The 1932 Ringwood Robbery

Early in the morning on February 20, 1932, Walter Buck was arriving for work as the cashier at the Ringwood State Bank. Buck had noticed a car parked outside but had no idea that four men were waiting inside ready to rob the bank. With shotguns leveled at him, Buck was told to open the bank’s vault and hand over the money. He was then forced to leave with the robbers in their car heading northwest from Ringwood, heading toward Richmond. About a mile out of Ringwood, the robbers had him get out of the car and left him to walk back into town. When he reached the bank Buck then called the authorities as well as bank management.  

Buck, as well as bank authorities, reported that $5000 was missing from the safe. Buck gave a description of the vehicle and the robbers and law enforcement looked to work on the case. McHenry County Sheriff, Lester Edinger, was enjoying an evening at home the evening after the robbery when Walter Buck made a surprise visit. Buck told Edinger that the thieves hadn’t made off with $5000, but actually stole $2000. While quickly emptying the vault, the robbers missed $3000, which Buck quickly put under some books. When he returned to the bank, he hid the money in his coat then in a closet in the backroom in case the robbers returned. When he closed the bank for the day on Saturday, he put the money back into the vault. Edinger asked why he didn’t mention this to bank officials, the insurance company or law enforcement before this. Buck stated that he was afraid that if the thieves found out they would come back and “knock him off”. Edinger doubted Buck’s story, thinking that he was working with the robbers. Buck was immediately arrested and placed in the McHenry County Jail with a bail of $10,000. He was able to post bond, but only after spending about two weeks in jail.

He was held in jail until formal charges were brought about in the form of larceny, theft, and embezzlement by State’s Attorney, V.S. Lumley, in March 1932. In April, three bank robbers were arrested in Chicago and were identified by two people who were held up in a similar fashion to the Ringwood incident. One was in Delavan and the other in Milton Junction, both were in Wisconsin. A string of robberies were recently perpetrated in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, eight of which the robbers confessed or partially confessed to. Roughly $65,000 had been stolen, most of which had been recovered by authorities at the time of the arrests. One of the robberies was the one in Ringwood. State’s Attorney Lumley stated that if Buck could identify the two robbers, the charges against him would be dropped, until then the charges would stand. Buck’s trial wasn’t scheduled until July, when at the direction of V.S. Lumley, the indictments where stricken from the record by Judge Shurtleff.

While the charges were dropped against Buck, the stain of the robbery seemed to stay with him. He must have had a hard time finding employment after the incident, and he wasn’t rehired by the Ringwood State Bank. Given this all happened during the Great Depression couldn’t have helped. While employed, he lived in Genoa, IL, and was commuting to the Ringwood Bank daily at a distance of about 50 miles. In February of 1934, Buck sued the newspaper, the Elgin Courier-News, for a $10,000 libel suit. He stated that the newspaper painted him in a negative light, implying his guilt in assisting the thieves during the robbery of February 1932. Buck ended up losing his case, as the paper cited that they were only supporting law enforcement and had “conditional privilege and fair comment.” As if to add insult to injury, State’s Attorney Lumley and Sheriff Edinger were both called as witnesses by the defense.    

Sources

• Buck Files Libel Suit Against Paper.” Belvidere Daily Republican (Belvidere, IL) News. 28 Feb 1934, 14. Newspapers.com. Web. 10 Dec 2019.
• Elgin Paper Wins Libel Suit.” The Daily Sentinel (Woodstock, IL) News. 15 Mar 1934, 1. Newspapers.com. Web. 10 Dec 2019.
• Name Bank Cashier In Two True Bills.” The Daily Sentinel (Woodstock, IL) News. 8 Mar 1932, 1. Newspapers.com. Web. 10 Dec 2019.
• Indict Ringwood Bank Cashier; Fix Bonds At $20,000.” Belvidere Daily Republican (Belvidere, IL) News. 8 Mar 1932, 2. Newspapers.com. Web. 10 Dec 2019.
• Buck Freed Of Bank Charges” The McHenry Plaindealer (McHenry, IL) News. 21 Jul 1932, 1. Newspapers.com. Web. 10 Dec 2019.
• Ringwood Banker Case Continued.” Belvidere Daily Republican (Belvidere, IL) News. 25 Feb 1932, 8. Newspapers.com. Web. 10 Dec 2019.
• Three Confess To Ringwood Robbery.” The McHenry Plaindealer (McHenry, IL) News. 7 Apr 1932, 1. Newspapers.com. Web. 10 Dec 2019.
• Buck Insists He Outwitted Bandits.” Belvidere Daily Republican (Belvidere, IL) News. 24 Feb 1932, 3. Newspapers.com. Web. 10 Dec 2019.
• Outlaw Gang Turned Over To Lake Co.” Republican-Northwestern (Belvidere, IL) News. 5 Apr 1932, 4. Newspapers.com. Web. 10 Dec 2019.
• Tells Secret To Sheriff Sunday Morning.” The Daily Sentinel (Woodstock, IL) News. 23 Feb 1932, 1. Newspapers.com. Web. 10 Dec 2019.
• Bandits Are Identified By Bank Official.” Republican-Northwestern (Belvidere, IL) News. 5 Apr 1932, 5. Newspapers.com. Web. 10 Dec 2019.
• Probe Story Of Ringwood State Bank Cashier.” The Daily Sentinel (Woodstock, IL) News. 7 Mar 1932, 1. Newspapers.com. Web. 10 Dec 2019.
• Shotgun Bandits Rob Ringwood Bank of $5000 Early Today.” Belvidere Daily Republican (Belvidere, IL) News. 20 Feb 1932, 8. Newspapers.com. Web. 10 Dec 2019.
• Lumley Says Cashier Must Explain Deed.” The Daily Sentinel (Woodstock, IL) News. 1 Apr 1932, 1. Newspapers.com. Web. 10 Dec 2019.
• Admission Of Bank Robber Clears Buck.” Republican-Northwestern (Belvidere, IL) News. 8 Nov 1932, 8. Newspapers.com. Web. 10 Dec 2019.