Vernon C. Miller
Encyclopedia
Vernon C. Miller was a freelance Prohibition gunman, bootlegger, bank robber and former sheriff in South Dakota
who, as the only identified member of the Kansas City Massacre
, was found beaten and strangled to death shortly after the incident.
, Miller moved 35 miles northeast to Huron
in 1914 and began working as an auto mechanic. Two years later, Miller enlisted in the U.S. Army seeing action in the Mexican expedition
into Mexico
after repeated bandit raids across the border. After the United States entry into World War I
, Miller served in France
with the 18th Infantry Regiment (United States) and, decorated for valor and bravery, he would rise to the rank of color sergeant by the war's end.
After being discharged from the military in 1918, Miller returned to Huron and joined the city's police force as a patrolman. Resigning from the Huron Police Department in May 1920, Miller ran for the sheriff's office of Beadle County eventually winning the local election in November. Within two years however, Miller reportedly tired of the job and fled the area in early-1922 after withdrawing $4,000 in county revenue. Within a year, Miller was tracked down by investigators and convicted of embezzlement on April 4, 1923.
While imprisoned at the South Dakota State Penitentiary
, Miller was able to become the warden's personal chauffeur and was eventually granted parole in November 1924.
was in full effect in the country and Miller readily entered the lucrative, although at times dangerous, occupational field of bootlegging. Although being fined $200 for bootlegging by a Sioux Falls, South Dakota
court in October 1925, Miller would have a clear record for the next several years.
During the late 1920s, after years of heavy drug abuse and suffering from advanced syphilis, Miller's personality slowly began becoming increasingly unstable often given to unpredictable bursts of violence. Indicted on February 3, 1928 for wounding of two Minneapolis police officers, the case against Miller was dropped due to lack of evidence.
's Chicago Outfit
, Miller tracked down three of the suspects to a resort hotel in Fox Lake, Illinois
and gunned them down on June 1. Later known as the Fox Lake Massacre, this event was attributed to members of George Moran's North Side Gang
. {McLaughlin's body was found in a Chicago Canal}
With the end of Prohibition approaching, Miller teamed up with Harvey Bailey
, George "Machine Gun" Kelly
and three others in a daylight raid resulting in the theft of $70,000 from a bank in Willmar, Minnesota
on July 15, 1930.
On August 13, in an argument over a "double-cross" from the bank robbery, Miller killed Frank "Weinie" Coleman
, Mike Rusick and "Jew" Sammy Stein and dumped their bodies at White Bear Lake
.
The murders did not seem to affect Miller's relationship with his accomplices as he again participated with Bailey, Holden, Keating, Kelly and Lawrence De Vol in stealing $40,000 from a bank in Ottumwa, Iowa
on September 9, 1930.
Again with Bailey, Kelly, Frank "Jelly" Nash
and several others, Miller robbed another $40,000 from a bank in Sherman, Texas
on April 8, 1931.
On December 16, 1932 during a bank robbery in Minneapolis, two policemen were killed by the Miller gang
On June 17, 1933, Miller and several other unidentified gunmen, ambushed federal agents as they arrived at Union Station
in Kansas City, Missouri
. After a brief yet violent gunfight -- resulting in the deaths of Nash and four law enforcement officers, as well as the wounding of two others -- Miller and the other gunmen fled the scene.
Although FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
named Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd
and Adam Richetti
as participants in the event, the remaining gunmen were never identified.
mobster Abner "Longy" Zwillman
in Orange, New Jersey
until Miller killed a Zwillman gunman in an argument. Leaving for Chicago on October 23, 1933, Miller posed as a salesman for an optical supply house while living with girlfriend Vi Mathis until federal agents raided her apartment on the morning of November 1. Shooting his way out however, Miller was able to escape from federal agents.
A month later, on November 29, 1933, Miller's body was found in a roadside ditch outside Detroit, Michigan
. Beaten and strangled to death, he appeared to have been the victim of a gangland slaying. Although the cause of Miller's death remains unclear, probable causes include retaliation for the murder of Zwillman's gang member one month earlier, punishment for the failure of the Kansas City Massacre, and perhaps retribution for the Fox Lake Massacre.
.
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
who, as the only identified member of 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,...
, was found beaten and strangled to death shortly after the incident.
Early life
Born in Kimball, South DakotaKimball, South Dakota
Kimball is a town in Brule County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 703 at the 2010 census.-History:Kimball was first known as Stake 48 on the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad line going west out of Mitchell, South Dakota. In 1880, the first homestead claims were made in the...
, Miller moved 35 miles northeast to Huron
Huron, South Dakota
Huron is a city in Beadle County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 12,592 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beadle County. Huron was the home of now-defunct Huron University since 1897. Huron is also the home of the South Dakota State Fair...
in 1914 and began working as an auto mechanic. Two years later, Miller enlisted in the U.S. Army seeing action in the Mexican expedition
Pancho Villa Expedition
The Pancho Villa Expedition—officially known in the United States as the Mexican Expedition and sometimes colloquially referred to as the Punitive Expedition—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican insurgent Francisco "Pancho" Villa...
into Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
after repeated bandit raids across the border. After the United States entry into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Miller served in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
with the 18th Infantry Regiment (United States) and, decorated for valor and bravery, he would rise to the rank of color sergeant by the war's end.
After being discharged from the military in 1918, Miller returned to Huron and joined the city's police force as a patrolman. Resigning from the Huron Police Department in May 1920, Miller ran for the sheriff's office of Beadle County eventually winning the local election in November. Within two years however, Miller reportedly tired of the job and fled the area in early-1922 after withdrawing $4,000 in county revenue. Within a year, Miller was tracked down by investigators and convicted of embezzlement on April 4, 1923.
While imprisoned at the South Dakota State Penitentiary
South Dakota State Penitentiary
The South Dakota State Penitentiary is a state prison located in South Dakota's largest city, Sioux Falls, and holds the state's most deadly and dangerous criminals, as well as sex offenders. It was built in 1881. The building's industry shop makes several things for the state, including woodwork...
, Miller was able to become the warden's personal chauffeur and was eventually granted parole in November 1924.
Prohibition
By the time of his release, ProhibitionProhibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
was in full effect in the country and Miller readily entered the lucrative, although at times dangerous, occupational field of bootlegging. Although being fined $200 for bootlegging by a Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Sioux Falls is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south...
court in October 1925, Miller would have a clear record for the next several years.
During the late 1920s, after years of heavy drug abuse and suffering from advanced syphilis, Miller's personality slowly began becoming increasingly unstable often given to unpredictable bursts of violence. Indicted on February 3, 1928 for wounding of two Minneapolis police officers, the case against Miller was dropped due to lack of evidence.
From Prohibition gun for hire to Depression-era outlaw
As the end of the decade approached, Miller was widely known as a freelance gunman for Midwest bootleggers and racketeers. On May 31 1930, after a friend of Miller's, Eugene "Red" McLaughlin, had been killed by members of Al CaponeAl Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
's Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
, Miller tracked down three of the suspects to a resort hotel in Fox Lake, Illinois
Fox Lake, Illinois
Fox Lake is a village in Grant Township, Lake County, Illinois and Richmond Township, McHenry County, Illinois. The population was 9,178 at the 2000 census.-History:...
and gunned them down on June 1. Later known as the Fox Lake Massacre, this event was attributed to members of George Moran's North Side Gang
North Side Gang
The North Side family Gang, also known as the North Side Mob, was the dominant Irish-American criminal organization within Chicago during the Prohibition era from the early to late 1920s and principal rival of the Johnny Torrio-Al Capone organization, later known as the Chicago Outfit.- Early...
. {McLaughlin's body was found in a Chicago Canal}
With the end of Prohibition approaching, Miller teamed up with 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...
, George "Machine Gun" Kelly
Machine Gun Kelly
George Kelley Barnes , better known as "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster during the prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thompson submachine gun. His most famous crime was the kidnapping of oil tycoon & businessman Charles Urschel in July 1933 for which he,...
and three others in a daylight raid resulting in the theft of $70,000 from a bank in Willmar, Minnesota
Willmar, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,351 people, 7,302 households, and 4,461 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,549.9 people per square mile . There were 7,789 housing units at an average density of 657.8 per square mile...
on July 15, 1930.
On August 13, in an argument over a "double-cross" from the bank robbery, Miller killed Frank "Weinie" Coleman
Frank Coleman (disambiguation)
Frank Coleman may refer to:*Frank Coleman, educator*Frank "Weinie" Coleman, outlaw killed by Vernon C. Miller*Frank Coleman, co-founder of Omega Psi Phi*Frank Joseph Coleman , U.S. federal judge*Francis Coleman, conductor and television producer...
, Mike Rusick and "Jew" Sammy Stein and dumped their bodies at White Bear Lake
White Bear Lake
White Bear Lake is the name of a city and two townships in Minnesota* White Bear Lake, Minnesota is located in Ramsey County, Minnesota;* White Bear Township, Minnesota is located in Ramsey County, Minnesota....
.
The murders did not seem to affect Miller's relationship with his accomplices as he again participated with Bailey, Holden, Keating, Kelly and Lawrence De Vol in stealing $40,000 from a bank in Ottumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census. It is located in the southeastern part of Iowa, and the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River....
on September 9, 1930.
Again with Bailey, Kelly, Frank "Jelly" Nash
Frank Nash
Frank Nash has been called “the most successful bank robber in U.S. history,” but he is most noted for his violent death in what has become known as the Kansas City Massacre...
and several others, Miller robbed another $40,000 from a bank in Sherman, Texas
Sherman, Texas
Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's estimated population as of 2009 was 38,407. It is also one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
on April 8, 1931.
On December 16, 1932 during a bank robbery in Minneapolis, two policemen were killed by the Miller gang
Kansas City Massacre
Following the Sherman bank robbery, Miller retired from armed robbery in favor of murder for hire, although he continued to keep in contact with his former partners. It was through these contacts, specifically Chicago mobster Louis Stacci, that Miller was hired to free former partner Frank Nash from federal custody as he was being transported to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary.On June 17, 1933, Miller and several other unidentified gunmen, ambushed federal agents as they arrived at Union Station
Union Station (Kansas City, Missouri)
Union Station Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri, is one of many union stations in the United States.-History:Around the turn of the 20th century, the Kansas City Terminal Railway, a company controlled by the *12 railroads serving Kansas City, decided that a new location was needed for the train...
in Kansas City, Missouri
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...
. After a brief yet violent gunfight -- resulting in the deaths of Nash and four law enforcement officers, as well as the wounding of two others -- Miller and the other gunmen fled the scene.
Although FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
named Charles "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...
and Adam Richetti
Adam Richetti
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.-Biography:Adam Richetti was born in Strawn, Texas on...
as participants in the event, the remaining gunmen were never identified.
Final days
After the Kansas City Massacre, Miller fled to the east coast, staying with New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
mobster Abner "Longy" Zwillman
Abner Zwillman
Abner "Longie" Zwillman , known as the "Al Capone of New Jersey," was an early Prohibition gangster, founding member of the "Big Seven" Ruling Commission and a member of the National Crime Syndicate, who was also associated with Murder Incorporated.-Biography:According to the Social Security Death...
in Orange, New Jersey
Orange, New Jersey
The City of Orange is a city and township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 30,134...
until Miller killed a Zwillman gunman in an argument. Leaving for Chicago on October 23, 1933, Miller posed as a salesman for an optical supply house while living with girlfriend Vi Mathis until federal agents raided her apartment on the morning of November 1. Shooting his way out however, Miller was able to escape from federal agents.
A month later, on November 29, 1933, Miller's body was found in a roadside ditch outside Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. Beaten and strangled to death, he appeared to have been the victim of a gangland slaying. Although the cause of Miller's death remains unclear, probable causes include retaliation for the murder of Zwillman's gang member one month earlier, punishment for the failure of the Kansas City Massacre, and perhaps retribution for the Fox Lake Massacre.
Portrayal in movies
Miller's life is the subject of a 1987 movie directed by Rod Hewitt and released under the title "The Verne Miller Story" or "Gangland: The Verne Miller Story" in which Miller is portrayed by actor Scott GlennScott Glenn
Theodore Scott Glenn is an American actor. His roles have included Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy , astronaut Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff ,Emmett in Silverado , Commander Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October , Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs and The Wise Man in Sucker Punch -Early...
.