Whittemore Gang

The Whittemore Gang (April 11, 1924 – March 19, 1926) was a group of bank robbers active in the Mid-Atlantic and Eastern United States during the mid-1920s. Led by Richard Reese Whittemore (September 8, 1901 - August 13, 1926), the gang, including his wife Margaret (March 2, 1903 - April 13, 1993), went on a year-long crime spree committing payroll, bank and jewelry robberies in Maryland and New York before their capture in 1926.

History

Early years in Maryland

Richard Whittemore, a longtime career criminal, escaped from the Maryland state penitentiary on February 20, 1925, after killing prison guard Robert Holtman. He reunited with his wife Margaret Whittemore, known as Tiger Lil and the Tiger Girl, and began recruiting a team of stick up artists and hold up men such as Bernard Mortillaro, Pasquale Chicarelli, Joseph Ross, Morris "Shuffles" Goldberg, Leopold Gilden, Anthony Paladino and brothers Jake and Leon Kraemer. Whittemore and his gang would then commit a series of bank robberies in two states during a 12-month period.

The gang committed its first armed robbery, only four days after Whittemore's prison escape, when they ambushed a Western Maryland Dairy payroll shipment in Baltimore. The driver and a guard were shot during the robbery and the gang escaped with $16,034 in cash. Three weeks later, the gang robbed Baltimore bank messenger J. Wahl Holtzman of $8,792 in broad daylight, beating him unconscious and then stealing the money he was carrying.

Arrival in New York

These robberies soon attracted the attention of authorities and Whittemore decided to move the gang to New York City where they could start again. On April 5, 1925, they robbed the Metro Sacks jewelry store on West 125 Street taking an estimated $16,000 in cash and precious stones.