The Brady Gang, Part 1


October 9, 2014

After the death of John Dillinger in 1934, a new gang of bad guys looking to make a name for themselves came onto the scene.


Audio Transcript

Mollie Halpern: It’s a historical moment that brings us back 80 years—the end of the manhunt for America’s so-called Public Enemy Number One, John Dillinger. I’m Mollie Halpern of the FBI and this is Gotcha, the Bureau’s closed case of the week.

Dillinger and his gang made headlines in the Gangster Era for their murders, bank robberies, and other crimes. One fateful night in 1934, agents gunned down Dillinger outside of a Chicago movie theater as the outlaw reached for his gun.

With Dillinger dead, a new gang of bad guys looking to make a name for themselves came onto the scene in October of the next year. FBI Historian John Fox…

John Fox: One urban legend has it that they said, “We're going to make the Dillinger gang look like pikers.”

Halpern: Alfred Brady, James Dalhover, and Clarence Shaffer formed the Brady gang.

Fox: Their goal was to enrich themselves. They wanted money to live an easy life and didn't want to work at it and were happy to rob whoever they could.

Halpern: Did the Brady gang give Dillinger’s gang a run for their stolen money? On the next Gotcha, hear more from FBI Historian John Fox.


-Famous Cases & Criminals: The Brady Gang

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