Alcatraz: A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years Part 18

Harold M. Brest was another inmate who would serve two separate terms at Alcatraz, under two separate register numbers.

Harold Martin Brest would be one of the few select inmates to be committed to Alcatraz twice during their lifetime. Born on January 2, 1913, Harold was the third in a family of six children, and he was reared in what was considered a good home environment in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Brest and his family suffered the loss of his mother when he was only seven years of age. His father was a skilled laborer, and struggled to raise his children in a "congenial atmosphere." Early prison reports reflect an angry tempered individual with little restraint in his dealings with fellow inmates and correctional staff. Brest was originally sentenced in June of 1939 to serve two twenty-five-year sentences, one five-year sentence, and a life sentence for kidnapping and bank robbery.

A telegram authorizing Brest's transfer to Alcatraz.

Brest's criminal history is fully described in his Alcatraz inmate file: At the age of 15, the subject first became a delinquent serving a 5-day jail term for trespa.s.sing. The following year he served a 10-day jail sentence, and in 1932 he received a one-year probation term in his hometown for larceny of auto. Again in 1933 he went to the State Prison, at Pittsburgh, PA., to serve a three to six year term for blackmail. The Parole Director of this inst.i.tution advises this man while incarcerated there received a disciplinary report for being implicated with another inmate in an attack on an officer and suspected of degeneracy, and was held six months over the minimum sentence. He was paroled in 1936, and in January of 1937, less than a year later, he was sentenced to a term of life and 55 years concurrently for Kidnapping, Bank Robbery, and Dyer Act, and committed to Leavenworth Penitentiary, later being transferred to Alcatraz in March of 1937.

The circ.u.mstances of this crime are revolting and are outlined in detail in the Deputy Warden's abstract of admission summary prepared at Leavenworth, copy of which is in the record.

Harold Martin Brest was indicted, in one count, with Harry James Logan, by the Federal Grand Jury at Erie, Pennsylvania, on September 24, 1936 for seizing, kidnapping, and carrying away one Deloria Lester Santee, for the purpose of robbing him of his money and his automobile, and by causing him to be transported by means of his automobile, by threats, by force and arms, against his will, from Sharon, Pennsylvania, to Youngstown, Ohio, on or about July 2, 1936.

On January 14, 1937, Brest and Logan were indicted by the United States Grand Jury, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, charged in four counts, first, with taking from the person and presence of P.M. c.o.x, Cashier, and Mrs. Mabel Simpson Brown, a.s.sistant Cashier, L.P. Hauschild and L.W. Morgan, National Bank Examiners, on September 15, 1936, lawful money of the United States, in the sum of $5,846.50, which money belonged to and was in the care and custody of the First National Bank of Volant, Pennsylvania; second, with perpetrating the said offense by the use of dangerous weapons and devices, two revolvers or pistols; third, with the robbery of the same bank on December 18, 1936, in the sum of $3,910.36, and fourth, with the use of dangerous weapons and devices in the perpetration of this robbery, to wit, two automatic pistols.

Brest further admitted that he, with Logan, on September 10, 1936, robbed the Farmer's State Bank of Spring Green, Plain Station, Plain, Wisconsin, where by the use of arms and threats to kill the Cashier, he obtained, a little over $300.00. Brest stated that the banker was "Scared to death, white as a sheet and almost dropped dead;" and that he, Brest, c.o.c.ked his gun, ready to shoot the banker if he a.s.serted himself, or resisted in any way; that but for the fact that Logan became uneasy, Brest stated he would more than likely have killed this banker.

In addition, thereto Brest admitted that he and Logan partic.i.p.ated in so many robberies of drug stores, filling stations, and the like in the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, that it would be impossible for him to recall all of them. On being informed by an... B.I. Agent that he, Brest, entered the Volant National Bank but fifteen minutes prior to Pennsylvania State Policeman and that he probably would have been killed had they met there, Brest boldly said: "That all depends on who would have got the first shots in".

On or about July 25, 1936, Logan and Brest while seated in an auto at a point near Zeeland, Michigan, they were observed by an officer, who gave chase, and caught up with them in Holland Michigan. While the officer drove up beside the car, Brest drew fourth his gun and shot the officer in the mouth. This officer, for a time, was not expected to live. However, the bullet was removed from the base of the officer's skull and he is on the way to recovery. In conversing with the... B.I. Agent, Brest readily stated that he would shoot it out with any officer who attempted to apprehend him, and that had it not been for the fact that he was unarmed at the time of his arrest, which, incidentally, was the only time he went unarmed, in Boise, Idaho, he would have probably have shot and killed both policeman who apprehended him. During the conversation Brest at one time expressed regret that the shooting of the Police Officer did not result fatally.

Following transfer to Alcatraz, where he was sent for safer custody, he received three disciplinary reports; one on May 23, 1937 for creating confusion at the mess table; and two on September 20, 1937, for partic.i.p.ating in a strike and refusing to go to work, and for agitating, creating a disturbance, and insolence to an officer and also for threatening an officer, agitating and causing a disturbance. On this date, after being placed in solitary, inmate told the Deputy Warden: "If I am ever turned out of solitary, I am going to kill you the first time you turn your back. I have killed men before and I would enjoy killing you." It is clear from subject's past criminal record and adjustment that notwithstanding his age, he is a confirmed criminal type with vicious and dangerous traits, impulsive and apparently devoid of any moral or social restraints.

Floyd Garland Hamilton

Floyd Garland Hamilton The third accomplice in the 1943 escape attempt was one of the most famous inmates ever to inhabit a small five-by-nine-foot cell at Alcatraz. He had reached the top of the FBI's most wanted list, and had chauffeured one of the most well known crime couples of the 1930's, Bonnie and Clyde. His brother Raymond had been a member of the Barrow-Parker Gang and later met his death by electrocution for his role in an escape from a Huntsville prison, which had ultimately resulted in an officer's death. Floyd and his brother Ray had grown up with Bonnie and Clyde in a small town near Dallas, Texas. Newspapers of the era characterized Floyd Hamilton as a suspect in almost every act of violence that occurred in the Dallas area during the 1930's.

Floyd Hamilton was born on June 30, 1908 in Henrietta, Okalahoma. He was the second in a family of six children, and his parents were divorced. Records indicate that he was raised in a normal family setting, attended Sunday school, and left home at the age of nineteen to marry a young woman named Mildred Stract. During the early years of his marriage, Floyd worked as a pipe fitter in an oil refinery, but he later lost his employment when the plant closed down.

Floyd then began a crime spree that would eventually place him at the top of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List. He worked as a getaway driver for Bonnie and Clyde, and later teamed up with Alcatraz alumnus Ted Huron Walters, who would himself attempt to escape from The Rock in another incident. Both men would engage in several other robberies, with targets including a Coca-Cola Bottling Company. This was the heist that would ultimately lead to Hamilton's arrest in Dallas on August 21, 1938.

Hamilton was incarcerated at Leavenworth, and would be recommended for transfer to Alcatraz in January of 1940, after attempting to enlist a released inmate to smuggle weapons and hacksaw blades into the inst.i.tution. His Leavenworth report also stated that he and a few other inmates had attempted to have a shotgun and sh.e.l.ls fabricated in the machine shop for use in an escape. He arrived at Alcatraz several months later on June 9, 1940, as inmate #AZ-523.

Floyd Hamilton's conduct reports from Alcatraz.

Fred Hunter

Fred Hunter Fred Hunter, another "public enemy" and former member of the Karpis-Barker Gang, was also an accomplice to the planned escape. Hunter was serving twenty-five years for his involvement in the kidnapping of William A. Hamm Jr., the president of Hamm's Brewing Company, and Edward G. Bremer, a prominent community leader and the President of the Commercial State Bank in Minnesota. His criminal history is covered in the chapter describing the Barker Escape of January 1939. There were rumors from Hunter that the group of inmates had been prepared for an escape attempt nearly two weeks earlier, but Boarman had allegedly insisted that they wait for the right fog conditions so that they could enter the bay without being seen.

The Escape

The Model Industries Building.

At approximately 10:00 a.m. on April 13, 1943, conditions seemed ideal for the escape, with densely layered fog enveloping the island. It was later speculated that the inmates had cut through one of the steel-mesh window guards in the old Mat Shop during the previous weeks, hiding their work by using grease mixed with other agents to fill in the tiny sawed gaps. Custodial Officer George Smith was busy supervising the inmates who were mixing concrete. He was called to the yard gate to escort four other inmates who were reporting to their work a.s.signments. When Smith returned only a short time later, he noticed that Hunter was the only prisoner at his position near the entrance to the Mat Shop. Officer Smith was quickly intercepted by Hamilton, who forcefully grabbed him by the arm, while Boarman stepped into his path gesturing deadly threats with a knife and hammer. When Smith resisted, he was beaten into submission by all four of the inmates and then bound and gagged.

Captain of the Guards, Henry Weinhold, known to many of the inmates as "Bullethead," was a tough former Marine making his routine rounds. Not suspecting any trouble, he entered the Mat Shop and was quickly captured by the inmates who by were now stripped down to their underwear. Weinhold resisted and nearly managed to grasp one of Boarman's weapons when the other inmates tackled him, dealing several painful blows using a carpenter's hammer to his extremities. He too was incapacitated, then tightly bound and gagged and laid beside Officer Smith.

Hamilton was the first to climb through the window, and he managed to maintain a grip on the remaining security bars while the other inmates pa.s.sed out a wooden filling guide to be used as a ramp from the window to the barbed wired security fencing. After maneuvering the makeshift plank properly into place, Hamilton was pa.s.sed a large rolled section of canvas to drape over the barbed-wired fencing. Boarman and Brest now stripped to their underwear and belts (which they planned to secure to the canisters to keep them afloat) and smeared their bodies with engine grease as insulation.

Boarman and Brest attempted to maneuver the float canisters through the window without success, so they were forced to leave them behind, along with the clothing they contained. One by one, the men climbed through the window, negotiated the wire fencing, and then hurried down to the rocky sh.o.r.e. Hunter had injured himself when dropping from the fence and he took refuge in a small island cave that was recessed under the industry buildings. The cave was dark and littered with discarded tires, and was flooded with varying levels of seawater depending on the tide levels. Boarman, Brest, and Hamilton each started their swim to freedom, partially obscured by the breaking fog.

Meanwhile Officer Weinhold had succeeded in loosening his gag, and started yelling for help, but due to the noise of the loud machinery in the Industries, his cries went unheard. At about the same time, Officer Frank L. Johnson, who was a.s.signed to the tower atop the Model Shop, was attempting to reach Smith and had already contacted Cliff Fish in the Armory. Fish, who was just being relieved from duty, responded to the Industries to investigate the problem, accompanied by Phil Bergen and Earl Long. Officer Johnson stepped outside of the tower booth, and immediately spotted several figures in the water, swimming away from the island. Smith, while unable to undo his gag, was able to move his body against Weinhold, who then managed to maneuver Smith's whistle into his mouth. Weinhold started frantically blowing the shrill whistle, which was clearly audible from Johnson's post.

Lifting his rifle, Johnson strained to peer into the target site as several faint figures continued to advance away from the island in the foggy seascape. Watching the figures move in rhythm with the sea, he drew his grip tight, and squeezed the trigger until the pressure of the spring gave way to a ragging shot. He repeated the process, sighting each moving figure, then firing his Springfield .30-06. Each round released a caustic smell of burnt gunpowder mixed with the misty salt air. Brest and Boarman saw the geyser-like splash patterns in the water around them, accompanied by the distant sharp cracking sound of a high-powered rifle. After each round was fired, silence would drape the water until the next blast racked the air. As Brest and Boarman swam almost side-by-side a few hundred yards from sh.o.r.e, the sounds of Boarman's thrashing suddenly stopped. As Brest reached out to examine the now silent form of his fellow inmate, the water surrounding them started to turn an eerie red.

Boarman's eyes were open, but glazed over by the seawater as Brest tried to maintain his grip on his accomplice's limp body. Boarman was bleeding profusely from what appeared to be a bullet wound behind his left ear. The Prison Launch McDowell pulled alongside the two inmates, with Officer Sutter aiming his muzzle at Brest's head. Brest struggled to hang on to Boarman's belt, but as the officers attempted to latch it with a boat hook, the belt broke, and Boarman slowly disappeared into the green murky depths. Brest was pulled into the launch and wrapped in blankets, then returned to the island. He was immediately taken to the prison hospital and examined. He had sustained only a minor bullet wound to his elbow.

"Little Alcatraz" is seen just beyond the buoy.

Hamilton had been able to swim to "Little Alcatraz" using the large wood plank as a float, but when he heard the bullets whizzing past his head he tried to keep himself submerged for as long as he could hold his breath. He apparently clung to the small rocks of "Little Alcatraz," and then swam back towards the island, lifting his head out of the water only long enough to take a deep breath. Hamilton made his way back into the island cave where Hunter was hiding. Warden Johnston had already a.s.sembled a team of three officers to explore the rocky sh.o.r.eline in an attempt to locate the stranded inmates. a.s.sociate Warden Ed Miller walked the island perimeter, while a boat with a powerful spotlight covered the officers from the water. Standing near the mouth of the cave, Miller noticed a blood smear on one of the rocks. He yelled into the small cavern, demanding that any hiding inmates surrender or be fired upon. When he received no response, he decided to fire a round from his colt .45 pistol into the dark void. Fred Hunter, who was hiding behind some tires and nearly neck deep in water, immediately raised his arms to surrender. Unknown to Miller, Hamilton was still in hiding under several tires.

Officer Johnson had reported back to the Warden that he had fired upon at least three inmates and that Hamilton had probably met his death, as Boarman had. The prison launch patrolled the waters around the island for hours, but when there was no sign of Hamilton, Johnston started to feel confident that the inmate had perished in the downpour of gunfire alongside his accomplice. He was so convinced of this that he released a statement to the press reading in part: "Hamilton is dead. He was shot, and we saw him go under."

Hamilton would remain in hiding until April 16th barricaded far back into the cave area. After several days in hiding and many close calls where he was nearly discovered by officers searching inside the cave entrance, freezing and hungry, he decided to seek shelter in the old Electric Shop. Captain Weinhold, who had returned to reexamine the scene of the escape, found Hamilton curled in a fetal position, weak from hunger and exposure. He was admitted to the prison hospital and treated for a mult.i.tude of injuries. Hamilton was then moved into the D Block segregation unit, and would remain there until September 1, 1945. Hunter would be released back into general prison population on January 22, 1945. Brest remained in D Block segregation until May 21, 1944.

A letter to the Warden from Harold Brest, asking that he be transferred from Alcatraz.

Hamilton was released from Alcatraz in August of 1952, and was sent back to Leavenworth. He was eventually set free, and returned to Dallas on July 2, 1958. While at Leavenworth, he had enrolled in Otto Lang's religious training program, designed to help partic.i.p.ants become mentors for other inmates. Following his release he started an organization named ConAid, which was eventually credited with a.s.sisting over 1,200 inmates. On December 23, 1966, Hamilton received a full Presidential Pardon from Texas native President Lyndon B. Johnson. Hamilton died of natural causes in 1984, at his home in Dallas, Texas. During a lecture he gave on the anniversary of his Alcatraz escape in 1961, when asked what he had learned from his escapades in crime, he stated simply: ..."Happiness comes from within; not from without. Crime always leads to prison, and prison is a void of living bodies in a state of death. Lucky for me, Alcatraz became my birth place and not my grave."

A closing note on the jacket of Boarman's inmate file.

ESCAPE ATTEMPT #8.

Date:

August 7, 1943

Inmates:

Huron Ted Walters

Location:

Prison Laundry

In August of 1943, Alcatraz was suffering from personnel shortages as a result of the War efforts. The prison industries were overwhelmed with the sheer volume of military clothing being delivered for laundering, and there were barely enough officers to cover the critical posts. Many of the officers a.s.signed to the industries were required to alternate their rounds, sometimes leaving certain posts unattended for brief periods. These circ.u.mstances would be contributing factors in a Sat.u.r.day morning escape attempt by Huron Ted Walters.

Huron Ted Walters

Huron Ted Walters (known to many as "Terrible Ted") was a habitual criminal and former crime partner of Floyd Hamilton, another Alcatraz inmate. Born on October 25, 1913 in Wylie, Texas, Walters was the youngest of three children. His father died when he was only two years old, and his mother remarried two years later with a gentleman employed as a machinist. Ted's home life was considered fairly normal, and at seventeen years of age he left his parents' forty-acre ranch to pursue a career as a truck driver. He immediately began getting involved in criminal activities, and was soon arrested for stealing automobiles. In 1936, after being sentenced to serve time for auto theft, he successfully escaped from a Texas jail, and continued his criminal escapades.

Walters, Floyd Hamilton, and another accomplice named Jack Winn were involved in a series of robberies with targets ranging from banks, stores and beer taverns; to a Coca-Cola Bottling Company plant. Their crimes spanned several states, and involved several police chases, as well as other dire scenarios. On August 13, 1938, the day following the Coca-Cola Bottling Company robbery, the trio held up a salesman near Weldon, Arkansas, and stole his 1938 green Plymouth Sedan. They were spotted near DeQueen, Arkansas, and after an intense gun battle with Arkansas State Highway Patrolmen, they disappeared into the remote woods on foot. Both men were captured eight days later in Dallas, Texas, when Winn who had been arrested several days earlier, identified his accomplices to the police. Walters had suffered a minor gunshot wound to his right thigh, and Hamilton was also found to have sustained injuries.

On November 3, 1938, both men were sentenced to thirty years in prison for their crimes. When Walters was later questioned by FBI Agents he would be quoted as saying that his only regret was that he had not killed a few of the officers before being apprehended. Walters and Hamilton were both sent to the Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas on November 5, 1938. Ever-true to their chosen lifestyle, they would remain outlaws within the prison walls. a.s.sociate Warden C. J. Shuttleworth, who had formerly held the same position at Alcatraz, doc.u.mented an escape plot that would earn the two inmates a cross-country train ride to Alcatraz. He wrote in Walter's conduct record: Information has come to my attention that this inmate, together with Floyd Hamilton, and inmate Reed were planning and plotting an escape from the inst.i.tution by concealing themselves in an inst.i.tutional sawdust truck driven by Lee Barker, No. 53385-L, a confessed conspirator with Steffler and Miles in a similar plot. While definite information is meager, regarding this particular conspiracy, it was upon this same information that the plot was of Steffler and Miles were finally discovered. The plot had also included the fabrication of homemade shotguns, sh.e.l.ls, and sixteen bombs that were to be made in the prison factories. An inmate not connected with the plot furnished the information. In talking with Hamilton relative to this plot, Hamilton admits that Reed and Walters were his only trusted a.s.sociates in the inst.i.tution. Further, early in December, Walters was observed at about 3:30 PM sitting outside the Shoe Factory, "casing" the East Gate and the general truck shakedown. This at a time when he was supposed to have been at his work in the Clothing Factory. This inmate has a long dangerous record, and is one of the most vicious criminals in the Southwest, and co-partner of Hamilton's. In view of his long sentence and the actually known conspiracies of his co-partner Hamilton, it is recommended that he be transferred to Alcatraz for safer custody.

Walter and Hamilton arrived at Alcatraz on June 9, 1940. Here too, both men continued to receive negative conduct reports for numerous infringements of prison regulations. On April 14, 1943, as described in the preceding chapter, Hamilton and fellow inmates James Boarman, Harold Brest and Fred Hunter partic.i.p.ated in a failed escape that would cost Boarman his life.

On August 7, 1943, only months after Hamilton's luckless escape attempt, Walters decided to try his fate against the Rock. He had been a.s.signed to the laundry for nearly two years and in the spirit of Hamilton's escape, he had been collecting military clothing stuffed in one-gallon containers, which he would attempt to use as floats. Even though the concept had been tried unsuccessfully on three previous attempts, it still seemed to be the most promising scheme. Walters had also been able to acquire $42, which he stuffed into one of the pant pockets for use once he made it to sh.o.r.e.

On the day of the escape, sometime between 2:15 p.m. and 3:45 p.m., Walters quietly slipped away from sight. Because of staffing shortages, the number of officers posted in the Industries Building had been reduced. Clutching his two one-gallon containers and with no officer in direct view, Walters carefully made his way to the fence line. He had also acquired a pair of electrician's wire cutters, which he intended to use to cut through the heavy security fencing. But no matter how hard he squeezed the small handles against the stiff galvanized wire, the cutters proved completely ineffective. Keeping a close eye on the towers, he carefully stacked some packing crates next to the perimeter fence, and then risked scaling it in view of the tower guards, who failed to spot the escapee. As he maneuvered over the skin-piercing barbed wire at the top, he lost his grip and fell. The fall proved to be treacherous and resulted in a serious back injury. In acute pain, Walters descended the steps that led to the water's edge, and then contemplated his swim to the mainland.

Inside the laundry building, a supervisor making his rounds noticed Walters was absent from his workstation and immediately contacted the Armory. The alarm was quickly sounded, as Walters stood by the water's edge, now stripped to his underwear and facing the reality that his plan had failed. A Coast Guard cutter was quickly dispatched and found Walters standing stripped down on the bank. Captain of the Guards Henry Weinhold and a.s.sociate Warden E.J. Miller captured Walters without any resistance, and brought him to the hospital to be examined. Walters spent nearly ten days in the hospital before being taken to D Block.

In a letter from Bureau of Prisons Director James V. Bennett to Warden Johnston dated August 12, 1943, it is clear that Bennett was unsatisfied with the performance of the officers. He also firmly made the point that Walters should have been spotted by the tower officers when he was climbing the fences. A telegram to Warden Johnston read: Have asked Captain Conner to check on the Ted Walters escape and confer with you as to what action if any should be taken with respect to the officers since I cannot understand how Walters could have climbed the fence in plain daylight without being noticed by tower offices unless they were inattentive to their duties in which case disciplinary action should be taken. Captain Conner will arrive August Sixteenth.

After being released from the hospital, Walters was tried by a specially a.s.sembled disciplinary board. The following is a transcript from his hearing: In accordance with the regulations of the Bureau of Prisons governing the forfeiture of GOOD TIME, a special court was appointed by the Warden for the purpose of trying Huron Ted Walters, Reg. No. 536-AZ, and for his misconduct, specifically: Leaving place to which he was a.s.signed in laundry, dropping from walk-way to get out of sight of road tower guard, carrying wire cutter and soldier clothing stolen from laundry, climbing over two wire fences, then hiding out at water's edge in attempt to escape: All of the above occurred at about 2:15 P.M. to 3:45 P.M., on Sat.u.r.day, August 7, 1943.

The board met at approximately 10:40 a.m., Tuesday, August 17, 1943, and consisted of the following members: E.J. Miller, a.s.sociate Warden Chairman Isaac B. Faulk, Lieutenant Member Neal W. Mcrisson, Lieutenant Member Dr. Romney M. Ritchey, Chief Medical Officer Consultant The following transcript of the testimony, questions by E.J. Miller, a.s.sociate Warden and Chairman, except, where noted: Huron Ted Walters, Register No. 536-Az, you are called before the GOOD TIME BOARD to try you for the credits for the things done by you on August 7, 1943. (Mr. Miller then read the charges above.) Q: You heard the charges. How do you plead?

A: Guilty.

Q: Have you anything to say?

A: No, sir.

Q: Did you get the soldier's clothing out of the laundry?

A: Yes, sir.

Q: Where did you get the wire cutters?

A: I picked them up down there.

Q: Did you try to cut the wire with them?

A: Yes, sir.

Q: Wouldn't they work?

A: No, sir.

Q: You then climbed over both fences?

A: Yes, sir.

Q: Where did you get the one-gallon buckets?