 | irishgit (155)
02/15/2007 |  Another Canadian who saw a chance to make good south of the border, Karpis was one of the Barker gang, and after his capture had the longest tenure at Alcatraz (25 years).
Actually, despite being born in Montreal, Karpis' family relocated to Kansas when he was a child, where he quickly became adept at crime.
When Alcatraz closed, Karpis was transferred to McNeil Island in Washington State, where he met a young inmate named Charles Manson. Writing about the meeting in one of his later autobiographies Karpis said:
"This kid approaches me to request music lessons. He wants to learn guitar and become a music star. 'Little Charlie' is so lazy and shiftless, I doubt if he'll put the time required to learn. The youngster has been in institutions all of his life--first orphanages, then reformatories, and finally federal prison. His mother, a prostitute, was never around to look after him. I decide it's time someone did something for him, and to my surprise, he learns quickly. He has a pleasant voice and a pleasing personality, although he's unusually meek and mild for a convict. He never has a harsh word to say and is never involved in even an argument."
Hell of a judge of character, old Creepy was.
Eventually paroled and deported to Canada, he became a minor celebrity with the publication of his memoirs.
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