WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.480 Have you ever caught yourself watching one of 00:00:02.480 --> 00:00:05.900 those slick 1930s gangster movies? Oh, you mean 00:00:05.900 --> 00:00:07.820 the ones with the tailored pinstripe suits? Yeah, 00:00:07.820 --> 00:00:11.720 exactly. The suits and the fedoras tilted just 00:00:11.720 --> 00:00:13.720 right. Right, where the mastermind criminals 00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:16.510 are executing these flawless clockwork... bank 00:00:16.510 --> 00:00:18.769 heists. And they just look effortlessly cool 00:00:18.769 --> 00:00:21.429 and untouchable the whole time. I know exactly 00:00:21.429 --> 00:00:23.230 the vibe you're talking about. Well, today we 00:00:23.230 --> 00:00:25.989 are going to grab that polished Hollywood veneer 00:00:25.989 --> 00:00:28.350 and peel it right back. We really are. Because 00:00:28.350 --> 00:00:30.530 our mission for this deep dive is to look at 00:00:30.530 --> 00:00:34.450 the gritty and chaotic and frequently botched 00:00:34.450 --> 00:00:37.270 reality of a life of crime. Specifically during 00:00:37.270 --> 00:00:40.170 the infamous public enemy era. Right. And our 00:00:40.170 --> 00:00:42.530 source material for this journey is a highly 00:00:42.530 --> 00:00:46.009 detailed Wikipedia article chronicling the life 00:00:46.009 --> 00:00:48.609 and the incredibly bizarre death of John Hamilton. 00:00:48.890 --> 00:00:51.049 Also known as Red Hamilton. Yes, Red Hamilton, 00:00:51.329 --> 00:00:54.929 a Canadian born gangster from the 1920s and 30s. 00:00:54.950 --> 00:00:57.890 And a key heavy hitting associate of none other 00:00:57.890 --> 00:01:00.670 than John Dillinger. It's so great to have you 00:01:00.670 --> 00:01:02.810 here to dig into this. It is great to be diving 00:01:02.810 --> 00:01:04.819 into this with you. Where should we start? Well, 00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:07.040 to really set the mood for our analysis today, 00:01:07.219 --> 00:01:09.819 I want you to imagine the visual backdrop for 00:01:09.819 --> 00:01:11.760 our discussion. Okay, I'm picturing it. Picture 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:15.420 a classic 1930s -style police evidence board 00:01:15.420 --> 00:01:17.640 right behind me. Oh, like the cork boards with 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:20.939 the pushpins. Exactly. We're talking grainy black 00:01:20.939 --> 00:01:23.680 -and -white mugshots pinned to the board. Lots 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:26.019 of newspaper clippings with those blaring sensational 00:01:26.019 --> 00:01:29.359 headlines. And a chaotic, sprawling web of red 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:31.819 string. Connecting all the various bank heists 00:01:31.819 --> 00:01:34.000 and shootouts. And the hideouts screeching all 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:36.920 across the American Midwest. That visual really 00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:39.079 puts you right in the shoes of the detectives 00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:41.560 trying to track this guy down. It does. Because 00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:43.719 I want you to imagine what it really takes to 00:01:43.719 --> 00:01:45.640 become a public enemy. It's not what the movies 00:01:45.640 --> 00:01:48.000 show. No, spoiler alert right out of the gate 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:51.359 here. It is mostly just sheer panic. Terrible 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:53.819 split -second decisions. And a whole lot of running 00:01:53.819 --> 00:01:56.579 in the dark. So true. So let's start at the very 00:01:56.579 --> 00:01:59.549 beginning. Who is the man behind the mugshot? 00:01:59.670 --> 00:02:02.390 Let's get into his origins. John Hamilton was 00:02:02.390 --> 00:02:07.329 born on August 27, 1898, up in Bing Inlet, Ontario. 00:02:07.590 --> 00:02:10.770 To an Irish -Canadian father and a German -American 00:02:10.770 --> 00:02:14.289 mother. Which is, uh... A rather unassuming origin 00:02:14.289 --> 00:02:17.650 point. It really is. When we analyze the great 00:02:17.650 --> 00:02:21.110 American gangsters of the 1930s, we don't typically 00:02:21.110 --> 00:02:24.310 picture a kid from a small logging community 00:02:24.310 --> 00:02:26.729 in Ontario. Right. You think of Chicago or New 00:02:26.729 --> 00:02:29.610 York. Exactly. But his story moves south of the 00:02:29.610 --> 00:02:31.889 border pretty quickly. And that's where the mythology 00:02:31.889 --> 00:02:34.349 really begins to take shape. The nicknames start 00:02:34.349 --> 00:02:37.330 flying. Oh, yeah. Before he even really... get 00:02:37.330 --> 00:02:40.710 started in his major criminal career, he picks 00:02:40.710 --> 00:02:43.129 up one of those classic, distinctly underworld 00:02:43.129 --> 00:02:45.689 nicknames. The papers called him Three Finger 00:02:45.689 --> 00:02:48.069 Jack. Now you might assume he got a name like 00:02:48.069 --> 00:02:50.830 that from some gritty underworld torture session. 00:02:51.169 --> 00:02:54.030 Or a bank vault door slamming on his hand during 00:02:54.030 --> 00:02:56.289 a getaway. Right, that sounds so cinematic. But 00:02:56.289 --> 00:02:58.349 nope. Nope. He lost two fingers on his right 00:02:58.349 --> 00:03:01.030 hand in a childhood sledding accident. A sledding 00:03:01.030 --> 00:03:03.289 accident. Just a normal winter kid thing gone 00:03:03.289 --> 00:03:06.430 wrong. It is a stark reminder of the era. long 00:03:06.430 --> 00:03:09.969 before modern safety standards or advanced reconstructive 00:03:09.969 --> 00:03:12.289 surgery. Yeah, definitely. But from an operational 00:03:12.289 --> 00:03:14.909 standpoint, that missing pair of fingers on his 00:03:14.909 --> 00:03:17.530 dominant hand would become his most defining 00:03:17.530 --> 00:03:19.949 physical characteristic. And as we'll see later, 00:03:20.069 --> 00:03:21.949 when we look at the pop culture surrounding him, 00:03:22.069 --> 00:03:24.250 it makes some of his Hollywood portrayals quite 00:03:24.250 --> 00:03:26.750 amusing. We will definitely get to the Hollywood 00:03:26.750 --> 00:03:28.789 treatment. But let's jump to the turning point 00:03:28.789 --> 00:03:31.409 in his life, the moment that really solidifies 00:03:31.409 --> 00:03:36.349 his path into the underworld. March. 1927. Right. 00:03:36.430 --> 00:03:39.069 Hamilton gets busted for robbing a gas station 00:03:39.069 --> 00:03:41.610 in Indiana. Just a single run -of -the -mill 00:03:41.610 --> 00:03:44.270 gas station. And for that crime, he is slapped 00:03:44.270 --> 00:03:48.349 with a staggering 25 -year prison sentence. 25 00:03:48.349 --> 00:03:50.729 years? Just wait a quarter of a century for a 00:03:50.729 --> 00:03:53.250 single gas station. I know. That seems wildly 00:03:53.250 --> 00:03:55.490 disproportionate, doesn't it? What's fascinating 00:03:55.490 --> 00:03:58.469 here is how that incredibly harsh, seemingly 00:03:58.469 --> 00:04:01.840 punitive sentence... completely backfired on 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:03.960 the justice system. How so? Well, the intention, 00:04:04.099 --> 00:04:07.000 presumably, was to lock a petty thief away for 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:09.180 good and protect society. Sure, keep him off 00:04:09.180 --> 00:04:11.759 the streets. But instead of rehabilitation or 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:14.620 even just... basic deterrence. The Indiana State 00:04:14.620 --> 00:04:17.519 Prison effectively functioned as an elite networking 00:04:17.519 --> 00:04:21.439 event for the criminal underworld. Oh, wow. So 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:23.920 they basically locked him in a concrete box with 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:26.079 the worst people imaginable and hoped for the 00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:28.600 best. That is the tragic irony of the penal system 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:31.139 at the time. Yeah. The state's attempt to isolate 00:04:31.139 --> 00:04:33.899 him actually gave him the exact infrastructure 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:36.939 he needed to build a super gang. By throwing 00:04:36.939 --> 00:04:39.519 Hamilton into that specific environment in Michigan 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:42.610 City for Two and a half decades. The state guaranteed 00:04:42.610 --> 00:04:44.629 he would rub shoulders with the most ambitious 00:04:44.629 --> 00:04:46.769 criminals of his generation. While incarcerated, 00:04:46.970 --> 00:04:50.410 Hamilton befriends absolute heavy hitters. We're 00:04:50.410 --> 00:04:52.069 talking about John Dillinger. Russell Clark. 00:04:52.290 --> 00:04:54.670 Charles Makely. Harry Pierpont. And Homer Van 00:04:54.670 --> 00:04:57.170 Meter. This wasn't just a group of inmates passing 00:04:57.170 --> 00:04:59.329 the time. Not at all. This was the incubation 00:04:59.329 --> 00:05:01.750 of a massive criminal enterprise. It's like the 00:05:01.750 --> 00:05:04.110 Avengers, but for robbing banks. That is a perfect 00:05:04.110 --> 00:05:05.910 way to put it. And they formed an incredibly 00:05:05.910 --> 00:05:09.259 tight bond in there. They really did. and Dillinger 00:05:09.259 --> 00:05:12.360 actually ends up getting paroled first in May 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:15.529 of 1933. But he doesn't just walk away, get a 00:05:15.529 --> 00:05:17.629 legitimate job, and start a new life. No, he 00:05:17.629 --> 00:05:19.990 swears to liberate his friends. So Dillinger 00:05:19.990 --> 00:05:22.670 orchestrates this massive, highly coordinated 00:05:22.670 --> 00:05:25.449 smuggling operation from the outside. Getting 00:05:25.449 --> 00:05:28.250 handguns sneaked right into the prison. For Hamilton 00:05:28.250 --> 00:05:30.769 Makeley, Pierpont Clark, and the others. Which 00:05:30.769 --> 00:05:34.709 all culminates on September 26, 1933. With a 00:05:34.709 --> 00:05:37.170 massive 10 -man escape right out of the main 00:05:37.170 --> 00:05:40.149 gate of the Indiana State Prison. Walking out 00:05:40.149 --> 00:05:42.550 of the main gate of a state penitentiary is a 00:05:42.550 --> 00:05:45.310 brazen... operational success. It sounds impossible. 00:05:45.769 --> 00:05:48.449 It requires inside help, immense coordination, 00:05:48.750 --> 00:05:51.449 and sheer nerve. But the victory is incredibly 00:05:51.449 --> 00:05:53.949 short -lived. Because the landscape shifts almost 00:05:53.949 --> 00:05:56.029 immediately upon their exit. The newly freed 00:05:56.029 --> 00:05:58.389 gang quickly learns that their benefactor Dillinger 00:05:58.389 --> 00:06:01.069 had been busy on the outside. Very busy. He was 00:06:01.069 --> 00:06:02.910 arrested for bank robbery. And is now sitting 00:06:02.910 --> 00:06:05.910 in a cell in Lima, Ohio. So Dillinger broke them 00:06:05.910 --> 00:06:08.100 out. And now they have to return the favor. But 00:06:08.100 --> 00:06:10.259 jail breaks are not cheap. No, you need fast 00:06:10.259 --> 00:06:13.220 getaway cars, safe houses, bribes, and heavy 00:06:13.220 --> 00:06:15.439 weaponry. How do they pull together the capital 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:17.959 for a rescue operation? They do what they do 00:06:17.959 --> 00:06:21.610 best. On October 3, 1933... Hamilton and the 00:06:21.610 --> 00:06:24.670 gang roll into St. Mary's, Ohio, and rob a bank. 00:06:24.829 --> 00:06:28.529 And they walk away with $14 ,000. Which is pushing 00:06:28.529 --> 00:06:33.709 $348 ,000 in 2025 money. A massive war chest. 00:06:34.069 --> 00:06:36.449 And with that immediate influx of cash, they 00:06:36.449 --> 00:06:39.370 execute the Lima jailbreak just nine days later. 00:06:39.610 --> 00:06:43.069 On October 12, 1933. Hamilton accompanies Charles 00:06:43.069 --> 00:06:45.870 Mackley, Harry Pierpont, Russell Clark, and Ed 00:06:45.870 --> 00:06:49.050 Shouse to free Dillinger. But there is a very 00:06:49.050 --> 00:06:51.490 crucial detail we need to point out here about 00:06:51.490 --> 00:06:53.990 the Lima jailbreak. Right. While Mackley and 00:06:53.990 --> 00:06:57.230 Pierpont burst into the building and end up murdering 00:06:57.230 --> 00:06:59.790 Sheriff Jess Sarber during the escape. Hamilton 00:06:59.790 --> 00:07:01.889 actually stayed outside. He didn't enter the 00:07:01.889 --> 00:07:04.089 jail and he did not participate in the shooting 00:07:04.089 --> 00:07:06.370 of the sheriff. That is a distinction that matters 00:07:06.370 --> 00:07:08.829 in a courtroom. But... Out on the street in the 00:07:08.829 --> 00:07:10.689 eyes of the law enforcement community. They were 00:07:10.689 --> 00:07:12.629 all painted with the exact same brush. The gang 00:07:12.629 --> 00:07:14.870 was now officially responsible for the death 00:07:14.870 --> 00:07:17.889 of a lawman. And that fundamental shift escalates 00:07:17.889 --> 00:07:20.029 the manhunt. They aren't just hunting bank robbers 00:07:20.029 --> 00:07:23.149 anymore. They are hunting cop killers. The rules 00:07:23.149 --> 00:07:26.629 of engagement completely change. And the escalation 00:07:26.629 --> 00:07:29.930 just keeps ramping up. By December 1933, the 00:07:29.930 --> 00:07:32.709 gang is feeling absolutely untouchable. They 00:07:32.709 --> 00:07:34.870 execute an armed invasion of a Chicago bank. 00:07:35.149 --> 00:07:37.990 Specifically targeting... The safe deposit boxes. 00:07:38.250 --> 00:07:40.850 They walk away with $50 ,000. Which today would 00:07:40.850 --> 00:07:44.009 be about $1 .24 million. They are flush with 00:07:44.009 --> 00:07:46.689 cash. Everything is going perfectly until... 00:07:46.689 --> 00:07:49.170 Until a massive mistake. Okay, let's unpack this. 00:07:49.310 --> 00:07:52.449 The absolute absurdity of how a multi -million 00:07:52.449 --> 00:07:54.470 dollar gang gets tripped up. It's almost hard 00:07:54.470 --> 00:07:56.750 to believe. Hamilton decides to leave his car 00:07:56.750 --> 00:07:59.069 at a Chicago garage to get some body work done. 00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:02.319 Considering the heat on them bringing a vehicle 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:04.579 linked to an underworld syndicate into a public 00:08:04.579 --> 00:08:07.339 garage for cosmetic repairs. It is a staggering 00:08:07.339 --> 00:08:10.040 lapse in judgment. It really is. The mechanic 00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:12.259 at this garage takes one look at the vehicle, 00:08:12.420 --> 00:08:14.959 gets suspicious of what he literally calls this 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:17.920 gangster car. And decides to call the cops. So 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:20.319 Hamilton strolls back to the garage to pick up 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:22.819 his ride, probably expecting to just pay his 00:08:22.819 --> 00:08:25.899 bill and drive off. And instead finds Detective 00:08:25.899 --> 00:08:28.160 William Shanley and two other officers waiting 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:30.449 for him. Hamilton doesn't hesitate. He opens 00:08:30.449 --> 00:08:32.929 fire. He kills Detective Shanley right there 00:08:32.929 --> 00:08:35.889 at the garage and somehow manages to completely 00:08:35.889 --> 00:08:38.269 elude the other two officers and escape into 00:08:38.269 --> 00:08:40.809 the city. If we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:08:41.009 --> 00:08:44.409 this specific incident at the Chicago garage 00:08:44.409 --> 00:08:47.549 is a watershed moment in criminal history. Oh, 00:08:47.570 --> 00:08:50.169 so? We are seeing the death of the local reactive 00:08:50.169 --> 00:08:53.110 police force and the birth of the modern proactive 00:08:53.110 --> 00:08:56.370 dedicated task force. So Hamilton didn't just 00:08:56.370 --> 00:08:58.929 kill a cop. He inadvertently forced law enforcement 00:08:58.929 --> 00:09:02.330 to modernize. Exactly. This systemic reaction 00:09:02.330 --> 00:09:04.950 to the murder of Detective Shanley forces the 00:09:04.950 --> 00:09:07.529 Chicago Police Department to form a dedicated 00:09:07.529 --> 00:09:11.049 40 -man Dillinger squad. Solely focused on taking 00:09:11.049 --> 00:09:14.389 them down. 40 cops with one singular job. The 00:09:14.389 --> 00:09:16.070 walls are really starting to close in. And it 00:09:16.070 --> 00:09:19.409 leads to even more chaos. On January 15, 1934, 00:09:19.710 --> 00:09:22.549 Hamilton and Dillinger hit a bank in East Chicago, 00:09:22.730 --> 00:09:25.429 Indiana. Grabbing over $20 ,000. But it's an 00:09:25.429 --> 00:09:27.970 absolute bloodbath. Police officer William O'Malley 00:09:27.970 --> 00:09:30.330 is killed. Now, Dillinger is officially charged 00:09:30.330 --> 00:09:33.009 with O'Malley's murder. But multiple witnesses 00:09:33.009 --> 00:09:36.070 on the scene point the finger directly at Hamilton. 00:09:36.350 --> 00:09:38.929 Saying he was the actual shooter. And Hamilton 00:09:38.929 --> 00:09:41.289 doesn't walk away clean either. He takes two 00:09:41.289 --> 00:09:43.549 bullets during this heist. So the pressure on 00:09:43.549 --> 00:09:45.929 the syndicate is now immense. The sheer volume 00:09:45.929 --> 00:09:48.470 of law enforcement resources dedicated to finding 00:09:48.470 --> 00:09:51.350 them makes large group movements impossible. 00:09:51.850 --> 00:09:54.870 The gang realizes they are too hot to stay together, 00:09:55.009 --> 00:09:57.429 so they make the strategic decision to scatter. 00:09:57.809 --> 00:10:00.470 Dillinger and several others head down to Tucson, 00:10:00.649 --> 00:10:03.409 Arizona. Where they are subsequently apprehended. 00:10:03.509 --> 00:10:06.330 Right, they get caught. Meanwhile, a badly wounded 00:10:06.330 --> 00:10:08.769 Hamilton goes deep underground. He's left in 00:10:08.769 --> 00:10:10.309 the care of his girlfriend, Pat Charrington. 00:10:10.830 --> 00:10:12.870 and an underworld physician by the name of Joseph 00:10:12.870 --> 00:10:15.730 Moran. And with Dillinger behind bars in Arizona, 00:10:15.990 --> 00:10:19.350 Hamilton briefly rockets to the very top of the 00:10:19.350 --> 00:10:21.789 public enemies list. He is the number one most 00:10:21.789 --> 00:10:24.090 wanted man in America. But that ranking only 00:10:24.090 --> 00:10:26.509 lasts until Dillinger pulls off his legendary 00:10:26.509 --> 00:10:28.850 escape from Crown Point. Dillinger gets out, 00:10:28.909 --> 00:10:31.230 tracks down Hamilton, and they put together a 00:10:31.230 --> 00:10:34.070 brand new gang. And... Listen to this roster. 00:10:34.210 --> 00:10:36.970 You've got Hamilton Homer Van Meter, Tommy Carroll 00:10:36.970 --> 00:10:40.090 Eddie Green, and the notoriously unhinged Babyface 00:10:40.090 --> 00:10:42.590 Nelson. It is certainly a formidable lineup on 00:10:42.590 --> 00:10:44.909 paper. But the operational discipline of the 00:10:44.909 --> 00:10:47.750 original gang is completely gone. They embark 00:10:47.750 --> 00:10:50.690 on a string of robberies that are lucrative. 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:54.480 but incredibly messy. The meticulous clockwork 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:56.700 planning we associate with these heists is replaced 00:10:56.700 --> 00:10:59.539 by sheer violence, paranoia, and desperation. 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:02.080 Here's where it gets really interesting because 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:03.960 the universe just starts throwing absolutely 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:06.500 wild curveballs at them. Just absolute chaos. 00:11:06.840 --> 00:11:09.419 Let's look at their hit in Sioux Falls. Babyface 00:11:09.419 --> 00:11:12.019 Nelson spots a motorcycle cop named Hale Keith 00:11:12.019 --> 00:11:14.759 and shoots him right through a plate glass window. 00:11:15.059 --> 00:11:17.100 Just senseless violence. And then they try to 00:11:17.100 --> 00:11:19.720 hit a bank in Mason City. And you will not believe 00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:21.700 this. What happened? Hamilton gets shot in the 00:11:21.700 --> 00:11:24.600 shoulder again, but not by the 40 -man Dillinger 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:27.799 squad. Not by the FBI. He gets clipped by an 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:30.179 elderly judge who happened to be looking out 00:11:30.179 --> 00:11:31.899 his window across the street and just decided 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:34.820 to open fire on the gang. An elderly judge? From 00:11:34.820 --> 00:11:37.580 across the street. Dillinger is wounded in that 00:11:37.580 --> 00:11:40.509 same shootout, too. The visual of a highly armed 00:11:40.509 --> 00:11:43.370 supergang being pinned down by a senior citizen 00:11:43.370 --> 00:11:45.970 from across the street perfectly illustrates 00:11:45.970 --> 00:11:48.450 the total breakdown of their operational security. 00:11:48.789 --> 00:11:50.529 They aren't just fighting law enforcement anymore. 00:11:50.789 --> 00:11:52.850 The entire public is turning against them. They're 00:11:52.850 --> 00:11:55.490 bleeding, they are exhausted, and they have absolutely 00:11:55.490 --> 00:12:00.090 no safe harbor. So on April 17, 1934, Hamilton 00:12:00.090 --> 00:12:02.649 and Dillinger make a desperate, discreet visit 00:12:02.649 --> 00:12:05.850 to Hamilton's sister. Up in Salt St. Marie, Michigan. 00:12:06.330 --> 00:12:08.289 They're just trying to find a friendly face and 00:12:08.289 --> 00:12:10.669 catch their breath. After that, the gang retreats 00:12:10.669 --> 00:12:12.950 to a place called the Little Bohemia Resort deep 00:12:12.950 --> 00:12:15.289 in the woods of Wisconsin. They were looking 00:12:15.289 --> 00:12:17.490 for sanctuary and isolation, but they walked 00:12:17.490 --> 00:12:20.370 directly into a trap. On April 22nd, the resort 00:12:20.370 --> 00:12:23.289 is raided by the FBI. The operation is directed 00:12:23.289 --> 00:12:26.730 by the famous Melvin Purvis. The bureau had received 00:12:26.730 --> 00:12:29.370 a tip from a friend of the resort's owner. But 00:12:29.370 --> 00:12:32.470 the execution of this raid was a complete tragedy 00:12:32.470 --> 00:12:35.669 of errors. It was an absolute disaster. The FBI 00:12:35.669 --> 00:12:39.350 approached the resort in the freezing dark. Tensions 00:12:39.350 --> 00:12:42.710 were incredibly high. And in that tense, paranoid 00:12:42.710 --> 00:12:45.870 atmosphere, the agents mistakenly opened fire 00:12:45.870 --> 00:12:48.490 on a car pulling away from the lodge. But it 00:12:48.490 --> 00:12:50.769 wasn't the gangsters in the car. It was three 00:12:50.769 --> 00:12:54.529 local work camp employees. The FBI kills a man 00:12:54.529 --> 00:12:58.090 named Eugene Borno and severely wounds John Hoffman 00:12:58.090 --> 00:13:00.809 and John Morris. Just innocent guys leaving a 00:13:00.809 --> 00:13:03.710 lodge who got caught in the crossfire of this 00:13:03.710 --> 00:13:06.710 massive federal manhunt. And while the FBI is 00:13:06.710 --> 00:13:09.169 busy shooting at the wrong people, the actual 00:13:09.169 --> 00:13:12.009 gang inside realizes what's happening. And the 00:13:12.009 --> 00:13:13.929 escape they make is something out of a nightmare. 00:13:14.330 --> 00:13:16.309 Dillinger, Hamilton Van Meter, and Tommy Carroll 00:13:16.309 --> 00:13:18.210 have to leap from a second floor back window. 00:13:18.429 --> 00:13:20.870 Imagine the physical agony of that. They land 00:13:20.870 --> 00:13:23.230 on a mound of frozen snow in the dead of winter. 00:13:23.409 --> 00:13:25.409 Scrambling into the freezing darkness while nursing 00:13:25.409 --> 00:13:27.610 fresh bullet wounds. They run along the shore 00:13:27.610 --> 00:13:30.149 of Star Lake, desperate to get away. And finally 00:13:30.149 --> 00:13:32.450 manage to steal a car from a local carpenter 00:13:32.450 --> 00:13:34.509 about a half mile down the road. They survive 00:13:34.509 --> 00:13:37.029 the night, but the sheer physical toll of jumping 00:13:37.029 --> 00:13:39.309 from windows and running through the freezing 00:13:39.309 --> 00:13:42.090 Wisconsin woods was immense. And their luck had 00:13:42.090 --> 00:13:44.889 finally run out. Just one day later, on April 00:13:44.889 --> 00:13:48.250 23rd, another shootout occurs. In Hastings, Minnesota. 00:13:48.549 --> 00:13:51.629 Another town, another shootout. But this is the 00:13:51.629 --> 00:13:53.549 final one for Three Finger Jack. As they are 00:13:53.549 --> 00:13:56.789 fleeing in the escape car, Hamilton takes a mortal 00:13:56.789 --> 00:13:59.570 wound. He's dying in the backseat. So they drive 00:13:59.570 --> 00:14:01.990 him all the way back to Chicago, back to that 00:14:01.990 --> 00:14:04.549 underworld doctor, Joseph Moran. The same guy 00:14:04.549 --> 00:14:06.610 who patched him up just a few months prior. But 00:14:06.610 --> 00:14:09.419 this time... Moran takes one look at Hamilton 00:14:09.419 --> 00:14:13.080 and completely refuses to treat him. For reasons 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:15.600 unknown, he just turns them away. He leaves him 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:18.740 to die. So Dillinger is stuck with his dying 00:14:18.740 --> 00:14:21.600 friend in the backseat of a car. Dillinger, along 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:24.220 with Volney Davis and Edna Murray, hide Hamilton 00:14:24.220 --> 00:14:26.840 in Aurora, Illinois. And there, over the course 00:14:26.840 --> 00:14:29.899 of a few agonizing days, John Hamilton dies on 00:14:29.899 --> 00:14:32.899 April 26. Dillinger and Davis take the body out 00:14:32.899 --> 00:14:35.659 near Oswego, Illinois, and bury their friend. 00:14:35.820 --> 00:14:37.559 And to make sure the cops can't identify him 00:14:37.559 --> 00:14:39.440 if he's found, they cover Hamilton's face and 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:42.720 hands with lye. A brutal, undignified end to 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:45.480 a brutal life. It really is. But the narrative 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:47.580 doesn't actually end with his burial. So what 00:14:47.580 --> 00:14:49.519 does this all mean? It means the authorities 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:51.500 were completely in the dark about his demise. 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:54.299 The federal government is spending vast amounts 00:14:54.299 --> 00:14:57.740 of money and resources hunting a ghost. Almost 00:14:57.740 --> 00:15:00.139 three weeks after he was buried in that lie covered 00:15:00.139 --> 00:15:03.259 grave on May 19th, the government officially 00:15:03.259 --> 00:15:05.279 indicted him. And it gets even more bizarre. 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:07.659 His sister, the one they visited up in Michigan, 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:09.960 was actually convicted of harboring a fugitive. 00:15:10.100 --> 00:15:12.879 And spent time in prison all while her brother 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:15.080 was already rotting in the ground. And because 00:15:15.080 --> 00:15:18.179 his death was kept secret by the gang. Rumors 00:15:18.179 --> 00:15:21.000 began to swirl that Hamilton had actually survived 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:23.740 the Hastings shootout. It became an urban legend 00:15:23.740 --> 00:15:26.559 almost immediately. The FBI got countless tips 00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:29.279 from people claiming they saw him. Even Hamilton's 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:31.740 own nephew stubbornly maintained that he had 00:15:31.740 --> 00:15:34.460 personally visited his uncle back in Ontario. 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:37.700 Long after the supposed date of his death. But 00:15:37.700 --> 00:15:39.500 eventually the truth always comes out. Dental 00:15:39.500 --> 00:15:41.960 records proved the body in Oswego was indeed 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:45.039 Three Finger Jack. They match the amalgam restorations, 00:15:45.080 --> 00:15:47.639 which are essentially his silver cavity fillings 00:15:47.639 --> 00:15:50.759 on the teeth of the corpse. With the dental records 00:15:50.759 --> 00:15:53.139 from his time at the Indiana State Penitentiary. 00:15:53.259 --> 00:15:56.320 Yet despite the grim, verified, and heavily documented 00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:59.220 reality of his life and death, popular culture 00:15:59.220 --> 00:16:02.440 couldn't resist reshaping his story. Oh, Hollywood 00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:04.519 absolutely loves playing Fast and Furious. loose 00:16:04.519 --> 00:16:06.440 with history. We talked about this at the beginning. 00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:09.659 Yes. Hamilton pops up in a bunch of media over 00:16:09.659 --> 00:16:12.580 the decades. He's featured in the 1957 movie 00:16:12.580 --> 00:16:15.600 Babyface Nelson. Stephen King even wrote a short 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:18.000 story about his final days called The Death of 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:20.450 Jack Hamilton. But my absolute favorite piece 00:16:20.450 --> 00:16:24.269 of pop culture inaccuracy is the 2009 film Public 00:16:24.269 --> 00:16:26.429 Enemies. What did they get wrong? Actor Jason 00:16:26.429 --> 00:16:28.789 Clarke plays Hamilton. He's up there on the big 00:16:28.789 --> 00:16:30.889 screen holding Tommy guns, driving the getaway 00:16:30.889 --> 00:16:32.850 cars. And let me guess, he has all his fingers. 00:16:33.049 --> 00:16:35.690 He very clearly has all five fingers on his right 00:16:35.690 --> 00:16:38.009 hand. They completely ignored the whole three 00:16:38.009 --> 00:16:40.669 -finger Jack moniker. They entirely ignored it. 00:16:40.730 --> 00:16:43.230 It is a perfect metaphor for how we sanitize 00:16:43.230 --> 00:16:45.509 history. We want the aesthetic of the roaring 00:16:45.509 --> 00:16:48.309 30s gangster without the gritty missing fingers. 00:16:48.299 --> 00:16:51.340 Exactly. And that is exactly why we do these 00:16:51.340 --> 00:16:53.899 deep dives for you. Because pop culture loves 00:16:53.899 --> 00:16:57.279 to romanticize these outlaws as smooth, calculated 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:00.679 operators. But the reality was a brutal, chaotic 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:04.599 series of botched raids. It was friendly fire. 00:17:04.839 --> 00:17:08.700 Getting shot by elderly judges. And dying a slow, 00:17:08.740 --> 00:17:11.500 secret death. Before we wrap up today, I know 00:17:11.500 --> 00:17:13.480 you had one more piece to add. I want to leave 00:17:13.480 --> 00:17:15.900 you with a final concept to mull over that wasn't 00:17:15.900 --> 00:17:18.730 previously discussed. You bet. Consider the collapse 00:17:18.730 --> 00:17:21.410 of the underworld ecosystem. What do you mean 00:17:21.410 --> 00:17:23.710 by that? When a criminal becomes so infamous, 00:17:23.950 --> 00:17:27.650 so highly targeted, that even the mob's own secret 00:17:27.650 --> 00:17:29.369 doctors - And the very people who profit off 00:17:29.369 --> 00:17:31.490 this violence - Refuse to treat them and leave 00:17:31.490 --> 00:17:34.369 them to die. What does that say about the absolute 00:17:34.369 --> 00:17:37.349 isolation of being a public enemy? Wow. At the 00:17:37.349 --> 00:17:40.390 very top of the criminal food chain, there is 00:17:40.390 --> 00:17:43.420 zero loyalty -only self -preservation. That is 00:17:43.420 --> 00:17:45.660 such a chilling point to end on, the absolute 00:17:45.660 --> 00:17:48.240 isolation of it all. It really reframes the whole 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:50.599 gangster lifestyle. Thank you so much for joining 00:17:50.599 --> 00:17:53.119 us on this deep dive into the chaotic life of 00:17:53.119 --> 00:17:55.319 John Hamilton. It was a pleasure to unpack it 00:17:55.319 --> 00:17:56.980 all. We hope we've given you a new perspective 00:17:56.980 --> 00:17:59.579 on the reality behind the myth. Until next time, 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:01.880 keep questioning the story and stay insanely 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:02.339 curious.