Russell Lee "Boobie" Clark (August 9, 1898 – December 24, 1968) was an American thief, bank robber and prison escapee. He is best known as the "good natured" member of the John Dillinger gang and participated in armed holdups with them in a three-month crime spree across the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

from October 1933 until his capture in January 1934.

Biography

Early life and career

A native of Oaktown, Knox County, Indiana, Russell Clark's criminal career began shortly after his

dishonorable discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

from the

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in 1919. He was a partner of Ralston "Blackie" Linton during the early 1920s and together robbed a series of " illicit roadhouses". In 1926, Clark was a suspect in the kidnapping of two

West Terre Haute West Terre Haute is a town in Sugar Creek Township, Vigo County, Indiana, on the western side of the Wabash River near Terre Haute. The population was 2,236 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area. Beth ...

bootleggers Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made a ...

and the murder of Joe Popolardo in

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. That same year, both Jack Morrison and Clark confessed to robbing the Bellevue Club in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

on August 26 but the owner, Charles "Cotton" Jones, refused to press charges and the case was dropped. The following year, Clark went on a crime spree with Frank Badgley and Charles Hovious in northeast Indiana and robbed several banks. Clark was finally caught after his first robbery, from either Huntertown or

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

, and sentenced to twenty years imprisonment on December 11 or 12, 1927.McCormick, Mike. ''Terre Haute: Queen City of the Wabash''. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing, 2005. (pg. 125) He spent his term at the state penitentiary in Michigan City and, while there, learned from veteran stick up artists. Clark's bitterness and rebellious attitude led to disciplinary problems with prison authorities. He made three unsuccessful escape attempts and was one of the ringleaders of an inmate strike in 1929. Clark was a popular jokester among inmates and was part of a "clique" which included

Harry Pierpont Harry "Pete" Pierpont (October 13, 1902 – October 17, 1934) was a Prohibition era gangster, convicted murderer and bank robber. He was a friend and mentor to John Dillinger. Described as handsome and soft-spoken, Pierpont was a bright, natural-b ...

Charles Makley Charles Omer Makley (November 24, 1889 – September 22, 1934), also known as Charles McGray and Fat Charles, was an American criminal and bank robber active in the early 20th century, most notably as a criminal associate of John Dillinger. ...

, John "Red" Hamilton,

Homer Van Meter Homer Virgil Van Meter (December 3, 1905 – August 23, 1934) was an American criminal and bank robber active in the early 20th century, most notably as a criminal associate of John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson. Biography Early life Van ...

and

John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times and ...

.Toland, John. ''The Dillinger Days''. New York: Random House, 1963. (pg. 28-31, 154, 157, 176-186, 193-194, 220, 243-244)Potter, Claire Bond. ''War on Crime: Bandits, G-Men, and the Politics of Mass Culture''. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1998. (pg. 142-144, 156, 163) Newton, Michael. ''The Encyclopedia of Robberies, Heists, and Capers''. New York: Facts On File Inc., 2002. (pg. 59-60) Burrough, Bryan. ''Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34''. New York: Penguin Press, 2004. (pg. 139-145, 156, 162-163, 199-206, 249-250, 548) Girardin, G. Russell, William J. Helmer and Rick Mattix. ''Dillinger: The Untold Story''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005. (pg. 26-33, 36, 39, 41, 47-49, 52, 56-63, 126-132, 279) Matera, Dary. ''John Dillinger: The Life and Death of America's First Celebrity Criminal''. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2005. (pg. 32-35, 99-100, 104-106, 110, 113, 115-118, 120, 126, 131-145, 152-153, 157-159, 170-174, 178, 180, 185, 187, 192, 195, 211, 223, 234-235, 359, 366) Gorn, Elliott J. ''Dillinger's Wild Ride: The Year That Made America's Public Enemy Number One''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. (pg. x-xii, 38-53, 59-60, 130) When Dillinger was paroled in May 1933, he launched a series of bank raids to finance the escape of his friends and was able to smuggle guns into the prison only four months after his release. On September 26, 1933, Clark and nine other convicts used the guns to help in a mass escape from the penitentiary. Along with Pierpont, Makley and Hamilton, the other escapees included James "Oklahoma Jack" Clark, Walter Dietrich, Ed Shouse, Joseph Fox, James Jenkins and Joseph Burns.Breuer, William B. ''J. Edgar Hoover and his G-Men''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995. (pg. 131-139, 153-156, 162) Nickel, Steven and William J. Helmer. ''Baby Face Nelson: Portrait of a Public Enemy''. Nashville, Tennessee: Cumberland House Publishing, 2002. (pg. 132, 146-150, 170) Dillinger had been arrested in

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four days prior to the prison break and Clark and the others quickly began planning to free him from custody. Stealing $14,000 from a bank in St. Mary's on October 3, 1933, they broke Dillinger out of prison in

Lima, Ohio Lima ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton, southwest of Toledo, and southeast of Fort Wayne, Indiana. As o ...

nine days later. Sheriff Jess Sarber was killed by Pierpont during the escape. Clark and the rest of the gang began raiding police stations in Auburn and

Peru, Indiana Peru is a city in, and the county seat of, Miami County, Indiana, United States. It is north of Indianapolis. The population was 11,417 at the 2010 census, making it the most populous city in Miami County. Peru is located along the Wabash Riv ...

stocking up on weapons, ammunition and bulletproof vests in preparation for a violent three-month crime spree across the Midwest.

Time with the John Dillinger gang

Clark was absent from the gang's first robbery in

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on October 23, missing out on his share of the $18,428 in cash and $56,300 in negotiable bonds, but was with them the following month when the gang robbed $27,789 from a bank in

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

. The gang were forced to use four hostages as human shields in order to make their getaway. On December 13, 1933, Clark also took part in the robbery of a Chicago bank by chiseling through the walls and into the vault where they emptied 96

safety deposit box A safe deposit box, also known as a safety deposit box, is an individually secured container, usually held within a larger safe or bank vault. Safe deposit boxes are generally located in banks, post offices or other institutions. Safe deposit ...

es. The official report lists the theft of only $8,700 in cash however authorities estimated the gang may have gotten away with unreported cash and jewelry valued as high as $50,000. Following the Chicago bank heist, the state of Illinois published a list of public enemies. Of the 21 names listed, Clark was ranked fifth behind Dillinger, Pierpont, Hamilton and Makley respectively. The gang decided to hide out in Florida during the Christmas holidays and, by

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

, regrouped in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black

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to plan their next move. Clark and his girlfriend Opal Long were the first to arrive on January 10 and the rest following behind over the next week and a half. On January 22, 1934, less than a day after their reunion, a fire broke out in their hotel. A local firefighter, apparently an avid fan of detective

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, recognized both Clark and Makley.Lowe, Sam. ''Arizona Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff''. Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot, 2007. (pg. 172) The authorities were informed and the hotel was raided three days later. Clark was the first to be arrested and was reportedly pistol-whipped into unconsciousness when resisting arrest and going for a weapon. Dillinger, Pierpont and Makley were also arrested in the raid. Dillinger was extradited to Indiana to stand trial for the murder of an East Chicago police officer while Clark and the others were returned to Michigan City. Transferred to Lima, they were tried for the murder of Sheriff Sarber.

Trial, conviction and imprisonment

The trial began on February 14, 1934, and both Pierpont and Makley were sentenced to death the following month. Clark expected the same sentence and expressed disinterest in his own trial. He was often seen yawning loudly and sleeping in court. His lawyer

Louis Piquett Louis Piquett (September 24, 1880 – December 12, 1951) was an American lawyer notable for defending John Dillinger. He was also a prosecutor for the city of Chicago. Early career Piquett was a former bartender active in Chicago Democratic po ...

, a known underworld lawyer in Chicago, was able to persuade the jury to grant leniency in Clark's case, especially as the triggerman was already sentenced to death, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment on March 24. The three men still held out hope that they would be liberated once more by Dillinger. When Dillinger was gunned down by federal agents in Chicago four months later, they decided to break out themselves. On September 22, 1934, a little more than a year after their last escape, Pierpont and Makley surprised their guards using pistols made from soap cakes (blackened with shoe polish) and escaped from their cells. They then moved on to free Clark and six other inmates but were stopped when they reached a set of barred doors. The convicts were then met by guards who fired at them, killing Makley and leaving Pierpont seriously wounded, while Clark and the other prisoners retreated back to their cells. Clark remained imprisoned in

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for the next 34 years until being paroled for health reasons on August 14, 1968. He died of cancer in

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only four months after his release. He was the last surviving member of the original Dillinger gang.

In popular culture

Clark has been featured in two

crime novels Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

, ''The Hunt'' (1991) by

William Diehl William Diehl (; December 4, 1924 – November 24, 2006) was an American novelist and photojournalist. Biography Diehl was a successful photographer and journalist, when he began his novel-writing career at 50. His first novel, ''Sharky's Ma ...

and ''Handsome Harry: A Novel'' (2005) by

James Carlos Blake James Carlos Blake (born May 26, 1947) is an American writer of novels, novellas, short stories, and essays. His work has received extensive critical favor and several notable awards. He has been called “one of the greatest chroniclers of the myt ...

Biography

Early life and career

Time with the John Dillinger gang

Trial, conviction and imprisonment

In popular culture

References

Further reading