Once upon a time, a man named "Fast Eddie" Watkins could get in and out of banks quickly, relieving them of cash, and usually not harming anyone. He became one of Cleveland's most notorious criminals, and that says a lot in my hometown. Cleveland had the Torso Killer. Its suburbs produced Jeffrey Dahmer while the Tremont neighborhood spawned notorious kidnapper Ariel Castro. A branch of the Genovese crime family ran the underworld for years, and Irish mobster Danny Green met a fiery end when his car exploded leaving a union hall in the late 1970's. So, yeah. The Northcoast has hosted its share of thugs and monsters.
But we always had a soft spot for Fast Eddie. Sure, he robbed banks. But he was a gentleman thief. In and out, and he loved the publicity. The Plain Dealer, The Press (infamous for its shoddy reporting of the Sam Sheppard murder case), and the local TV stations faithfully recounted his exploits. In a city more famous for its burning river and its serial killers, Watkins developed a Robin Hood reputation.
The one time Fast Eddie's robbery didn't go so well, he took 9 hostages. After 21 hours, though, he let everyone go and surrendered. The feds sent him to prison in Atlanta. He escaped, and therein is where Fast Eddie crossed a very young Jim Winter's path.
South of the exurb where I grew up, there is, to this day, a stretch of potato fields called The Muck, a handful of rock quarries, and cornfields all sandwiched between the CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads. We used to ride our bikes out through there, headed for the tiny little freeway burg of Burbank. Only one day, the local police stopped us.
"Why can't we ride out to Burbank?" I asked the Lodi cop at the roadblock.
"We got a bank robber cornered out past the rock quarry."
I went home. At 6:00, WEWS led their news broadcast with the standoff between Fast Eddie Watkins and the Medina County Sheriff. By 7, Fast Eddie was in custody and headed back to prison.
Watkins never hid the fact that he was a bank robber. He said he enjoyed it. "I wanted to be a big shot," he confessed. His illegal withdrawals helped finance his lavish lifestyle. So where did he keep his money?
"I trust banks with my money. They're insured. It's the best place in the world to put your money."
But was it the money? Watkins wife once said no. Mrs. Watkins said that Fast Eddie ogled banks the way most men ogled girls.
But even in prison with his criminal career over, Watkins remained a character. The Cleveland papers occasionally reported that Fast Eddie had taken up painting while behind bars, favoring landscapes.
Fast Eddie died in 2002 at the age of 82 after a long battle with heart and lung disease. Unlike the bank robbers of an earlier era, going out in a blaze of glory wasn't for him.
30 September 2014
Fast Eddie
by Jim Winter
11 comments:
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Fascinating! These are the stories from which legends get created. Reminds me of one guy I listened to in a radio interview who was a counterfeiter. He was okay with being caught eventually as his focus was more on the 'elevating the art' of counterfeiting rather than the money (though the latter was also important).
ReplyDeleteIf he lived to 82, clearly being a gentleman thief has something to recommend it!
ReplyDeleteIf he lived to 82, clearly being a gentleman thief has something to recommend it!
ReplyDeleteCleveland certainly has an interesting criminal history. Thanks for sharing a little of it with us, Jim.
ReplyDeleteJim, interesting article. Your personal experience adds to it.
ReplyDeleteA fun read about a fascinating character. And your own involvement equally so. Thanks for sharing. Sounds like Cleveland has as many "bad" characters as Texas does.
ReplyDeleteJim, you've just reminded me of a few in my past...I am a former bank manager. And now I have a new theme for a blog post ! Thank you!
ReplyDeletewhen i was 19 years old i got in a bit of trouble and was in county jail in columbus, ohio and was bedded next to him... what stories he told! he actually had a fan club an received a ton of mail everyday which he would show me.
ReplyDeletei actually wrote to a girl who he said would like me who was incarcerated in carolina. i am proud to have known him for that short period of time.
I once met Eddie. He was a cousin to a cop I once married. He was the family folk hero. Knowing their phones to be tapped, I even allowed myself to be used to "deliver" a fake phone call to their house to throw the FBI off his track. They were entertained and amused, but I was young and dumb. As an art collector, I only wish I had one of his pieces. lol
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ReplyDeleteI lived in the big grey house on rt 83 in Burbank Ohio with White rd dead ending on Rt 83 where Fast Eddy was at a stand off with police all day. He was throwing money out of the car as it blew in the wind. There were police and tv news reporters all over my yard. They used my electric to charge their batteries. I gave cold water to many people that day. The police brought the dogs in and that’s when it finally came to an end. If I remember right I did hear some shots. A day I will never forget.
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