and regard for duty which activated the prison force prior to the enlisting of so many men in the military services and the enticement of high wages in industry. Steps to alleviate this condition insofar as possible had already been taken before the prison break. They are being pursued now with the utmost diligence.

"This investigation will continue until the last true fact is determined and any inexcusable laxity, any collusion with convicts, any coddling of convicts on the part of any prison employé will be dealt with summarily, and if warranted, will be punished to the limit of the law. I have inspected Stateville prison several times and undoubtedly it is equipped physically with the best facilities. In fact, I have heard it referred to as 'America's model prison.'

Human Element Big Factor. "Having provided these facilities, the state must depend on the human element as the other great factor in proper administration and possibly this latter element is even of greater importance than physical conditions. When the human element is weakened, or becomes confused and incompetent, penal administration is seriously handicapped.

"So as to assist in lightening this burden, concentrating on precision efficiency and intensively training available personnel, I have directed T. P. Sullivan, director of public safety, to take charge of the Stateville and Old Prison at Joliet at once.

"Thru his many years of work in criminology and penology, Sullivan is nationally recognized as an authority on both. When the department of public safety was created, Sullivan, who had headed the division of crime detection, was chosen as director of the new department because of his wide experience and his excellent record. Sullivan has made all phases of criminology his career, and only recently his success was further recognized when he was elected vice-president of the International Assoclation of Chiefs of Police.

Gives Him Full Authority. "Sullivan has been given full-authority to take any steps necessary to correct the faults that have become apparent and not return to his full duties as director of public safety until he can report that this has been done. Any possible future adjustments or changes in administration of the prison will depend on that report. There is one thing certain -we do not intend that there shall be any more prison breaks in Illinois.

"I have discussed necessary changes with Director Sullivan. Several of these are being accomplished now and the others will be undertaken at once. Until we can improve the quality of the personnel, which we also are striving to do, most of these changes will increase physical safeguards even beyond ordinary requirements so that the least possible dependence will be placed upon manpower.

"Guard towers at Stateville are to be increased by five and the first concrete will be poured tomorrow.

Police Reënforce Guards. "State highway policemen, fully armed and instructed to take no chances, have been assigned to re-enforce the guards in the towers and squad cars are patroling outside the walls.

"Guards will not be permitted to drive their own cars to the towers. Instead, they will be conveyed in squad formation, dropping the relief man at each tower as is done on military reservations. Guards also will be assigned to different towers each day and kept unaware of their locations until guard mount. Because of the failure of new guards to realize the efficiency of the telephone, a push-button alarm system will be installed, so that a guard, even when lying on the floor, can push a button and indicate the location of a disturbance.

"Desperate and cunning criminals will be kept separated, even if it is necessary to remove them from Stateville to the cell blocks in the old prison.

"Closer search is being made of all persons entering or leaving the prison. Closer inspection is being made of all incoming shipments of supplies. Older and more experienced guards have been instructed to report all evidence of fraternizing between guards and prisoners."The attempt to make political capital out of the prison break and statements that civil service regulations have been ignored are almost too fantastic to call for comment, but because these statements really emanate from the inability to obtain experienced personnel the true facts shall be presented."

A civil service examination for prison guards was held last spring and the list of those who passed it was exhausted within 40 days. With 350 men employed, the turnover then, and now, reaches the alarming rate of 50 men a month.

A great number of state employés in all departments have entered the armed forces, and a man mentally and physically competent to serve as a first rate prison guard can earn three times more in industry. After this first list was exhausted replacements were made under provisional civil service appointments subject to future examination.

"That examination was advertised 60 days ago and will be held Oct.24. The list closed Sept. 19. Recent guard replacements at Stateville have been made, and are being made, from those who will take that examination and their retention, regardless of any partisanship, will be subject entirely to their examination rating.

"I am sure this refutes the statements referred to and establishes our desire to obtain the best possible prison personnel. The investigation will be continued until every possible way to improve Stateville prison and its administration has been adopted."

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"FIND TOUHY MOB HAD FIRE BOMBS HIDDEN IN PRISON," Chicago Tribune. October 13, 1942. Page 13. ---- Multitude of Tips Fails in Hunt for Felons. ---- Three liquid filled electric light buths left behind by the seven convicts who shot their way out Stateville penitentiary last Friday, were found last night to be incendiary. The colorless liquid in the bulbs was gamine, according to T. P. Sullivan, state director of public safety. The improvised hombs had fuses of cotton Selvan said that once the fuses were lighted, the bombs could be exploded by burning them upon the ground, so that they would scatter flaming gasoline. Report by Keeler The report as to the nature of the bombs was made by Leonarde Keeler, state police criminologist.

Sullivan said the convicts evidently had bidden the bombs in the prison storeroom before they invaded it to take the ladder with which they scaled the wall Had they met effective resistance, the safety director said, the desperadoes would doubtless have tried to spread confusion within the prison with flames.

Police telephones and radios buzzed yesterday with reports on Roger Touhy, Basil Banghart and the other convicts who escaped with them.

Banghart was reported to have been seen in Chicago, getting his car greased in a service station at West Grand avenue. Touhy and four companions were reported to have threatened a truck driver four miles west of Paw Paw, Mich. From many parts of Illinois came telephone calls that the convicts had been seen.

But all seven were still at large last night, and many of those closest to the investigation were willing to bet that not one of them had stirred from the hideout to which they are believed to have fled. Surveys Scene of Break Col. Frank D. Whipp, státe superintendent of prisons, surveyed the se of the break. George A. Barr, Jolet attorney, conferred with War des E. M. Stubblefield. Barr, a brother of State Sen. Richard J. Barr [41st] of Joliet, said later he had only offered his assistance to the warden. Police were called to the Grand evenue service station by Ben Skulnik, the owner, after a nervous man with a weapon in his car called there and asked for a quick greasing job. Osborn Jackson, a Negro attendant accidentally had pushed a coat off the weapon in the back seat while serv Icing the car and had been reprimanded by the owner, who Osborn said resembled Banghart. The weapon was said to have been a machine gun. No Such Wisconsin Numbers. The supposed Banghart had de parted when the police arrived. Jackson gave them the Wisconsin license number he had recorded, but Wisconsin authorities said there was no such number. Erving White, Paw Paw truck driver, told police he met a man who looked like Touhy with four other men west of Paw Paw. White offered the men help when he found them repairing their car, but one pointed a sawed off shotgun at the truck driver and ordered him on his way White said the other men all were armed. A palice blockade falled to trap the men and police said they might have been hunters. Warden Stubblebeld reported that he received a telephone call from New York from a man who identified him self as a police captain but mumbled his name so that the warden could not understand it. The caller reported that five of the convlets had just alighted from a train and said: "There was one wrong guy in that bunch and we are going to take care of him." Touhy's brother, Edward, was questioned at Madison, Wis. by Lieut. William McCarthy of the state's attorney's police. It had been waspected that the man who had frequently visited Touhy in prison under the name of Edward Touhy was not the gangster's brother, but was a member if the gang, arranging the escape Edward, Madison bartender, said, however, that it was be who visited Truhy MCarthy said Edward denied all knowledge of the gangster's whereabouts, and said he wouldn't tell even it he knew.

The car in which the convicts fed from the prison was returned yesterday to its owner, Guard Herman Kross, from whom the fugitives stole 1. The automobile was found abandoned Saturday night in Villa Park. The police removed its license plates before returning it. lest acme official who had not heard of its recovery might suspect the convicts were in side and fire upon It.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Hunt 7 In Touhy Escape," Chicago Tribune. October 10, 1942. Pages 1, 6, 7 & 8. --- GANG CHIEF AND 4 PALS FLEE IN PRISON BREAK ---- Roll Call Reavels 2, Others Gone. ---- BY WARREN BAKER. (Pictures on pages 6, 7, and 8.) Seven desperate convicts, all facing the prospect of spending the rest of their lives in prison, were hunted late last night, hours after a desper ate break over the walls at Stateville prison, near Joliet.

Five of them, headed by Roger [Terrible] Touhy, head of the old northwest side gang that kidnaped John [Jake the Barber] Factor, es- caped in an assault that ended in the wounding of two guards and a civilian employé.

Touhy Heads 5 in Break. Those with Touhy were:

Basil The Owl] Banghart, Touhy's former machine gunner who is known to police as one of the most vicious criminals of modern times.

James O'Connor, an undersized lifer who has escaped twice before from Stateville. The first time he got out hidden in a desk he had helped to build in the carpenter shop. The second time he went over the wall when some one turned out all the prison lights.

William Stewart, lanky 43 year old bandit sentenced to life as an habitual criminal.

Matthew Nelson, 40 years old, one of Stewart's Chicago associates in a bandit gang, also sentenced to life as an habitual criminal.

Discover Two More Missing. Hours after the escape, when Warden E. M. Stubblefield had returned from a business trip to Springfield, a roll call of the inmates was taken. Then it was found that two more convicts were missing, but whether they had escaped in the confusion could not be learned for certain before every foot of the prison and its huge grounds had been searched. The two are:

Edward Darlak, 31 year old mur derer of a Chicago policeman, serving 199 years.

St. Clair McInerney, 31, a safe blower and bandit who also is serving life as an habitual criminal.

Four and five guards manned each tower last night, and worked in relays hunting Darlak and McInerney.

Gov. Dwight H. Green said last night that he was "shocked" when informed of the prison break. He added that every facility of the state will be put in operation not only to bring the men back to prison, but to and out how they escaped.

Far Flung Manhunt Begins. One of the biggest and most widely flung manhunts the state ever has known was set in operation as soon as word of the escapes reached city, county, and state police. Every state policeman on the rolls was called into service and scores set to patroling highways and barricading intersections. The state's attorney's police, with a number of city policemen who could recognize the convicts, were sent out in squads to patrol old Touhy haunts and to aid the state forces.

Reports came pouring in from allsides late last night. The convicts had been seen in Downers Grove, in Naperville, on route 56 headed for Chicago. But the hottest of these reports came from two state policemen operating a barricade at Wolf road and Lake street [route 20].

They had stopped about five cars on each side of the intersection and were questioning occupants, when a dark car answering the general description of that in which the five escaped came roaring west on Lake street, and swung wide of the stopped automobiles.

Heads Car Toward Policeman. Policeman Benjamin Webb jumped out into the path of the car, waving his revolver. The car increased its speed, turned out its lights, and headed for Webb. He leaped out of the way just in time and it sped thru the intersection at 75 to 80 miles an hour and on westward.

The two policemen chased it to York road, about two miles, but never caught sight of it again. They then reported to their station by phone and the alarm was spread north, south and west of the point where it vanished. The policemen fired several shots.

State's attorney's police also were busy all night searching for those who recently had visited any of the convicts. Hunt Tony's "Brother." Madison, Wis. pollce were asked by Capt. Daniel Gilbert of the state's attorney's office to look for Edward Touhy, supposed brother of Roger Touhy, whom prison records list as having visited the gangster six times.

His latest visit, according to the records, was in Sept. 21. Capt. Gilbert said that Touhy was the only one of the escaped convicts who received more than one or two visits in the last year.

He expressed skepticism regarding the alleged relationship of the visitor, if Touhy had a living brother named Edward, he said, the state's attorney's office never had heard of him. He suggested that the "brother" may have been a member of the Touhy mob who posed as a relative in order more readily gain permission to visit the gangster.

Jall Driver Explains Visit. A deputy sherif, Jerry Kalal of Des Paines, who drives the bus bearing prisoners from the county jail to the state prison, also was listed as a visitor to Touhy and was questioned.

His explanation that he had visited Touhy to Inquire about some prop erty owned by the Thuhy family in Des Plaines was accepted.

Police visited Mrs. Hasel Kushn of 5659 Grover street, sister of Matthew Nelson. She and her husband, Albert, said that they had not seen Nelson since they visited him in prison in July and August of 1941. They said they had received no calls from the escaped felon. Police Visit Darlak Helatives. Police also called upon Edward Dur sister, Mrs. Mildred Roces, 541 Barber street, and his mother, Mrs. Pauline Darlak, 1257 West 14th place Two of Darlake's four brothers, Fred and Paul, who live with their mother. also were questioned. Two other brothers, Casimir and Loule, live in Chicago. Police searched the North Clark street taverns in the hope of finding Stewart, whom they relied w arrested in a Clark street gin mill.

Capt. Gilbert ordered a guard for Buck Hendricks former county high- way policeman, whose testimony as a state witness was instrumental in Touhy's conviction.

The guard for State's Attorney Courtney also was ordered tightened, and the detective squad car that normally follows the state's attorney was ordered to redouble its vigilance.

STORY OF THE ESCAPE The full story of the spectacular daylight foray inside the prison came out laze in the evening when Warden Stubblefield and Safety Director T. P. Sullivan questioned the prison personnel. After the inquiry, double investigation was opened, first to learn by what means four pistols were smuggled into the prison to the convicts - all were armed save Touhy and, second, whether Darlak and McInerney were in or out of the place.

From the stories of the guards and trusties who saw or were forced to take part in the break it was learned that the action started about 1:40 pm.

First warning came when a convict later identified as Touhy dashed from the bakery, in which he worked, to the convict driver of a garbage truck. Touhy, armed with a pair of scissors, ripped the shirt and slashed the forehead of the convict, Jack Cito, knocked him down, and leaped into the truck. He drove eff at high speed across the prison yard.

Cuts Telephone Wires. He drove to the mechanical shop where he rushed in and confronted Samuel Johnson, the guard on duty. He snipped the telephone wires with his scissors and, as at a signal. Banghart came thru a window with a gun.

In the mechanical store are kept number of sections of ladders locked in racks. Touhy and Banghart demanded two sections, one at 40 feet and another 30 feet long. As Johnson was unlocking the ladders, under the menace of Banghart's gun. Lieut. George Cotter, in charge of the mechanical shop, arrived on the scene. Banghart and Tray leaped on the Lieutenant beating him with their weapons, and dumped him into the truck, taking Johnson along, too. The ether three convicts were waiting is the truck.

Guard Shot in Forehead. Touhy and Banghart then headed the track for the northwest corner of the prison, to the area guarded by tower No. 3. As they neared the wall several of them opened fire en Guard Herman Kross in the tower. Kross was struck in the forehead by a bullet and fell.

The convicts then put up the long section of the ladder, making Johnson help them after beating him and tearing his shirt off. They took Johnson up the ladder with them. Kross had crawled inside the tower and was found dazed in a corner.

"Here's the key," one of them said, pointing to Kross' key to the door leading from the outside of the prison to the tower stairway. (There is no way to reach the tower from inside the prison.)

Hanging from its usual hook was the rope with which the tower guards lower the door key to the guard relieving them and up which they draw their lunches and coffee. Other convicts had searched Kross and had taken the key to his automobile, parked outside the prison at the foot of the tower stairs.

Flee In Guard's Auto. They then seized two rifles, part of the tower armament, and a heavy plated Kross wore, together with 15 or 20 rounds of extra ammunition for each gun, and calmly went down the tower stairs, unlocked the door, and left in Kross' light auto.

Kross, still dazed from his wound. was brought back to the prison last night from his home in Lockport, to which he had been taken after the break.

He said when he saw the truck coming toward the wall he saw prison officers on it and had started back for his rifle when he was felled by the bullet. He said he heard only two shots - four were fired, other witnesses said - and and he hesitated to shoot because he was afraid of hitting other guards. He said he was still dazed when a convict reached the tower and shoved him into a corner and took his gun.

Foreman Seized and Escapes. William Dahler, foreman of the mechanical shop, revealed during the questioning of guards, that he had been slugged and had suffered a bad scalp wound when Touhy and Banghart jumped him before they con fronted Johnson In the store room He was put into the track, too, but during the confusion of subduing Johnson and Lieut. Cotter, he escaped.

Warden Stubblefeld said after the Inquiry that there are about 2,800 inmates now in the prison. On guard over them are 240 men in three shifts. The warden said his turnover of guards had been 85 per cent in the last year because of the low pay - $115 to $135 a month - and because many of the men have left for war jobs or entered the armed services.

A count of the convicts is taken three times a day, 5:39 m. 4:30 p.m. and 9 pm. All were accounted for at the morning count, but there were seven sheet at both counts later in the day. Secretary Calls Police More than an hour elapsed after the escape of the four before Chicago police were notified. Then Warden Stubblefield's secretary called police head-quarters and told meager details of the break, naming Touhy and Banghart and a man named Connors. The secretary said she did not know the name of the fourth man.

It was nearly three hours before the state's attorney's staff were able to get the complete list of the fleeing convicts. Wilbert Crowley, first assistant state's attorney, demanded the prison name all who had fed so his force would know whom to look for. Only then was he told that the third and fourth men were James O'Connor and Stewart.

Believe Banghart Planned It. The smoothness and thorouhness of the escape and its planning were credited by most authorities to Bang hart and O'Connor, Banghart was brought back to Illinois in 1554 after lending a $100,000 mail robbery in Charleston, S. C. for which he was sentenced to 36 years. He was sentenced here to 39 years for the Factor kidnaping in a separate trial and was sent to Menard prison.

In about a year he managed, with three other desperadoes, to obtain scissors from the prison tailor shop and cut his way out of the penitentiary. He was shot in the arm and captured within an hour. Banghart is supposed to have some thing more than $380,000 of his mail robbery proceeds cached somewhere in this area. Two others of the gang were sent down to Jollet with Touhy. [Banghart was sent there after his Menard escape.] They were Gloomy Gus Shaeffer and Albert Paily Nosel Kator. Schaeffer died while in prison.

SEEK BANGHART'S GIRL The sweetheart of Basil Banghart, who broke out of Stateville prison yesterday, was one of the persons police wanted to question about the escape. She is Mae Block, some times known as Mrs. Basil Banghart., a dark haired, attractive woman, who gave birth to a daughter in 1914 at Asheville, N. C, while Banghart was awaiting trial for a $100,000 mall truck robbery.

After that robbery $81,000 of the foot was not recovered, and there were reporta that Banghart had buried it in Chicago. Banghart was sentenced to 34 years Imprisonment for the robbery but since he was al ready under a 90 year sentence In Illinois for the John Factor kidnaping, he was returned here to serve that term.

Pardoned by Governor. Soon after the mall robbery trial the Blalock woman was arrested in Tennessee on a state charge of kid naping Rufux Costner, a brother of Ike Costner, who was convicted with Banghart for the mall holdup. She was convicted and sentenced to 45 years in prison in 1936.

Two years later the governor of Tennessee pardoned her, declaring he thought the kidnaping charge was fictitious. She promptly agreed to help show the authorities where the balance of the mail loot could be found.

In company with the chief of detectives of Charlotte, N. C, the Bis lock woman came to Chicago in September, 1928 to hunt for the buried treasure It was never found, but police suspected she knew where it was hidden.

Nothing has been heard from her since the treasure hunt. She has not been among Banghart's recent visitors at the prison.

"KIDNAPING PAIR, LONG NOTORIOUS, IN FOR 99 YEARS," Chicago Tribune. October 10, 1942. Page 6. ---- In Gang of Killers That Battled Capone. ---- Roger Touhy and Basil Banghart, who escaped yesterday from Stateville penitentiary, were members of a notorious gang of killers, kidnapers, and bootleg operators. For years they fought the Capone gang, and after Al Capone was sent to prison, the Touhys were undisputed masters of Chicago's underworld.

Roger Touhy was the boss of the gang. Banghart, known "The Owl," was the gang's machine gunner. Both were sentenced to 99 years in prison in 1934 for the $100,000 ransom kidnaping of John [Jake the Barber] Factor. Gus Schaefer and Albert Kator were sentenced to thesame terms for the same crime.

At his trial Touhy accused Factor of staging a fake abduction to prevent his return to England where he faced trial for an alleged stock swindle. Touhy carried his appeal to the United States Supreme court, which denied his application for a writ of habeas corpus in 1938.

Two Brothers Slain. The Touhy brothers [Roger, James, Thomas, John, Joseph, and Edward] grew up in the neighborhood of Polk street and Damen avenue. Their father was a policeman - an honest one and a good one, his associates said. The boys' mother was burned to death accidentally when they were youngsters.

From petty thefts they went to burglaries and then to bootlegging. The roster of the brothers dwindled. James died in the penitentiary. John was killed by a stray bullet in a tavern. Joseph was killed in a gun fight. Edward died a natural death.

That left only Thomas and Roger, who organized the gang that became known as "The Terrible Touhys."

For a while the Touhy gang had a working agreement with the Capone gang, under which they divided territories for the sale of bootleg liquor. Eventually the truce was broken, and a war between the gangs raged for several years. The full story of this war has never been told, but many an "unsolved" murder was laid to the strife.

Judge's Home Bombed. In 1939 part of the story came out when an unnamed convict told the state's attorney's office how several sensational crimes were committed. One of these was the mysterious bombing of the home of Judge John P. McGoorty in 1932. The blast blinded a boy who was passing by, and a woman lost the sight of one eye.

This crime, said the convict, was committed by the Touhys in order to add to the public clamor for the return to prison of their deadly enemy, James [Fur] Sammons, a gunner for the Capone gang.

The convict also blamed Roger Touhy for the 1932 ambush murder of George [Red] Barker, a Capone killer. This slaying was to avenge the killing of Timothy J. Lynch, czar of the teamsters' union, in the previous year.

Repeal of prohibition cut off the Touhy gang's rich sources of income, and they turned to bank robberies, kidnapings and efforts to muscle into labor unions. Thomas Touhy concluded his career by taking part in a $78,000 mail holdup in the Minneapolis station of the Milwaukee road on Jan. 3, 1933. He and seven others were sentenced to 23 years for this crime and they are still in federal prison.

That left Roger as the last of the brothers. With Banghart as his chief aid, he kidnaped Factor, and was sent to prison for 99 years. Police say he turned "cry baby" when he got behind prison walls and spent all his time complaining and plotting ways to escape or to have his sentence voided.

The real toughened criminal of the gang, according to police, is Banghart. His break yesterday was his fourth escape from prison. In 1927 he escaped from the federal penitentiary at Atlanta, Ga., along with the notorious Gerald Chapman. Captured at South Bend, Ind., he shot his way out of the city jail while awaiting extradition.

Shot in Chase. Banghart was recaptured in Baltimore, Md., and returned to Chicago for trial as one of the Factor kidnapers. Sentenced to 99 years, he was sent to Menard prison, where he staged his third prison break by smashing thru the prison gates in a commandeered truck with three other prisoners.

About nine miles from the prison the truck crashed into an automobile. Pursuing prison guards then caught up with the fugitives. Banghart was shot in the arm during the roundup that followed. Soon afterward he was transferred to the old state prison in Joliet, where the most hardened criminals usually are confined.

"POLICE RECORDS OF FELONS WHO ESCAPED PRISON," Chicago Tribune. October 10, 1942. Page 7. ----- (Story starts on page 1.) Figures in Escape ---- 'Terrible' Touhy Leader of Ruthless Gang. ---- Here are the criminal records and descriptions of the five convicts who escaped and the two reported missing from Stateville prison yesterday: ROGER TOUHY - 45 years old. 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighs 139 pounds; of medium build; has chest- nut hair mixed with gray; light blue eyes. He was the leader of the "Terrible Touhy" gang that ruled the liquor traffic on the northwest side during prohibition days. Later the gang turned to bank robberies, kidnapings, and muscling in on labor unions. Touhy was convicted only once - for the kidnaping of John Factor - and was serving a 99 year sentence.

BASIL BANGHART - 41 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs 152 pounds; has light blue "slanty" eyes and chestnut hair, medium gray. Police describe him as the toughest man who ever walked into the Chicago detective bureau. In the old gang days he was known as the machine gunner for the Touhy mob. Banghart also was serving a 99 year sentence for the Factor kidnaping, but he is also under another 36 year sentence for a mail truck robbery in Asheville, N. C.

JAMES O'CONNOR - 36 years old, 5 feet 4 inches tall; weighs 158 pounds; orange-green slanty eyes; chestnut hair. He was serving a term of 1 year to life for armed robbery imposed in 1932, but earlier he served a sentence for assault to rob. Yesterday was his third escape from the penitentiary. In May, 1932, O'Connor and a pal concealed themselves in a desk while at work in the prison furniture factory and broke free from a truck outside the prison walls. Later that year he was shot and captured during an attempted robbery. In 1936 he made his second escape from Stateville, climbing a cleverly contrived ladder resting against the 33 foot wall after throwing the entire prison into darkness by pulling the master switch. He was captured in January, 1937, in Kenosha, Wis., and returned to prison.

WILLIAM STEWART - 43 years old, 6 feet tall, medium build: dark hair mixed with gray; light hazel green slanty eyes. He was sentenced Nov. 14. 1937 on a plea of guilty to robbery. Under the habitual criminal act he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

MATTHEW NELSON, ALIAS MARTIN NEWTON - 40 years old, 5 feet 95 inches tall; weighs 149 pounds; medium build, sallow complexion, chestnut hair and blue eyes. He was a member of Stewart's robbery gang. and like him was sentenced Nov. 14. 1937 to life imprisonment under the habitual criminal act.

ST. CLAIR McINERNEY - 30 years old. 5 feet 8 inches tall; weighs 157 pounds, medium build, chestnut hair, fair complexion, blue eyes. He was serving a life term under the habitual criminal act, imposed in 1937 after he was caught while attempting to blow a safe in the Swedish club, 1258 North La Salle street. In 1932 he had been granted probation after he confessed to four robberies. The probation was voided, and he was sentenced to one year to life for burglary. He was paroled after serving two years. 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 141 pounds, medium build, fair complexion, chestnut hair, hazel eyes. He was serving a 199 year sentence for the murder of Policeman Thomas Kelma during a holdup in 1935. One of his companions in the holdup, Frank Banks, who confessed firing the fatal shots, committed suicide by hanging himself in his county jail cell. "Roger Touhy, Basil Banghart, and Five Others Escape from Stateville," Chicago Tribune. October 10, 1942. Page 8. ---- [From top left] An aerial view of Stateville prison, near Joliet, with important buildings located. Seven of its inmates were reported to have escaped yesterday. They included the notorious gangsters Roger Touhy, kidnaper of John Factor, and Basil Banghart. Warden E. H. Stubblefield (seated) and guards who figured in the jailbreak drama. Left to right, standing: T. P. Sullivan, state director of public safety, and Guards Herman Kross, Samuel Johnson, Glenn Harris, and Lieut. George Cotter.

Here is the northwest corner of the Stateville prison wall, with Tower No. 3, the guard of which was shot as the desperadoes made their escape. Within 45 minutes all highways within 25 miles of the scene were blocked by state police. Illinois highway police stopping motorist last night as they searched for Statesville fugitives. Tower No. 3 at Statesville prison, from inside the walls. Broken line shows where felons placed ladder to escape.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Ragen Named Warden of 2 State Prisons," Chicago Tribune. October 21, 1942. Pages 1 & 15. ---- BY JAMES DOHERTY. Joseph E. Ragen, warden of theStateville prison and superintendent of prisons under the late Gov.Henry Horner, was appointed warden of Stateville and Joliet prisons yesterday by Gov. Dwight H.Green.

He announced his acceptance last night and Joseph E. Ragen said he was pleased to return to his old job. He left it 20 months ago to take a job offered him by the government. His return followed a conference with the governor.

"Warden Ragen will have complete authority in hiring and firing all subordinates insofar as both actions are in compliance with the civil service law," Gov. Green announced.

Satisfied with Powers. Ragen said that was highly satisfactory. He explained that he may remove a prison guard immediately by suspension, after which the suspended employé is entitled to a hearing by the civil service board. In hiring assistants he will have wide latitude, Ragen said.

"When there is a vacancy a requisition is made to the civil service commission, which sends the person at the top of the eligible list," he explained. "If I don't like that person's looks, actions, words, or manners I have the right to reject him. If I take him on I have 90 days in which to see if he is qualified. I may discharge him any time within 90 days without a trial."

In making the appointment Gov. Green declared that he had sought to persuade Ragen not to resign in February, 1941. He said he sent Rodney Brandon, director of public welfare, to Ragen to assure him he would be retained during the new administration and would have a free hand. Assumes Duties Monday. Ragen will take up his duties on Monday at the two prisons, which are only a few miles apart. Meanwhile, T. P. Sullivan, director of public safety, will be in charge. Sullivan assumed control Sunday night after Warden Edward M. Stubblefield tendered his resignation to the governor and it was accepted. After the arrival of Ragen, Sullivan will devote his time to the investigation of the escape Oct. 9 of seven convicts from the Stateville prison.

Ragen's return to the prison was hailed by Gov. Green, Lieut. Gov. Hughe W. Cross, Sullivan, and others in authority as the solution to one of the state's most vital problems.

In his former days as prison boss, Ragen had been given hearty approval by the Chicago Crime commission, by sociologists, penologists, and dcriminologists, and spokesmen for civic organizations.

Recently, Ragen has been employed as superintendent of plant protection at the plant of the Pressed Steel Car Company, Inc., which is engaged in war work. His employers were reluctant to let him go.

Lauds His Competency. "Ragen is one of the most capable men it has ever been my good for tune to meet," said Ernest Murphy, vice president of the company, and Ragen's immediate superior. "We hate to let him go and we wouldn't only that we are convinced he can be of more service to the public as an employé of the state."

"He developed a plant guard sytsem, a fire prevention system, and many safety measures for the plant. He had charge of all safety measures, personnel, and hiring."

In announcing the appointment, Gov. Green said: "Ragen, as former warden of the Menard and Stateville penitentiaries and as superintendent of prisons, has had considerable experience in penal administration, and for that reason I asked him to reënter the state service." Favors Military Régime. "When Warden Stubblefield re-signed voluntarily, I conferred wit hRagen and found him in accord with me on the necessity of instituting what amounts to a military régime so as to meet and overcome the handicaps which confront us.

"Because of the number of men taken into the armed services and the high wages paid in industry, it has been exceedingly difficult to find efficient prison guards. The turnover in the prison force has been large, and it has been necessary to take men on provisional civil service rating pending the examination to beheld soon."

"Altho Stateville is a well equipped prison, it will be necessary to adopt improvements not ordinarily needed to prevent escapes or disturbances. At my suggestion, Sullivan already has made several changes in routine and disciplinary measures.

Give Him Full Responsibility. "The Stateville and Joliet prisons have been placed absolutely in Ragen's charge. He understands that their administration is up to him entirely and that he, and he alone, is responsible for what goes on there.

"He has been assured that there will be no interference with his control of the prison and all requests or suggestions concerning the prison or prisoners will be referred to him for his decision. Ragen is the new warden and to him will be entrusted the responsibility of administration without interference.

"In unsubstantiated statements regarding the prison break of the seven convicts, those who have attempted to make political capital out of it have said that there was political interference in the prison administration and that jobs were put on a partisan basis. I am sure that the appointment of Ragen, who served under a former administration, answers any such statements without further comment from me."

Hopes to Give Raises. Director Sullivan, at Statesville, said his aids had given lie detector tests to additional guards and convicts yesterday in sifting their stories of the escape. He added that ground was broken for the erection of five new towers to augment those now on top of the prison walls.

"I am also trying to make suitable financial arrangements that will be of benefit to the prison system," Sullivan said. "Harry Nebel, chief clerk and fiscal supervisor of the department of public safety, is here today looking over the records and scanning the appropriation lists to see if additional money can be found.

"If it can be done, I will ask the governor to grant some pay raises. In that way we may be able to hold some of the abler men who are now being tempted to leave us for better paying jobs, and we may be able to attract better men as replacements for those who go into war work."

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Ragen One of 3 Hinted as New Prison Warden," Chicago Tribune. October 20, 1942. Page 1. ---- Speculation yesterday as to whom Gov. Green will appoint as warden of the Stateville and Joliet prisons to succeed Edward M. Stubblefield, who resigned Sunday, featured the name. of Joseph R. Ragen, who served as warden of the two penitentiaries from 1935 to 1941. Also mentioned were Police Chief Nicholas Fornango of Joliet and Arthur Bennett, warden at the Pontiac prison. State officials explain that T. P. Sullivan, state director of public safety, who took personal charge of the prisons Sunday night, is not expected to remain there indefinitely for among his other activities is the investigation of the escape on Oct. 9. of seven convicts led by Roger Touhy and Basil [Owl] Banghart. Sullivan's major concern at present is in building up the strength of the guard personnel. Sullivan Temporary in Job. Gov. Green, in dispatching Sullivan to the Stateville institution, made it clear he did not intend that the safety director remain there as warden. Sullivan himself said he thought his first job was to make certain that no more breaks occur and to do every thing possible to get trace of the es caped convicts who have remained hidden successfully for the last 10 days. The Federal Bureau of Investigation yesterday joined in the manhunt after federal warrants were issued charging the seven convicts with failure to report to draft authorities within five days after they left prison. The government officials were interested previously, it was explained, because Banghart is under a sentence of 36 years in federal prison for a mail robbery. Seeks Pay Raise for Guards. The authorities thought the convicts, whose escape was will planned. had arranged for a hideout wherein they may now be having their faces altered by a plastic surgeon. It was believed likely they would seek to change their finger prints with the aid of surgery and acids. Sullivan told reporters yesterday that he is seeking more pay for the prison guards. Both Gov. Green and Director Sullivan have said that they urged Ragen to remain as warden when the new administration took office. But Ragen felt he should accept a federal job. When that job - registration of aliens - was completed, Ragen became superintendent of plant protection for a large concern doing defense work. Chief Fornango of the Joliet force was mentioned as another possibility when it became known that state officials had been trying for some time to induce him to take a job as captain of state police in charge of the Joliet area. Bennett, formerly sheriff of Du Page county, is regarded by state officials as a thoroly competent warden eligible for promotion.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"CLAIMS 1 OF GANG WHO FLED PRISON HELD HIM IN CAR," Chicago Tribune. October 15, 1942. Page 17. ---- Forced to Drive Convict to Gary, Victim Says. ---- Search for the escaped convicts from Stateville penitentiary turned to the vicinity of Hammond and Gary last night after a former Cook county assistant state's attorney reported that he had been seized and forced to drive there by one of the gang. The victim, Charles P. Kal of 6721 South Maplewood avenue. identified pictures of Matthew Nelson, one of the convicts, at the Hammond police station, as the man who rode with him. Kal said this man. was accompanied by a woman, or a man in woman's clothing.

Kal, who is also a former assistant corporation counsel, said he was driving in Southwest highway south of 95th street yesterday when the man and woman asked for a lift. He stopped and the man sprang in beside him, threatening him with a revolver. The woman stepped into the rear seat and pressed a metal object against the back of his neck. The couple forced Kal to drive. to an interurban line west of Gary, according to his story, and the man jumped from the car. The women pressed the object against Kal's neck again and told him to drive back whence he came. She jumped from the car in Whiting. Kal said he drove to Hammond, where he reported to the police and identified the pictures of Nelson. Hammond police said he also looked at pictures of Edward Darlak, another of the escaped convicts, and said that the woman might have been Darlak in woman's clothes. Kal reported the matter to Lieut. Thomas Kelly of the state's attorney's police upon returning to Chicago. Kelly drove over the original route with Kal, but saw no trace of the man and woman. Police squads continued searching the district last night.

Nelson and Darlak were two of the five convicts who escaped from the prison last Friday with Roger Touhy and Basil Banghart.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"THE STATEVILLE BREAK." Chicago Tribune. October 14, 1942. Page 16. ---- The escape of Touhy, Banghart, and their companions from Stateville penitentiary is the first untoward incident in the prison system during the two years that Gov. Green has spent at Springfield. No one recognizes the seriousness of the event better than the governor himself, who has devoted virtually every minute of his time since the escape to investigating it. The administration of the prison system and of every state institution, for that matter, is not an easy task during the present shortage of man power. Jobs as prison guards, which only a few years ago were such minor political plums that the holders were willing to pay regular assessments into the Democratic campaign chest, have lost their attraction. It is a poor sort of a man who can't step out and earn more than $127 a month, which is what the guard gets. The staff of prison employés has been depleted by the draft and by men taking more attractive jobs in industry. Neither those who were left nor those who have been brought in to fill the vacancies are as capable as would be desired and could be demanded in normal times. The circumstances of the Touhy escape leave little ground for doubt that there was a care. fully formed conspiracy and, in all likelihood, complicity within the walls of the prison. The governor, it may be recalled, first established his reputation by the careful digging up of evidence against just such gangsters as Touhy and Banghart. Those talents now should stand him in good stead in his efforts to solve the escape and cure the weakness that made it possible.