Pat Crowe
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Patrick Thomas Crowe (1869 – October 29, 1938), also known as Frank Roberts, was an American criminal who was implicated in the 1900
kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...
of Edward Cudahy Jr. in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
. He later became a lecturer and writer. Crowe's criminal notoriety as a bank and train robber and as a kidnapper gained him fame across the United States when he began writing and speaking about his exploits in the late 19th century. According to ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine, Crowe's "misdemeanors began with robbing Omaha streetcars in 1890 and included a diamond theft, homicidal attempts, a visit to and escape from
Joliet prison Joliet or Jolliet may refer to: People * Louis Jolliet (1645–1700), French-Canadian explorer of North America * Oscar Joliet (1878–1969), Belgian scholar-priest and Catholic Auxiliary bishop of Ghent Places in the United States * Joliet, Ill ...
, hold-ups and pilfering on railroads". After his last
acquittal In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an of ...
in the Cudahy trial, the Omaha '' Daily News'' described him as "one of the few really spectacular and truly named desperadoes" of the day, while an obituary called him, "one of the most colorful figures in American criminal history". Today, his written personal narratives of the Cudahy story are studied for their authenticity.


Early life and criminal career

Crowe was born on a farm outside
Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...
, and had 11 siblings. He was of Irish descent. Soon after he turned 13 his mother died, and Crowe moved to
South Omaha, Nebraska South Omaha is a former city and current district of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. During its initial development phase, the town's nickname was "The Magic City" because of the seemingly overnight growth due to the rapid development of the Unio ...
, a new town centered on a growing
meat packing industry The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the Slaughter (livestock), slaughtering, Food processing, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and o ...
. Along with a partner named Pat Cavanaugh, Crowe opened a butcher shop in the area at age 17. Soon after, his shop was closed by the large operation owned by Edward Cudahy. He was hired by the Cudahy Meatpacking Plant shortly thereafter. Cudahy fired Crowe after he was caught stealing money from the operation. Crowe held a variety of jobs and committed small crimes until the early 1890s. Using the alias Frank Roberts, Crowe perpetrated a variety of crimes. After being detained by police in a pawnbroker's shop in
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, Crowe got in a gunfight with police. He was arrested and sentenced to six years in the Joliet prison for the gunfight and the alleged attempted robbery of the pawnbroker's shop. However, he did not serve this entire sentence: Governor Joseph W. Fifer pardoned him after he had only served 17 months. In 1894, a local newspaper was granted an interview with Crowe, whose crimes had brought him international notoriety. The newspaper painted a flattering portrait of Crowe:
Pacing back and forth in a real cell at the central police station when alone and readily entering in conversation with all who came to see him, yesterday, was Patrick Thomas Crowe, who in the past has become so notorious as a crook that his fame extends to two continents. he reporterfound the prisoner not only a fine looking and intelligent appearing young man, but his conversation proved him to be well informed, possessing a good education. He is a ready, fluent and entertaining conversationalist, using good language, at no time in an hour's interview did he use a vulgar or profane word. He claims that he neither drinks, smokes or chews. In fact the only wrong doing that he says he has ever been guilty of is robbing and stealing. He is even been choice in the class of literature that he has read, only perusing the best class of periodicals and books, which is shown by apt quotations that he uses at times.
During the interview, he told the reporter that he had been married at 18 and had three children, all of whom had died young. In 1897, Crowe, again as Roberts, was sent to trial in
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, for burglary and larceny of a jewelry store. However, he jumped bond and was never tried. Crowe resurfaced in South Omaha around 1900 with his old comrade Pat Cavanaugh. That winter they kidnapped Edward Cudahy Jr. After scoring the first successful
ransom Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom. When ransom means "payment", the word ...
for a kidnapping in the United States, Crowe disappeared, resurfacing a number of times until 1905. That year, he walked down the streets of
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, asking to be arrested for the kidnapping. In February 1906, despite the prosecution's 40 witnesses, a firsthand account of a confession to a priest, and no testimony by his defense, Crowe was acquitted by a jury.


After the kidnapping

After his acquittal, Crowe was not implicated in any more major crimes, but was arrested for panhandling in New York. He wrote two autobiographies, in both of which he admitted his responsibility for Cudahy's kidnapping. In 1927, a biographer wrote Crowe's life story, portraying him as "a modern-day
Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
". In 1920, Crowe ended up at
The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
working as a nightwatchman at the Hut in Manhattan's Union Square.


Death

Crowe ended his life living in poverty in
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
, a neighborhood of New York City, in 1938. He suffered a heart attack and fell down the stairs of his dwelling, fracturing his skull. He died in
Harlem Hospital Harlem Hospital Center, branded as NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, is a 282-bed, public teaching hospital affiliated with Columbia University. It is located at 506 Lenox Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City and was founded on April 18, 1887. ...
. Despite his humble endings, about 100 people gathered to celebrate a Roman Catholic Funeral Mass for him at St. Paul the Apostle Church.


Bibliography

* Koblas, John (2006). ''The Last Outlaw: The Life of Pat Crowe''. North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc. * Regan, Thomas (1927). ''Spreading Evil: Pat Crowe's Autobiography''. Branwell Company.


See also

*
Crime in Omaha, Nebraska Crime in Omaha, Nebraska has varied widely, ranging from Omaha's early years as a frontier town with typically widespread gambling and prostitution, to civic expectation of higher standards as the city grew, and contemporary concerns about violen ...
*
History of Omaha, Nebraska The history of Omaha, Nebraska, began before the settlement of the city, with speculators from neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa staking land across the Missouri River illegally as early as the 1840s. When it was legal to claim land in Indian Coun ...
*
List of bank robbers and robberies This is a list of bank robberies, bank robbers and gangs involved in bank robberies. Australia Austria * Johann Kastenberger Canada China * Agricultural Bank of China robbery Denmark The first bank robbery in Denmark occurred Au ...


References


External links


1921 photo of Crowe

1935 photo of Crowe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowe, Pat Date of birth missing 1869 births 1938 deaths 19th-century American criminals 19th-century American writers 20th-century American criminals 20th-century American non-fiction writers American autobiographers American bank robbers American kidnappers American people convicted of burglary Criminals from Iowa Criminals from Nebraska Criminals from New York City Crime in Omaha, Nebraska History of South Omaha, Nebraska People from Harlem Writers from Omaha, Nebraska Train robbers Writers from Iowa Writers from Manhattan 19th-century American male writers 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers