Edwin Alonzo Boyd: Life and Crimes of Canada's Master Bank Robber

Prologue Edwin Alonzo Boyd's fingers twitched as he tapped the 7.45 mm automatic pistol tucked in his belt. The weapon was one of five handguns in his possession, all of them loaded and ready for action. A briefcase filled with stolen cash lay on the floor of his bedroom. It was March 1952. The Korean War was still raging but the public seemed more interested in a newfangled invention called television. Dwight Eisenhower would soon be elected president of the United States, and the Toronto Maple Leafs were one of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League. But Boyd had no time to think about television or politics or hockey. He had other things to worry about. For a start, scores of policemen were scouring the country for him. As head of the so-called Boyd Gang, he had organized some of the most spectacular bank robberies in Canada's history. His face had been splashed on the front pages of newspapers across the nation, and his gun-slinging exploits had become the stuff of legend. The son of a respected police officer, Boyd was an army veteran with an adoring wife and three kids. He had charm, athletic skills, and loads of charisma. And yet there he was, a wanted man in a rented room, waiting for the police to come crashing through his door.In years to come, Boyd would have plenty of time to ponder how his life had ""gone bad."" For now, however, his only concern was keeping out of jail and hanging on to whatever cash remained from his tenure as Canada's number one bank robber.