During the 1920s and '30s, America was at a crossroad. Times were hard, very hard for many of the citizens of this country. Money was tight and jobs were few. Good paying jobs were even fewer. In the south and the Midwest, many families were having a hard time making ends meet, and many of them weren't. There were some who thought that crime was the only answer to their troubles.

Lester Gillis was a man who figured that the banks were getting too fat while the public suffered. And maybe he was right to an extent. But like so many of his kind at the time, he decided to begin robbing to make a living. And like the others in that endeavor, it didn't turn out very well for him.

We look back to these people today and many of us hold them in admiration. They become folklore. However, it should be remembered that these criminals were killers. They were no different than the gangs in the hoods of today. And with that, this blog makes an attempt to tell the story of Lester Gillis, aka Baby Face Nelson.