On July 24, 1964, twenty-four-year-old Matthew Kerry Smith disguised himself with a mask and a Beatle wig, hoisted a semi-automatic rifle, then held up a bank in North York, Ontario. The intelligent but troubled son of a businessman and mentally ill mother, Smith was a navy veteran with a young Indigenous wife and a hazy plan for violent revolution.
Outside the bank, Smith was confronted by Jack Blanc, a former member of the Canadian and Israeli armies, who brandished a revolver. During a wild shootout, Blanc was killed, and Smith escaped ― only to become the object of the largest manhunt in the history of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Force.
My guest is journalist and author Nate Hendley. He joins me to talk about his book, The Beatle Bandit: A Serial Bank Robber’s Deadly Heist, a Cross-Country Manhunt, and the Insanity Plea that Shook the Nation.
More about the author and his books on his website: https://natehendley.ca/
The author has included these links for those interested in purchasing The Beatle Bandit:
Amazon.ca: https://amzn.to/3KQZ90P
Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/3Bh5HCF
Apple Books: https://tinyurl.com/3xkb7w5t
Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/6h2p7epz
Walmart: https://tinyurl.com/4bdksr8h
HELLO –
IN MID-1960s INTO EARLY 1970s I AT TIMES ASSISTED WITH SERGEANT MAURICE INGLIS SETTLING UP AND UPDATING A REVAMPED SERIES OF EXHIBITS AT THE METROPOLITAN TORONTO POLICE MUSEUM INSIDE THEIR THEN CHURCH STREET HEADQUARTERS BEFORE THIS LATER WAS MOVED TO THEIR CURRENT COLLEGE STREET HEADQUARTERS WITH NAME CHANGED TO TORONTO POLICE MUSEUM –
I WAS THE PERSON WHO ARRANGED THE BEATLES WIG, CHUM T-SHIRT AND OTHER PROPS FOR THE MATTHEW KERRY SMITH MANNEQUIN WHICH WAS ON DISPLAY AT THAT TIME ALTHOUGH AM NOW ENTIRELY UNSURE WHETHER THIS MIGHT STILL BE THERE AS WE DO NOT RESIDE IN TORONTO ANY LONGER – PLEASE ADVISE IF YOU KNOW WHETHER THIS EXHIBIT STILL REMAINS ON DISPLAY –
THANK YOU – CM – ( COLONEL77 ) –