Fred "Killer" Burke (May 29, 1893 – July 10, 1940) was an American armed robber and contract killer responsible for many crimes during the Prohibition era. He was considered a prime suspect in the
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang that occurred on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago garage on the morning of February 1 ...
of 1929.
Early life
Fred R. Burke was born Thomas A. Camp, one of eight children of Mr. and Mrs. Wall Camp of
Mapleton, Kansas
Mapleton is a city in Bourbon County, Kansas, Bourbon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 96.
History
Mapleton was originally called Eldora, and under the latter name w ...
. Teachers considered him as having above-average intelligence and he was a regular Sunday School attendee. Burke's first criminal act occurred at age 17 when he was involved in a land-fraud scheme with a traveling salesman. Burke fled to avoid prosecution and became involved with criminal enterprises around St. Louis, Missouri. It was during this time he is believed to have changed his name from Thomas Camp to Fred Burke.
Criminal career
Burke had moved to St. Louis, Missouri, by 1915 where he became a member of the city's top gang,
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 ...
. In these early years his criminal activity was mostly devoid of the violence that characterized his life in the 1920s and early 1930s. Burke, described as tall, well-built, and honest-looking, acted as a "front man" for the Egan gang in various forgery and fraud schemes. In 1917, Burke enlisted in the U.S. Army after being indicted in St. Louis for forgery. The United States had recently entered World War I, and Burke served as a tank sergeant in France. After his return from overseas duty and discharge, Burke was soon arrested for land fraud in Michigan and spent a year imprisoned there, followed by another year in the Missouri state prison for the pre-war St. Louis charges.
By 1922, Burke had re-joined Egan's Rats and was working with three other war veterans in various robberies around St. Louis, including a robbery of $80,000 from a St. Louis distillery. In 1924, the leaders of the Egan gang were jailed, after which Burke returned to Michigan with other Egan's Rats members where they became associates of The Purple Gang of Detroit. Burke, Gus Winkler, and the other former Egan's Rats members, working on behalf of the Purple Gang, were the prime suspects in the March 1927 Milaflores Massacre. A few months later, a conflict with the Purple Gang led Burke and his associates to relocate to Chicago. Burke and his associates were contacted by
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...
, who referred to them as his "American Boys". Based in Chicago, Burke and his associates were involved in murders and armed robberies as far east as Brooklyn, New York and
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Louisville, Kentucky. Among them was the murder of Toledo, Ohio police officer George Zientara following a bank robbery in 1928.
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
In 1928 and early 1929, Al Capone had a conflict with Bugs Moran and his Irish gang from Chicago's Northside. Burke and his associates lured five members and two associates of the Moran gang to a garage on Clark street in Chicago. Burke and his associates entered the garage, some dressed as police, and executed the Moran gang members. The murders received international press attention and within a few weeks Burke was named by Chicago police as a principal suspect. Witnesses placed Burke near the scene and guns seized from his home later in 1929 were matched to bullets from the crime. Years later, in 1935, Byron Bolton, a captured member of the Barker Gang, gave a detailed statement to the FBI implicating Burke, his associates, and other Capone gang members as being responsible.
Capture and death
Following the Saint Valentine's Day massacre, Burke continued his pattern of armed robberies and the occasional murder. In December 1929, an intoxicated and paranoid Burke, using the alias Fred Dane, was involved in a minor traffic collision in St. Joseph, Michigan. When Patrolman Charles H. Skelly became involved with the parties in the collision, Burke shot and killed him. As a consequence, Burke was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. To avoid capture, Burke fled to rural northern Missouri. A Michigan police bulletin offering a $1,000 reward said in underscored type: "This man is dangerous and will shoot to kill and every precaution should be used in making his arrest." Among the aliases listed for Burke were Fred Dean, Fred Campbell, and Theodore Cameron. Burke took on the alias Richard F. White while in Missouri. In 1930, Burke married a woman from Sullivan County, Missouri, Bonnie Porter, and took up residence near Green City in Sullivan County. While living there, it is suspected that Burke continued committing criminal acts. According to an eyewitness account described in '' The Chariton Collector'', Burke resided in a
Kirksville, Missouri
Kirksville is the county seat and most populous city in Adair County, Missouri. Located in Benton Township, its population was 17,530 at the 2020 census. Kirksville is home to two colleges: Truman State University and A.T. Still University.
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hotel, the Traveler's Hotel, for a few days prior to a local bank robbery. Later, his wife would claim no knowledge of Burke's real identity or his criminal past, saying she thought her husband was just a businessman who regularly traveled.
On March 26, 1931, a citizen in the Green City area who had read of Burke and seen his picture in '' True Detective'' magazineRenard, Ray as told to Frank Calhoun. "Fred Burke, Gangster—As I Knew Him" ''True Detective Mysteries'' (October 1930) pp. 12, 14, 16, 132-134. recognized him and notified authorities. Burke was captured at the home of his father-in-law without incident. Returned to Michigan, Burke was convicted of Skelly's murder and given a life sentence at Marquette State Prison. Having been in failing health with diabetes and heart disease for several years, Burke died of a heart attack on July 10, 1940.
*Waugh, Daniel. ''Egan's Rats: The Untold Story of the Gang that ruled Prohibition-era St. Louis'' Nashville: Cumberland House, 2007.
*Helmer, William and Arthur J. Bilek. ''The St. Valentine's Day Massacre: The Untold Story Of The Bloodbath That Brought Down Al Capone'' Nashville: Cumberland House, 2004.
*Lyon, Chriss. "A Killing in Capone's Playground: The Hunt for the Most Dangerous Man Alive" In-Depth Editions, Inc., 2014