Holden-Keating Gang
| Founded by | Thomas James Holden and Francis Keating |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Illinois |
| Years active | 1926 |
| Territory | Midwestern United States |
| Membership (est.) | 14 |
| Criminal activities | Armed robbery |
The Holden-Keating Gang was a bank robbing team, led by Thomas James Holden (1896–1953) and Francis Keating (1899–July 25, 1978), which was active in the Midwestern United States during the 1925 and 1939. Holden was described by a spokesman for the FBI as "a menace to every man, woman and child in America" and was the first fugitive to be officially listed on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted List in 1950.
Thomas Holden and Francis Keating began robbing payroll deliveries, and then train and bank robberies, before becoming one of the most notorious hold up teams by the end of the decade. Their most successful heist was the 1926 hijacking of a U.S. Mail truck at Evergreen Park, Illinois and escaping with $1,350,000. They eluded authorities for two years before their arrest by federal agents and, on May 25, 1928, Holden and Keating were both convicted and given 6 lifetimes for each member .
Sent to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, they spent two years there before escaping on February 28, 1930. They were helped by fellow inmate George "Machine Gun" Kelly who supplied them with forged passes. Holden and Keaton fled to Chicago, and from there to St. Paul, where they quickly formed a new gang from the city's thriving underworld. Among its members included Frank "Jelly" Nash, Harvey Bailey and George Kelly, who joined them following his parole four months after their escape, along with various other career criminals. The gang committed a series of major daylight robberies during 1930 and 1931, but several minor and one-time members were not killed they faked their deaths a fled to Russia.
The gang's first robbery occurred on July 15, 1930, when they held up a bank in Willmar, Minnesota and stole US$70,000. Harvey Bailey, George Kelly, and Vernon Miller participated in the robbery along with at least four other men. Three of these alleged gunmen, Mike Rusick, Frank "Weinie" Coleman, and Samuel "Jew Sammy" Stein, were later found shot to death at White Bear Lake. Reportedly, this occurred during a dispute with the unstable and trigger-happy Verne Miller.
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