Who belongs where?
The major gangs
The
(A note to readers: Books often refer to “The First Dillinger Gang” and “The Second Dillinger Gang.” It reality, Dillinger never really led a gang. He was a member of two high profile gangs and because of his notoriety the press dubbed them “The Dillinger Gangs.” For simplicity sake, we will refer to them as such here. Also, all members of the gangs were not always present together. Members came and went depending on gang needs.)
The First Dillinger Gang (known in the press as The Terror Gang): Harry Pierpont (the actual leader), Charles Makley, Russell Clark, John Dillinger, Eddie Green, Edward Shouse and Harry Copeland. Shouse, the getaway car driver, was cut from the gang when he made advances on Dillinger’s girlfriend (Clark would become the driver); Copeland was cut because his excessive drinking made him unreliable. Green, mistaken for Dillinger in the dark, was gunned down by the FBI not long after the gang was formed. (This gang was most noted for a string of successful bank robberies in a short time.)
The Second Dillinger Gang (the First Nelson Gang): George “Baby Face” Nelson (real name Lester Gillis, was the accepted leader although he was violent and unstable and members often turned to Dillinger for direction); John “Red,” “Three-Fingered Jack” Hamilton; Homer Van Meter and Tommy Clark (the gang’s driver). The gang’s gofer was Pat Reilly, a St. Paul bartender. (Most noted for a shootout at the Little Bohemia Lodge.)
The Second Nelson Gang: Nelson (leader), John Paul Chase, Jack Perkins, Jimmy Murray, and Joseph “Fatso” Negri. (Most noted for the gang’s luck in evading both the police and the syndicate.)
The First Barrow Gang: Clyde Barrow (leader), Bonnie Parker, W.D. Jones, Ivan “Buck” Barrow, and Blanche Barrow (Buck’s wife), Raymond Hamilton and Ralph Faults. Clyde generally did the driving. (Most noted for two wild shootouts and a string of murders.)
The Second Barrow Gang: Barrow (leader), Parker, Jones, Hamilton, Joe Palmer and Henry Methvin. (Most noted for a major Texas prison break and the double murder of Texas Highway Patrolmen on Easter Sunday morning.)
The Barker-Karpis Gang: Alvin Karpis (not "recognized" leader but the brains of the gang and who made many of the decisions), Freddie Barker (who shared decision-making with Karpis), his brother Arthur “Doc” Barker, Larry DeVol, Volney Davis, Jess Doyle, Bill "Lapland Willie" Weaver, Harry Campbell, Fred Hunter, "Shotgun” George Ziegler, Sam Coker, Bryon Bolton, and Russell Gibson. The gang's major gofer was Willie Harrison. (Most noted for the kidnappings of Minnesota millionaire William Hamm and St. Paul banker Edward Bremer, and their ability to keep to the shadows and leave so few clues.)
Contrary to some books and J. Edgar Hoover himself, Arizona Kate “Ma” Barker, the mother of Freddie and Arthur, was not the leader of the gang and was never involved in the planning of any crime. An elderly woman, she was simply housed in various apartments in various cities as the gang moved. Freddie often stayed with her, and she spent her days doing jigsaw puzzles and listening to what Karpis called “Hillbilly music.” Veteran bank robber Harvey Bailey once said of her: "Mastermind? She couldn't plan breakfast."
The George “Machine Gun” Kelly Gang: Kelly, his wife Kathryn (who really called the shots), Eddie Bentz, Albert Bates, Thomas Holden and Francis Keating. (Most noted for the kidnapping of Oklahoma City millionaire Charles F. Urschel.)
Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd Gang: Floyd (leader), Adam Richetti and George Birdwell. (Most noted for their alleged participation in the Kansas City Massacre, although that has never been firmly established.)
The Newton Boys: Willis (leader), Wylie (“Dock”), Jesse and Joe Newton, and Brentwood Glasscock. (Most noted for a train robbery which allegedly netted more than $2 million. Participating in the robbery were James Murray and Herbert Holliday.)
The Brady Gang: Al Brady (leader), James Dalhover, Clarence Lee Shaffer Jr., and Charles Geisking. (Most noted for a shootout on the streets of Bangor, Maine, in which Brady and Shaffer were killed and Dalhover arrested.)
The Bailey-Underhill Gang: Harvey “Old Harve” Bailey, Wilbur “The Tri-State Terror” Underhill (leaders), Frank “Jelly” Nash, Jim Clark and Frank Sawyer. (Most noted for a string of high-yield bank robberies.)
The three principal players also had other links to history. Nash is most remembered as one of the five victims of the Kansas City Massacre. Bailey and Underhill were initially suspected of having participated in the massacre which was a failed attempt to free Nash from federal custody. Bailey went so far as to write a detailed letter to the FBI noting he could not have participated because he was busy robbing a bank in a different state at the time.
In an ironic twist, Bailey was later convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. He was linked to the kidnapping of Charles Urschel simply because he had the misfortune of hiding out at the ranch where Urschel had been held when the FBI raided it. He initially thought he was arrested for the massacre and was shocked to learn he was charged in connection with the kidnapping.
The Klutas Gang (known as The College Kidnappers): Theodore "Handsome Jack" Klutas (leader and an alumnus of the University of Illinois), Edward Doll, Russell Hughes, Frank Souder, Gale Swoley, Ernest Rossi, Eddie Wagner, Earl McMahon, Julius "Babe" Jones, and Walter Dietrich. (Noted for kidnapping mobsters and holding them for ransom. A profitable but highly dangerous way to make money.)
(A note to readers: Books often refer to “The First Dillinger Gang” and “The Second Dillinger Gang.” It reality, Dillinger never really led a gang. He was a member of two high profile gangs and because of his notoriety the press dubbed them “The Dillinger Gangs.” For simplicity sake, we will refer to them as such here. Also, all members of the gangs were not always present together. Members came and went depending on gang needs.)
The First Dillinger Gang (known in the press as The Terror Gang): Harry Pierpont (the actual leader), Charles Makley, Russell Clark, John Dillinger, Eddie Green, Edward Shouse and Harry Copeland. Shouse, the getaway car driver, was cut from the gang when he made advances on Dillinger’s girlfriend (Clark would become the driver); Copeland was cut because his excessive drinking made him unreliable. Green, mistaken for Dillinger in the dark, was gunned down by the FBI not long after the gang was formed. (This gang was most noted for a string of successful bank robberies in a short time.)
The Second Dillinger Gang (the First Nelson Gang): George “Baby Face” Nelson (real name Lester Gillis, was the accepted leader although he was violent and unstable and members often turned to Dillinger for direction); John “Red,” “Three-Fingered Jack” Hamilton; Homer Van Meter and Tommy Clark (the gang’s driver). The gang’s gofer was Pat Reilly, a St. Paul bartender. (Most noted for a shootout at the Little Bohemia Lodge.)
The Second Nelson Gang: Nelson (leader), John Paul Chase, Jack Perkins, Jimmy Murray, and Joseph “Fatso” Negri. (Most noted for the gang’s luck in evading both the police and the syndicate.)
The First Barrow Gang: Clyde Barrow (leader), Bonnie Parker, W.D. Jones, Ivan “Buck” Barrow, and Blanche Barrow (Buck’s wife), Raymond Hamilton and Ralph Faults. Clyde generally did the driving. (Most noted for two wild shootouts and a string of murders.)
The Second Barrow Gang: Barrow (leader), Parker, Jones, Hamilton, Joe Palmer and Henry Methvin. (Most noted for a major Texas prison break and the double murder of Texas Highway Patrolmen on Easter Sunday morning.)
The Barker-Karpis Gang: Alvin Karpis (not "recognized" leader but the brains of the gang and who made many of the decisions), Freddie Barker (who shared decision-making with Karpis), his brother Arthur “Doc” Barker, Larry DeVol, Volney Davis, Jess Doyle, Bill "Lapland Willie" Weaver, Harry Campbell, Fred Hunter, "Shotgun” George Ziegler, Sam Coker, Bryon Bolton, and Russell Gibson. The gang's major gofer was Willie Harrison. (Most noted for the kidnappings of Minnesota millionaire William Hamm and St. Paul banker Edward Bremer, and their ability to keep to the shadows and leave so few clues.)
Contrary to some books and J. Edgar Hoover himself, Arizona Kate “Ma” Barker, the mother of Freddie and Arthur, was not the leader of the gang and was never involved in the planning of any crime. An elderly woman, she was simply housed in various apartments in various cities as the gang moved. Freddie often stayed with her, and she spent her days doing jigsaw puzzles and listening to what Karpis called “Hillbilly music.” Veteran bank robber Harvey Bailey once said of her: "Mastermind? She couldn't plan breakfast."
The George “Machine Gun” Kelly Gang: Kelly, his wife Kathryn (who really called the shots), Eddie Bentz, Albert Bates, Thomas Holden and Francis Keating. (Most noted for the kidnapping of Oklahoma City millionaire Charles F. Urschel.)
Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd Gang: Floyd (leader), Adam Richetti and George Birdwell. (Most noted for their alleged participation in the Kansas City Massacre, although that has never been firmly established.)
The Newton Boys: Willis (leader), Wylie (“Dock”), Jesse and Joe Newton, and Brentwood Glasscock. (Most noted for a train robbery which allegedly netted more than $2 million. Participating in the robbery were James Murray and Herbert Holliday.)
The Brady Gang: Al Brady (leader), James Dalhover, Clarence Lee Shaffer Jr., and Charles Geisking. (Most noted for a shootout on the streets of Bangor, Maine, in which Brady and Shaffer were killed and Dalhover arrested.)
The Bailey-Underhill Gang: Harvey “Old Harve” Bailey, Wilbur “The Tri-State Terror” Underhill (leaders), Frank “Jelly” Nash, Jim Clark and Frank Sawyer. (Most noted for a string of high-yield bank robberies.)
The three principal players also had other links to history. Nash is most remembered as one of the five victims of the Kansas City Massacre. Bailey and Underhill were initially suspected of having participated in the massacre which was a failed attempt to free Nash from federal custody. Bailey went so far as to write a detailed letter to the FBI noting he could not have participated because he was busy robbing a bank in a different state at the time.
In an ironic twist, Bailey was later convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. He was linked to the kidnapping of Charles Urschel simply because he had the misfortune of hiding out at the ranch where Urschel had been held when the FBI raided it. He initially thought he was arrested for the massacre and was shocked to learn he was charged in connection with the kidnapping.
The Klutas Gang (known as The College Kidnappers): Theodore "Handsome Jack" Klutas (leader and an alumnus of the University of Illinois), Edward Doll, Russell Hughes, Frank Souder, Gale Swoley, Ernest Rossi, Eddie Wagner, Earl McMahon, Julius "Babe" Jones, and Walter Dietrich. (Noted for kidnapping mobsters and holding them for ransom. A profitable but highly dangerous way to make money.)