Benjamin Hoskins Paddock Jr. (November 1, 1926 – January 18, 1998) was an American bank robber and con man who was on the

FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives is a most wanted list maintained by the United States's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI, and William K ...

list from 1969 to 1977. He was the father of mass murderer

Stephen Paddock Stephen Craig Paddock (April 9, 1953 – October 1, 2017) was an American mass murderer who perpetrated the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. Paddock opened fire into a crowd of about 22,000 concertgoers attending a country music festival on the Las ...

, the perpetrator of the

2017 Las Vegas shooting On October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old man from Mesquite, Nevada, opened fire on the crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in . From his 32nd-floor suites in the Mandalay Bay hotel, he fired ...

Early life

Paddock was born at St. Nicholas Hospital in

Sheboygan, Wisconsin Sheboygan () is a city in and the county seat of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populati ...

on November 1, 1926, the son of Benjamin Hoskins Paddock Sr. and Olga Emelia Elizabeth Paddock (née Gunderson). He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as an S2 (Seaman Second Class) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

.National Cemetery Administration, Nationwide Gravesite Locator, https://gravelocator.cem.va.gov In the 1950s in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, he operated a service station where he sold used cars. He later sold

garbage disposal unit A garbage disposal unit (also known as a waste disposal unit, garbage disposer, garburator etc.) is a device, usually electrically powered, installed under a kitchen sink between the sink's drain and the trap. The disposal unit shreds food ...

s under the name of Arizona Disposer Company and was connected with the operation of a nightclub in Tucson. In the late 1950s, Paddock volunteered with the

Pima County Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the populati ...

Juvenile Probation Department and in 1959 was named special deputy to handle cases of wayward youths.

Criminal career

In 1946, Paddock was convicted of ten counts of auto larceny and five counts of

confidence game ''Confidence Game'' is a 2016 American thriller film written and directed by Deborah Twiss. The film stars Sean Young, Deborah Twiss, James McCaffrey, and Steve Stanulis with Stefano Da Fre and Robert Clohessy in supporting roles. Sylvie (Y ...

and was confined at the Illinois State Penitentiary until July 1951. In 1953, he was convicted of conspiracy in connection with a bad check passing operation and was again held at the Illinois State Penitentiary until August 1956. In one of his early arrests, he was found with a concealed revolver. He was accused of robbing branches of the

Valley National Bank of Arizona Valley National Bank of Arizona was a bank based in Phoenix, Arizona, founded in 1900 and acquired by Bank One in 1992. The bank was one of Arizona's leading financial institutions during the 20th century and the last major independent bank in Ar ...

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

of $11,210 ($ in dollars) on February 19, 1959, and of $9,285 ($ in dollars) on January 29, 1960. He robbed another branch of $4,620 ($ in dollars) on July 26, 1960. He was captured and then convicted for the third robbery in federal court in January 1961. During his arrest, he attempted to run down an FBI agent with his car. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. On December 30, 1968, Paddock escaped from the

Federal Correctional Institution, La Tuna The Federal Correctional Institution, La Tuna (FCI La Tuna) is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Anthony, Texas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. A ...

Anthony, Texas Anthony is an incorporated town in El Paso County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,011 at the 2010 census. As of July 1, 2018, the population estimate for the town from the U.S. Census was 5,655. It is the first town encountered in Te ...

. A warrant for his arrest relating to his escape was issued on February 3, 1969, and he was placed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted list. Most individuals who have been on the FBI Ten Most Wanted list are off the list in less than six months. Paddock was among those who were on the list the longest, being placed on the list on June 10, 1969, and removed on May 5, 1977. While on the most wanted list, he was described as being tall, weighing , having blond hair, but being balding and frequently shaved. He had green eyes and wore contact lenses or glasses. He also had a scar above his right eyebrow and on his right knee and had a birthmark on his left ankle. He was described as a smooth talker, as arrogant and egotistical, liking cigars, cigarettes, and steaks. He also played bridge, enjoyed gambling, and watching sports, particularly baseball, for which he also worked as an umpire. During his criminal career, Paddock had numerous aliases, including Perry Archer, Benjamin J. Butler, Leo Genstein, Pat Paddock, and Patrick Benjamin Paddock. His nicknames included "Chromedome", "Old Baldy", and "Big Daddy". After escaping prison in 1968, Paddock moved to Oregon where he took the name Bruce Warner Erickson. In Oregon, he worked as a contract trucker and in drug abuse rehabilitation. He was twice cited for traffic violations and in September 1977 he applied for and was granted a license to open a

bingo parlor In the United States, bingo is a game of chance in which each player matches the numbers printed in different arrangements on cards. The game host (caller) draws at random, marking the selected numbers with tiles. When a player finds the selec ...

, but his identity was not uncovered. He then operated a bingo parlor for the Center for Education Reform, a non-profit organization based in Eugene, Oregon. He was captured and arrested in early September 1978 in

Springfield, Oregon Springfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. Separated from Eugene to the west, mainly by Interstate 5, Springfield ...

, and was eventually released on parole. In 1987, he was charged by the

Oregon Attorney General The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions. The attorney general is ch ...

with racketeering related to his bingo business and fraud for an illegal business he ran rolling back car odometers, but avoided a prison sentence by paying a $100,000 fine ($ in dollars). Later in life, his involvement in bingo earned him the nickname, Bingo Bruce. During the last decade of his life, he lived quietly in Texas where he co-owned a car shop with his girlfriend.

Personal life and death

Paddock married Dolores Irene Hudson (born January 10, 1928) in 1952, and they had four sons,

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

(1953–2017), Patrick (born ), Bruce (1959–2020), and Eric (born 1960). He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

on January 18, 1998, in Arlington, Texas. He's buried at the

Fort Gibson National Cemetery Fort Gibson National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located inside of the town of Fort Gibson, in Muskogee County, Oklahoma. It encompasses , and as of 2021 had more than 25,000 interments. History Fort Gibson was established in ...

Fort Gibson, Oklahoma Fort Gibson is a town in Cherokee and Muskogee counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 4,154 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.5 percent over the figure of 4,054 recorded in 2000. It is the location of Fort Gibson Histori ...

. His eldest son

was the perpetrator of the

, the deadliest

mass shooting There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 20 ...

by a lone gunman in North American history. Stephen was seven at the time of his father's arrest in the summer of 1960. "We didn't grow up under his influence," said his brother Eric. Their mother told them at the time that their father was dead. Another son, Bruce, was arrested in North Hollywood on charges of possessing over 600 child pornography images. The charges were dropped in May 2018.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paddock, Benjamin Hoskins 1926 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American criminals American bank robbers American confidence tricksters American escapees United States Navy personnel of World War II American prisoners and detainees Businesspeople from Tucson, Arizona Criminals from Wisconsin FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives Military personnel from Wisconsin People from Sheboygan, Wisconsin Prisoners and detainees of Illinois Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government 2017 Las Vegas shooting 20th-century American businesspeople