TWT #142 –

On May 22nd, 1868, The Reno Gang, world’s first train robbers, robbed their final train outside a small Indiana town, making off with $96,000 before the majority of the gang were captured and hanged by vigilantes.

These Reno boys were bad seeds from the start. Frank, John, Simeon, and Bill were born outside Rockford, Indiana, and immediately started making trouble.

In the beginning it was just innocent hoodwinkin’ of travelers in card games. However the Reno boys soon stepped up their game to horse-theft and arson (sheesh, they moved to felony’s pretty quickly!).

Frank Reno (doesn’t look creepy at all)

During the Civil War, the Reno boys were “bounty jumpers”, hopping from town to town, assuming different names and signing up for the Union army over and over in order to collect the sign-up bounty, then running to the next town.

After the War, the good ol’ boys returned to Rockford and began forming their gang. Their first robbery attempt didn’t go so well, and Frank was arrested along with two other gang members (one of who was going to squeal…before he was mysteriously murdered).

Over the next 2 years, the Reno Gang saw many successes in their train-robbin’ ways (including what is considered to be the first-ever train robbery).

Their highly-trained (get it?) members would occasionally go off on a job without any Reno boys present, but always gave a them a cut, providing what we now call “Passive Income.”

Brilliant!

During all their joyriding, however, they attracted the attention of the infamous Pinkerton’s, and on this fateful day, May 22, 1868, the Reno Gang pulled off it’s final successful robbery.

John Reno, owner of a cool hat

Not long after, in July of that year, Bill and Simeon were captured, followed shortly by Frank.

While the Reno boys themselves were still on the lamb, 6 of their gang members were captured by vigilante mobs and hanged. So the boys must have been pretty freaked out by this point.

On a cold night in December, 65 hooded men barged into a sheriffs office, beat and shot the sheriff, and forced his wife to hand over the key to the jail.

From there, they dragged Frank, Bill, Simeon and their compatriot Charles out of jail and hanged all three.

However, even after all of this, somehow John Reno avoided the law and went on to write an autobiography.

So remember, folks, crime does pay, as long as you stop while you’re ahead (or make it out alive & write a book about it).

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