Eddie Green

Harold Eugene "Eddie" Green (November 2, 1898 – April 10, 1934) was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw during the 1930s, best known as a member of the John Dillinger gang. He was also associated with Frank "Jelly" Nash, Volney Davis and the Barker-Karpis Gang in his early career.

Green was considered a highly intelligent criminal and expert "jug marker," widely known to employ tactics such as casing banks and planning escape routes that he drove prior to a robbery to ensure a perfect getaway. His connections with corrupt politicians and police officials in St. Paul, Minnesota made him extremely useful in setting up safe houses and provide warning from police raids.

Biography

Early life Eugene Green, born in 1898, lived in Pueblo, Colorado, with his mother and brothers James and Frank, their father having died when Eddie was three.

The following is the criminal record of Edward Green, aliases Eugene Green, George Graham, Charles Ryan, George Green, Fred Rogge, and Frederick Riley:

As Eugene Green, arrested August 11, 1916, by the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; charge grand larceny. Six months house of corrections. As George Graham, arrested by the St. Paul Police Department, St. Paul, Minnesota, July 7, 1921. Charge investigation. As Fred Rogge, arrested by the Minneapolis Police Department, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Charge suspected auto thief; 90 days suspended. He was arrested by the St. Paul PD July 17, 1922; charged with robbery, then released. As Frederick Riley, arrested by the Des Moines Police Department, Des Moines, Iowa, August 8, 1922. charge investigation; suspected auto thief and safe blower; fugitive from Minneapolis. Released. As Eddie Green, he was received at the state reformatory, St. Cloud, Minnesota, November 15, 1922 Charged with robbery first degree, he was convicted and sentenced 40 years, serving 5 years. As Eddie Green, he was received at the Minnesota State Prison, Stillwater, Minnesota, July 26, 1923, on a transfer from the state reformatory.

Major career After his parole, he occasionally worked in iron mills while becoming a skilled "jug marker," someone who chooses which bank to rob. His first robbery with the group, then including Dillinger, Tommy Carroll, Homer Van Meter and Baby Face Nelson, was on March 6 when they held up a bank in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for $49,500. Green also provided the gang with an extra gunman, Tommy Carroll. the gang grabbed only $52,000, taking 25 hostages to make their getaway possible. The FBI defended its actions, amid conflicting reports that Green had either attempted to flee or was gunned down in cold blood, claiming that Green "assumed a threatening attitude ... accompanied by menacing gestures."