Frank T. Hackethal (December 13, 1891 – July 13, 1954) was a prominent St. Louis organized crime figure in the early 20th century. He was one of nine members of the

Egan's Rats Egan's Rats was an American organized crime gang that exercised considerable power in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1890 to 1924. Its 35 years of criminal activity included bootlegging, labor slugging, voter intimidation, armed robbery, and murder ...

to be convicted of mail robbery on November 15, 1924. Hackethal was born in Denver, Colorado. By 1893 his parents had returned to the Chouteau Township area of Madison County, Illinois. Frank served with the American forces during World War I. By 1921 he had turned to a life of crime. A high-ranking member of the Egan gang, Hackethal owned a popular resort on Long Lake, about thirty miles from

Staunton, Illinois Staunton is the second largest city in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 5,054. History Name origins A man named Stanton bought land in the area, and then decided to move on and gave the land to ...

. This resort was a favorite hangout of the Rats, who used it as a base of operations while they were planning a mail robbery in Staunton. Hackethal's resort was also the scene of a violent inter-gang dispute on May 24, 1923, when

David "Chippy" Robinson David "Chippy" Robinson (1897–1967) was a St. Louis armed robber and contract killer responsible for many crimes during the Prohibition era. He was a top ranking member of the Egan's Rats gang. Born David Michael Robison in the North Side neig ...

, James "Sticky" Hennessey, and Joe Powderly showed up to do some drinking. The former two had lured Powderly to the joint for the express purpose of killing him. When this was accomplished, the two Egans dragged his body out of the joint and put it in their car. While Hennessey propped up Powderly's dead body, Chippy Robinson stuck a cigar in the corpse's mouth and cracked jokes about the man he just killed. The '' Weekend at Bernie's''-style antics continued until they reached the Mississippi River, where they disposed of the body. Two days later, the Rats committed their Staunton mail robbery, netting $45,000. Hackethal, along with eight other Rats, was convicted for taking part in the Staunton mail robbery in November 1924. He drew a 25-year sentence at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. Within two years, Hackethal and several others were transferred to the

Atlanta Federal Penitentiary The United States Penitentiary, Atlanta (USP Atlanta) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Atlanta, Georgia. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justic ...

. Hackethal finished his sentence in Springfield, Illinois, and was released in January 1941. Hackethal died at home in Granite City on July 13, 1954. He was survived by six of his eight siblings.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hackethal, Frank 1891 births 1954 deaths American gangsters Jewish American gangsters Gangsters from St. Louis People from Granite City, Illinois 20th-century American Jews