Notorious Outlaw, Machine Gun Kelly Essay - 992 Words

Machine Gun Kelly The 1920’s otherwise known as the roaring twenties was the era of prohibition outlawing alcohol and the era of gangsters like al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly. If it wasn’t for the outlawing of alcohol I would probably be out of work dirt poor. I would be back on my farm in Tennessee where I grew up shoveling cow shit and arguing with my drunk of a dad every night. The first chance Kelly gave me to go back to Chicago with him I took, taking full advantage of the gang life. July of 1933 was a very eventful month for me and the rest of Machine Gun Kelly’s gang. My name is John Hand, notoriously known as â€Å"Hand Gun Johnny†, a name Kelly gave me as I rose to the ranks of his right hand man. Kelly had made a name for him†¦show more content†¦After a few hours of interrogation we finally identified Urschel and threw the other man out the sedan on the side of a deserted road, after we robbed him of the $51 he had on him. It was a short but endless ride to a rural ranch in Texas where we held Urschel. We then demanded $200,000 in all twenty dollar bills. The rest of the gang showed up a few days later, right about when a family friend of Urschel, E.E Kirkpatrick delivered the ransom. We were smart enough not to lead Kirkpatrick to the ranch so we told him to deliver the money near the LaSalle Hotel in Kansas City on July 30th. The following day we let Urschel go in a local restaurant to call for a cab, the whole kidnapping took nine days in total. We all split the ransom money and went our separate ways, except for me, Kelly, and his wife. We started to state hop so we could stay two steps ahead of the law, the Center Bureau of Investigation built up enough evidence start a nationwide search and to put Kelly and his accomplices in jail for life. We spent most of our time in Chicago of course under different identities living a rich lifestyle while it lasted. After a few weeks we finally made it to one of Kelly’s longtime friends house in Memphis, his name was John Tichenor. The first night there Kelly had been drinking a lot but it was nothing new to me. On the morning ofShow MoreRelatedProhibition And Prohibition Essay1190 Words   |  5 Pagesinfluence skyrocketed. For example, some gangs in New York City paid poor immigrant families to maintain stills in their apartments which was more profitable and safer than other, more legal, sources of income. Even once law abiding citizens became outlaws simply by distilling a lcohol for their own personal consumption. Consuming the products of home distilleries were not without its own risks, however. Many people died of alcohol poisoning because some products were made with wood alcohol. Since