Where Ron Launius served federal time from 1974 to 1977:
McNeil Island is an island in western Puget Sound, located just west of Steilacoom, Washington. The federal penitentiary’s most famous inmates were probably Robert Stroud, the “Birdman of Alcatraz,” who was held there from 1909 to 1912; Charles Manson, who was an inmate from 1961 to 1966 for trying to cash a forged government check; and Alvin Karpis, who was an inmate until 1971 for operating as point man for Ma Barker’s gang in the 1930s. Karpis was the only person arrested by J. Edgar Hoover, and was released soon after Hoover died.
A detention center for violent sexual offenders is to remain on the island.
John 1:11 pm on August 28, 2013 Permalink |
Although McNeil Island was never more than a “medium security” prison, over the years the penitentiary housed several prisoners well known to the public. The most notable inmates were Robert Stroud, known as “The Bird Man of Alcatraz”; Roy Gardner, a notorious train robber; Alvin Karpis, gangster in league with the “Ma Barker Gang”; Frederick Emerson Peters, a notorious swindler and impersonator; Roy Olmstead, king of the Puget Sound bootleggers; Mickey Cohen, called by Time Magazine “the undisputed boss of Los Angeles gangdom”; Charles Manson, responsible for the Sharon Tate murders; and Dave Beck, Seattle labor leader.
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