Willie Sutton

He married Louise Leudemann in 1929 with whom he had one daughter. She divorced him while he was in jail.

He married his second wife Olga Kowalska in 1933.

His prison sentence was suspended in 1969 due to his good behaviour in prison and failing health and he became a free man.

Willie Sutton was born into an Irish-American family in Brooklyn to William Francis Sutton Sr., a blacksmith and his wife. He had four siblings.

He did not study beyond the 8th grade at school and dropped out to find a job. He legally worked for a short time as a clerk, a driller and a gardener. But, he soon turned to crime at a young age.

He began his criminal career in 1919 at the age of 18 when he robbed the office of a friend’s father with the help of two of his friends. The trio stole $16,000, but was soon caught. No charges were pressed against them.

During 1924–25, he along with a friend worked for a burglary team headed by one of the biggest safecrackers of that time, Edward Tate. Willie learned a lot about the art of burglary from him.

He became a prolific burglar in 1930, committing a total of seven burglaries or attempted burglaries, targeting mostly jewellery stores or banks. He was arrested in 1931, but managed to escape in 1932 using a smuggled gun.

Along with two accomplices, Willie, disguised as a policeman burglarized the Corn Exchange bank, New York in 1933. The same year he attempted to rob the Corn Exchange National Bank & Trust, Philadelphia, but an alert employee foiled the plan. He returned in 1934 with two accomplices and made off with more than $20,000.

He was apprehended in 1934 and sentenced to life imprisonment, but he again escaped, this time disguised as a prison guard.

In 1930, Willie entered the H&L Gross Jewelry Store in New York posing as a customer. He then robbed the owner at gunpoint and made off with jewelry worth $30,000.

In the same year, he along with five accomplices including two women, entered the Richmond Hill National Bank and handcuffed some of the employees. They forced the manager to open the vault and hand over to them $19,000.

Willie, disguised as a telegraph messenger entered the J.Rosenthal & Son Jewelry Store when an employee opened the door to receive the telegram. His accomplice followed and they both bound the employees. They ran off with jewelry worth $129,000.

He, along with two accomplices burglarized the Corn Exchange bank, New York, in 1933 by pretending to be a policeman. Willie held the doorkeeper at gunpoint while the others managed the employees. The manager was forced to open the vault, and the robbers fled with $23, 000.

Willie had made an unsuccessful attempt at robbing Corn Exchange Bank & Trust Co. in 1933 but he returned the next year to complete the task. Accompanied by two of his most trusted accomplices and armed with guns, they handcuffed the employees and forced the manager to open the vault and hand over $21,000.