Please try again!ĭelivered weekdays plus a bonus Sunday feature. North Conway, who explored Leslie’s life in the book “ The King of Heists.” A man of good standingīorn in 1842 to relative wealth, Leslie enjoyed a much different upbringing than most outlaws of his time, according to biographer J. The final bank heist he orchestrated is still, to this day, the largest in US history - an astounding $81m haul, adjusted for inflation.īut a mysterious murder would prevent him from ever seeing it play out. He studied the anatomy of locks, drafted up blueprints of banks, and invented mechanical safe-breaking devices.ĭuring his “career,” authorities estimated that his exploits accounted for 80% of all bank robberies in the entire US during his active years of 1869-78.Īltogether, he stole at least $7m ( $200m in today’s money), much of it pilfered from the bank vaults of America’s wealthiest titans. Unlike other heisters of his time, Leslie’s approach was academic rather than brutish. George Leonidas Leslie led a double life: By day, he was a distinguished architect who hobnobbed with New York City’s elite denizens by night, he was one of history’s most prolific bank robbers. These rebels and rule-breakers were an unsavory byproduct of American individualism, plundering their way to financial success by nefarious means.īut one oft-forgotten man was more productive than them all. The period between 18 was full of colorful ne’er-do-wells.Ĭareer criminals like Jesse James, John Dillinger, and Butch Cassidy gained infamy for their brazen bank heists.
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