1. Harry "Pete" Pierpont was a Prohibition era gangster, convicted murderer and bank robber.
65 Facts About Harry Pierpont
1. 2.
Harry Pierpont was a friend and mentor to John Dillinger.
3.
Harry Pierpont disliked publicity, and was content to let others, especially Dillinger, take credit for the bold bank robberies committed after the Michigan City prison break.
4.
Harry Pierpont was executed in the electric chair on October 17,1934.
5.
Harry Pierpont was born in Muncie, Indiana, to Joseph Gilbert and Lena Harry Pierpont.
6.
Harry Pierpont's father was from Kentucky, and his mother, from Jay County, Indiana, was of German ancestry.
7.
Harry Pierpont graduated from the eighth grade at Assumption School in Indianapolis.
8.
Harry Pierpont had above-average intelligence and did well in school.
9.
Harry Pierpont's demeanor was changed after the accident, and Pierpont complained of eye problems, dizziness and headaches.
10.
Harry Pierpont stood over six feet tall, with light brown hair and blue eyes.
11.
Harry Pierpont was said to have lived in Fort Wayne, Toledo and Indianapolis, and was known to have hung around Kokomo for some time before the bank robbery was framed.
12.
In 1921 at Indianapolis, Harry Pierpont was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon.
13.
Harry Pierpont was held for ten days and then dismissed.
14.
Concurrently with his first arrest, Harry Pierpont was committed to the state hospital.
15.
Harry Pierpont was diagnosed with dementia praecox of the hebephrenic type.
16.
On January 2,1922, Harry Pierpont stole an automobile in Indianapolis and drove to Greencastle, where he robbed the Cook Hardware store, stealing 9 handguns.
17.
Five days later, Harry Pierpont was arrested in Indianapolis for attempted auto theft and battery with intent to kill.
18.
On March 12,1922, Harry Pierpont entered the Indiana reformatory for a two to fourteen-year sentence for assault and battery with intent to murder.
19.
On November 17,1923, Harry Pierpont was transferred to the newly built reformatory at Pendleton, Indiana.
20.
Harry Pierpont's mother campaigned for his release, claiming that he was insane.
21.
Harry Pierpont continued to associate with a group of Jeffersonville ex-cons.
22.
At 2:45 in the afternoon of November 26,1924, seven men led by Harry Pierpont held up the South Marion State Bank at Thirty-first and Washington streets in Marion, Indiana, robbing the bank of approximately $4,000 in cash.
23.
Harry Pierpont stated that after the Upland robbery the gang separated.
24.
Harry Pierpont denied having anything to do with the robbery, and claimed to not be with the gang when other robberies were committed.
25.
Harry Pierpont, using the alias Mason, refused to give the names of his friends who were detained, but gave him a gold certificate worth $100.00.
26.
Harry Pierpont was alleged to be the leader in the robbing of the South Marion, Upland and South Kokomo Bank.
27.
At his arrest, Harry Pierpont gave his name as Frank Mason, but later in the day admitted his identity.
28.
Harry Pierpont was found to have $850 in new $100 and $50 bills on his person, and Brunner had a number of diamond rings and other jewelry, while one report indicated this amount was found on Skeer.
29.
Skeer and Brunner were arrested when they met in the city, and Harry Pierpont's arrest occurred a short time later.
30.
Harry Pierpont had reportedly boasted when captured in Detroit that he would never be held for trial.
31.
Four saw blades had been used, and a bar in Harry Pierpont's cell was found partially severed.
32.
Harry Pierpont's brother, Fred, was arrested on charges of aiding his brother's escape attempt, but was later acquitted of the charges.
33.
Harry Pierpont's attorneys did not yet admit that his name was anything other than Frank Mason, the alias given in Detroit.
34.
On May 6,1925, Harry Pierpont took the stand and in a surprise defense move, practically admitted to all the evidence contained in Skeer's confession.
35.
Harry Pierpont told of entering and holding up the bank and then fleeing to Fort Wayne, where the loot was divided between him and three others.
36.
However, Harry Pierpont stated that Skeer was the planner of the robbery.
37.
Harry Pierpont was convicted and sentenced to serve a sentence of ten to twenty-one years, and fined $1000.00.
38.
Harry Pierpont defied authorities by giving the wrong name, refusing to recognize the warden, declining to make a statement or having his picture taken, and spitting on a guard.
39.
In Pendleton, Harry Pierpont was the convict Dillinger looked up to the most.
40.
Harry Pierpont soon became the leader of an elite group of former bank robbers.
41.
Forever trying to escape, Harry Pierpont constantly fought with the guards and was frequently confined to solitary confinement.
42.
Harry Pierpont was known for his ability to withstand hunger and beatings.
43.
Harry Pierpont headed a prison clique that included Russell Clark, Charles Makley, John "Red" Hamilton and Dillinger, after his July 1929 transfer.
44.
On December 29,1930, Harry Pierpont was among a group of 12 men, led by Joseph Burns, who overpowered guard Guy Burklow and barricaded the doors of their cell block to prevent guards from entering.
45.
Harry Pierpont let himself out of his cell with a homemade key.
46.
Harry Pierpont would know almost as much as they did about bank robbery.
47.
Harry Pierpont began to reveal the detailed techniques of the remarkable bank robber, Herman Lamm.
48.
Harry Pierpont was aided on the outside by his girlfriend Mary Kinder, who agreed to help with the break-out if her brother, Earl Northern, was added to the list of escapees.
49.
The Indiana state clemency commission heard Harry Pierpont's appeal to be released from the state prison under the contention that he was a man of strong character and a "leader and not a follower" on August 24,1933.
50.
Briefs filed highlighted the fact that when Harry Pierpont was sentenced to the state prison in May 1925, he told authorities that he would try to escape and it was their duty to prevent it.
51.
In 1931, Harry Pierpont announced that he would be a model prisoner and it was contended he has been such since that time.
52.
The commission was informed that Harry Pierpont's record included two previous convictions.
53.
Harry Pierpont had received severe punishment at the hands of Deputy Evans while in prison, and now was prepared to exact revenge.
54.
Harry Pierpont found an apartment in Cincinnati for her and Mary.
55.
When Sarber requested their credentials, Harry Pierpont fired two shots, hitting Sarber once in the abdomen.
56.
Makley and Harry Pierpont then beat Sarber, demanding the keys to Dillinger's cell.
57.
Harry Pierpont suspected Pierpont was the "brains" behind the operations.
58.
The ruse backfired, as Harry Pierpont couldn't have cared less what people called the gang.
59.
Harry Pierpont headed for one of the cages to change a $20 bill.
60.
Harry Pierpont pasted it over the front window to block the view of the teller cages from the street.
61.
Harry Pierpont got the jump on one, and Makley shot the other, wounding him.
62.
Harry Pierpont waited in the car while the other two emerged with the money and hostages.
63.
Makley was mortally wounded and Harry Pierpont was riddled with bullets.
64.
Harry Pierpont was executed at the Ohio Penitentiary on October 17,1934.
65.
Harry Pierpont is buried in the Holy Cross and St Joseph Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana.