Adam Richetti
Encyclopedia
Adam "Eddie" Richetti was an American criminal and Depression-era bank robber. He was associated with Aussie Elliott
and later Pretty Boy Floyd
in the early-1930s, both he and Floyd later being implicated in the Kansas City Massacre
in 1933.
, Texas
on August 5, 1909, and moved with his family to Lehigh, Oklahoma
three years later. He had an older brother Joseph and a younger sister Eva. Richetti, although he began drinking heavily at 14, was apparently uninvolved in criminal activity until his arrest for robbery in Crown Point, Indiana
on August 7, 1928, two days after his 19th birthday. He was convicted and sentenced to serve 1 to 10 years at the Pendleton state reformatory, remaining there for two years, and paroled on October 2, 1930.
He participated in his first bank robbery two years later when he joined Fred Hamner and brothers L.L. and W.A. Smalley in raiding a bank in Mill Creek, Oklahoma
. During the getaway, Hamner was killed and the Smalley brothers were wounded and captured at the scene. Richetti, also wounded, was able to escape with $800. He managed to make it to Sulphur, Oklahoma
before being arrested, only two hours after the robbery. On April 5, he was convicted of the robbery and sent to McAlester state prison. He spent four months in prison before being granted release under a $15,000 bond pending appeal of his conviction. Richetti quickly skipped bail and disappeared for several months.
He finally reappeared on January 12, 1933, to rob a bank in Ash Grove, Missouri
of $3,000. His partners in the heist were Edgar Dunbar and Aussie Elliott
with whom he hid at his brother's home in Bolivar, Missouri
. Sometime prior to this, Richetti met Pretty Boy Floyd
who eventually became one of his closest confidants. The two became partners and, despite Richetti's worsening alcoholism, accompanied Floyd on a crime spree during the summer of 1933. They stole a car in Castle, Oklahoma
on June 8 and together stole $1,638 from a bank in Mexico, Missouri
six days later. That same afternoon, two police officers were killed near Columbia
for which Richetti and Floyd were wrongly accused.
Three days later, on June 16, the two men kidnapped Polk County Sheriff William Killingsworth from Bolivar, driving east in the sheriff's patrol car until reaching Clinton, Missouri
, where they commandeered another car and took its driver Walter Griffith hostage as well. Both Killingsworth and Griffith were released later that night at Lee's Summit near Kansas City
. Unknown to either Richetti or Floyd, while they were driving across Missouri, bank robber Frank Nash was being transported by train from Arkansas to Kansas City where his partners attempted to free him from custody. A shootout resulted, referred to as the Kansas City Massacre
, which left Nash and four of his guards dead. Eyewitness accounts were inconsistent and various men were identified in the aftermath including Harvey Bailey
and Wilbur Underhill. Vernon Miller, a former sheriff turned outlaw, was identified as the ringleader but his accomplices remained unknown.
Meanwhile, Richetti and Floyd struck again holding up a Galena
bank for $3,000 on August 29. A month later, they rented an apartment in Buffalo, New York
and moved in with their gun moll
s, sisters Rose Ash and Beulah Bird, on September 21.
Despite the fact that there was nothing to link Richetti and Floyd to the shooting, the FBI identified them along with Miller as the triggermen on October 10, 1934. At the time of the announcement, the two were still living in Buffalo with their girlfriends. Floyd, by this time, had been elevated to "public enemy #1" for his alleged role in the Kansas City Massacre.
The basis for Floyd's involvement was largely circumstantial. A .45-caliber cartridge shell found at the scene was later traced to one of Floyd's guns months after the shooting and questionable testimony from one of Miller's female associates, held incommunicado by the FBI and without legal representation, was enough to convict Floyd. As a well-known associate, it was assumed that Richetti had also taken part in the rescue attempt. Richetti is believed by most modern crime historians to have had no active role in the Kansas City Massacre, the most popular story being sleeping off an all-night drinking binge at the time the shooting began.
After hearing the news, Richetti and Floyd fled Buffalo with their girlfriends on October 20. Heading for Oklahoma, their car broke down near Wellsville, Ohio
after two days on the road. They sent the girls into town to get a tow truck and hid in the woods until their return. Their presence attracted the attention of local residents who called the police and arrested Richetti. Floyd managed to escape but was cornered by federal agents under Melvin Purvis
near East Liverpool
and gunned down two days later.
Richetti was indicted for obstruction of justice on November 6, 1934, however that charge was held in abeyance when he was officially charged with murder by Missouri state officials for his alleged role in the Kansas City Massacre. His trial began on June 13, 1935, during which time a number of eyewitnesses identified him and Floyd despite these witnesses having previously identified other suspects or had been unable to identify anyone at the time of the shooting two years earlier. Three days later, Richetti was found guilty of the murder of police officer Frank Hermanson and sentenced to death. His legal team appealed the court's decision but ultimately failed to get a new trial. Richetti was originally to be sent to the gallows but was instead executed in Missouri's newly constructed gas chamber
on October 7, 1938.
Aussie Elliott
Aussie Elliott was a Depression-era outlaw and associate of bank robbers George Birdwell and Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd. Born in Oklahoma, Elliott was convicted of bank robbery in 1932 and sentenced to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma eventually escaping on August 14, 1932...
and later Pretty Boy Floyd
Pretty Boy Floyd
Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd was an American bank robber. He operated in the West South Central States, and his criminal exploits gained heavy press coverage in the 1930s. Like most other prominent outlaws of that era, he was killed by law enforcement officers...
in the early-1930s, both he and Floyd later being implicated in the Kansas City Massacre
Kansas City Massacre
The Kansas City massacre was the shootout and murder of four law enforcement officers and a criminal fugitive at the Union Station railroad depot in Kansas City, Missouri, on the morning of June 17, 1933. It occurred as part of the attempt by a gang led by Vernon Miller to free Frank "Jelly" Nash,...
in 1933.
Biography
Adam Richetti was born in StrawnStrawn, Texas
Strawn is a city in Palo Pinto County, Texas, United States. The population was 739 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Strawn is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
on August 5, 1909, and moved with his family to Lehigh, Oklahoma
Lehigh, Oklahoma
Lehigh is a city in Coal County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 315 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lehigh is located at ....
three years later. He had an older brother Joseph and a younger sister Eva. Richetti, although he began drinking heavily at 14, was apparently uninvolved in criminal activity until his arrest for robbery in Crown Point, Indiana
Crown Point, Indiana
As of the census of 2010, there were 27,317 people and 10,976 households in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 88.20% White, 6.30% African American, 0.20% Native American, 1.80% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 1.90% from other races, and 1.60% from two or more races...
on August 7, 1928, two days after his 19th birthday. He was convicted and sentenced to serve 1 to 10 years at the Pendleton state reformatory, remaining there for two years, and paroled on October 2, 1930.
He participated in his first bank robbery two years later when he joined Fred Hamner and brothers L.L. and W.A. Smalley in raiding a bank in Mill Creek, Oklahoma
Mill Creek, Oklahoma
Mill Creek is a town in Johnston County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 340 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mill Creek is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...
. During the getaway, Hamner was killed and the Smalley brothers were wounded and captured at the scene. Richetti, also wounded, was able to escape with $800. He managed to make it to Sulphur, Oklahoma
Sulphur, Oklahoma
Sulphur is a city in Murray County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,794 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Murray County.-Geography:Sulphur is located at ....
before being arrested, only two hours after the robbery. On April 5, he was convicted of the robbery and sent to McAlester state prison. He spent four months in prison before being granted release under a $15,000 bond pending appeal of his conviction. Richetti quickly skipped bail and disappeared for several months.
He finally reappeared on January 12, 1933, to rob a bank in Ash Grove, Missouri
Ash Grove, Missouri
Ash Grove is a city in Greene County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,532 at the 2009 census. It is part of the Springfield, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Ash Grove is located at ....
of $3,000. His partners in the heist were Edgar Dunbar and Aussie Elliott
Aussie Elliott
Aussie Elliott was a Depression-era outlaw and associate of bank robbers George Birdwell and Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd. Born in Oklahoma, Elliott was convicted of bank robbery in 1932 and sentenced to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma eventually escaping on August 14, 1932...
with whom he hid at his brother's home in Bolivar, Missouri
Bolivar, Missouri
Bolivar is the county seat of Polk County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,325 at the 2010 census. The city was named for Bolivar, Tennessee, home to many of the original settlers, and like that city its name is pronounced to rhyme with Oliver...
. Sometime prior to this, Richetti met Pretty Boy Floyd
Pretty Boy Floyd
Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd was an American bank robber. He operated in the West South Central States, and his criminal exploits gained heavy press coverage in the 1930s. Like most other prominent outlaws of that era, he was killed by law enforcement officers...
who eventually became one of his closest confidants. The two became partners and, despite Richetti's worsening alcoholism, accompanied Floyd on a crime spree during the summer of 1933. They stole a car in Castle, Oklahoma
Castle, Oklahoma
Castle is a town in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 122 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Castle is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
on June 8 and together stole $1,638 from a bank in Mexico, Missouri
Mexico, Missouri
Mexico is a city in Audrain County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,543 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Audrain County. The Mexico Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Audrain County...
six days later. That same afternoon, two police officers were killed near Columbia
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
for which Richetti and Floyd were wrongly accused.
Three days later, on June 16, the two men kidnapped Polk County Sheriff William Killingsworth from Bolivar, driving east in the sheriff's patrol car until reaching Clinton, Missouri
Clinton, Missouri
Clinton is a city in Henry County, Missouri, United States. The city was named for New York Governor DeWitt Clinton. The population was 9,311 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Henry County.-Geography:Clinton is located at...
, where they commandeered another car and took its driver Walter Griffith hostage as well. Both Killingsworth and Griffith were released later that night at Lee's Summit near Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. Unknown to either Richetti or Floyd, while they were driving across Missouri, bank robber Frank Nash was being transported by train from Arkansas to Kansas City where his partners attempted to free him from custody. A shootout resulted, referred to as the Kansas City Massacre
Kansas City Massacre
The Kansas City massacre was the shootout and murder of four law enforcement officers and a criminal fugitive at the Union Station railroad depot in Kansas City, Missouri, on the morning of June 17, 1933. It occurred as part of the attempt by a gang led by Vernon Miller to free Frank "Jelly" Nash,...
, which left Nash and four of his guards dead. Eyewitness accounts were inconsistent and various men were identified in the aftermath including Harvey Bailey
Harvey Bailey
Harvey John Bailey , called "The Dean of American Bank Robbers", had a long criminal career. One of the most successful bank robbers during the 1920s, walking off with over $1 million during that time, Bailey is almost forgotten today.- His career :Born in West Virginia, Bailey robbed his first...
and Wilbur Underhill. Vernon Miller, a former sheriff turned outlaw, was identified as the ringleader but his accomplices remained unknown.
Meanwhile, Richetti and Floyd struck again holding up a Galena
Galena
Galena is the natural mineral form of lead sulfide. It is the most important lead ore mineral.Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system often showing octahedral forms...
bank for $3,000 on August 29. A month later, they rented an apartment in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
and moved in with their gun moll
Gun moll
Gun moll is a term that refers to the female companion of a male professional criminal. In some contexts, gun moll more specifically suggests that the woman handles a firearm....
s, sisters Rose Ash and Beulah Bird, on September 21.
Despite the fact that there was nothing to link Richetti and Floyd to the shooting, the FBI identified them along with Miller as the triggermen on October 10, 1934. At the time of the announcement, the two were still living in Buffalo with their girlfriends. Floyd, by this time, had been elevated to "public enemy #1" for his alleged role in the Kansas City Massacre.
The basis for Floyd's involvement was largely circumstantial. A .45-caliber cartridge shell found at the scene was later traced to one of Floyd's guns months after the shooting and questionable testimony from one of Miller's female associates, held incommunicado by the FBI and without legal representation, was enough to convict Floyd. As a well-known associate, it was assumed that Richetti had also taken part in the rescue attempt. Richetti is believed by most modern crime historians to have had no active role in the Kansas City Massacre, the most popular story being sleeping off an all-night drinking binge at the time the shooting began.
After hearing the news, Richetti and Floyd fled Buffalo with their girlfriends on October 20. Heading for Oklahoma, their car broke down near Wellsville, Ohio
Wellsville, Ohio
Wellsville is a village in Columbiana County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 4,133 at the 2000 census.-History:...
after two days on the road. They sent the girls into town to get a tow truck and hid in the woods until their return. Their presence attracted the attention of local residents who called the police and arrested Richetti. Floyd managed to escape but was cornered by federal agents under Melvin Purvis
Melvin Purvis
Melvin Horace Purvis, Jr. was an American law enforcement official and Federal Bureau of Investigation agent. He was given the nickname "Little Mel" because of his short stature...
near East Liverpool
East Liverpool, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,089 people, 5,261 households, and 3,424 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,010.3 people per square mile . There were 5,743 housing units at an average density of 1,320.8 per square mile...
and gunned down two days later.
Richetti was indicted for obstruction of justice on November 6, 1934, however that charge was held in abeyance when he was officially charged with murder by Missouri state officials for his alleged role in the Kansas City Massacre. His trial began on June 13, 1935, during which time a number of eyewitnesses identified him and Floyd despite these witnesses having previously identified other suspects or had been unable to identify anyone at the time of the shooting two years earlier. Three days later, Richetti was found guilty of the murder of police officer Frank Hermanson and sentenced to death. His legal team appealed the court's decision but ultimately failed to get a new trial. Richetti was originally to be sent to the gallows but was instead executed in Missouri's newly constructed gas chamber
Gas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used...
on October 7, 1938.