The Encyclopedia of the Fbi's Ten Most Wanted List

by Swierczynski, Duane

• ISBN13: 9780816045617
• ISBN10: 0816045615
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Checkmark Books

Summary

In 1949, a United Press crime reporter scrambling to fill a column called a friend at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for the names of the nation's 10 worst criminals. Headlined "FBI's 'MOST-WANTED FUGITIVES' NAMED," the article that followed listed 10 names, each accompanied by a photo, physical description, and details of the crime committed. The article drew immense media attention and public support that led to the capture of two fugitives. One year later, Director J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI institutionalized the Ten Most Wanted list, which would become one of the most effective crime-fighting tools in American history: 94 percent of all fugitives on the list have been captured to date. The FBI's official criteria for the Ten Most Wanted list: the fugitive must be a particularly dangerous menace to society, and nationwide publicity should help in apprehending the fugitive.

Author Biography

Duane Swierczynski teaches journalism at LaSalle University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	xi
Fugitives of the 1950s	1	(82)
Fugitives of the 1960s	83	(86)
Fugitives of the 1970s	169	(46)
Fugitives of the 1980s	215	(42)
Fugitives of the 1990s	257	(32)
Appendix I: Most Wanted Since 2000	289	(6)
Appendix II: The Current Top Ten	295	(6)
Selected Bibliography	301	(4)
Index	305

Excerpts

America's Most Wanted—a complete survey of America's most notorious public enemies.
In 1949, a reporter looking for a juicy crime yarn called the FBI and asked for a list of the toughest, most wanted men in America. The list was printed in The Washington Times and promptly stirred the imagination of post-war America. It garnered so much publicity that FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover created the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List, which was to become one of the most powerful tools in the FBI's crime-fighting arsenal.From its inception on March 14, 1950, through the present, more than 460 men and women have made the FBI's Most Wanted List; 94 percent of them were captured and brought to justice. The official criteria for earning an infamous spot on the Ten Most Wanted List are: The fugitive must be a particularly dangerous menace to society, and nationwide publicity would assist in his or her apprehension.
The Encyclopedia of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List, 1950 to Present features chronologically ordered profiles on each and every individual who has appeared on the list, from fugitive bank robber Willie Sutton (#11) in the 1950s to reputedly still-at-large Middle Eastern terrorist mastermind Usama Bin Laden (#456). Each entry includes the criminal's vital statistics, details of his or her crimes, length of time on the list, and methods used by the FBI to apprehend the fugitive. The author worked closely with the FBI in Washington, D.C., to produce a thrill-packed collection of the greatest crime stories ever told.