death_place death_date birth_place alias cause birth_date article_title name occupation
highland park , michigan 31 october 1926 new york , united states killer murdered 1896 james cunniffe
 james `` killer '' cunniffe bank robber
james cunniffe

james `` killer '' cunniffe -lrb- 1896-october 31 , 1926 -rrb- was an american bank robber who planned and successfully carried out the 1926 new jersey mail robbery , one of the most well-publicized thefts during the 1920s .
on october 14 , 1926 , he and seven others armed with submachine guns hijacked a u.s. mail truck in elizabeth , new jersey and escaped with $ 161,000 .
during the gunbattle with the guards , the driver was killed while his assistant and a local police officer were wounded .
the robbery received considerable coverage at the time and is regarded as one of the most high-profile robberies prior to the `` public enemy '' - era of the 1930s .
three days after the robbery , after a two-day discussion with his cabinet , then president calvin coolidge assigned 2,250 u.s. marines to escort all mail shipments in the eastern united states .
a further announcement on october 27 authorized the use of 250 thompson machine guns specifically to be used for guard duty .
already a long-favored weapon in the underworld , the marine corps was the first branch of the u.s. military to purchase `` tommy guns '' .
weeks after the robbery , cunniffe was killed in a fight with fellow gang member william `` ice wagon '' crowley when he shot and killed both cunniffe and his girlfriend at the highland court apartments in highland park , michigan on october 31 , 1926 .
crowley was still in the apartment when police were called because of the gunshots .
officers ernest jones and ephraim rancour arrived and a shootout occurred .
jones was immediately shot and killed when crowley opened the door and rancour was shot in the shoulder .
enraged that his partner had been killed in front of him and wounded himself , rancour shot crowley dead .
