Oil Pastel, Chalk Pastel, Graphite and Acrylic on 200 lb. Rag Paper

41” x 65”

( 106cm x 167cm)

2010

In Private Collection

Alvin Karpis (Karpowicz) was nicknamed “Creepy” by his cohorts it was said because of his sinister smile. Born in Montreal, he became a bootlegger at the age of 12. As a teenager he was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Hutchison, Kansas for burglary. He escaped the prison and went on a year long crime spree interrupted for only a month while he was staying with his parents. Caught stealing a car while on the lamb, he was sent back to prison where he met Fred Barker, son of Ma Barker, and leader of the infamous “Barker Gang”.


Upon release they formed the Karpis-Barker Gang, one of the most formidable criminal gains of the 1930’s. They seemingly didn’t hesitate to kill anyone who got in their way, even innocent bystanders. They robbed banks, hijacked mail deliveries and turned kidnapping into a lucrative business. Lead by Karpis, they netted over $300,000 from kidnapping and ransom alone. J. Edgar Hoover, feeling public pressure and because the gang had kidnapped a friend of President Roosevelt, the FBI named Karpis Public Enemy #1. He was the fourth and last to be so named and was the only one to have not been killed by the FBI. The FBI had a “flying squad” that traveled the country, which was a first for law enforcement.


Eventually tracked down to Atlantic City, the FBI and the gang had a shoot out that resulted in the death of Karpis’ 8 month pregnant girlfriend. He escaped alive but continued his crimes. He managed to pull off an “Old West” type hold up of a train, which resulted in $27,000. The last notable train robbery in history.


While on the run, he dared to send a taunting letter to Hoover himself. Hoover publicly declared he would arrest Alvin Karpis himself (which would actually have been the first and only person Hoover ever personally arrested). The FBI located Karpis in New Orleans on a ship that had docked from Montreal. Hoover flew in and put himself in charge of the arrest and the FBI stormed Karpis’ ship with over two dozen men. Hoover exited the safe confines of his car only once Karpis was captured and pronounced to the growing crowd and alerted media, “You’re under arrest. Put the cuffs on him boys”. Embarrassingly, none of the officers thought to bring handcuffs for Karpis as it was not common practice then and they must have thought they would never be taking anyone alive. He eventually was tied up with a necktie and taken into custody.


The capture of Karpis essentially ended the big named depression era criminals. Sentenced to life in prison, he was incarcerated at Alcatraz despite being a Canadian citizen and was there until they closed it. He was then moved to Leavenworth. And was later transferred to McNeil Island Penitentiary where his cellmate was a young inmate named Charles Manson. He taught the teenage Manson how to play the guitar and even set him up with a job as a singer in Las Vegas upon his release through his mob contacts.


Released on parole in 1969 he was deported back to Canada, though he was unable to obtain a passport in Canada because he had his fingerprints removed by infamous underworld physician Dr. Joseph Moran years before. He published his memoirs in 1971 and another version again in 1979. He traveled somehow without a passport to Spain where he died under mysterious circumstances in 1979. No autopsy was done and he was buried quickly the next day in an unmarked grave.


1907-1979