Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd

Raised in the Cherokee Indian Territory of Oklahoma, Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd was probably the last of the great social bandits in America. Unlike other gangsters of the 1920s and the Depression era, Floyd was known as a hard worker, who perhaps would never have led a life of crime had he been able to find legitimate work. In 1924, Floyd married a 16-year-old girl. Times were already tough for sharecroppers in eastern Oklahoma. A year after their marriage, Floyd's wife became pregnant, and he turned to crime. He was caught committing a $5,000 payroll robbery and received a 3-year sentence. After serving half his sentence, Floyd was released, and he continued to commit payroll robberies on his own until he joined forces with a few professionals. In 1930, while working his way east, Floyd and another criminal were arrested for the robbery of a bank in Sylvania, Ohio. Floyd was given 10 to 25 years; however, he leaped through an open train window approximately 10 miles before arriving at the Ohio State penitentiary. He successfully escaped, and his fame back in Oklahoma was now established. He would never spend another day behind bars during the rest of his life.

Floyd made his way to Toledo, Ohio, where he joined forces with Bill “the Killer” Miller, the slayer of at least five men. While working with Miller, Floyd turned from a quick-triggered gunman to a “public enemy,” as he became known. Both men traveled to Michigan, where they executed several $100 to $300 jobs by holding up filling stations and lone farmers. By the time they reached Kansas City, they had enough money to retire. The pair spent some time at Mother Ash's place, a brothel of considerable standing. Some say it was the ladies at the brothel who first gave Floyd the nickname of “Pretty Boy.”

Up until then, Floyd was notorious for robbing banks, either alone or with the help of his trusted associates. The first person he killed was Chief of Police Carl Galliher, who stopped him from robbing a bank in Bowling Green, Ohio, on April 16, 1931. That day, Floyd was accompanied by Bill Miller, Beulah Bird and her sister Rose, and two women from the brothel. Floyd and Miller opened fire against law enforcement officials, but Floyd was the one who killed Chief Galliher and wounded another officer. Miller was also killed, Beulah was injured, and Rose was captured. Floyd escaped in a car and returned to Oklahoma, where he joined forces with 40-year-old George Birdwell, a former church deacon who had turned outlaw. The pair worked together for only a short time period; Birdwell was killed late in 1932 while pulling a bank robbery in which Floyd had not participated.

After Birdwell's death, Floyd gravitated to Kansas City, where he hooked up with the Dillinger gang, [Page 181]mainly operating with his associate, Adam Richetti. On June 17, 1933, Floyd and Richetti were reported as the culprits behind the “Union Station Massacre” in Kansas City, in which four lawmen and their prisoner were gunned down in an attempt to free Frank “Gentleman” Nash, a notorious underworld figure. Floyd maintained to his death that he was never involved in this crime. During the next 17 months, every law enforcement officer in the country hunted Floyd and Richetti.

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