Fred "Killer" Burke (May 29, 1893 – July 10, 1940) was an American armed robber and contract killer responsible for many crimes during the

Prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...

. He was considered a prime suspect in the

Saint Valentine's Day Massacre The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago garage on the morning of February 14, 1929. They wer ...

of 1929.

Early life

Fred R. Burke was born Thomas A. Camp, one of eight children of Mr. and Mrs. Wall Camp of

Mapleton, Kansas Mapleton is a city in Bourbon County, Kansas, Bourbon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 96. History Mapleton was originally called Eldora, and under the latter name ...

. Teachers considered him as having above-average intelligence and he was a regular Sunday School attendee. Burke's first criminal act occurred at age 17 when he was involved in a land-fraud scheme with a traveling salesman. Burke fled to avoid prosecution and became involved with criminal enterprises around St. Louis, Missouri. It was during this time he is believed to have changed his name from Thomas Camp to Fred Burke.

Criminal career

Burke had moved to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, by 1915 where he became a member of the city's top gang,

Egan's Rats Egan's Rats was an American organized crime gang that exercised considerable power in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1890 to 1924. Its 35 years of criminal activity included Rum-running, bootlegging, labor slugging, voter intimidation, armed robbery ...

. In these early years his criminal activity was mostly devoid of the violence that characterized his life in the 1920s and early 1930s. Burke, described as tall, well-built, and honest-looking, acted as a "front man" for the Egan gang in various forgery and fraud schemes. In 1917, Burke enlisted in the U.S. Army after being indicted in St. Louis for forgery. The United States had recently entered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and Burke served as a tank sergeant in France. After his return from overseas duty and discharge, Burke was soon arrested for land fraud in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and spent a year imprisoned there, followed by another year in the

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

state prison for the pre-war St. Louis charges. By 1922, Burke had re-joined Egan's Rats and was working with three other war veterans in various robberies around St. Louis, including a robbery of $80,000 from a St. Louis distillery. In 1924, the leaders of the Egan gang were jailed, after which Burke returned to Michigan with other Egan's Rats members where they became associates of

The Purple Gang The Purple Gang, also known as the Sugar House Gang, was a criminal mob of bootleggers and hijackers composed predominantly of Jewish gangsters. They operated in Detroit, Michigan, during the 1920s of the Prohibition era and came to be Detro ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. Burke,

Gus Winkler Gus Winkler (March 28, 1901 – October 9, 1933) was an American gangster who headed a Prohibition-era criminal gang specializing in armed robbery and murder for hire with Fred "Killer" Burke. Winkler was a senior associate of Chicago Outfit bo ...

, and the other former Egan's Rats members, working on behalf of the Purple Gang, were the prime suspects in the March 1927 Milaflores Massacre. A few months later, a conflict with the Purple Gang led Burke and his associates to relocate to Chicago. Burke and his associates were contacted by

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone ( ; ; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American organized crime, gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-foun ...

, who referred to them as his "American Boys". Based in Chicago, Burke and his associates were involved in murders and armed robberies as far east as

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. Among them was the murder of

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

police officer George Zientara following a bank robbery in 1928.

Saint Valentine's Day Massacre

In 1928 and early 1929,

had a conflict with

Bugs Moran George Clarence "Bugs" Moran (; born Adelard Leo Cunin; August 21, 1893 – February 25, 1957) was an American Chicago Prohibition-era gangster. He was incarcerated three times before his 21st birthday. Seven members of his gang were gunned ...

and his Irish gang from Chicago's Northside. Burke and his associates lured five members and two associates of the Moran gang to a garage on Clark Street in Chicago. Burke and his associates entered the garage, some dressed as police, and executed the Moran gang members. The murders received international press attention and within a few weeks Burke was named by Chicago police as a principal suspect. Witnesses placed Burke near the scene and guns seized from his home later in 1929 were matched to bullets from the crime. Years later, in 1935, Byron Bolton, a captured member of the

Barker Gang Kate Barker (born Arizona Donnie Clark; October 8, 1873 – January 16, 1935), better known as Ma Barker (and sometimes known as Arizona Barker and Arrie Barker), was the mother of several American criminals who ran the Barker–Karpis Gang ...

, gave a detailed statement to the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

implicating Burke, his associates, and other Capone gang members as being responsible.

Capture and death

Following the Saint Valentine's Day massacre, Burke continued his pattern of armed robberies and the occasional murder. In December 1929, an intoxicated and paranoid Burke, using the alias Fred Dane, was involved in a minor traffic collision in

St. Joseph, Michigan St. Joseph, colloquially known as St. Joe, is a city and the county seat of Berrien County, Michigan. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 7,856. It lies on the shore ...

. When Patrolman Charles H. Skelly became involved with the parties in the collision, Burke shot and killed him. To avoid capture, Burke fled to rural northern

. A Michigan police bulletin offering a $1,000 reward said in underscored type: "This man is dangerous and will shoot to kill and every precaution should be used in making his arrest." Among the aliases listed for Burke were Fred Dean, Fred Campbell, and Theodore Cameron. Burke took on the alias Richard F. White while in Missouri. In 1930, Burke married a woman from

Sullivan County, Missouri Sullivan County is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,999. Its county seat is Milan. The county was organized February 14, 1845, and named for Major General Joh ...

, Bonnie Porter, and took up residence near

Green City A sustainable city, eco-city, or green city is a city designed with consideration for the social, economic, and environmental impact (commonly referred to as the triple bottom line), as well as a resilient habitat for existing populations. The ...

in Sullivan County. While living there, it is suspected that Burke continued committing criminal acts. According to an eyewitness account described in ''

The Chariton Collector ''The Chariton Collector'' was a local history and folklore magazine published biannually between 1980 and 1989 by students at Kirksville High School, Kirksville, Missouri. The magazine took its name from the Chariton River, which flows throu ...

'', Burke resided in a

Kirksville, Missouri Kirksville is the county seat of and most populous city in Adair County, Missouri, United States. Located in Benton Township, Adair County, Missouri, Benton Township, its population was 17,530 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Kirk ...

hotel, the Traveler's Hotel, for a few days prior to a local bank robbery. Later, his wife would claim no knowledge of Burke's real identity or his criminal past, saying she thought her husband was just a businessman who regularly traveled. On March 26, 1931, a citizen in the Green City area who had read of Burke and seen his picture in ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American Anthology series, anthology Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto for the premium cable network HBO. The series premiered on January 12, 2014, and ...

'' magazineRenard, Ray as told to Frank Calhoun. "Fred Burke, Gangster—As I Knew Him"
''True Detective Mysteries''
(October 1930) pp. 12, 14, 16, 132-134. recognized him and notified authorities. Burke was captured at the home of his father-in-law without incident. Returned to Michigan, Burke was convicted of Skelly's murder and given a life sentence at Marquette State Prison. Having been in failing health with diabetes and heart disease for several years, Burke died of a heart attack on July 10, 1940.

Documentary video

* Fred Lowry (director)
''How Burke Was Captured''
(1931) 15 minute

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

video

References

External links

*
Fred "Killer" Burke
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Fred 1893 births 1940 deaths American bank robbers American gangsters of the interwar period American people convicted of murdering police officers American people who died in prison custody American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment People from Bourbon County, Kansas Gangsters from St. Louis Mafia hitmen Al Capone associates People convicted of murder by Michigan Prisoners who died in Michigan detention Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Michigan United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army non-commissioned officers Tank personnel