These Are The Craziest Prison Break Stories Ever

Willie Sutton Escaped Prison Four Times

Photo Credit: Hulton Deutsch / Contributor

Willie Sutton was a career criminal although it was part of his “moral code” to never kill or hurt anyone. Willie was closely aligned with various Mafia members who were known to protect him whenever he was incarcerated. Bank and jewelry store robber, Mafioso Donald Frankos, even said that Willie made Jesse James and John Dillinger seemed like “amateurs.”

He escaped four times over his life. He used various methods that included a smuggled gun and dressing as prison guards. His last escape came in 1947 and he was recaptured in 1952 by an amateur sleuth named Arnold Schuster. Arnold was later killed in retribution by the mob for being a snitch. Willie was sentenced to 30 years in Attica State Prison but had his sentence reduced for good behavior and because his health was declining.