Alvin Karpis
Alcatraz register no. 325. The warden's notebook page, under the name Alvin Karpavicz, records receipt from Leavenworth on 6 August 1936 under a life sentence for conspiring to kidnap and transport, and a transfer back on 24 February 1958.
- Died
- 1979-08-26
- Aliases
- Alvin Francis Karpavicz (catalog), Creepy Karpis (catalog title)
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records state. The identification photograph is a Bureau of Prisons record, public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.
On the record
- 1936-08-06 — The warden's notebook page (NAID 236735220) records "Alvin Karpavicz" received at Alcatraz from Leavenworth, age 27, offense "Conspiring to Kidnap & Transport," dated July 27, 1936, sentence "Life," district "Minnesota-St.Paul."
- 1958-02-24 — The page is stamped "TRANSFERRED TO LEAVENWORTH" with "2-24-58" in red; the catalog gives a transfer on 02/24/1958 to US Penitentiary, Leavenworth, and a remark "RET TO AZ (09-21-58 L / 04-08-62 M)" that NARA does not expand.
- 1908 or 1909 — Birth: the page prints 9/10/09; the catalog prints 08/10/1908 and flags a 1907 birth year with a question mark. This page records all three.
- 1979-08-26 — The catalog description gives a death date of 08/26/1979 in Spain.
- 1934/1963 — The Bureau of Prisons' Alcatraz history page lists Alvin Karpis, "the first 'Public Enemy #1'," among the well-known criminals who did time on Alcatraz.
The notebook page prints the surname Karpavicz; the catalog title adds the name “CREEPY KARPIS.” The series note says the 1936 first-incarceration page is not extant, and the digitized page carries a 1958 transfer stamp. The case file, about 1,800 pages, is described in the catalog but is not digitized. The role and family fields are left empty because no record cited here states either. Offenses are given as the notebook form prints them; the “Reason for Transfer” boxes are staff opinion and are not used.
Records
itemAlcatraz warden's notebook page for Alvin Karpavicz, No. 325Bureau of Prisons notebook page with the identification photograph of Alvin Karpavicz, No. 325, received at Alcatraz from Leavenworth on 6 August 1936 under a life sentence for conspiring to kidnap and transport (Minnesota, St. Paul); stamped transferred to Leavenworth on 2-24-58. A copy is stored here.itemAlvin Karpavicz's Alcatraz inmate case file, No. 325 (National Archives catalog entry)Catalog entry for the Alcatraz case file of register no. 325, about 1,800 pages, not digitized. The description gives receipt from Leavenworth on 6 August 1936 and transfer back on 24 February 1958.itemAlcatraz (Federal Bureau of Prisons history page)The Bureau of Prisons' history page on Alcatraz names Al Capone among the well-known criminals who did time there, and says most of its prisoners were not well-known gangsters.itemAlcatraz warden's notebook page for Alvin Karpavicz, No. 325Bureau of Prisons notebook page with the identification photograph of Alvin Karpavicz, No. 325, received at Alcatraz from Leavenworth on 6 August 1936 under a life sentence for conspiring to kidnap and transport (Minnesota, St. Paul); stamped transferred to Leavenworth on 2-24-58. A copy is stored here.
itemThe FBI's blackboard plan for the arrest of Alvin Karpis, New Orleans (1936)Photograph of a chalkboard sketch of the New Orleans block where Alvin Karpis was arrested on 1 May 1936, with Canal Street, Jefferson Davis Parkway, the apartment buildings and agents' positions. A copy is stored here.
item"The Kidnaping of Edward George Bremer, St. Paul, Minnesota": FBI investigation summary, I.C. #7-576 (19 November 1936)A 126-page Bureau narrative of the Bremer kidnaping case: Kate Barker's background, the death of Herman Barker in 1927, the 16 January 1935 shooting at the Lake Weir cottage, and Karpis's arrest at Apartment 1, 3343 Canal Street, New Orleans on 1 May 1936. A copy of page 1 is stored here.itemBarker/Karpis Gang: FBI history pageThe FBI's history essay on the Barker/Karpis gang: the 1933 Hamm kidnaping and the silver nitrate fingerprint method, the January 1934 Bremer kidnaping, the 16 January 1935 shooting at the Lake Weir cottage in Florida, and the 1 May 1936 arrest of Alvin Karpis in New Orleans.itemUnited States of America v. Alvin Karpavicz, alias Alvin Karpis; Arthur Barker, alias "Doc" Barker; Byron Bolton; John P. Peifer; Charles J. Fitzgerald; Elmer Farmer; and Edmund C. Bartholmey (D. Minn., No. 6258)Federal criminal case file at St. Paul against Karpis, Arthur Barker and five others named in the catalog title. 122 digitized pages; the catalog gives no description of the charge.