Episode 637: The Bobbed Haired Bandit

Summary

Morbid Podcast Episode 637: The Bobbed Haired Bandit

Release Date: January 16, 2025
Host/Author: Morbid Network | Wondery
Description:
Morbid is a true crime, creepy history, and all things spooky podcast hosted by an autopsy technician and a hairstylist. Join Alina and Ash for a heavy dose of research with a dash of comedy thrown in for flavor.

---

Overview

In Episode 637, titled "The Bobbed Haired Bandit," hosts Alina and Ash delve into the intriguing case of a female criminal mastermind who terrorized Brooklyn in the early 1920s. They explore the societal backdrop of the era, the series of robberies attributed to the elusive bandit, the intense police investigations, and the media frenzy that surrounded the case. Through rich storytelling and insightful commentary, Alina and Ash shed light on how gender norms, media influence, and societal pressures intertwined in this historical true crime narrative.

---

1. Setting the Scene

[04:35]
Alina and Ash introduce the central figure of the episode: The Bobbed Haired Bandit, a stylish young woman who became infamous for a string of robberies in Brooklyn, New York during the 1920s. The duo begins by painting a vivid picture of the time period, emphasizing the economic downturn leading into the Great Depression and the rampant crime fueled by Prohibition.

Notable Quote:
Ash remarks, "It's the new year for you. It's 2025. What's it like in the future?" at [01:16], setting a playful tone before diving into the historical account.

---

2. The Robberies Begin

[04:35] - [08:20]
The episode recounts the first known robbery on January 5, 1924, at Thomas Rulston Grocery in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Lester Loudon, the store clerk, describes the audacious entry of a fashionable young woman in a seal fur coat and a beaded dress. The woman demands a dozen eggs before brandishing an automatic pistol and holding up the store. The robbery yielded $680, a significant amount at the time.

Notable Quote:
Alina humorously notes, "It has a transatlantic accent" at [04:50], highlighting the unique demeanor of the bandit.

---

3. Profiling the Bandit: A Flapper's Image

[08:20] - [12:18]
Alina and Ash discuss the societal perceptions of the bandit's appearance, linking her bobbed hairstyle and fashionable attire to the flapper movement. Flappers were seen as symbols of youth, rebellion, and sexual liberation, which alarmed the older generations who viewed their style as indicative of moral decay.

Notable Quote:
Ash cites author Stephen Duncomb, noting that the bobbed hairstyle was considered a "symptom of the mentally defective" at [10:19].

---

4. Escalation and Media Frenzy

[12:18] - [22:41]
The bandit, along with her accomplice, continues a series of robberies, including a drugstore and another grocery store. Their daring tactics and stylish appearance garner significant media attention, with newspapers branding her as the "Bobbed Haired Bandit." The media's sensationalism exacerbates public fear and criticism of the NYPD's inability to capture her.

Notable Quotes:

• Alina quips, "She said, 'I'm happy to see you. And it's a gun.'" at [05:58], capturing the band's brazen confidence.
• Ash reflects on the public's perception: "She was seen as an anti-hero and an early feminist figure," at [39:27].

---

5. The Police's Struggle and Missteps

[22:41] - [37:47]
As robberies escalate, the NYPD intensifies efforts to apprehend the bandit, deploying 200 officers across Brooklyn. Despite these measures, the bandit remains elusive, leading to widespread criticism of the police force. Multiple arrests ensue, including Helen Quigley and Mary Cody, but inconsistencies and mistaken identities hinder progress. The media continues to mock the NYPD, further straining police-public relations.

Notable Quotes:

• Alina humorously insists, "You guys are filthy and fake," reflecting the bandit's taunting notes at [19:05].
• Ash highlights the public's reaction: "Why can't we do better? Why can't we talk like this?" at [22:05].

---

6. Unmasking and Arrests

[37:47] - [56:57]
The turning point comes with the attempted robbery of the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) payroll department on April 1st. The situation escalates when Nathan Mazzo is shot in the arm during the heist, marking the first instance of violence attributed to the bandit duo. This incident leads to the identification and eventual arrest of Celia Cooney and her husband, Ed Cooney, in Jacksonville, Florida.

Notable Quote:
Celia's poignant note to the judge reads, "Let me just say, don't try to do it. You won't. You don't know what you will suffer," at [57:29].

---

7. The Culprits' Backstory and Motivation

[56:57] - [53:33]
Alina and Ash delve into the lives of Celia and Ed Cooney, uncovering a harsh upbringing marked by poverty for Celia and a seemingly ordinary life for Ed. Their motives stemmed from desperation to provide for their forthcoming child, leading them to romanticized notions of robbery inspired by detective stories and magazines.

Notable Quotes:

• Ash narrates Celia's childhood: "Celia was born into extreme poverty and raised along with seven brothers and sisters by a single mother," at [49:36].
• Alina reflects on Celia's isolation: "She was very lost," at [59:17].

---

8. The Aftermath and Legacy

[53:33] - [61:11]
Celia and Ed's arrest marks the end of the Bobbed Haired Bandit's reign. Celia's sympathy note captures her internal turmoil, while the media shifts its narrative from viewing her as a symbol of rebellion to labeling her a local degenerate. Both received 10-year prison sentences, with Ed passing away five years later from tuberculosis. Celia eventually remarried and lived a quiet life until her death in 1992.

Notable Quotes:
Ash sums up Celia's realization: "What she did was wrong," at [59:44].
Alina emphasizes the victims' plight: "Taking it from somebody like a grocer or somebody who owns a business, that's their whole livelihood," at [60:08].

---

9. Concluding Reflections

Alina and Ash reflect on the complexities of Celia Cooney's character—her broken upbringing, misguided motivations, and the societal factors that led her down a path of crime. They express a nuanced sympathy for her while underscoring the undeniable harm she caused to innocent victims.

Notable Quote:
Ash concludes, "But the moral of the story is what she did was wrong," at [59:44].

---

Key Takeaways

• Gender and Crime: The story highlights how gender norms of the 1920s influenced public perception of female criminals, framing Celia as both a symbol of youth rebellion and a moral threat.

• Media Influence: Sensationalist reporting played a crucial role in shaping the narrative around the Bobbed Haired Bandit, both elevating her to anti-hero status and mocking the NYPD's efforts.

• Societal Pressures: Economic hardship and societal expectations can push individuals toward desperate measures, as seen in Celia and Ed's motivation to rob stores to provide for their family.

• Misidentification and Justice: The initial misidentification of suspects underscores the challenges law enforcement faces in high-profile cases, especially when societal biases are at play.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Alina: "It's literally almost Christmas for us. We're five. The new year for you. It's 2025." [01:07]

• Ash: "The bobbed hairstyle was a symptom of the mentally defective." [10:19]

• Celia (Written Note): "Let me just say, don't try to do it. You won't. You don't know what you will suffer." [57:29]

• Alina: "Taking it from somebody like a grocer or somebody who owns a business, that's their whole livelihood." [60:08]

• Ash: "But the moral of the story is what she did was wrong." [59:44]

---

Final Thoughts

Episode 637 of Morbid offers a captivating exploration of a unique true crime case, intertwining historical context, gender dynamics, and media influence. Alina and Ash skillfully navigate the intricacies of the Bobbed Haired Bandit's story, providing listeners with a comprehensive understanding of how individual actions can reflect broader societal issues.

---

Stay tuned to Morbid for more spine-chilling tales and obscure true crimes, all served with a side of dark humor.

Transcript

[Alina]

Hey, weirdos. Before we dive into today's twisted tale, let me tell you about a place where the darkness never ends. Wondery. It's like stepping into a haunted mansion where the floorboards creak. With ad free episodes and early access to new episodes lurks around every corner. So come join us if you dare. Morbid is available one week early and ad free only on Wondery. You can join Wondery in the Wondery app or in Apple podcasts or Spotify.

[Ash]

You're listening to a morbid network podcast.

[Alina]

Hey, weirdos. I'm Alina.

[Ash]

I'm Ash.

[Alina]

And this is Morbid.

[Ash]

And it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. But for you. No, it's probably June.

[Alina]

I was like, no, no.

[Ash]

I was like, I'm going somewhere with this. I'm going somewhere with this.

[Alina]

Me and Mikey both were like, no. Oh, no, no. It's not that. I was like, wait, give me a moment.

[Ash]

Just let me live.

[Alina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

It's literally almost Christmas for us. We're five.

[Alina]

It's the new year for you. It's 2025. What's it like in the future?

[Ash]

It's been the new year for you.

[Alina]

Yeah. Is it cool there?

[Ash]

I hope so.

[Alina]

Is everything better? What are the drones doing?

[Ash]

Oh, my God. I was gonna say that they could abduct me. It's fine. It's not aliens.

[Alina]

I was gonna say they won't because it's not aliens. It's the government. So I don't want them to abduct me.

[Ash]

No, I'm not saying the government. I want. I would like aliens to come through and pick me up because I'm scared.

[Alina]

Because I'm scared.

[Ash]

Can you pick me up?

[Alina]

Aliens. I'm just kind of complacent now.

[Ash]

That's, like, scary for you, though.

[Alina]

Yeah, I'm like, numb to it. I'm just like, well, it is what it is.

[Ash]

I got that too. It's so funny. I had, like, welcome to my therapy sessions. I had, like, the worst end of the world anxiety for a long time. Like, especially this year.

[Alina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

I think just like, the mental state that I was in really fed to that. Yeah. Fed that. But now I'm just like. I feel like one. People have always thought the world was ending and that helps me immensely. Literally fine. And then can't do anything about it.

[Alina]

Yeah. So, like, why?

[Ash]

My therapist really did some great fucking work on my mind.

[Alina]

She did?

[Ash]

Yeah. Shout out to her.

[Alina]

Shout out to her.

[Ash]

Shout out to all my therapists. Throughout the years, there's been, like, Eight of them.

[Alina]

Pour one out for all your therapy.

[Ash]

Each of them. Each. Each one of them. Each one, each one. Well, I have an interesting case for us today that has nothing to do with therapy and everything to do with robbery.

[Alina]

Well, there we go. We told you we were going to give you a little palate cleansery kind of thing.

[Ash]

Yeah, it's definitely palate cleansery. This has just like. Put them up fella.

[Alina]

Yeah, she's got a Transatlantic accent.

[Ash]

Yes, 100%.

[Alina]

She's. Yeah, she's got the Bob haircut.

[Ash]

Yeah. There's so many quotes throughout this and I don't know if I'm great at a transatlantic accent, but I'm definitely.

[Alina]

That one was interesting. But I have faith in you.

[Ash]

No, that's fair. I'm also really tired, Mikey. No, it wasn't good.

[Alina]

It was. Honestly, it was. Oh, Mikey's worried that everyone's going to come after me. Probably.

[Ash]

Listen, they love me, so you better.

[Alina]

You better pull. No, it was awesome. That was such a good transition.

[Ash]

Now they're really going to come after you because that was fake as fuck.

[Alina]

No, but I wish everybody saw the.

[Ash]

The.

[Alina]

The finger. Finger guns that went along with it. Cuz it really added to it.

[Ash]

I liked it. Yeah, it was. You know, I. I do what I can.

[Alina]

Yeah. I'm going to punch Ash in the face after this, guys.

[Ash]

She hits me a lot. All the time. It's crazy. I don't know how to transition out of that. I was like, where do we go from here? Leave all the lights on, please. All right, all right, all right. So robbery. Transatlantic accent. And ladies and what.

[Alina]

What is this case called? It has a fun name.

[Ash]

It's called. And you already know because you pressed the episode. But for those of you who didn't read it. The Bobbed Haired Bandit.

[Alina]

See, that's. That's what I'm talking about.

[Ash]

The Bobbed Haired Bandit.

[Alina]

That's what we need after the blackout Ripper.

[Ash]

And you know what? I have a fuck ass Bob right now. You do have a fuck ass. So I feel seen. And my hairdresser just had her baby. So I'm to have a ass Bob for longer than I thought. Which is totally fine. Welcome to the world, Tea. But I. It was the perfect time to do this story.

[Alina]

Absolutely.

[Ash]

You and your ass Bob, cementing in my ass Bobdom. And let's go.

[Alina]

Ass Bobdom.

[Ash]

I like ass Bobbed. Them I like it are hashtag still a thing. Use that.

[Alina]

Let's go.

[Ash]

I'm old. All right. A little past 9:30 on the evening of January 5, 1924, one Lester Loudon. That's his name.

[Alina]

Lester.

[Ash]

Lester. Isn't that a cute name? Like Lester Holt. I love him.

[Alina]

Lester Loudon.

[Ash]

Lester Loudon. He was working at the Thomas Rulston Grocery in Park Slope, Brooklyn. That night had been pretty quiet. And as the evening was going on, fewer and fewer customers were coming in. The store was completely empty when a young woman entered. And let me tell you, baby, she was serving Lukes. She was wearing a seal fur coat over a beautifully beaded dress. It looked like she was on her way to a party.

[Alina]

Oh, damn.

[Ash]

He said, who's that girl in her ass, Bob? And he didn't even know who Madonna was yet. So it was crazy. No, but the woman approached the counter where he was standing. And she had her hands in her coat pockets. And she just said, hello, Can I have a dozen eggs? I can't do transatlanticism.

[Alina]

So.

[Ash]

Hashtag Cab for Cutie.

[Alina]

It's a great song.

[Ash]

It really is. It gets you crying.

[Alina]

Oh, it does.

[Ash]

Oh, all right. Well, as Louden was wrapping up the eggs for this beautiful young woman, she took a few steps back from the counter and pulled out a automatic pistol from that seal fur coat. And she shouted at him, stick him up quick.

[Alina]

She did like a Mae west style pose.

[Ash]

My best shirt.

[Alina]

She said, I'm happy to see you. And it's a gun.

[Ash]

Wait. You're good at it. Don't do that. This is my episode and not yours. But he immediately threw them hands in the air like he did care.

[Alina]

Like he did care.

[Ash]

He cared very much. In that moment, he deeply cared. He was. He was obviously focused on the woman in front of him with a giant pistol. But he also noticed that in the time it had taken him to get the. A what? I was just gonna say eggs, but then my mouth went to say ass.

[Alina]

I don't know.

[Ash]

It's a romantic. It's a romantic vibe in this fucking Lowe's, this grocery store. It's the end of the year. I'm so tired. I'm like. But did she get the eggs? She didn't want the eggs.

[Alina]

I want the eggs.

[Ash]

And the time it takes to get the eggs. I'm getting eggs today.

[Alina]

Happy.

[Ash]

Eg. A man had entered the store and was now corralling the other clerks to the back of the store. Like, he was like, everybody back here. The woman. We're about back here now. Yes. The woman motioned for Loudon to join the other clerk. She was like, go on, get back there. And she held her Gun on all of them. And the man shouted to her, hold him back. As he started rifling through the register, stuffing bills and handfuls of coins into his pocket. That night, also, one of the clerks hadn't pushed the cash envelope all the way into the safe, so they were also able to get that as well once they grabbed all the cash in the store. $680 in total back then, which doesn't sound like a ton. That would be $12,545 today. Holy cuz, this is 1924. They get all that money. And they started backing away in the direction of the door. And the man yelled, don't make a move. If you want your head blown off, just try to follow us out.

[Alina]

Oh, I liked that one.

[Ash]

Yeah, I liked that.

[Alina]

There was also some. Some more finger guns with guns.

[Ash]

It said, if you want your head blown off, gotta follow us out.

[Alina]

Don't make a move.

[Ash]

Don't make any moves outside. They jumped into their car that was parked across the street and they drove off, leaving the six clerks just huddled in the back of the store. Like, what the just happened here.

[Alina]

Damn.

[Ash]

And probably traumatized.

[Alina]

Probably.

[Ash]

So to the police and the public, the robbery of the grocery store wasn't that shocking. It wasn't that surprising. The economy was trending downward in New York at the time. We're entering the Great Depression.

[Alina]

It was pretty jazzy. It was, you know.

[Ash]

Yeah, Was popping off. A lot of men were out of work. It was also the time of prohibition. Crime in general was on the rise between bootleggers and organized crime rings. It was. It was wild in the New York streets. Yeah. In New York, The Press dubbed 1923 the gunman's year, noting that 270 murders had been committed with guns that year, many in the commission of armed robbery. So this, unfortunately wasn't like a new concept to anybody.

[Alina]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ash]

And all of this culminated in a culture of criminality that New Yorkers simply came to accept as a reality of life in the city at this point. On a smaller level, it kind of reminds me of what you were talking about with the blackouts in the blackout ripper story. It's like the setting really. The setting and the time period really add to the vibe of the overall story.

[Alina]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Ash]

So while most people weren't super interested in the news of the robbery, what did catch people's attention was the fact that one of the robbers and the one who seemed to take the lead was a woman. And not just a woman, but she was young and she was Fashionable.

[Alina]

She was hot.

[Ash]

She was hot.

[Alina]

She was a hot girl.

[Ash]

She was smoking. She did hot shit. Like robbing grocery stores. Yeah, that's it. Don't do that.

[Alina]

Yeah, don't do that.

[Ash]

But for many New Yorkers, especially the older residents, the woman's clothing and specifically her hairstyle were very symbolic of this youth culture that was emerging during this specific period. You know who I'm talking? I'm talking Flappers.

[Alina]

Flappers.

[Ash]

Flappers were young, sexually liberated women, especially compared to generations before them. And they just didn't give a when it came to things like dancing, drinking, and mixed gender socialization.

[Alina]

Oh, my goodness.

[Ash]

They were talking to boys.

[Alina]

She's committing capers over here.

[Ash]

It's crazy. According to author Stephen Duncomb, older generations came to view the bobbed hairstyle as a quote. Are you ready? Symptom of the mentally defective.

[Alina]

I'm obsessed with that.

[Ash]

The bobbed hairstyle was a symptom of the mentally defective. And they even blamed this hairstyle for, quote, unquote, breaking up marriages.

[Alina]

Absolutely.

[Ash]

And then I wrote in my notes, today we call it a Fuck ass Bob.

[Alina]

Fuck ass ball.

[Ash]

And I got one. So the outrages over flappers and supposedly loose women was pretty much just like a moral panic, very similar to satanic panic. It's when the older generations are like, oh my God, the youth is crazy. It's always happened.

[Alina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

But the fact that one of these robbers appeared to fall into that category of crazy youth only strengthened the belief among many that young people were heading in a very dangerous and even criminal direction. So already under pressure.

[Alina]

Ass Bobs.

[Ash]

They're Ass Bobs. Thank you. So already under pressure to do something about the. About street crime in the city. Brooklyn police acted very quickly. And within a week they arrested 22 year old Helen Quigley, a former burlesque dancer.

[Alina]

Oh, come on.

[Ash]

She was just living with her father in Brooklyn. A few days earlier, her boyfriend, Vincent Apples. Kowalski.

[Alina]

I. This is a. This is such a case.

[Ash]

What a time to be alive.

[Alina]

What a time.

[Ash]

I'm dating Apples Kowalski.

[Alina]

That's right. Who isn't? You know.

[Ash]

You know what? Yes.

[Alina]

You know, in question.

[Ash]

So a few days before, she had been arrested. Apples there had been picked up on suspicion of robbery and wasted no time in confessing. And also implicating Helen as his accomplice.

[Alina]

Wow. Loyalty.

[Ash]

I know. Seriously. They did bear a slight resemblance to the two who had robbed the Rolston grocery. And they were actually even picked out of a photo lineup by Lester Loden. But Helen Quigley insisted that she had nothing to do with the robbery or any of the other holdups in the area. She said, you got me wrong. Why I'm so afraid of a gun, I can hardly look at one.

[Alina]

I like that.

[Ash]

I try. I'm really, really trying.

[Alina]

Yeah, you're really. You're starting to embody it.

[Ash]

Thank you. I automatically go southern when I try to do an accent.

[Alina]

It's. I mean, transatlantic. Accents have, like, a hint of southern to it. Yeah. So you're. You're on there.

[Ash]

All right, thank you.

[Alina]

I like it.

[Ash]

But she said, you got me wrong.

[Alina]

You got me wrong.

[Ash]

Now, despite her declaration of innocence, she was the embodiment of the 1920s flapper, right down to her very casual demeanor when she was faced with arrest. When police went to her dad's house to arrest her, she, quote, calmly asked if she could finish drying the supper dishes before they brought her in for questioning.

[Alina]

Priorities, you know?

[Ash]

They said, ma'am, you're under arrest for robbery. And she said, my dad's gonna get pissed if I don't clean up dinner.

[Alina]

Yeah. She's like, you think I want to leave that in the sink?

[Ash]

Fair enough.

[Alina]

I think we want rodents in here.

[Ash]

You know, it is New York. But according to Helen, she did have a date with Apple's Kowalski on the night of the murder, but he never showed up.

[Alina]

That's so like apples.

[Ash]

You had his number from the very beginning.

[Alina]

I did. Apples, Kowalski. Come on.

[Ash]

She. Even Helen knew.

[Alina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

So she was like, whatever. She didn't give a. She was like, I just stayed home that night. Other than that, she called Kowalski a dirty rat and a squealer.

[Alina]

That's right.

[Ash]

But she didn't say much else during the hours long interrogation.

[Alina]

Damn.

[Ash]

The press and the police were completely certain that she was the bobbed haired bandit who had robbed several stores in South Brooklyn neighborhoods. But that was certainly shaken just a few days later when another store was robbed. This time it was a Weinstein's drugstore. According to Lewis Hecht, the clerk who was at the Weinstein's that night. This is rude. A quote, chunky bobby bobbed haired girl and her boyfriend entered the store and immediately pointed the gun at him, demanding the cash in the registore in the register. Excuse me. After pocketing the cash and looting the store, the girl handed him a note and told him to give it to Captain Carey of the detective bureau.

[Alina]

Oh, my God. They're like going. They're like, let's communicate with the cops.

[Ash]

Full send.

[Alina]

Yes.

[Ash]

This show is sponsored by Liquid iv. It's a new year which means a new us. For me, that really just means waking up earlier and, you know, working out a little bit more, which obviously I need to be hydrated to do. Whatever you do, come into your own, your own way. With extraordinary hydration from Liquid Liquid iv. With flavors like their new hydration multiplier, Sugar free raspberry Lemonade. A bright zero sugar flavor combining notes of ripe, freshly picked raspberries and citrusy, zesty lemon. I tried that one and oh my God, it's so good. I love setting myself up for success first thing in the morning. So I go down and after I feed the cats, I feed myself. And I always prepare a little side of Liquid IV to take up onto my treadmill with me. It's super duper easy. Break the mold and own your ritual. Just one stick and 16 ounces of water hydrates better than water alone. Embrace your ritual with extraordinary hydration from Liquid IV. Get 20% off your first order of Liquid IV when you go to liquid I.com and use code morbid at checkout. That's 20% off your first order when you shop Better hydration today using promo code [e-mail] let's face it, after a night with drinks, you don't bounce back the next day like you used to. You have to make a choice. Either have a great night or have a great next day. That is, until I heard about Zbiotics Pre Alcohol. Their Probiotics was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. Here's how it works. When you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut. It's this byproduct, not dehydration, that's to blame for your rough next day. Pre Alcohol produces an enzyme to break this byproduct down. This is a proactive solution that wards off feeling miserable the next day instead of a reactive approach like drinking electrolytes or eating greasy food. For my girlies who like to have a little drinky drink, I totally recommend this. I recommend this to my friends and people I love. Go to zebiotics.commorbid to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use Morbid at checkout. Zebiotics is backed with 100 money back guarantee, so if you're unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund your money, no questions asked. Remember to head to zbiotics.com morbid and use the code morbid at checkout for 15 off. Thank you Zebiotics for sponsoring this episode and our Good times, the note read. You dirty fish peddling bums, leave this innocent girl Helen Quigley alone and get the right ones, which is nobody but us. And we are going to give Mr. Hogan, the manager of Ralston's on 7 Ave. Another visit as we got two checks we couldn't cash. And also ask Bohack's manager, did I ruin his cash register? Also, I will visit him again as I broke a perfectly good automatic on it. We defy you fellows to catch us. I'm so obsessed.

[Alina]

The fact that she was like, you bums.

[Ash]

No, no, she didn't say that.

[Alina]

Innocent girl.

[Ash]

You dirty fish pedaling bums.

[Alina]

Dirty fish pedaling bums. You got the wrong girl in there.

[Ash]

I looks.

[Alina]

Looks like you got the wrong girl.

[Ash]

I beg of us to do better and to speak like this again. Call people dirty fish pedaling bums.

[Alina]

Honestly, that's a great insult.

[Ash]

It's chefs. Like I can't think of something better.

[Alina]

You know, I was looking up 1920s slang, because I'm going to try to throw it in here as we go.

[Ash]

I love you to go on a.

[Alina]

Drinking spree on a toot.

[Ash]

On a toot.

[Alina]

Just, oh, you know, he's a. You know where apples is? He's just out on a toot.

[Ash]

On a toot. That's what your kids call a fart. So it makes it even funnier.

[Alina]

It's so funny. Like, everything was funnier.

[Ash]

It really was.

[Alina]

Like, I know life was not funnier because, like, you know, the Depression looming.

[Ash]

And all that prohibition added so much to it to make it worthwhile.

[Alina]

I was gonna say it was the stuff like this, like the linguistics of the time.

[Ash]

It's so good. So good. So the note was signed the Bobbed Haired bandit and companion.

[Alina]

I love that. She called herself the Bob Haired bandit.

[Ash]

Yeah, I think they had already dubbed.

[Alina]

Her at that point.

[Ash]

And she was like.

[Alina]

But I love that. She was like, I'll take it.

[Ash]

She said, I love it. And companion.

[Alina]

And my companion, like, he's not.

[Ash]

Yeah, my babe.

[Alina]

That egg over there, I love it.

[Ash]

So this note seemed to have been written explicitly for the purpose of proving the innocence of Helen Quigley and her man Apples. There. Good for her.

[Alina]

She's trying to get that girl out. She's like, it's me.

[Ash]

At that point, those apples and Helen Quigley had been arraigned on robbery and assault charges. Oh, so they're, like, headed for the big house.

[Alina]

Oh, damn.

[Ash]

But by the time they received the note, Captains Carrie and Sullivan had actually started to question whether Helen was actually guilty. And the latest robbery at the Weinsteins seem to indicate that she probably wasn't the bandit. Yeah. So after Helen Quigley and Apple Kowalski's arraignment. I keep wanting to say arrangement.

[Alina]

You can say that it's arranged.

[Ash]

It's arranged. Their arraignment and the announcement that they would be held on $20,000 bond. Another letter arrived for the police, and this one was more forceful than the last. The writer said, why don't you see that Helen Quigley is let go? You cops are rotten as she ain't guilty. If you can't find the guilty party, you grab the first one you get a hold of. If you hold a grudge against them.

[Alina]

Wow.

[Ash]

She said, you guys are filthy and fake.

[Alina]

She said, wow, you're real dumb.

[Ash]

Pretty much. Unfortunately, the note had the opposite effect that the writer intended. The judge actually doubled Quigley and Kowalski's bond.

[Alina]

Damn.

[Ash]

And was pretty certain that the writer was just a third accomplice trying to weaken their case against the pair. But as the robberies continued, so did the letters to the police and to members of The Press. On January 22, the editor of the Standard Union received a note that read, I must say we have a wonderful police force. They must all be asleep. Cold nights are the best to stick people up. The cops and bulls have hangouts and are always in on cold, wet nights. I passed two cops and bull standing on Fulton street and Bedford Avenue Saturday night. I asked one of them where Keaney's Theater was, and they directed me. I almost laughed in their faces to think they were talking to the one they were looking for and completely see. They blind or asleep.

[Alina]

She's. I'm not condoning anything that she has done. No, it's kind of iconic.

[Ash]

No, it's truly kind of iconic. She said.

[Alina]

She's like, I was right in your face, and you didn't even. She said, lol, and you got the wrong person. I'm telling you, you got the wrong person. And you're still not letting her go. Yeah, like, damn.

[Ash]

I love what she's doing.

[Alina]

Damn.

[Ash]

So by late January, store clerks and residents were seeing the bandit and her companion all over Brooklyn. On January 21, a grocer in Brooklyn claimed he'd been robbed of $600 by the pair who escaped in a car that they had parked around the corner.

[Alina]

Which obviously, like, that part is not great, because you're like, these grocers do not deserve to be terrorized, losing their. Their work. You know, I mean, like, they're you know what they use to put food on their tables and like the clerks.

[Ash]

Being scared to go to work. Exactly.

[Alina]

That's not cool. None of that is cool. Her notes are hilarious to the cops.

[Ash]

Just to clarify.

[Alina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

But that same night that the other robbery happened, 4 QUOTE boy bandits ranging in age from boy bandits. Boy bandits ranging in age from 14 to 18 held up several stores in the Bronx and took more than $700, which would be $13,000 in today's.

[Alina]

Get it together, everyone.

[Ash]

I'm like, how did you hide that from your parents?

[Alina]

Damn.

[Ash]

Now, even though there was no apparent connection between these and the other hold up. The press still subtly implied that there was definitely an epidemic of violence and robberies being perpetrated by young people across the city.

[Alina]

Damn.

[Ash]

Kind of just a fact.

[Alina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

One journalist wrote. Every other night or so, the frightened proprietor of a chain grocery store would back away from a crouching, snarling little demon whose eyes blazed over the sights of an ugly automatic. A foul mouthed fury who but a moment before had seemed in the background.

[Alina]

Wow.

[Ash]

Why can't we do better? Why can't we talk like this?

[Alina]

Why can't we. They used to call policemen elbows.

[Ash]

Shut the why. I need an explanation on that one.

[Alina]

Call them elbows.

[Ash]

I love that. Yeah, I love that so much.

[Alina]

Yeah. Well.

[Ash]

With each new bandit letter published in the paper, the public had new material to inform the growing mockery and the jokes aimed at the police who were unable to catch the pair. After a run of particularly rainy days in late January, the Standard union joked, if this weather keeps up, the girl with the bobbed hair may try her luck in getting away with a red hot stove.

[Alina]

Whoa.

[Ash]

They said the cops don't really work well during the rain, so she's going nuts. The increase in public criticism was very clearly starting to irritate city officials. In an article published in the New York Herald, Mayor John F. Hyland angrily told a reporter, there isn't any bobbed haired bandit. That's only a myth.

[Alina]

You just flim flaming us.

[Ash]

I'm like, sir, she's been seen. She's been.

[Alina]

She's been witnessed by several people who have been held up at these stores.

[Ash]

Like, is everybody just making this up?

[Alina]

Yeah. They just don't want to admit you know what this is. There's a lady that's getting the best of them, making a run, making us run for our money here and we're not happy with it.

[Ash]

Yeah. She should stay in the kitchen where she belongs. Whether he genuinely believed that or not, there was indeed A bobbed haired bandit. And the failure to capture her was definitely starting to make the NYPD look like a bunch of idiots. They were so mad and they were pissed. So mad. So on the night of January 26, the contingent of 200 police officers. Picture that 200 scattered across neighborhoods all over Brooklyn intent on capturing the Bob Ted bandit and her companion. I love companion. Believing that they, the pair were sure to strike that night as they had the previous five Saturdays. Officers stood watch outside of grocery stores, drugstores and even delis around the city, just waiting for that bandit to make a mistake. And at that same time, another large group of officers were assigned to watch over the home of NYPD Commissioner Richard Enright after one of the bandit's notes referenced making a visit to the man's home. Oh, damn. But by the time the police had spread out their net, the bandit had already robbed eight businesses of nearly $2,000.

[Alina]

Holy shit.

[Ash]

Which would be $37,000 in today's cash D. And showed no signs of slowing down or even losing any kind of confidence.

[Alina]

Because. Why? Why slow down? They're not catching you.

[Ash]

It's raining. I gotta go.

[Alina]

Yeah, it's raining.

[Ash]

However, despite that large scale effort, there was no sign of the bandit that January 26th night. And the next day, the press reported on yet another failure by the police. In the meantime, John Hyland expressed his complete support in Commissioner Enright and the nypd writing, it has always seemed to me a very regrettable feature of the. Of life in New York that. That some of the newspapers consciously or unconsciously aid in attempts to dislodge a fearless police commissioner.

[Alina]

Wow.

[Ash]

She's like, it's the newspaper's fault. It's. Yeah, obviously can't catch this person.

[Alina]

Obviously.

[Ash]

It's the newspapers.

[Alina]

Like you're the one who's saying that she doesn't even exist.

[Ash]

Exactly. But now, as far as he was concerned, the bobbed haired bandit wasn't the problem. The press was. He already said that he did. He thought she was a myth created by the press to sell papers. And he later said, true, occasionally a girl may commit a larceny, but there's surely no occasion for the scare head about Girl bandits.

[Alina]

The scare heads.

[Ash]

The scare heads. Nor for moralists to say that the town is infested with them.

[Alina]

He's like, girl bandits aren't real.

[Ash]

That's. That is exactly the energy that he is delivering.

[Alina]

Girl bandits are fake.

[Ash]

Girl bandits have cooties.

[Alina]

No, there's only boy bandits.

[Ash]

You can't be a girl bandit no. Ugh. You're stupid.

[Alina]

That's so funny.

[Ash]

But he said he was confident that if they could crack down on the press and prevent them from fueling this public hysteria, the bobbed haired bandit would just disappear and people would go on with their lives. Yeah. Because the press had no interest or reason to stop reporting on the bandit. As long as she continued to pull off these robberies around the city, and as long as readers were interested in her antics, they were going to keep publishing the stories to sell those papers.

[Alina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And they didn't give a shit how it made the police look. They were like, make yourselves look better. By early February, the local papers honed in on a new theory detectives had been developing. And it was that despite all reports, the bobbed haired bandit was not a woman at all, but perhaps a young man disguising himself by wearing young woman's clothing.

[Alina]

Because once again, there's no way that this is a girl bandit.

[Ash]

They said a girl is not defying us like this. It must be a man.

[Alina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

While some may have found the theory more credible than others, just as many dismissed it as nonsense, noting that many of the witnesses, quote, described the bandit's feet and shoes as. As typically feminine and her walk is characteristic of a member of the weaker sex.

[Alina]

Adorable. It makes me think of in Scream 1 when Stu is like, nah, there's no way a girl could have killed him. And Randy's like, it takes a man.

[Ash]

Do something like that. Oh my God, it's so true. That's the perfect quote. That is the.

[Alina]

That's the vibe that I'm getting. Takes a man to do something like that. I love it.

[Ash]

That's exactly what this is giving. That's the vibe. Now the bandit and her companion, they did lay low for a few weeks, and that was until early February when they were back at it again.

[Alina]

Hell yeah.

[Ash]

With the fuck ass Bob.

[Alina]

Hell yeah. She's getting out there with her glad rags.

[Ash]

What's a glad rag tell us all she clothes. Oh my God, her glad rags.

[Alina]

She's gonna go commit a caper.

[Ash]

Is that a crime? Yeah, a robbery.

[Alina]

A crime.

[Ash]

I love it. Yeah. Well, she. They were back on the job and they landed themselves right back on the front pages of the New York papers. A little after 10pm on the evening of February 3, the bobbed haired bandit entered an HC Bohat grocery store on Lafayette street and approached the counter wearing what the press described as a saucy turban trimmed with fur. Oh, I love a saucy turban. Saucy turban now, despite the late hour, there were still several store clerks behind the counter and actually three customers waiting in line. When she reached the counter, the bandit asked the butcher, Peter, Peter Crossman for a whole chicken. She said, one whole chicken, please. Me too. Same. He disappeared into the deli and when he returned with the chicken, the chicken. Excuse me. The bandit pulled a revolver from her coat pocket and said, one peep and you're a dead butcher.

[Alina]

She said, hey, grab a little air. That's also slang.

[Ash]

What does that mean? That means put your hands up, grab a little air. I just love that she made like a chicken joke. One pee.

[Alina]

I love that.

[Ash]

I love it. And you're a dead butcher. So the butcher dropped the chicken on the floor and threw his hands up in the air because again, he did care.

[Alina]

Yeah, he grabbed a little air.

[Ash]

The bandit then whistled and within seconds her companion was by her side, pistol in hand. And I just picture her doing the like pinkies, pinkies in the mouth whistle. Hell yeah. I wish I could do that kind of whistle. She then directed Kaussman and the other clerks to the back of the store. While the bandit kept everybody at the back of the store, the man went through the cash register stuffing bills into his pockets. 150 bucks in total. Bat night today, that'd be about 2,700 bucks. Once they emptied the registers, they backed their way out of the store loudly declaring that they would shoot anybody who made a move or yelled for the police. And once they got outside, they just jumped in their car and they sped.

[Alina]

Off and they said bye.

[Ash]

A few days later, police arrested 19 year old Mary Cody for this robbery and they declared they had finally got her. This was their bobbed haired bandit?

[Alina]

Doubt it.

[Ash]

They claimed Moore wasn't acting alone, but rather she was the leader of a gang of bandits. Oh, that included her boyfriend, Matthew Boyd. Boyd. Boyd, that's you. My girl.

[Alina]

I love him. My girl.

[Ash]

And a man by the name of Richard Gibbons. Mary Cody and the two men were accused of several taxi cab hold ups in the area. But the only evidence connecting her to the bandit robberies was the fact that she owned a seal fur coat and wore her hair in a bob style.

[Alina]

Yeah, seems a little hinky.

[Ash]

She had a coat and a bob. I just want you to let that sink in.

[Alina]

That's it.

[C]

Being an actual royal is never about finding your happy ending. But the worst part is if they step out of line or fall in love with the wrong person, it changes.

[Ash]

The course of history.

[C]

By I'm Arisha Skidmore Williams and I'm Brooke Zifrin. We've been telling the stories of the rich and famous on the hit Wondery show, Even the Rich. And talking about the latest celebrity news on Rich and daily, we're going all over the world on our new show, Even the Royals.

[Ash]

We'll be diving headfirst into the lives of the world's kings, queens and all.

[C]

The wannabes in their orbit throughout history. Think succession meets the crown meets real life. We're going to pull back the gilded curtain and show how royal status might be bright and shiny, but it comes at the expense of, well, everything else, like your freedom, your privacy, and sometimes even your head. Follow even the royals on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to even the Royals early and ad free right now by joining Wondery.

[D]

Behind the closed doors of government offices and military compounds, there are hidden stories and buried secrets from the darkest corners of history. From COVID experiments pushing the boundaries of science to operations so secretive they were barely whispered about. Each week on Redacted Declassified Mysteries, we pull back the curtain on These hidden histories, 100% true and verifiable stories that expose the shadowy underbelly of power. Consider Operation Paperclip, where former Nazi scientists were brought to America after World War II not as prisoners, but as assets to advance US intelligence during the Cold War. These aren't just old conspiracy theories. They're thoroughly investigated accounts that reveal the uncomfortable truths still shaping our world today. The stories are real. The secrets are shocking. Follow Declassified Mysteries with me, Luke Lamanna, on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts to listen ad free. Join Wondery plus in the Wondery App.

[Ash]

Unfortunately, when their robbery victims were shown photographs of this woman and her two accomplices, quote, unquote, they all denied that she was the bandit. They said, nah, that's not the girl.

[Alina]

They said, nah, she's just got a coat.

[Ash]

And they said, okay, fine. And they arrested another young woman just one day later. They said, all right, Mario, it's not you, but I think it's Rose Moore.

[Alina]

Yeah, me too.

[Ash]

We're gonna go arrest her.

[Alina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And they arrested her after her mother reported her missing to the police. When a detective caught up with Rose, she was wearing a seal skin coat and a pink hat over her bobbed ass hair, over her bob, over her bobbed ass hair. The arresting detective told the Brooklyn Eagle he was quote, satisfied in his own mind that Rose Moore and the notorious bobbed haired bandit Wiley and Defiant were one in the same but the next day it was clear she had nothing to do with the hold ups and she was released from custody. Her brother Edward, who actually was the one to report his suspicions of her to the police.

[Alina]

Damn.

[Ash]

Later said, rose is a good girl, but fond of fun. And I suppose I was too strict with her. My sister had no record of any kind against her, of course, and it was really my fault that she received this unpleasant publicity.

[Alina]

Wow.

[Ash]

Fond of fun.

[Alina]

You're a shitbag.

[Ash]

He was like, you're having too much fun. I'm gonna make them think you're a bandit.

[Alina]

You have a fuck ass, Bob. I'm gonna put you in the big house.

[Ash]

Men suck.

[Alina]

Like, you're the worst. Are you kidding? And it's like her brother, it's like, shut the up.

[Ash]

Yeah, shut the up.

[Alina]

Shut the up, sibling. Like, get the out of here. Yeah, she's having too much fun. I gotta throw in the big head.

[Ash]

You're not my dad.

[Alina]

Yeah, get the out of here.

[Ash]

Well, by this point, Helen quigley and Mary Cody were actually still in custody of on suspicion. They're just like, they're arresting more people while they have all the bobbed haired girls in little holding cells.

[Alina]

All of them.

[Ash]

Police were arresting or detaining anybody who fit the description of the bandit and her companion, desperate to close the case. And her companion, they were just desperate to close the case. They wanted to end all the public criticism. Meanwhile, as detectives interrogated Rose Moore, the real bandit continued writing notes, just taunting the police and condemning the press for printing lies about her. After an interview with the supposed bandit appeared in the brooklyn eagle, the editor received a note that read, dear sir, the interview you printed about the bobbed haired bandit was a fake and you ought to be exposed. It seems to me that you would have more to do than sit down and just make things up. Personally, I think you are a bum. I have never been interviewed as a.

[Alina]

Matter of a fact.

[Ash]

And I defy you, p. S. I also defy the police. A photographic copy of this letter has been turned over to the police of the popular street station.

[Alina]

I think I. We need to start calling people bums. We do.

[Ash]

We have to call people bums. 2025.

[Alina]

Yeah, 2025. We're bringing back calling people bums.

[Ash]

Personally, I think you are a bum.

[Alina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

It should be said that while the bobbed haired bandit did write a lot of notes to the police in the press, there were countless other fake.

[Alina]

Oh, I'm sure.

[Ash]

Written by anonymous senders. It's not always known which is which, but.

[Alina]

But all of them are they. They have such zest and flair.

[Ash]

They do have such zest. What else do they have?

[Alina]

They're very hotsy totsy.

[Ash]

They are very hotsy totsy.

[Alina]

And you know what? We got a lot of bob haired patsies sitting in the big house right now.

[Ash]

Tell me everything. What? Bob haired patsies?

[Alina]

Yeah. Patsies are people who are set up. A fool, a chump.

[Ash]

A chump.

[Alina]

And they're sitting in the big house in jail.

[Ash]

This is too much. I love it so much. I wish we were dressed like swanky.

[Alina]

I know.

[Ash]

I'm wearing sweatpants.

[Alina]

Oh, we need to do a licitor tale that's 1920s themed so we can go literally yesterday. I don't know how we do that, but we'll figure it out.

[Ash]

We could just read regular tales and just decide in the 1920s. I love it.

[Alina]

I like it.

[Ash]

Well, regardless, the letters became so popular with readers that the Brooklyn Eagle just continued collecting them and publishing them now on a weekly basis.

[Alina]

Damn.

[Ash]

Much to the irritation of the police, I imagine. Because not only did the letters make detectives look foolish for their inability to catch the bandit, but they also reminded New Yorkers that crime was still a big problem in the city and that that fact reflected very poorly on police commissioner Enright. After a few weeks of downtime, the bandit popped up again in late February, this time wielding a pistol in each hand. She got one, too.

[Alina]

Oh, damn.

[Ash]

And this was when she and her companion robbed the James Butler grocery in Brooklyn. By that point, the public had started mistakenly seeing the bandit everywhere. So when the woman entered the store wearing her, quote, three quarter length seal skin coat and her black turban, one of the customers shouted, the Bob had bandit.

[Alina]

She's arrived.

[Ash]

Here she is. The pair went through their usual routine, corralling the customers and the clerks to the back of the store while one of them went through the registers. And then they backed out of the store with their guns drawn and said, don't tell anybody.

[Alina]

And they said, oh, my God, it's really a skirt.

[Ash]

What is that?

[Alina]

She's a real skirt.

[Ash]

She's a real skirt. What's it?

[Alina]

A woman.

[Ash]

A woman. Oh, my God, it's a woman. Now the skirt bend. As they made their way out of the door, the bandit shouted, give us 10 minutes to get away or you'll be sorry. This time the total takeaway was less than $60, but still a good sum of money. That'd be about a thousand bucks today.

[Alina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

The latest string of robberies led the police to Devise a new strategy, though, casting an even wider net and questioning nearly anyone who met even one of the bandits descriptors. However, while this strategy was intended to catch the criminal, it had the unintended effect of scaring or just straight up inconveniencing the female members of the public. By the end of February, detectives have put so much emphasis on the bandit's hair and clothing that women all over the city started altering their appearances so that they wouldn't be mistaken for the band.

[Alina]

Oh, damn.

[Ash]

Yeah. One hairstylist told the reporter. Girls won't bob their hair anymore, and the ones who have theirs already bobbed are letting it grow as fast as.

[Alina]

They can, Just encouraging their hair to grow every night.

[Ash]

They're like, please grow faster.

[Alina]

That's how that works.

[Ash]

They're using rosemary oil.

[Alina]

Biology.

[Ash]

The sentiment was shared by others in the beauty industry and only led to more criticism of the police and of course, their inability to catch this bobbed haired bandit. I love her, another stylist told reporters. It's a shame the way the police are playing hide and seek with the girl and letting her out with them all the time. I love this. A police force of bobbed haired girls would catch her soon enough. She said, fuck that. Why don't we take all these bobbed haired arrestees and make them the police?

[Alina]

Yeah, they're out here. They're tooting the wrong ringer.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alina]

You know, is that like barking up the wrong tree, asking the wrong person? I love it.

[Ash]

Tooting up the wrong ringer. Fortunately for the nypd, it would not come to that. But I do love the image that conjures.

[Alina]

I immediately thought of a bunch of. Of bob haired flappers just walking in, flashing a bag.

[Ash]

Put them up. I love it.

[Alina]

I love it.

[Ash]

Oh, I want to be one. The robberies continued into March, and of course, so did the sensational press coverage. Soon enough, the bandit was being celebrated by most as a kind of anti hero and obviously an early feminist figure, pushing back on the suffocating norms and restrictions imposed by a world ruled of stinky, stupid men.

[Alina]

There you go.

[Ash]

One journalist wrote for the Brooklyn Eagle. Brooklyn's girl bandit is merely part of the great world revolt against authority and correct principles, using her energies on the only plane open to her in which she can revolt.

[Alina]

Whoa.

[Ash]

They said she's got a bob and she's robbing people and men.

[Alina]

Yeah, she's in a weak sister.

[Ash]

No. Love it. By the end of March, Commissioner Commissioner Anwright was pissed, and the NYPD in him had become so frustrated with the situation that he started to speak out to the press about how he might have to step into the investigation and bring the bandit in himself. He said, I had about reached the conclusion that I would have to go out and get her myself. I'm not so sure that she is not a short head man.

[Alina]

Oh, see, we can't. We can't just give it. It's a skirt.

[Ash]

I'm like, no, she's a skirt. And she's getting the best of you, commissioner.

[Alina]

And you're just upset about it. It.

[Ash]

His comments were aimed at the critics of the police, but it's also clear from his statement that the bandit's gender was at least some degree of a threat to him.

[Alina]

Oh, yeah.

[Ash]

Otherwise he would have never called it into question.

[Alina]

Exactly.

[Ash]

I'm saying for months, the bandit and her companion had been holding up drugstores.

[Alina]

My favorite part, to be honest.

[Ash]

Her companion and groceries around the city, all without firing a single shot or harming anybody. No shots had been fired up to this point. Point.

[Alina]

Which thankful for that.

[Ash]

But that all changed on April 1st when the pair attempted to rob the payroll department of the National Biscuit Company.

[Alina]

Whoa.

[Ash]

Which is a company that I would love to support.

[Alina]

I was gonna say that place is near and dear to my heart.

[Ash]

Same. Now. The heist was to be the biggest of their career thus far. Not only because it was the biggest. Supposed to be the biggest payout, but also because it occurred in broad daylight while a number. A large number of clerks were present. That morning, the couple actually hired a car to take them to the Biscuit Company, which. I'm going to do that too. And I'm not going to rob them. I'm just going to buy a lot of.

[Alina]

I'm getting a car to go to the Biscuit Company right now. Nabisco. National Biscuit Company.

[Ash]

Nabisco.

[Alina]

Oh, my God.

[Ash]

I never knew that. Mikey just told us. Nabisco.

[Alina]

Mikey just cracked the code. I never knew that.

[Ash]

Biscuit Company.

[Alina]

What the.

[Ash]

I'm going to support them.

[Alina]

Boom.

[Ash]

Well, when. Boom. When they arrived to Nabisco, the band pointed a gun at the driver, Arthur west, and told him to get in the back of the car. Once west had been tied up and placed on the floor in the back seat, the bandit took over the wheel and they continued to down the street to the National Biscuit Warehouse. Nabisco. Once they reached their destination, they parked on the street outside the Wahoo warehouse and entered through the front door and climbed the stairs straight to the administrative offices. So on the second floor, the Young woman walked to the caged in payroll office, and she stepped up to the desk and handed the clerk, Nathan Mazzo, an envelope. Mazzo opened the envelope and took out the paper inside, but it appeared to be blank. When he looked up, prepared to question the woman in front of him, he found himself staring into the barrel of the bobbed haired bandit's pistol. Seconds later, the Bandit's male companion appeared at her side with pistols in both hands and a handkerchief covering his face.

[Alina]

Oh.

[Ash]

The payroll office erupted into chaos as the clerks and SEC secretaries started running, trying to escape the gunman. But the bandit kept focused on Mazzo and the other man, corralled the employees and forced them into a smaller office just adjacent to the payroll cage. Now, as the staff began filing into the small office, Mazo was last in line, and he appeared to make a move for the Bandit's gun. Grabbing her arm when he passed by her, the Bandit fell back away from Mazzo, tumbling over a chair. A chair. And falling to the floor. Seeing what was happening, her companion fired two shots, hitting Mazzo in the arm, causing the man obviously to scream, and then the scene to erupt. Because fire has now been.

[Alina]

You've now heard gunshots.

[Ash]

Exactly. With everything having gone awry, the pair fled down the stairs and out to the car with several National Biscuit drivers following behind them.

[Alina]

Now, you know, they, they, they were doing these little ones that were going well at night and they got two. They were putting on the Ritz. They were high hat.

[Ash]

I know what that's all about.

[Alina]

They were getting swelled. They were throwing on side acting high toned.

[Ash]

High toned.

[Alina]

Got a, like, keep it chill.

[Ash]

You gotta chill out. How do you say chill out in 1920s?

[Alina]

I think it's like, hold on, hold on. You gotta simmer down. You gotta cool your jets. Hold your horses. Keep your shirt on.

[Ash]

I like, keep your shirt on.

[Alina]

Take it easy. Pipe down. Keep your hair on.

[Ash]

Keep your hair on. Why do I feel like your ma right now? She doesn't really talk like that, but like, kind of.

[Alina]

But she kind of does. She has a 1920s vibe about her when she, when she gets going.

[Ash]

Why don't you be baba loophas, baby?

[Alina]

She does, she does the trans. I just like the, like, high hat getting swelled and swelled. Getting too big for you, bro.

[Ash]

Keep your hair off. Keep your hair up. Well, nobody's hair was on. Everybody's terrified we're getting swelled. They were getting rightfully swelled.

[Alina]

Acted way too high, too.

[Ash]

An ambulance and police arrived at the scene a short time later. And Nathan Mazzo was taken to the hospital for treatment. A few blocks away, a patrolman came upon the Packard that the pair had arrived in.

[Alina]

Whoop.

[Ash]

And the driver, Arthur west, was still tied up in the floor in the back. On the floor in the back. The patrolman took the car and the driver to the nearest precinct, where he explained that he had picked up the couple at a hotel near Prospect park and had driven them down to where the car had been found, at which point he was jumped by the couple and thrown into the back of the car.

[Alina]

Oh, damn.

[Ash]

He said he had not seen either passenger's face, but according to the press quote, his description of both the girl and her companion tallied perfectly with that of the bobbed haired bandit and her companion.

[Alina]

Oh.

[E]

UFO lands in Suffolk and that's official, said the News of the World. But what really happened across two nights in December 1980 when US servicemen saw mysterious lights in the forest near RAF Woodbridge and claimed to have had a close encounter with an actual craft?

[F]

Encounters, a new podcast available exclusively on Wondery, takes a deep dive into one of the most famous and still unresolved UFO encounters to ever take place in the uk. Featuring shocking testimony from first hand witnesses. Hosts, journalist, podcaster and UFO researcher Andy McVillan. That's me. And producer L. Scott take us back to the nights in question and examine all of the evidence and conflicting theories about what was encountered in the middle of a Snowy Suffolk Forest 40 years ago.

[E]

Are we alone? Encounters is a podcast which is going to find out. Listen to Encounters exclusively and ad free on Wondry Plus. Join Wondry plus in the Wondry app or in Apple Podcasts.

[Ash]

After 17 successful robberies.

[Alina]

17.

[Ash]

17. We just did the highlights here.

[Alina]

Holy.

[Ash]

The hold up of the national Biscuit company Nabisco changed everything for the bandit and her companion.

[Alina]

Wow.

[Ash]

Where she was spoken of as an anti hero. Now the papers were accusing her and her companion as attempted murderers and announcing, quite inaccurately, that Maozo's wounds will, quote, probably prove fatal. They didn't. Okay, he was shot, which is very wrong.

[Alina]

Absolutely.

[Ash]

He was shot in the arm.

[Alina]

He was not gonna die.

[Ash]

A few days later, he himself would capitalize on the spotlight, giving interviews where he heroically claimed that he'd been reaching for the gun, not trying to remove the bandit's veil as had been suggested by the police and the press. He told a reporter, believe me, if I got that gun, I would have saved the police a lot of trouble. I'd have killed them both. That's what I'm gonna do next time. I'm gonna get the gun and I'm gonna shoot her.

[Alina]

Honestly, I probably would have been as insufferable.

[Ash]

Oh, if you shoot me in the.

[Alina]

Arm, like, I would have come out and I would have been like, next time I'm getting that gun, I'm getting you. Yeah, yeah.

[Ash]

You shoot me in the arm, you're done.

[Alina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

But if Nathan Mazo was fantasizing about a second visit from the bandit and her companion, he would be sadly disappointed. After months of robberies and obviously very intense press coverage, the bobbed haired bandit and her companion seemingly disappeared.

[Alina]

Whoa.

[Ash]

For weeks, NYPD officers and detectives spread out across the city in search of the bobbed haired bandit and her companion. But the robberies had stopped altogether and there was no sign of the infamous duo anywhere.

[Alina]

Wow.

[Ash]

Finally, in mid April, investigators got a break when they learned that the Parkers, who were the couple that hired the car and the driver that took them to the biscuit company, were 20 year old Celia Cooney.

[Alina]

20.

[Ash]

20 year old Celia Cooney and her 25 year old husband, Ed. Ed. Ed.

[Alina]

Honestly? Yeah. Her companion is Ed.

[Ash]

The couple lived in Brooklyn until recently when they gave up their apartment and told their landlord that they were moving down to Florida. NYPD detectives contacted authorities in Florida, who put out an alert across the state. And in the early hours of April 21, Celia and Ed Cooney were arrested at a rooming house in Jacksonville.

[Alina]

Damn. Is that her?

[Ash]

Yeah. The bald head bandit.

[Alina]

She does look 20. She looks younger than that, to be honest. Wow.

[Ash]

So now who exactly were Celia and Ed Coombe?

[Alina]

Who were they?

[Ash]

Well, Celia was born into extreme poverty and raised along with seven brothers and sisters by a single mother who relied on her children to beg for money in the street. That's how bad things were.

[Alina]

So she kind of. This was in her. In her bones already.

[Ash]

For most of her younger years, the family lived in a coal cellar until Celia was taken in by an aunt in Brooklyn when she was 4 14. In 1918, she moved out on her own. And a few Years later, in 1923, she met her now husband Ed at a vaudeville theater on Fulton Street. I love that.

[Alina]

That's so 1920s. Like that's so of the time and I.

[Ash]

It's a beautiful love story, to be honest. She later remembered that night saying, I thought I'd blow 30 cents, taking in a show and hoping to run into some friends. But by the end of the night, she struck up a conversation with the man next to her. And as the picture came to an end, she had fallen in love with Ed's quote unquote wonderful smile.

[Alina]

Oh, my God.

[Ash]

Right?

[Alina]

That's actually really sweet.

[Ash]

They dated for a few months before they decided to get married on May 18, 1923. And Celia said I'd never been so happy in my life. But we weren't saving a cent. Ed kept insisting on me buying myself some nice clothes. It seemed so wonderful to me to be loved and worried about. So we spent our money that summer almost as fast as we made it. It.

[Alina]

Wow.

[Ash]

At the same time, Ed was working as a welder for a small garage in Brooklyn. And while the salary wasn't great, it was enough to pay a small rent on the small room that they shared in a rooming house. But in September, Celia learned that she was pregnant. And that news changed everything.

[Alina]

Oh.

[Ash]

She told Ed, I'm not going to have my baby raised in a little 2x4 hole. Like, I was insisting that they needed to find a more suitable home for their family. And Ed promised that he would find a way to make it happen. Oh, this was how.

[Alina]

This sounds like such a, like, sweet story at first. You're just like, you, like, root for them.

[Ash]

Yeah. And then they just said, you know how we could do that?

[Alina]

Rob had a lot of people said, oh, no.

[Ash]

This was how Celia and Ed Cooney became the bobbed haired bandit and her companion. Wow.

[Alina]

And her companion, Ed.

[Ash]

At first, it all seemed like this strange fantasy to the young couple. Celia said, I had been reading magazines and books about girl. Girl crush, crooks and bandits.

[Alina]

Girl crooks.

[Ash]

Girl crooks and bandits. And it began to seem like a game or play acting. After Ed really came home with the guns, it was more exciting than anything I'd ever thought I'd do.

[Alina]

Wow.

[Ash]

The couple said they never intended to hurt anybody and they never wanted to. The. The shooting at the Biscuit company was completely unexpected. And it was an unconscious reaction from Ed when he thought his pregnant wife was in danger. He told the police, and in that.

[Alina]

Sense, you're like, like you put, like obviously putting your being in the position of robbing people whilst pregnant already you're. You lose that argument. Like, you know what I mean? Like that's it. But now you get. You almost believe her when she says, like, we didn't intend to hurt anybody because they never tried to before.

[Ash]

No.

[Alina]

You know, like, it seemed like the intimidation tactic was what they were going with and it seemed to work.

[Ash]

Yes. Which is wrong.

[Alina]

And throwing people off kilter with her being the first one going in there with the gun, I think was Their intention, like throwing them off completely at first, yep. And then Ed can saunter in all tall and like, you know, get everything done. Get everything done.

[Ash]

Yeah. I think his reaction was a somewhat natural instinct. I guess he was just trying to protect his friend.

[Alina]

Wife. He told.

[Ash]

But it's not okay.

[Alina]

They had put themselves in that position to begin with. So it's like.

[Ash]

Precisely.

[Alina]

Your argument falls flat.

[Ash]

Precisely. He told police, I thought she had been struck or maybe cut. And I fired through the door at Mazzo, who fell. My girl was down and I had to rush in. I picked her up and carried her out. And if they hadn't already planned to go to Florida after one final heist, the reports in the papers the next day certainly would have prompted them to run. Among the details of the hold up and the shooting were detailed descriptions of both Celia and Ed, along with orders from the. From Commissioner Enright to quote, shoot her on site if necessary.

[Alina]

Damn.

[Ash]

Which is like, I don't think that's necessary.

[Alina]

But yeah.

[Ash]

Without the money from the Biscuit hold up, life in Florida wasn't much better than what they had in New York when they first got married. After spending most of their money on train and boat fairs to get to Jacksonville, the two had run out of money and they vowed not to commit any more holdups. Celia said, we had less than $50 left and my baby was coming soon, which would cost money. The bandit stuff was over. We never even thought of trying that again. So Ed set out to find work as a mechanic in Jacksonville. But by then their descriptions had made it to the papers up and down the east coast, and then would be followed by their actual names. So they knew it was only a matter of time before law enforcement caught up with them. A few days after their arrest, Ed and Celia were brought back to New York, much to the delight of the New York press, who were happy to have their main story back in the city. The pair were quickly arranged, arraigned on charges of armed robbery and assault, where they indicated their willingness to plead guilty to as many as 10 robberies. But they both maintained that they only started robbing stores in order to afford their baby and give Ed to find a better paying job. Give him some time to do that. Celia proudly told the court that the world owed them a living. And she said, we did not want our baby born in an unfinished room. We needed money to get furniture and get set up on our. And set up our own home. And Ed said, I had been reading in the newspapers of numerous robberies and I Decided I might get enough money that way to fix us up. Up.

[Alina]

Damn.

[Ash]

Although enthusiasm for the couple had waned slightly once they were identified, Celia and Ed still had a fair share of fans and more than a little sympathy. When they arrived to New York from Florida, their train was met by a mob of onlookers. Hundreds of people rushed the train stores just in an effort to get a look at the command. The bandit and her companion.

[Alina]

Oh, I believe it.

[Ash]

And more than a few of them were saddened to hear that just a few days before being brought back to New York, Celia had given birth to her baby. And the baby, unfortunately passed away a few days later.

[Alina]

Oh, that's sad.

[Ash]

Yeah. The baby was buried in Florida. Detectives, meanwhile, had a hard time believing that Celia Cooney was the bobbed haired bandit who had plagued them for months. If you see her, she's just this tiny little.

[Alina]

She's so little.

[Ash]

Friends and neighbors reported to investigators that Ed also was one of the nicest guys they knew, and they never would have suspected him to be an armed robber. But Celia, on the other hand, received up fewer glowing reviews from people who actually knew her. Oh, According to one of her former land ladies, Celia would, quote, lay in a filthy bed in a filthy room until noon every day, reading detective and true crime magazines and watching boxing matches.

[Alina]

Damn. Yeah. Wow. There's a lot to unpack there.

[Ash]

And an anonymous source interviewed by the press also had questionable things to say about Celia. They said she would talk to men on the phone who had Italian names. And I had the suspicion then that she was talking to members of the undoubtedly world. That's the way she struck me.

[Alina]

These men had Italian names.

[Ash]

Like maybe she's just friends with Italians.

[Alina]

Don't say.

[Ash]

Jesus Christ.

[Alina]

I love how it's just like automatically like that is the wildest story.

[Ash]

Like she's talking to Joe Bonino.

[Alina]

These. These men with Italian names, they're definitely part of the underworld.

[Ash]

They have to be. In the days after the arraignment, a new narrative was emerging in the press. Now that she had been unmasked, masked, the bobbed haired bandit was no longer a symbol of the feminist revolution. Now people just thought she was a local. A low class degenerate who had duped her husband into being her criminal accomplice.

[Alina]

Damn. Might have fallen.

[Ash]

Wow. We didn't plan that.

[Alina]

No.

[Ash]

A few days after their arraignment, Judge George Martin announced that he wanted the pair to be evaluated by psychiatrists after receiving concerning letters from members of Ed's family. According to the letters, Ed had, quote, shown signs of a disordered mentality since childhood. And he displayed apparent inability to grasp a situation. Oh, which is interesting.

[Alina]

That is interesting.

[Ash]

Celia, on the other hand, was described in dismissive and scathing terms. The press claimed that she, quote, had begun to visualize the unwritten part of the detective stories of which she is so fond of. She looks forward to the sentencing in court. Its dramatic possibilities appeal to her.

[Alina]

Oh, man.

[Ash]

So there's like she's wrapped up in this crime fantasy world, really.

[Alina]

The. The images of her is. Is falling slowly.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alina]

Now. Now a little faster, actually.

[Ash]

They're making an example of her.

[Alina]

It's hitting the skids.

[Ash]

The psychiatrist opinions of Celia were no kinder than the press had been. Celia, he claimed, was the head of the operation while Ed was, quote, usually in the background. And his function was to smash the cash registers and gather in the loot while his wife took center stage. The psychiatrist told a reporter there was something abnormal and not womanly about her actions. She was acting under an impulse that was apparently unnatural girl. And in every case, she dominated the man who was with her. She was the director and he was simply a tool.

[Alina]

I love how they're like, that's not womanly. I'm like, yeah, excuse me.

[Ash]

Like I should reevaluate my life, I guess. A few weeks later, on May 6, Celia and Ed appeared before Judge Martin, where they pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and assault. Each was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Ed went to Sing Sing and Celia went to Auburn Correctional Facility. And they both had the opportunity for parole after seven years. Before leaving the courtroom, Celia wrote one last note. This went to the judge in the hopes that he would share with the press. And the New York Times shared it. She wrote to those girls who think they would like to see their names in the paper as mine has been, or think they would like to do what I have done. Let me just say, don't try to do it. You won't. You don't know what you will suffer While I smile My heart is breaking in me oh, she was just lost.

[Alina]

She was very lost.

[Ash]

She was very lost.

[Alina]

Very bad choices, Very bad choices.

[Ash]

Very bad choices. But I do have this weird sympathy for her.

[Alina]

Cuz you think she. I mean, she obviously grew up with nothing. Rough. Yeah, with nothing. And it's like she clearly fell into these, like, you know, detective magazines and all that. She fell into her glamorous, like. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ash]

But what she. Again, the moral of the story is what she did was wrong.

[Alina]

Yeah. Because while she was obviously lost and, like, thought it was going to be this whole glamorous thing. She also wasn't thinking about the people whose lives she was completely destroying, Putting at risk that kind of money, Taking that from somebody like a grocer or somebody who owns a business, that's their whole livelihood. That's it. It's like. And they have families, too, that they need to take care of. So it's like, yeah, you may be pregnant. You may be trying to, like, feed your kid.

[Ash]

Right.

[Alina]

Taking it out of somebody else's mouth who's working hard for it is not the way to do it.

[Ash]

There's other ways.

[Alina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Now, in late October 1931, Celia and Ed Cooney were each granted parole on the condition that they find suitable employment. Unfortunately for Ed, that was going to be pretty difficult. He'd had an accident in the prison machine shop, and that had resulted in his arm being amputated.

[Alina]

Oh, damn.

[Ash]

He sadly died from tuberculosis just five years later.

[Alina]

Oh, poor Ed.

[Ash]

I know. Celia did manage to find work as a typist, and she remarried in the mid-1940s and just kind of did her best to stay out of the public eye. She relocated to Florida and she died from natural causes in 1992. Damn, that crazy. Holy. Yeah, she lived a long life.

[Alina]

Yeah, that was. That was a swell. A jake. A nifty. The cat's meow. The cat's pajamas, the bee's knees. I was having a ball. It was a whoopee.

[Ash]

And with all that being said, we sure hope you keep listening.

[Alina]

And we hope you keep it weird.

[Ash]

I don't know. That was my best. Not so weird that you try a transatlantic accent and you really feel miserably at that point. Sa if you like morbid, you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] survey.