Click image to open full size in new tab
Article Text
perfect crime" has been the theme of many thrilling plots of fiction, drama and the movies. Usually it ends with the exposure of the most ingenious and detection-proof criminal plan through a tiny, stupid flaw. Of just such stuff was the real-life drama recently unfolded in breathlessly swift series of events that began and ended in the town of Pontiac, near Detroit, Michigan. In this "plot" were to be found the bandits, the carefullylaid plot, the dupe-and the girl. Exercising extraordinary patience, acuteness and cunning, two bandits had become acquainted with a young bank teller, until then a home-loving husband and father. By lavishly entertaining him they broke him to their will until he became their accomplice. They got into the bank at the precise moment when great sums of money were being taken from the vaults. For their escape they had prepared with equal ingenuity. One of the bandits had spent weeks learning how to fly. On the night of the robbery the two men stole an automobile, drove to a hangar and flew away in a stolen airplane to Canada- -perhaps the first airplane bandits in history. But They Made One Mistake. But, like the criminals of fiction, they made one stupid error. They aroused the suspicion of a hotel chambermaid who, discovering stolen bills in their abandoned room, notified police and caused their arrest. The two bandits and the bank teller were convicted and sentenced to long terms in prison. After that there was a strange and startling development. The president of the robbed bank committed suicide causing a panic that resulted in the bank being temporarily closed. This, in brief, is the story of one of the most unusual bank robberies in history. But into it enter many strange events, the human tragedy of one young man and the amazing plan on which two others had staked all their hopes. These two, by the way, were Louis Kish and Adam Morgan, both of Detroit. Their names mean nothing to the world at large, yet, to their circle of relatives and friends, they were "good boys." They had good homes, a good environment. But they suddenly changed that environment to Pontiac. There was reason. By planning carefully they decided they could rob the Pontiac Commercial and Savings Bank, one of the most reputable in the State. The town was twenty miles away from Detroit and close enough to the Canadian border to assure their quick escape. These two young men came to Pontiac one day and, after looking over the outside of the bank, decided they must have an "inside accomplice. He must be a dupe who would be left "holding the sack" after the pair had fled to distant place to spend their booty. They did not know how much they could get out of the bank, although they knew there must be a satisfactorily large sum in the vaults. But they must first of all get their "inside man. They decided upon-unknown to himself- Gerald Grandon. He was young man, a foreign exchange tellerof the bank. He was highly trusted. At one time he had been a Sunday school teacher.
Casually young Mr. Mor-
When One Girl Cracked up 3 Smart Airplane Bank Bandits They Spent Months Planning the "Perfect Crime" That Rivaled a Movie Thriller Then a Slip Brought About Their Downfall
AND DON'T MOVE!" Artist Paul Frehm's Vivid Illustration of the Scene in Which One Daring Bandit Forced Seven Bank Tellers to Lie Prone on the Floor of the Pontiac Bank While the Other Gathered Up Money Withdrawn from the Safe. gan met Grandon one day at a beach resort near Pontiac. He confided to the teller that his ambition was to become a bank accountant, and he Grandon's assistance and counsel. The latter was not a little flattered. Indeed, the subtle power of flattery made Grandon and Morgan friends. Morgan finally found an opportunity to introduce Kish. The three thereafter spent many hours at
Grandon's home in Pontiac. The two bandits studied Grandon and his life. They noticed his modest home, his beautiful wife, Goldie, his two small children. They gained confidence- to such an extent, in fact, that he eventually allowed Morgan to use his name on credit references.
At Last They Told the Teller.
One night, when the three men had gathered about the kitchen table at Grandon's home, Morgan and Kish caually remarked that a robbery at the Pontiac bank would be rather easily accomplished. It was an enticing topic of conversation. It made Grandon uneasy, suspicious, yet fascinated. At last the two men informed him that they planned to hold up the bank. Grandon was aghast. But the two men casually offered him an equal share in the loot. When Grandon refused the two men decided more subtle persuation was necessary. They started what might be called a campaign of luxury and joy. They escorted Grandon through the pleasure haunts of Detroit. They took him to cabarets rampant with music and color; toured night clubs where dancing girls and sparkling wines added new zest to life. They plied him with liquor. In other words, they presented a new and vivid world to the peaceful, home-le ing Grandon, used to the routine. Mrs. Grandon was alarmed. She suspicious and warned her husband against the two men. But Grandon, like all men contemptuous of "woman's intuition,' did not heed her. Thus early one morning Kish and Morgan met at Grandon's home and sketched out a plan. Grandon gave them an improvised map of the bank's interior, particularly of the basement vaults where, he told them, seven tellers would be engaged in trucking large sums of money at 8:30 o'clock every weekday morning. The duties of these tellers, it seems, was to load the money onto an elevator that carried it to the main floor. The operation took but five minutes. Then the vaults were closed for the day. In order to effect a safe bank robbery it would be Grandon told his two associates, to hold up the tellers at the precise moment between the time they took the money out of the vaults and were about to leave for upstairs. To be moment too soon or too late would be fatal. Grandon's was to procure key that would fit the bank lock and also to give the necessary signal. But Kish and Morgan realized that the robbery of a bank involved also positive means of escape. To assure themselves of a perfect getaway they decided upon an airplane. True, they had no airplane, nor the experience in piloting one-but that was a detail.
Then Kish Learned to Fly a Plane. Kish, who had sufficient money to afford flying was designated to be the pilot. He enrolled in a flying school at the Hartung airport, located near Detroit, twenty miles away from Pontiac. During the three months of preparation he acquired twelve hours of flying time and became something of an pilot. Meanwhile, Kish satisfied himself that it would be possible to steal a plane without difficulty. At night the hangar was unguarded, for no one thought it likely that a ship would be stolen. Grandon finally borrowed a key to the bank, on a pretext it was necessary to get to the office early one morning. Skeletons of the key were made and he then returned the original key to its owner. Thus everything was in readiness for the holdup. One detail was missing- car.
The night before, however, Morgan and Kish, after concealing themselves at a lonely crossing on the outskirts of Detroit, suddenly fell upon a motorist and took his car. They gave him a $2 bill and told him he would get the car back some day. After doubling on their trail several times they concealed the car in a field just outside of Pontiac. Then they took a bus back to Detroit, where they hired a taxi to drive them to the Hartung airport. At A. M., in the stillness of a moonlight night, they got into the hangar, and before a startled night watchman could do anything the pair were flying away toward Pontiac. Half an hour later they landed the plane on the secluded field where they had concealed the stolen automobile.
At 8:28 o'clock in the morning the two men parked their car at the rear entrance of the bank and waited for Teller Grandon's pre-arranged signal. Then, at the right moment, Grandon suddenly appeared at a rear window and gave the signal- flat palm placed against the glass and quickly withdrawn. Taking a suitcase and their guns, the two bandits let themselves into the bank through the employes' entrance and, unseen descended the stairs to the basement. On the way they donned black hoods that covered their heads and faces. They were just in time. As they had expected, there were seven tellers trucking out the day's currency. Thousands of dollars lay in huge packs on the small hand trucks. In cool, almost suave tones Kish ordered the tellers to get on their stomachs. They did so, lying face down, while Morgan swept the money into his When was stuffed to capacity he fastened the straps. However, they took only $12,000 when, as a matter of fact, they could have had $70,000.
They Made a Perfect Getaway. The two men left nonchalantly and by the time the tellers had risen to their feet and notified police the bandits were in their stolen car on their way to their stolen airplane. Once in the latter they headed toward Montreal, Canada. But they met with fog and rain over Lake St. Clair and were forced to land on the Canadian side. When they did so, student pilot on the field approached them and demanded their landing permits. Unconvinced by their explanation that they were from Windsor, Canada, the student flyer went to the field office to summon his chief. While he did so Kish threw open the throttle of the plane motor and roared off. Ten miles away the gas gave out completely and a forced landing was made in a field. Carrying the suitcase of money the two bandits walked tora highway and caught a ride on truck that took them to Chatham,
Canada, While Morgan shaved and changed his clothes, Kish went out and bought new suitcase for their money and at the same time made inquiries about trains for Montreal. He found one that left for Toronto in a short time and connected with a Pullman flyer to Montreal. The two men thereupon decided to leave the hotel immediately. They abandoned all thought of the airplane. Placing the of the money, they thought- into the new suitcase, they threw the old one into a closet. It was atethis point that Mrs. Mary Scully, the comes into the picture. She saw the two men hurrying and decided it was strange. People didn't hurry in those parts. Not in that furtive way. She went to the abandoned room and looked around. She found the old suitcase. But what amazed her was that in the suitcase was pile of fifty pieces. A. wrapper on the pile marked: "Pontiac Commercial and Savings Bank."
"Dicks" Greet Flyers at Toronto. Immediately the maid 'phoned the desk clerk and he, in turn, notified the police. The latter got in touch with Pontiac officials and were informed of the robbery. Wires were sent to officials in Toronto. Thus when Messrs. Kish and Morgan stepped off the train at Toronto they were met by detectives, who informed them they were wanted for the robbery of the Pontiac bank. With a philosophical sigh they turned over the loot and also extradition. Now, if it be said that Kish and Morgan followed out the movie idea of bank robbery, it must also be admitted that they lived up to the glorified idea of "big time" bandits at bay. They didn't "squeal. So far as they were Teller hadn't anything to worry about. He didn't exist. Although and harassed by the police for hours they stuck to one story: They had no "inside" accomplice. They tested many keys and finally one had worked. Through many ordeals they still held firm to this They refused to involve anybody but themselves. But the police authorities were not convinced. They investigated and found the credit references which had been endorsed by Teller Gerald Grandon, who for seven years had been one of the bank's most trusted employes. Grandon was immediately arrested. At first he denied all connection with the holdup, but his wife, Goldie, pleaded with him to tell the truth. He did so. Thus the three readily pleaded guilty. to from twentyfive to forty years in prison while the two others were sentenced to from twenty to forty years. Shortly after something unexpected happened. Cramer Smith, president of the bank, fatally shot himself. One theory was that he had been shocked by the revelation that Grandon had betrayed his trust; another was he was worried about the affairs of the bank. Neither version was true: it was simply matter of ill health, according to his family. Nevertheless, there resulted a big run on the bank, until withdrawals amounted to $2,317,000 and the bank was closed for reorganization. But perhaps the most tragic figure in the whole affair is Mrs. Grandon. Her young husband was taken from her, she had no friends and she had two small children to support. She faces the world bravely but with disillusioned eyes after the bitter experience.
