The Boyd Gang was a notorious criminal gang based in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, named for member

Edwin Alonzo Boyd Edwin Alonzo Boyd (April 2, 1914 – May 17, 2002) was a Canadian bank robber and leader of the Boyd Gang. His career made him a notorious Canadian folk hero. Early life Edwin Alonzo Boyd was born on April 2, 1914, four months before the Brit ...

. The gang was famous in the media at the time because of their actions, which included

bank robberies Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tel ...

, jail breaks, relationships with women,

gun fight ''Gun Fight'', known as in Japan and Europe, is a 1975 multidirectional shooter arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released by Taito in Japan and Europe and by Midway in North America. Based around two Old West cowboys ar ...

s, manhunts, and captures.

Formation

Edwin Boyd had committed a variety of crimes in his youth and served time in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

's Prince Albert Penitentiary at the age of 22.Toronto's Infamous "Boyd Gang"

CBC Archives CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

After returning from service in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Boyd robbed a

branch of the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (, ), abbreviated as BMO (pronounced ), is a Canadian multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank, making it Canada ...

with a German Luger on September 9, 1949, while drunk and escaped with With others, he committed six more robberies before he was caught and imprisoned in the

Don Jail The Don Jail was a jail in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located to the east of the Don River, on Gerrard Street East in the Riverdale neighbourhood. The original building was completed in 1864 and was reopened in 2013 to serve as the administrati ...

. There he met Willie Jackson and Lenny Jackson (not related) and together they broke out of jail with a hacksaw concealed in Lenny's artificial leg. After their escape, they were joined by Valent Lesso (a.k.a. Steve Suchan) and committed four more robberies in four months for . Although Lenny Jackson, a hairdresser from

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

, led the group, Boyd's charms and good looks led the media to label them the "Boyd Gang".

Death of a policeman

On March 6, 1952, Detective Sergeant Edmund Tong and his partner, Sergeant Roy Perry stopped a vehicle containing two men; these two men turned out to be Lennie Jackson and Steve Suchan. As Tong approached the vehicle, Suchan drew a .455 pistol and shot him and Sergeant Perry in the police car, wounding the latter in the arm. Tong died of his wounds on March 23, 1952. Both Jacksons and Suchan were arrested in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

after a shootout with police that left Lennie and Steve wounded. Both men were convicted and sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of the policeman. Boyd was arrested separately, in Toronto.

Second escape

All four men were placed in side-by-side cells in the

. On Sept. 8, 1952, they managed to escape for a second time with the help of another saw blade, and a blank key smuggled in by a lawyer. They used a tactic where William Jackson, dehydrated himself enough to reduce his skin elasticity. Willy pressed the key on the palm of his hand, making a mark in the shape of the key. Using the new saw, they cut the blank key in the shape of the mark. That night, the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

's first television newscast, anchored by

Lorne Greene Lorne Hyman Greene (born Lyon Himan Green; February 12, 1915 – September 11, 1987) was a Canadian actor, singer, and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western ''Bonanza'' and Commander Adama in ...

and produced by

Harry Rasky Harry Rasky, Order of Canada, CM, Order of Ontario, O.Ont (9 May 1928 – 9 April 2007) was a Canadians, Canadian documentary film director. Life and career Rasky was born in Toronto, Ontario into a Jewish family, where he completed studies ...

, detailed the escape. The jail's warden was suspended, and a $26,000 reward was offered for information leading to their arrest.

Recapture

Ten days later, they were discovered hiding in a barn about a mile north of

Sheppard Avenue Sheppard Avenue is an east–west principal arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The street has two distinct branches near its eastern end, with the original route being a collector road leading to Pickering, Ontario, Pickering via a turno ...

and

Leslie Street Leslie Street is a north-south route in Toronto and York Region, Ontario, Canada. It is distinctive because of its four unconnected segments. History The road has a long history and dates back to 1850s Toronto Nursery that was run by Georg ...

after Willie Jackson went to

Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...

and Sheppard in

North York North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...

to buy food and cigarettes. Lennie Jackson and Steve Suchan were quickly tried for murder. Although they were defended by prominent lawyers Arthur Maloney and John Josiah Robinette (respectively), both men were found guilty and sentenced to death. While Jackson had not fired a shot at Tong, he essentially confessed on the stand, which undoubtedly hurt their case. They were executed in a double hanging at the

in December 1952. Edwin Boyd, who had not been present at the murder, was defended by

Frederick Joseph McMahon Frederick Joseph McMahon (1914 — March 6, 1988) was a provincial court judge in Ontario who had previously been a lawyer and reeve of North York, Ontario from 1953 to 1955. As a lawyer, McMahon was well known for having defended bank robbers ...

, and sentenced to eight life terms plus 27 years concurrently. Willie Jackson was sentenced to 31 years. Both served their terms in Kingston Penitentiary. Jackson was released on parole in 1966. Boyd was released earlier, in 1962, but returned to prison for four more years after parole violations. He then moved to the west coast of Canada where he changed his name and remarried. He died in 2002.

Unsolved murder

Journalist

Brian Vallée Brian Michael Vallée (1940–2011) was a Canadian author, journalist, documentary film producer, screenwriter, and public speaker. He is best known for his work reflecting on domestic violence and his role with CBC's award-winning documentary pro ...

, who interviewed an ageing Edwin Boyd for ''

'', has alleged that Boyd was also responsible for the unsolved 1947 murder of George Vigus and Iris Scott in Toronto's

High Park High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. High Park is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One-third of the park remains ...

Popular culture

The 2011 film ''

Citizen Gangster ''Citizen Gangster'' is a 2011 Canadian biographical drama film directed and written by Nathan Morlando. Scott Speedman stars as Canadian gangster and alleged murderer Edwin Alonzo Boyd. The film originally premiered at the 2011 Toronto Intern ...

'' depicts the life of Edwin and the gang. It premiered at the 2011

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

and its theatrical release was in May 2012. The movie changes the identity of the detective whose death is described above and materially changes the circumstances of the shooting. There is also a play written by John Roby and Ray Storey based on the events called "Girls in the Gang".

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

* ''The Boyd Gang'' by Marjorie Lamb and Barry Pearson. Toronto, Peter Martin Associates, 1976. History of Canada (1945–1960) Organized crime groups in Canada Gangs in Toronto