Gerhard Puff

Gerhard Arthur Puff (February 13, 1914 – August 12, 1954) was a gangster executed by the federal authorities in New York for killing a federal agent. Born in Dresden, Germany, the 13-year-old Puff, along with his mother and five-year-old brother arrived on June 6, 1927, at Ellis Island on board SS Columbus from Bremen.[1] The family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin,[2] where he became a naturalized citizen in 1934, but by 1940, he was an inmate in the Wisconsin State Prison in Waupun, Wisconsin.[3]

Gerhard Puff
Gerhard Arthur Puff
Gerhard Arthur Puff
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive
ChargesBank robbery and murder
Description
BornFebruary 13, 1914
Dresden, Saxony, German Empire
DiedAugust 12, 1954 (aged 40)
Sing Sing Prison, Ossining, New York, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by electrocution
Status
ConvictionsFirst degree murder of a federal employee (18 U.S.C. §§ 1111 and 1114)
PenaltyDeath
AddedDecember 3, 1951
ExecutedAugust 12, 1954 (aged 40)
Number30
Executed

Capture

In 1952, he traveled from Kansas City to Manhattan with his 17-year-old wife, Annie Laurie. By this time, his career as a bank robber had earned him a spot on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted List". Shortly after he arrived at the Congress Hotel at 19 West 69th Street,[4] FBI agents were waiting to arrest him.[5] He did not remain at Room 904, but returned to the first floor in a few minutes by the stairway where FBI Special Agent Joseph John Brock, aged 44, was stationed. Puff encountered Agent Brock and shot him twice in the chest and took the collapsing officer's gun. Then, with a gun in each hand, Puff zig-zagged through the hotel's lobby, firing another shot at converging agents. Agents outside the hotel called on Puff to surrender. Puff responded with bullets before being shot and collapsing in the street. He was taken to a hospital for treatment, then to the prison ward at Bellevue. Brock was treated by a doctor on the scene, then rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Death

On May 15, 1953, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Gerhard Arthur Puff was found guilty of murder in the first degree and sentenced to death. Puff's attorney appealed the conviction to no avail. Puff was executed on August 12, 1954, at Sing Sing prison, Ossining, in the electric chair and declared dead at 11:08 p.m. He was one of the first people New York State Electrician Dow Hover was hired to execute.[6] The execution was the fifth federal execution after President Dwight D. Eisenhower took office on January 20, 1953.

See also

References
  1. Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957. Microfilm Publication T715, 8892 rolls. Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; National Archives at Washington, D.C. Year: 1927; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715; Microfilm Roll: 4068; Line: 5; Page Number: 187.
  2. 1930 Federal Census for the 22nd Precinct, Block 3756 of the City of Milwaukee, County of Milwaukee, State of Wisconsin, Enumeration District 40-279, Sheet 13-A, Lines 36-38
  3. 1940 Federal Census for the Wisconsin State Prison, Second Ward, City of Waupun, County of Dodge, State of Wisconsin (Enumeration District 14-60, Sheet 16-A, Line 22)
  4. "19 West 69th Street in Central Park West: Review and Ratings | CityRealty". www.cityrealty.com. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  5. "The Last Executioner". The Village Voice. 2005-01-18. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  6. "The Last Executioner". The Village Voice. 2005-01-18. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
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