Willie Sutton
Photo Source; FBI

Bank robbery is a very risky business, Willie Sutton knew this, and that's why he landed up in jail several times. He had personality and the public became taken with him to a certain extent. Once somebody asked him why he robbed banks and his famous reply was "because that's where the money is". Even Sutton, who was considered a very good bank robber, spend more time behind bars than free. But Sutton was NOT a nice guy even though he seemed so when interviewed. When he went on bank jobs he always carried a pistol or machine gun. True he never used them but would he if he had to? Willie actually made the FBI's 10 most wanted list in the 1950s. Willie Sutton was the most famous bank robber of his time.

Willie Sutton was born on June 30, 1901 in Brooklyn, New York. He left home after the eighth grade to get a job. The longest length of employment he ever had was for 18 months. In 1929 he married but this didn't last long because he was arrested and sent to jail and when this happened she decided to divorce him. Sutton was a very unusual man for a criminal. Before he died he wrote two books, " I, Willie Sutton" and "Where the Money Was." As time went on Willie Sutton acquired two nick names, "The Actor" and "Slick Willie. He was given these nicknames because he wore many different disguises when he robbed banks. It was very strange, even the people he robbed said he was very polite to them.

On February 15, 1933 Sutton decided to rob the Corn Exchange Bank and Trust Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He wore the disguise of a mailman but the robbery went afoul when a passerby became very curious, so they called the robbery off. He returned on January 15, 1934. Sutton let himself into the bank through a skylight along with two other men. He then forced the watchman to let the employees in. As the employees entered they were handcuffed and put in a small room. But as much as Sutton liked banks, he also liked the occasional jewelry store. He robbed a jewelry store on Broadway, in New York City, in broad daylight. For that job he made believe he was delivering a telegram. Sometimes Sutton would disguise himself as a policeman, mailman, maintenance man or messenger. One thing Sutton would like to do was get to the place he wanted to rob before it opened.

Another thing that Sutton was good at was escaping from jails. In June, 1931 he was sentenced to 30 years for robbery and assault. On December 11, 1932 he escaped from prison by climbing over the wall. He had pieced together a ladder. He was eventually caught on February 5, 1934 and this time he was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in Eastern State Penitentiary at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. But they couldn't hold him. On April 3, 1945 Sutton broke out of this jail too. He escaped through a tunnel with 12 other convicts. He was captured the same day. This was his 5th escape attempt at this prison. Now Sutton was sentenced to life because he was a 4 time offender. He was now transferred to Philadelphia County Prison in Homesburg, Pennsylvania. He then proceeded to escape from this prison. He and several other prisoners were able to dress like prison guards. They carried two ladders to the wall. The search light was on them. Sutton waived to the tower and yelled it's ok and no one bothered him. He was soon gone.

When he made the FBI's most wanted list and they distributed his photograph they also sent the photo to tailors. The reason for this was the fact that it was well known that Sutton had a taste for expensive clothes and this taste would cause him grief. He was spotted on the New York subway in 1952 by a tailor's son who called the authorities. The man then followed Sutton and Sutton was soon arrested.

Sutton became very ill while in prison and was awatting a major operation. The New York State authorities took pity on him, he was now 68 years old. He had been serving 2 life sentences and 105 years. He was released from Attica State Prison. Sutton was very famous and even did some bank commercials on TV. Willie Sutton died on November 2, 1980 in Spring Hill, Florida at 79 years old.