This Random City Was A Literal Paradise For Prohibition Gangsters

This Random City Was A Literal Paradise For Prohibition Gangsters

Aimee Heidelberg - October 31, 2023

This Random City Was A Literal Paradise For Prohibition Gangsters
The Bensonville house where William Hamm was taken during kidnapping. Minneapolis Tribune, April 19, 1936.

A Quick Resolution

En route to Bensonville, the group had Hamm sign ransom notes, then sent them to William Dunn. Dunn arranged the ransom payment for drop at a location north of St Paul. The ransom payment had to be delivered by a car with doors removed (to prove there weren’t extra people inside) and displaying a red light. They didn’t know the FBI developed latent fingerprint identification for the first time, but had not yet identified them. With the ransom paid (and ransom notes on their way to the FBI), Hamm was taken from captivity to a spot about fifty miles north of St. Paul and dropped off safely. As the FBI investigated the kidnapping, the group was tipped off by Jack Peifer to a raid at their money-laundering location. They fled their hideout with time enough to remove all evidence of their crime. The Hamm kidnapping was over in three days.

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