Jean Crompton, left, Helen Gillis, and Marie Conforti, read about the shootout at Little Bohemia while in custody the following day.
The stage is set
Even Hollywood gets involved;
next round's on Hamilton
Melvin Purvis, head of the Chicago office and one of Hoover's favorite agents, received word about the gang shortly before 1 p.m. He immediately called in agents and started making arrangements to go to Wisconsin. Hoover was notified and private planes were chartered and fueled to leave as soon agents could get to the airport.
Hoover ordered agents in the St. Paul office to also go to Little Bohemia. Purvis would coordinate the Chicago team, and Assistant FBI Director Hugh Clegg would supervise the St. Paul team, and assume overall command of the operation in Wisconsin. Planes would leave from both cities and land in Rhinelander, near the Little Bohemia lodge.
Within an hour, Purvis had nearly 20 agents in the office. Eleven would go with him by air, the others would drive. The agents left in two chartered planes, one belonging to film actress Ann Harding. From the beginning, things went wrong. Both pilots were unsure exactly where when Rhinelander was, and without proper flight charts, had to use basic road maps to guide them. They frequently went off course, and the flight was so rough that one of the pilots got airsick. It took nearly three hours, but they finally landed at Rhinelander, about 90 miles by car from the lodge.
About the time the agents were trying to navigate with road maps, the gang was packing up to leave. They had decided to leave that night rather than in the morning, and would leave as soon as Reilly and Cherrington returned from St. Paul. They asked Mrs. Wanatka to prepare an early dinner. She assumed her brother was able to reach the FBI, but was fearful they would arrive too late, and that the gang would kill her and her husband to keep them quiet.
At about 4 p.m., as the gang was sitting down to dinner and Mrs. Wanatka was working in the kitchen, she noticed a car pull into the driveway. It was Reilly and Cherrington. With the whereabouts of the FBI unknown, it appeared the gang would be leaving and would once again avoid capture - and she and her husband might lose their lives.
Surprisingly, however, she said the pair simply sat in the car staring at the lodge. A moment later, she would testify, Reilly backed up and quickly drove away. She didn't know what to think. At that moment, the FBI was was less than an hour's flight from Rhinelander.
After dinner, the gang gathered in the bar to await Reilly's return. They had no idea a nervous Reilly was parked off the road less than a mile.
A group of men from a nearby town had stopped in for drinks and one of them, a husky tavern owner, noticed Hamilton didn't have a drink and offered to buy him one. Hamilton thanked him, but said he didn't drink.
Damn you," shouted the man, jerking Hamilton out of his chair. "You'll drink with me, or I'll pour it down your mouth."
Hamilton turned to Wanatka and smiled. "This man is pretty tough." He took a drink. Then the husky man asked Hamilton if he was going to buying a round for everyone. Hamilton smiled and ordered the round, then quietly left the bar. The husky man had no idea that he had just bullied one of the most wanted men in America - or that Hamilton had a loaded .45 under his coat, and had freely used it in the past.
Meanwhile, 17 FBI agents were gathering on the runway in Rhinderlander.
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Hoover ordered agents in the St. Paul office to also go to Little Bohemia. Purvis would coordinate the Chicago team, and Assistant FBI Director Hugh Clegg would supervise the St. Paul team, and assume overall command of the operation in Wisconsin. Planes would leave from both cities and land in Rhinelander, near the Little Bohemia lodge.
Within an hour, Purvis had nearly 20 agents in the office. Eleven would go with him by air, the others would drive. The agents left in two chartered planes, one belonging to film actress Ann Harding. From the beginning, things went wrong. Both pilots were unsure exactly where when Rhinelander was, and without proper flight charts, had to use basic road maps to guide them. They frequently went off course, and the flight was so rough that one of the pilots got airsick. It took nearly three hours, but they finally landed at Rhinelander, about 90 miles by car from the lodge.
About the time the agents were trying to navigate with road maps, the gang was packing up to leave. They had decided to leave that night rather than in the morning, and would leave as soon as Reilly and Cherrington returned from St. Paul. They asked Mrs. Wanatka to prepare an early dinner. She assumed her brother was able to reach the FBI, but was fearful they would arrive too late, and that the gang would kill her and her husband to keep them quiet.
At about 4 p.m., as the gang was sitting down to dinner and Mrs. Wanatka was working in the kitchen, she noticed a car pull into the driveway. It was Reilly and Cherrington. With the whereabouts of the FBI unknown, it appeared the gang would be leaving and would once again avoid capture - and she and her husband might lose their lives.
Surprisingly, however, she said the pair simply sat in the car staring at the lodge. A moment later, she would testify, Reilly backed up and quickly drove away. She didn't know what to think. At that moment, the FBI was was less than an hour's flight from Rhinelander.
After dinner, the gang gathered in the bar to await Reilly's return. They had no idea a nervous Reilly was parked off the road less than a mile.
A group of men from a nearby town had stopped in for drinks and one of them, a husky tavern owner, noticed Hamilton didn't have a drink and offered to buy him one. Hamilton thanked him, but said he didn't drink.
Damn you," shouted the man, jerking Hamilton out of his chair. "You'll drink with me, or I'll pour it down your mouth."
Hamilton turned to Wanatka and smiled. "This man is pretty tough." He took a drink. Then the husky man asked Hamilton if he was going to buying a round for everyone. Hamilton smiled and ordered the round, then quietly left the bar. The husky man had no idea that he had just bullied one of the most wanted men in America - or that Hamilton had a loaded .45 under his coat, and had freely used it in the past.
Meanwhile, 17 FBI agents were gathering on the runway in Rhinderlander.
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