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Adam Richetti

Adam "Eddie" Richetti (August 5, 1909 – October 7, 1938) was an Italian-American criminal and Depression-era bank robber best known for his close association with outlaw Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd. Richetti, who traveled and committed crimes with Floyd throughout the summer of 1933, including multiple bank holdups, was implicated alongside Floyd and Vernon Miller in the Kansas City Massacre of June 17, 1933, a botched attempt to liberate captured gangster Frank "Jelly" Nash that left four law enforcement officers dead. Captured shortly after the incident during a separate confrontation in Missouri, Richetti was tried and convicted in 1935 for the murder of Officer Frank Hermanson in the massacre, despite maintaining his innocence throughout the proceedings and appeals. He was executed by lethal gas at the Missouri State Penitentiary on October 7, 1938, becoming one of the first individuals put to death under Missouri's gas chamber law enacted in response to such high-profile crimes. While federal authorities and contemporary accounts linked him to Floyd's gang and the massacre based on eyewitness identifications and ballistic evidence, some historical analyses have questioned the extent of his direct involvement in the shooting, portraying him as a peripheral figure caught in the era's aggressive pursuit of public enemies.

Early Life

Childhood and Family Background

Adam Richetti was born on August 5, 1909, in , to immigrant parents who had arrived in the United States seeking economic opportunities. Three years later, in 1912, the family relocated to Lehigh in , a small community in the south-central part of the state centered on operations that had begun in the late . The Richettis settled in this working-class mining district, where households often depended on irregular extraction work amid fluctuating demand and hazardous conditions. Richetti had at least one older brother, and the family resided in an environment of common to such rural-industrial areas, including reliance on scavenging coal scraps for fuel during lean periods before the . Formal education in Lehigh was rudimentary, shaped by the priorities of labor-intensive communities where attendance competed with familial economic needs.

Initial Involvement in Crime

Adam Richetti's criminal record began in his late teens during the era, with his first known arrest occurring on August 7, 1928, in , for a holdup. This offense, involving armed robbery, marked his entry into violent petty crime amid the economic strains of the late , though specific details of the incident remain limited in official records. Convicted on the charge, Richetti received a sentence that resulted in approximately three and a half years of incarceration out of a five-year term, reflecting the era's punitive approach to such offenses. Upon his release around 1931–1932, Richetti faced the intensifying , which exacerbated and across the Midwest. Lacking steady employment or legitimate prospects—common for young men without specialized skills in rural or industrial areas—he gravitated toward recurrent minor offenses, including further thefts and burglaries, as a means of survival. This period saw a pattern of drifting between states like and , where economic desperation fueled a shift from isolated holdups to associating with small-time criminal elements for more reliable illicit income. By the early , Richetti's involvement escalated toward organized underworld activities in the Midwest, driven by the collapse of legal job markets and the allure of Prohibition-related opportunities, though his record emphasizes over bootlegging. Without documented ties to major bootlegging rings, his progression aligned with broader causal factors: familial instability from earlier years compounded by national rates exceeding 20%, pushing unattached individuals into escalating criminal networks for protection and profit. This foundational pattern of opportunistic set the stage for deeper entanglements, though high-profile partnerships emerged later.

Criminal Career

Association with Criminal Networks

Adam Richetti's initial criminal activities centered in the Midwest, beginning with a holdup in , on August 7, 1928, for which he received a sentence of one to ten years at the State Reformatory in , before being paroled on October 2, 1930. By early 1932, Richetti had shifted operations to , where he was arrested on March 9 in Sulphur for , serving time at McAlester State Penitentiary until August 25, 1932, after which he forfeited a $15,000 bond and became wanted for a robbery in Tishomingo. These incidents reflect early connections to localized robbery circuits in Oklahoma's rural areas, characteristic of Depression-era "sagebrush bandits" who targeted small-town institutions amid economic desperation. In the early , Richetti formed associations with regional s, notably Aussie Elliott, a fellow Oklahoma-based bank robber active in the same networks of itinerant criminals. Richetti and Elliott, along with figures like Edgar Dunbar, were linked through shared participation in holdups, operating as loose affiliates rather than formalized syndicates, often crossing state lines to evade capture. This period preceded deeper involvement with larger figures, highlighting Richetti's progression from solo or small-scale ventures to collaborative efforts typical of Midwestern bandit groups. By late 1932, Richetti aligned with Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd's crew, serving as a specialist in their operations, which emphasized mobility and firepower. The group's dynamics favored rapid evasion tactics, such as forfeiting bonds to slip away quickly and utilizing rural hideouts in and surrounding states to avoid urban concentrations. Weapon preferences leaned toward automatic firearms like submachine guns for during escapes, reflecting a causal adaptation to pursuits by increasingly coordinated federal and local forces in the post-Prohibition era. These methods underscored the opportunistic, hit-and-run style of Floyd's network, prioritizing speed and armament over territorial control seen in urban gangs.

Bank Robberies and Other Crimes

Richetti's criminal record prior to 1933 included a conviction following his on August 7, 1928, in , for which he was sentenced to the Indiana State Reformatory. He escaped from the reformatory on December 11, 1931, after which he turned to armed robberies across the Midwest, utilizing firearms to intimidate victims and fleeing in getaway vehicles. Among these activities, Richetti was sought for a in , and for jumping a $15,000 bond tied to a charge. He had also been convicted of robbing a bank in , resulting in a term at the in McAlester. These offenses exemplified the opportunistic holdups common during the , driven by economic hardship and enabled by lax rural security. No verified eyewitness accounts detail violence in Richetti's pre-1933 bank jobs, though the use of weapons marked an escalation from his initial non-violent burglary. Specific haul amounts and exact dates for the Sulphur and Tishomingo incidents remain undocumented in primary records.

The Kansas City Massacre

Events Leading to the Massacre

Frank "Jelly" Nash, a federal prisoner with a history of bank robberies and escapes, had broken out of the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, on October 19, 1930, and remained at large for nearly three years. He was recaptured on June 16, 1933, in Hot Springs, Arkansas, by FBI agents Frank Smith, F. Joseph Lackey, and McAlester Police Chief Otto Reed. Authorities arranged for Nash's transport back to Leavenworth via a Missouri Pacific train, scheduled to arrive at Kansas City's Union Station early on June 17, 1933, accompanied by federal agents and Kansas City police officers. This route reflected tensions in Kansas City, where local law enforcement under the influence of gangster John Lazia—tied to the Pendergast political machine—may have facilitated leaks about Nash's impending arrival through bribery and corruption. Nash's associates, including Richard Galatas and Herbert Farmer, conceived a rescue plan and enlisted Vernon C. Miller, a former sheriff turned bootlegger with underworld connections to Nash, to orchestrate the ambush. Miller, tipped off about the transport details, recruited Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd and Adam Richetti from a Kansas City brothel to provide additional manpower and firepower, driven by criminal loyalties and the desire to liberate Nash. Floyd and Richetti, already fugitives, arrived in Kansas City on June 16, 1933, after experiencing car troubles and briefly detaining a local sheriff en route. Richetti, a young associate of Floyd with a record of robberies, participated in the planning phases alongside and Floyd, confirming his role in the effort to free through documented associations and later evidentiary links such as fingerprints. The group positioned themselves at , anticipating the train's 7:15 a.m. arrival, as part of Miller's coordinated strategy.

The Massacre Itself

On the morning of June 17, 1933, a Missouri Pacific train carrying federal prisoner Frank "Jelly" Nash arrived at at approximately 7:15 a.m. Nash, escorted by U.S. Bureau of Investigation agents Joe Lackey, Frank J. Smith, and Otto Reed, exited the train and was met in the lobby by agents Wilbur C. Vetterli and Richard L. Caffrey, along with officers William J. Grooms and Harry L. Hermanson. The group proceeded through the station to a Chevrolet sedan parked at the east entrance for transfer to local custody. As the lawmen and Nash approached the vehicle, three gunmen—identified by Bureau investigators through eyewitness accounts as , Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd, and Adam Richetti—launched the ambush. Floyd and Richetti emerged from behind a green Plymouth sedan parked about 6 feet away, shouting commands including "Up, up!" and "Let ‘em have it!" to initiate the attack. A third assailant, positioned crouched behind a nearby radiator approximately 15 feet diagonally to the right of the Chevrolet, opened fire with an automatic weapon, later determined to be a consistent with submachine guns used by gangsters of the era. The ensuing gunfire exchange lasted roughly 30 seconds, resulting in immediate chaos outside the station's east entrance. Officers Grooms and Hermanson were killed instantly by close-range shots, while Caffrey suffered a fatal ; inside the Chevrolet, Nash and Reed were fatally struck amid return fire from survivors Lackey and . Miller was attributed with leading the positioning of the gunmen and approaching the car post-shooting, while Floyd and Richetti were linked to the initial assault volleys via eyewitness descriptions of their proximity and armament, though some identifications faced later scrutiny from ballistic and evidence. The attackers then fled in their vehicles, abandoning the rescue attempt after mistakenly killing .

Casualties and Immediate Consequences

The Kansas City Massacre on June 17, 1933, resulted in the immediate deaths of four law enforcement officers tasked with transporting federal prisoner Frank "Jelly" Nash: W. J. Grooms, Frank Hermanson, Bureau of Investigation Agent R. J. Caffrey, and McAlester Police Chief Otto Reed. Nash, a convicted train robber and associate of criminal networks, was also fatally shot during the ambush at , with his death occurring amid the crossfire as rescuers attempted his liberation. Two other federal agents, Reed E. Vetterli and F. Joseph Lackey, sustained injuries—Vetterli with a gunshot to the left arm and Lackey wounded by three bullets—though both survived the initial assault. The human toll underscored vulnerabilities in inter-agency prisoner transfers, as the officers were caught in a rapid exchange of automatic weapons fire from concealed positions, leaving no opportunity for effective counteraction. Nash's killing, while preventing his potential recapture, highlighted tactical decisions under duress, with later indicating shots from multiple directions, including possibly from his own escorts. In the hours following, the massacre elicited intense public outrage across U.S. , with headlines decrying the slaughter of officers in broad daylight and framing it as a direct assault on federal authority. responded with an escalated coordinated by the Bureau of Investigation, mobilizing resources to identify and pursue suspects amid national calls for stronger anti-crime measures, which disrupted routine operations and strained inter-jurisdictional coordination. This immediate fallout amplified perceptions of unchecked gangsterism, prompting Cummings to spur a wide-ranging and foreshadowing legislative reforms to bolster federal policing powers.

Arrest and Legal Proceedings

Capture and Initial Charges

On October 20, 1934, Adam Richetti was apprehended near , by local following an automobile accident and ensuing gun battle. Fleeing alongside Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd amid a nationwide coordinated by the FBI for their suspected roles in the , the pair's vehicle crashed, drawing the attention of Wellsville authorities. Richetti exchanged gunfire with J. H. Fultz in a wooded area, emptying his before surrendering unharmed; Floyd escaped into the nearby hills. No specific weapons beyond Richetti's discharged were detailed as seized during the , though the incident underscored the armed nature of the fugitives pursued in connection with multiple bank robberies and the 1933 massacre. The capture resulted from local , with FBI agents involved in the broader and subsequent tracking efforts that led to Floyd's death two days later. Richetti was promptly extradited to Kansas City, Missouri, for state prosecution. Initial charges focused on his alleged participation in the Union Station shootings, tying him directly to the murder of Kansas City Police Detective Frank E. Hermanson on June 17, 1933. Prosecutors prioritized Hermanson's killing among the four law enforcement deaths, leading to preliminary proceedings that set the stage for formal indictment by the Jackson County on March 1, 1935, for four counts of first-degree .

Trial Details and Evidence

Richetti's for the first-degree of Kansas City Police Detective Frank Hermanson commenced on June 13, 1935, in Jackson County Circuit Court, , following his by a on March 1, 1935. The proceedings lasted four days, with the prosecution focusing on linking Richetti to the Union Station Massacre through circumstantial and direct identifications. Prosecutors presented eyewitness testimony from bystander Lottie West, who identified Richetti as one of the gunmen wielding two pistols—one blued and one nickel-plated—during the shooting. Federal agents Reed Vetterli and Frank Smith provided identifications of associates and as participants, while Sheriff Jack Killingsworth testified to being kidnapped by Floyd and Richetti shortly after , during which they held him en route to ; Killingsworth recounted the events while displaying Floyd's discarded sub-machine gun as evidence. evidence included a .45-caliber pistol shell casing recovered from the scene, matched to a associated with Floyd, and latent fingerprints from bottles in Miller's Kansas City residence, identified by FBI experts as belonging to Richetti, establishing his presence in the city proximate to the crime. The defense, led by attorneys Ralph Latshaw and James Daleo, argued misidentification by challenging West's account for inconsistencies, such as her description of seeing nuns and positioning herself outside during the gunfire, which no other witnesses corroborated, and her prior mistaken identification of a station employee as Floyd. Richetti took the stand to assert he had not been in City at the exact time of the morning massacre, claiming arrival only the previous evening with Floyd and Killingsworth, thereby attempting to establish an through temporal separation from the shooting itself. The defense lacked access to certain FBI reports on agent positions during the event, limiting their ability to counter synchronized prosecution statements.

Conviction and Sentencing

On June 17, 1935, following a that began on June 13, a Jackson County jury unanimously convicted Adam Richetti of first-degree murder under law for the shooting death of Kansas City Police Frank Hermanson during the Union Station Massacre. The jury reached its verdict after brief deliberation, determining that Richetti had participated in a willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing, an offense punishable by death or at the discretion of the jury's recommendation. The jury recommended the death penalty in its verdict, which presiding Judge James A. formally imposed shortly thereafter, establishing the legal finality of the absent successful appeals. Richetti's defense team promptly filed a motion for a , citing alleged errors in evidentiary admissions and , but the motion was overruled by the trial court after review of the assignments of error. Richetti appealed the to the Missouri Supreme Court in State v. Richetti, arguing insufficient evidence of direct participation and improper identification testimony, but the court affirmed the lower court's rulings, upholding the first-degree murder and death sentence as supported by eyewitness accounts and ballistic evidence linking Richetti to the scene. With appeals exhausted, Richetti was transferred to the in for continued incarceration under the death sentence.

Controversies and Debates

Claims of Innocence

Richetti consistently denied direct involvement in the shooting deaths during the , asserting throughout his trial and subsequent imprisonment that he did not fire upon the officers or participate in the on June 17, 1933. He maintained these denials up to his execution by on October 7, 1938, at the , claiming no role in the fatalities despite his association with Charles . Supporters of Richetti's innocence have highlighted potential errors in eyewitness identifications, attributing them to the chaotic conditions, including morning shadows and the brief duration of the gunfight, which limited clear views of the perpetrators. Some accounts suggest informant testimonies may have been influenced by biases or rewards offered for information leading to arrests in the high-profile case. A minority of historians, including in his examination of Floyd's career, have questioned Richetti's role as an , proposing that the evidence linking him to firing the fatal shots may have been circumstantial or overstated by investigators eager to close the case. These views argue that Richetti's presence with Floyd did not necessarily equate to culpability in itself, emphasizing instead his peripheral status in the rescue attempt for .

Criticisms of the Investigation and Trial

Critics have pointed to the brevity of Richetti's 1935 trial, which lasted only four days from to , as indicative of procedural haste driven by pressure to resolve the high-profile case following the deaths of FBI agents in . The defense team, composed of local attorneys with limited resources, faced significant disadvantages against the prosecution bolstered by FBI agents under , who sought to vindicate the Bureau's image amid public outcry over the killings. This imbalance included the defense's lack of access to official FBI reports from agents present at , hindering effective and preparation. Witness testimonies formed the core of the prosecution's case, but detractors have highlighted inconsistencies and potential influences, such as reliance on identifications made under duress or after prolonged questioning. For instance, key witness Blanche Buchanan, who claimed to have seen Richetti with Floyd post-massacre, provided that underscored the circumstantial nature of the evidence, as her account was pivotal yet vulnerable to scrutiny for reliability. Ballistics evidence linking weapons found with Richetti to the crime scene has also faced questions regarding and testing accuracy, with some analyses suggesting mismatches in shell casings presented at trial. The investigation's federal dominance, amid Hoover's push for expanded authority in the wake of the massacre's embarrassment, raised concerns of overreach, including possible orchestration to attribute blame to fugitives like Richetti and Floyd to deflect from local law enforcement lapses. Historians such as have echoed these doubts, arguing that the evidence against Richetti was slim and primarily associative rather than of his role in the shooting. Despite these critiques, the conviction rested on upheld identifications and forensic ties, affirmed on by Judge George R. Ellison, who rejected claims of evidentiary error.

Alternative Theories of Involvement

Some alternative theories posit that Adam Richetti's involvement in the June 17, 1933, Union Station Massacre was limited to logistical support, such as driving a getaway vehicle, rather than direct participation in the shooting. Proponents of this view cite the absence of eyewitness identifications placing Richetti at the during the gunfire, with surviving officers like later identifying only "Pretty Boy" Floyd among the gunmen, while Richetti's link stemmed primarily from his association with Floyd and Vernon Miller post-event. Ballistic evidence and witness accounts focused on two or three shooters using submachine guns, leaving room for theories that Richetti waited in a secondary car, consistent with his self-described minor criminal role in contemporaneous affidavits denying active combat. More radical hypotheses question Richetti's presence altogether, suggesting he and Floyd were scapegoated amid pressure to resolve the case swiftly. Historian , in his analysis of Floyd's life, argues that archival reviews of travel records, alibis, and conflicting survivor statements indicate neither Floyd nor Richetti was in Kansas City on the date, attributing the instead to Miller acting with local underworld figures motivated by personal grudges against federal custody of . Similarly, Robert Unger has highlighted discrepancies in federal timelines, proposing tied to intra-gang rivalries rather than Floyd's crew, with Richetti's later arrest in yielding no physical evidence like weapons or proceeds directly from the event. Archival evidence includes purported conflicting affidavits from Kansas City informants, who initially named Miller alongside figures like William Weissman and the Denning brothers—Homer and Maurice—as probable perpetrators with ties to bootlegging networks and Nash's Leavenworth connections—rather than Floyd's out-of-state outfit. These alternatives draw from reports noting the shooters' familiarity with local terrain and escape routes, atypical for transient figures like Richetti, and suggest misattribution arose from Floyd's rising notoriety after subsequent robberies. No credible links emerge to other national gangs, such as George "Machine Gun" Kelly's, despite contemporaneous speculation in underworld lore. Such theories remain marginal, challenged by Richetti's 1935 conviction on circumstantial grounds including his possession of matching massacre calibers, though they underscore evidentiary gaps in an era of politicized prosecutions under the Pendergast machine.

Execution and Aftermath

Imprisonment and Execution

Following his conviction in March 1935 and subsequent resentencing on August 31, 1938, Adam Richetti was held on death row at the in Jefferson City, where he remained until his execution. The facility, operational since 1836, housed capital inmates in segregated cells under strict protocols typical of the era, including limited visitation and routine oversight by guards. Richetti's legal team filed appeals challenging the conviction's validity, but the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence on May 3, 1938. A final petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied shortly thereafter, exhausting his avenues for reversal. Richetti was executed in Missouri's newly operational on October 7, 1938, becoming the state's first inmate put to death by this method. The procedure involved strapping him to a chair within a sealed chamber; at approximately 12:03 a.m., pellets were dropped from a container into a basin containing and water, releasing hydrocyanic gas. The pellets were released at 12:07 a.m., and Richetti was pronounced dead four minutes later after convulsions and cessation of , observed by witnesses including officials, physicians, and media representatives. This cyanide-based system, adopted in 1937 as a replacement for hanging, aimed for rapid lethality through asphyxiation and cyanide poisoning. In his final moments, Richetti maintained his innocence, murmuring to guards, "What did I do to deserve this?" as he walked to the chamber, consistent with his denials throughout incarceration and trial. He offered no formal last statement beyond protesting his fate, and his body was claimed by family for burial.

Impact on and Public Perception

Richetti's execution on October 7, 1938, at the marked the resolution of the prosecutions, bolstering the FBI's reputation under Director for decisively dismantling Depression-era outlaw networks. The bureau, which had intensified its manhunt for Richetti following Pretty Boy Floyd's killing in 1934, presented the outcome as a triumph of federal coordination, justifying expansions in jurisdiction and resources granted by post-massacre legislation like the 1934 and anti-kidnapping statutes. These reforms, spurred by the 1933 ambush that killed four officers including FBI agent Frank Smith, enabled agents to carry firearms and pursue interstate fugitives, practices validated by Richetti's capture and conviction after a four-year pursuit involving tips from over 1,000 informants. The massacre's exposure of vulnerabilities in —such as reliance on unsecured trains and mixed local-federal custody—prompted immediate procedural shifts toward armored vehicles, additional armed guards, and centralized federal oversight for high-profile transfers, measures that gained permanence as agencies adapted to prevent repeats of the debacle. Richetti's case reinforced these protocols, as his evasion until 1935 highlighted the need for sustained interagency intelligence sharing, contributing to a medium-term decline in successful jailbreaks during the late crime wave. Public views on evolved from early sympathy—rooted in economic resentment toward banks and authorities—to fatigue and endorsement of stringent penalties by 1938, amid federal successes that reduced high-profile gangster activity. Polls and media coverage reflected growing approval for and crackdowns, with Richetti's gassing viewed as emblematic of restored order rather than martyrdom, signaling the erosion of romanticized "folk hero" narratives for figures like Floyd. This shift aligned with broader societal exhaustion from Prohibition-era violence and bank robberies, fostering support for Hoover's narrative of federal supremacy over local corruption.

Legacy in Historical Context

Richetti's association with Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd positioned him within the pantheon of Depression-era whose exploits were later embellished in popular media, including films and ballads portraying figures like Floyd as folk heroes redistributing wealth amid economic hardship. However, this narrative overlooks the indiscriminate violence of events such as the June 17, 1933, Union Station Massacre, where Richetti's convicted participation resulted in the deaths of four law enforcement officers—William Brennan, Frank Hermanson, Harry McGinn, and —and federal fugitive , prioritizing gang loyalty over human cost. Empirical accounts emphasize the massacre's brutality, with eyewitness identifications and ballistic evidence linking Richetti to the site, countering romanticized depictions that downplay victim suffering in favor of allure. The incident catalyzed a pivot in public and governmental attitudes toward interstate activity, accelerating interventions that curtailed glorification. Richetti's October 7, 1938, execution by lethal gas at —the state's first such use—set a precedent for swift against accomplices in high-profile slayings of officers, reinforcing deterrence amid rising gangsterism. This response influenced legislative expansions empowering agencies like the FBI to pursue fugitives across state lines, diminishing the operational freedom that enabled Richetti and Floyd's evasion post-massacre. Contemporary historical analyses, drawing on records and forensic data, reaffirm Richetti's culpability while critiquing folklore-driven exonerations that prioritize sympathetic archetypes over evidentiary rigor. Unlike earlier sympathizers who viewed bandits as avengers against banks, reassessments center the massacre's toll on and civilians, rejecting unsubstantiated claims of innocence as distortions detached from causal chains of premeditated . Richetti's thus underscores the era's transition from public of crime to institutionalized backlash, where real-world consequences eclipsed mythic rebellion.

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