Mike Burgquist
Site of Train Robbery
The greatest train robbery in American history was not the work of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid somewhere out West; it was here in Lake County.
On June 12, 1924, at 10:30 p.m., in the small community of Rondout, between Lake Forest and Libertyville, on a rail intersection along the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul right-of-way, a gang of gunmen heisted a payroll of more than $3 million, the biggest take in American train robbery history. Aboard the train were robbers Brent Glassock and Willis Newton, disguised as crewmen.
As the train approached Rondout, they pulled guns on the engineer and fireman and ordered them to stop. When the train stopped at Rondout, four Cadillac sedans filled with gunmen were waiting. The railroad crew was ordered to load sacks of mail and money into the waiting cars.
All was going according to plan until one robber accidentally shot another. But the gang fled with millions of dollars to divide. Several law enforcement agencies, including Lake County sheriff's police, teamed up to pursue the bandits. Among the pursuers was U.S. postal inspector Willam J. Fahy, who dismissed leads as "wild goose chases" and was seen spending heavily after the robbery.
Clarahan's grandfather went undercover at the behest of U.S. Atty. Gen. Harlon F. Stone and eventually helped convict the entire gang of robbers and its larcenous mastermind: U.S. Postal Inspector William J. Fahy.
Site of Train Robbery
The greatest train robbery in American history was not the work of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid somewhere out West; it was here in Lake County.
On June 12, 1924, at 10:30 p.m., in the small community of Rondout, between Lake Forest and Libertyville, on a rail intersection along the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul right-of-way, a gang of gunmen heisted a payroll of more than $3 million, the biggest take in American train robbery history. Aboard the train were robbers Brent Glassock and Willis Newton, disguised as crewmen.
As the train approached Rondout, they pulled guns on the engineer and fireman and ordered them to stop. When the train stopped at Rondout, four Cadillac sedans filled with gunmen were waiting. The railroad crew was ordered to load sacks of mail and money into the waiting cars.
All was going according to plan until one robber accidentally shot another. But the gang fled with millions of dollars to divide. Several law enforcement agencies, including Lake County sheriff's police, teamed up to pursue the bandits. Among the pursuers was U.S. postal inspector Willam J. Fahy, who dismissed leads as "wild goose chases" and was seen spending heavily after the robbery.
Clarahan's grandfather went undercover at the behest of U.S. Atty. Gen. Harlon F. Stone and eventually helped convict the entire gang of robbers and its larcenous mastermind: U.S. Postal Inspector William J. Fahy.