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Lester Joseph Gillis (December 6, 1908 – November 27, 1934), [1] also known as George Nelson and Baby Face Nelson, was an American bank robber who became a criminal partner of John Dillinger, when he helped Dillinger escape from prison, in Crown Point, Indiana. Later, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that Nelson and the ...
With the death of John Dillinger in July 1934, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, known at the time as the Division of Investigation, focused on eliminating what remained of the notorious Dillinger Gang. Lester "Baby Face Nelson" Gillis, whom newspapers of the era dubbed "Dillinger's aid", had managed to elude the federal dragnet.
Hollis was killed instantly when a bullet hit him in the face, but Cowley survived long enough to identify Nelson and his companions to Purvis. He died at 2:00 AM, about ten hours after the shootout. Nelson's body was found the next day, wrapped in a blanket, stripped naked, and dumped in a ditch in Skokie .
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 in 1933. [2] [10] George "Baby Face" Nelson: 1908–1934 Lester Joseph Gillis, known under the pseudonym George Nelson, was a bank robber and murderer in the 1930s.
The gang had assured the owners that they would give no trouble, but they monitored the owners whenever they left or spoke on the phone. Emil's wife Nan and her brother managed to evade Baby Face Nelson, who was tailing them, and mailed a letter of warning to a U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago, which later contacted the Division of Investigation.
On the afternoon of April 20, 1934, Baby Face Nelson, John Dillinger, Homer Van Meter, Tommy Carroll, John Hamilton, and gang associate (errand-runner) Pat Reilly, accompanied by Nelson's wife Helen and three girlfriends of the other men, arrived at the secluded Little Bohemia Lodge in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin, for a weekend of rest. [2]
In the Michael Mann film Public Enemies (2009), Homer Van Meter is portrayed by actor Stephen Dorff. He is portrayed as being shot to death along with Baby Face Nelson by Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) after a car chase from Little Bohemia, when in reality, Van Meter escaped unharmed with Dillinger, Tommy Carroll, and Hamilton. The film also ...
He was a longtime criminal associate of the Karpis-Barker Gang and most notably Baby Face Nelson who later brought him into the John Dillinger gang. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover once referred to Chase as "a rat with a patriotic-sounding name". [1] Chase and Nelson continued to rob banks with John Dillinger until Dillinger's death in July 1934.