The 1931 Hastings Bank Job & the Bloody Bandit Trail

by Monty McCord

In February 1931, Mr. & Mrs. Robert Hendricks" and three others tied up fourteen employees at the Hastings National Bank and walked away with over $27,000 from the vault. They then returned home to plan a robbery of the First National Bank for the following day. Even though police quickly surrounded the house, the robbers managed to capture all eleven officers on the scene and make a getaway. Retired police lieutenant and historian Monty McCord recounts the crime and the grisly aftermath in the first account of the heist ever to be published."

160 pages, Paperback

First published July 14, 2013

About the author

Monty McCord is a retired police lieutenant and a graduate of the 174th Session of the FBI National Academy at Quantico, Virginia. He writes fiction and nonfiction books relating to crime and law enforcement from the Old West period to the mid-twentieth century.
Previous books include, "Police Cars - A Photographic History", "Cars of the State Police and Highway Patrol" and "Law Enforcement Memorabilia".
In 1997, he appeared on the History Channel in "Police Cars," part of its "Wheels of Survival" program.
His western novel, "Mundy's Law" won a 2010 Spur Finalist Award from the Western Writers of America when released in audiobook. "Mundy's Law" will be released in hardcover on September 18, 2013, by Five Star/Cengage and has garnered top reviews by Publishers Weekly and Book list.
McCord currently serves as president of the Adams County (NE) Historical Society and is an active member of Western Writers of America.

Reviews

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent little narrative history of a bank robbery in prohibition-era Hastings, Nebraska. I learned a great deal about Nebraska law enforcement and criminal investigation during the early years of the Great Depression. The author did a tremendous amount of research and his hard work really shows. Apparently, Mr. McCord is a former police officer and his insights into the bandits and investigators read true. The book is compelling and readable. It is a great little addition to anyone's library interested in the history of central Nebraska or true crime adventures. I hope this author writes more on similar topics.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very long book (151 pages), but it took me way longer to read it than it should have. That's because it's not a great book. It seems the author spent so much time reading newspaper archives that he started writing in the narrative style of the 30's. The book follows the lives of the original Hastings bank robbers, and thank goodness there were only a handful of them, because I had trouble following and keeping the characters straight.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monty McCord's book on the 1931 Hastings Nebraska bank robbery and aftermath was an extremely well researched and entertaining micro history of this largely forgotten event. The robbery itself was really only the beginning of the story. The author followed the paths of many of the victims and especially the protagonists of this act. One of the most interesting of these characters was Jim Clyde Thomas who many felt mercy for after the robbery but who proved out to be quite the career criminal in the years that followed. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in true crime or Nebraska history.

[Kelly Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating book on the 1931 Hastings bank robbery and the crime spree before and after. Since spending a lot of time in Hastings Nebraska to come see my son play college football, it was fun to read about a town that I’ve experienced. I really enjoyed reading about the police work and History of the police department. It is interesting to me how many crimes these gentleman got away with and continued to be released and paroled from prison. Great research on interesting history!