Fred Samuel Goetz (February 14, 1897 – March 21, 1934), also known as "Shotgun" George Ziegler, was a

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, ...

mobster and a suspected participant 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 14, ...

, in 1929.

Early life

Goetz was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to Samuel T. Goetz and his wife Ottillie Bensel who both emigrated from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and moved to 1338 Eddy Street in the

Wrigleyville Lakeview, also spelled Lake View, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. Lakeview is located in the city's North Side. It is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road on the north, North Ravenswood A ...

enclave of Lake View. Ottillie bore Samuel two children: Fred and Sophie. Goetz graduated from

Lane Technical College Prep High School Lane Tech College Prep High School (often shortened to Lane Tech, full name Albert Grannis Lane Technical College Preparatory High School), is a public 4-year selective enrollment magnet high school located in the Roscoe Village neighborhood on ...

in 1914. After graduating from Lane Tech, he went on to attend the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

and graduated in 1918 having earned a degree in engineering. Following his graduation from the U of I, Fred enlisted in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and after basic training was stationed at

Langley Field, Virginia Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Hampton, Virginia, adjacent to Newport News. It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the entry of the United States into World War I in April 1 ...

, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, as a pilot in the

United States Army Aviation Branch The United States Army Aviation Branch is the administrative organization within the United States Army responsible for doctrine, manning and configuration for all army aviation units. After the United States Army Air Corps grew into the Army ...

where he rose to the rank of second lieutenant.

Criminal career

By 1922, Goetz worked as a lifeguard at Clarendon Municipal Bathing Beach in the neighbourhood of

Beach Park, Illinois Beach Park is a village in the Benton and Waukegan townships of Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 14,249. Geography Beach Park is located at (42.423763, -87.847753). According to the 2010 census, B ...

, until he was charged with sexually assaulting seven-year-old Jean Lanbert by an alley near her house where she lived in

Edgewater, Chicago Edgewater is a lakefront community area on the North Side of the city of Chicago, Illinois six miles north of the Loop. The last of the city's 77 official community areas, Edgewater is bounded by Foster Avenue on the south, Devon Avenue on the ...

. Goetz denied the charges and jumped bail on June 10, 1925. Four months later, Roger Bessner implicated Goetz in a failed robbery of Dr. Henry R. Gross, in which the family chauffeur was killed. On October 20, 1925, the Illinois State Attorney had a lawsuit brought against Fred's parents, Samuel and Ottillie, who scheduled some of their empty real estate property to be used as collateral for their son's bond. They would later divorce, his mother moving to 1503 Ardmore Avenue in

, and his father Samuel relocating to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. During the next several years, Goetz would become associates with underworld figures such as

Joseph Weil Joseph "Yellow Kid" Weil (July 1, 1875 – February 26, 1976) was one of the best known American con men of his era. Weil's biographer, W. T. Brannon, wrote of Weil's "uncanny knowledge of human nature". During the course of his career, Weil is ...

and Morris Klineman, as well as participating in several armed robberies, including the robbery of $352,000 from the Farmers and Merchants Bank, in Jefferson, Wisconsin, with

Gus Winkler Gus Winkler (March 28, 1901 – October 9, 1933) was an American gangster who headed a Prohibition-era criminal gang specializing in armed robbery and murder for hire with Fred "Killer" Burke. Winkler was a senior associate of Chicago Outfit ...

and four others, in 1929. He lived in an apartment at 7827 South Shore Drive in

South Shore, Chicago South Shore is one of 77 defined community areas of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Located on the city's South Side, the area is named for its location along the city's southern lakefront. Although South Shore has seen a greater than 40% de ...

, with his wife Irene. His landlady would describe Fred and his wife as "fine people" and that Fred was a "very brilliant and handsome man".

Barker gang

After the

, Goetz left Chicago and began bootlegging operations in Kansas City, Missouri. Goetz eventually became associated with the Barker-Karpis gang. He participated in several bank robberies with

Alvin Karpis Alvin Francis Karpis (born Albin Francis Karpavičius; August 10, 1907 – August 26, 1979), a Depression-era gangster nicknamed "Creepy" for his sinister smile and called "Ray" by his gang members, was a Canadian-born (naturalized American) crim ...

Fred Barker Frederick George Barker (December 12, 1901 – January 16, 1935) was an American criminal who, along with Alvin Karpis, co-founded the Barker-Karpis gang, which committed numerous robberies, murders and kidnappings during the 1930s. Barker was ...

, and

Doc Barker Arthur R. "Doc" Barker (June 4, 1899 – January 13, 1939) was an American criminal, the son of Ma Barker and a member of the Barker-Karpis gang, founded by his brother Fred Barker and Alvin Karpis. Barker was typically called on for violent ac ...

. One of the most violent of the armed robberies in which Goetz participated with the Barkers was carried out at the post office in

South St. Paul South St. Paul is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota County, Minnesota, United States, located immediately south and southeast of Saint Paul, Minnesota, St. Paul. It is also east of West St. Paul, Minnesota, West St. Paul. The population ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

on August 30, 1933. The robbery resulted in the theft of a $33,000

Swift and Company JBS USA Holdings, Inc. is an American food processing company and a wholly owned subsidiary of the multinational company JBS S.A. The subsidiary was created when JBS entered the U.S. market in 2007 with its purchase of Swift & Company. JBS speci ...

payroll, the murder of

police office
Leo Pavlak
and the permanent maiming of South St. Paul police officer John Yeaman. The Barker-Karpis Gang then went on a shooting spree before fleeing the scene of the robbery. According to a report by the

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is a statewide criminal investigative bureau under the Minnesota Department of Public Safety that provides expert forensic science and criminal investigation services throughout the state of ...

, "The bandits put on a Jesse James exhibition by shooting up and down Concord St., shooting about a dozen shots into the Postal Building and across the street. These bandits used a

Thompson submachine gun The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Sta ...

and a sawed-off shotgun with which they did their shooting, and it is a miracle that no one else was shot and wounded. They appeared to be cool and reckless, not giving a damn who they shot." Paul Maccabee (1995), ''John Dillinger Slept Here: A Crooks Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul 1920-1936'', Minnesota Historical Society Press. Page 167. Goetz is alleged to have returned to Chicago and to been one of the gunmen in the October 9, 1933 murder of his former friend and associate

. Goetz then conspired with the Barker Gang in the 1934 kidnapping of St. Paul, Minnesota banking millionaire Edward G. Bremer. Goetz collected the ransom and released Bremer. FBI chief

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation � ...

later publicly accused

Ma Barker Kate Barker (born Arizona Donnie Clark; October 8, 1873 – January 16, 1935), better known as Ma Barker (and sometimes known as Arizona Barker and Arrie Barker), was the mother of several American criminals who ran the Barker–Karpis Gang ...

of masterminding the Bremer kidnapping. According to

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...

historian Paul Maccabee, FBI files on the case reveal that it was Goetz, rather than Ma Barker, who directed both the Hamm and Bremer kidnappings on behalf of St. Paul crime bosses Harry Sawyer and Jack Peifer, as well as mobbed up former St. Paul police chief Big Tom Brown.Maccabee, Paul (1995). ''John Dillinger Slept Here: A Crooks Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul 1920-1936'', Minnesota Historical Society Press. Page 201. However, Goetz loved to brag over drinks to fellow wiseguys in Chicago pubs about his involvement in the Bremer kidnapping and even hinted about the names of his co-conspirators and the hiding place of the ransom money.

Murder

On March 20, 1934, Goetz walked outside The Minerva Cafe in the mob-controlled Chicago suburb of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

, and was shot in the face by a shotgun at close range. He was taken to the Frances E. Willard National Temperance Hospital, but died from his wounds. His body had to be identified by fingerprints. Goetz's expensive

coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

was found in Greater Grand Crossing, Chicago, and it was believed to have been abandoned there by his wife Irene, who along with Fred was a wanted

fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

. The culprit, or culprits in Goetz's murder remain unknown. The newspapers suggested that the Barker gang had murdered Goetz rather than pay him his cut of the ransom money. In his memoirs, former Barker gang leader

, while insisting that the

was responsible for Goetz's murder, also commented that Goetz had been, "getting kind of gabby", and might have led the FBI to his fellow kidnappers. According to FBI documents, soon after Goetz's murder, Irene Goetz spoke about her husband.

overheard her and said coldly, "To hell with George." Meanwhile,

Louis Campagna Louis "Little New York" Campagna (March 31, 1900 – May 31, 1955) was an American gangster and mobster and a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit for over three decades. Early years Campagna was born in Brooklyn to parents from mainland Ital ...

, the Chicago Outfit

made man In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oa ...

and ''

caporegime A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to capo or informally referred to as "captain" or "skipper", is a rank used in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia) for a '' made member'' of an Italian crime family who he ...

'' responsible for running operations in Cicero, later told his friends that Fred Goetz got whacked because, "the St. Paul Outfit", likely meaning Harry Sawyer, "put him on the spot". Fred Goetz is buried at

Irving Park Cemetery Irving Park Cemetery is located at 7777 West Irving Park Road, in Chicago. Irving Park Cemetery performed its first interment in July 1918. Some of the victims of the 1929 Saint Valentine's Day Massacre are buried at Irving Park Cemetery. Notab ...

Norridge, Illinois Norridge is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,251 at the 2020 census. The village and its neighbor to the east, Harwood Heights, together form an enclave within the city of Chicago (i.e. they are surrounded ...

References

External links

*
"Fred Goetz"
My Al Capone Museum.

''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

''. January 18, 1937.