I Stole $16,000,000 - by Herbert Emerson Wilson & Thomas P Kelley (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

I Stole $16,000,000 is based on the true story of a mastermind of crime -- Herbert Emerson Wilson, former ordained clergyman, war veteran, bank robber, mail bandit, safe cracker, jail breaker and convicted murderer.

This is the blazing inside story of a safe cracker who stole more than $16,000,000 and eventually learned that crime does not pay after he was put behind bars for almost 20 years.

In his own words, Herbert Emerson Wilson, a clever and daring thief, describes how he planned and pulled off robberies that baffled the police and FBI investigators for years until he was caught. With his own specially made explosives, his nimble fingers, his well-run syndicate of mobsters and musclemen, and his beautiful and wily moll, Wilson blasted, torched, tunneled and talked his way into banks, stores and armored cars -- without leaving a clue or a fingerprint.

About the Author

Herbert Emerson Wilson (1881-1968) was born in Wyoming, Ontario, and fought in the Boer War before becoming ordained as a Baptist minister and relocated to San Diego, California. He left the clergy and fell into a life of crime and safe cracking. He was convicted of murdering his crime partner, Herb Cox, and served 12 years in San Quentin Prison. He later spent six years in Kingston and Prince Albert penitentiaries for defrauding a company over $100,000. Wilson was a prolific writer, and he collaborated with crime writer Thomas P. Kelley to write the story of his life as the king of the safe crackers.

Thomas P. Kelley (1905-1982) was one of Canada's most prolific pulp fiction writers. He was said to have over 30 pseudonyms and was a frequent contributor to Uncanny Tales, a Canadian sci-fi pulp magazine. He published dozens of paperback books, including The Black Donnellys, Vengeance of the Black Donnellys and I Stole $16,000,000.