Alvin Karpis

Alvin Karpis was born Francis Albin Karpowicz on August 10,1908 in Montreal,Canada.

It's uncertain when Alvin came into a life of crime exactly,but from a pre-teen age, he was known to hang around gamblers,pimps and bootleggers.

His first known prison sentence was in 1926 for an attempted burglary;he was sentenced to 10 years at the State Industrial Reformatory for boys in Hutchinson,Kansas.He escaped from there that same year with fellow inmate,Lawrence DeVol.

Alvin was known as Creepy Karpis by the newspapers...there have been so many reasons stated as to why he was called this,but what is known for sure is that Alvin was known as 'Ray' to all his friends.

He was noted to have a photographic memory and to be extremely intelligent.

Alvin is best known for his alliance with the Barker-Karpis Gang;while with this gang,Alvin helped and led bank robberies and kidnappings that netted a good amount of money.

On May 1,1936,Alvin was arrested in New Orleans,Louisiana,makinng him the last Public Enemy No.1 of the Depression Era Gangsters.

Alvin received a life sentence for his participation in a kidnapping,and he would become the longest serving inmate at the infamous prison,Alcatraz.

After being released from prison,Alvin was deported to Canada for not being a U.S. citizen,where he soon after left for Spain.

On August 10,1979,Alvin died from either a sleeping pill overdose(suicide) or natural causes,even authorities weren't able to tell which was the cause.

It's unknown how many people Alvin killed during his crime spree or if he killed anyone at all. He never confessed to murdering anyone,but historians believe otherwise.