Wanted: Gentleman Bank Robber. the True Story of Leslie Ibsen Rogge, One of the FBI's Most Elusive Criminals Paperback – 30 Jun. 2010

This is a brilliant book, more about adventure than bank robberies. I went in to this story expecting masked men pointing guns and screaming at bank clerks. Instead, it's more about one mans life of adventure who simply happened to rob banks for a living, spurred on by an FBI pursuit, forcing him to never settle down and always push forward.I would recommend this book to the true crime fan and anyone interested in success, entrepreneurship, travel and adventure.

Amazing true story. Mostly first person but interlaced with comments from Rogge's nephew. It is sometimes unclear who is speaking, the book could be improved by using italics when the nephew is writing. Not a five star but entertaining nonetheless.

This is the kind of true crime story that you seldom get to read since it is essentially written by the perp himself, and perps usually don't bother putting their tale to print because convicted felons by law can't benefit financially from their stories.I say "essentially" since onetime top ten most wanted criminal, "gentleman" bank robber Leslie Ibsen Rogge's writings have been organized, edited and annotated by his--let's face it--adoring nephew Dane Batty. Batty writes an intro, and comes on page from time to time to give some information or to set a scene amidst the fascinating narrative written by Rogge. I read the book in two settings. More devoted true crime readers will stay up until two in the morning and do it in one setting!So here we have a guy who has several gifts. Obviously he has the gift of gab and is really a first class con artist as he proves again and again by talking people into doing things they normally would never do. Rogge is especially good at negotiating "deals" with cars, boats, house trailers--anything that can be traded or resold. He talks one idiot into helping him escape for a promise of $50,000 that Rogge says he has buried in California and will send to him (right). He talks his way across borders and out of scrapes and into the hearts of strangers. But he saves his best spiel for bank managers--always female, by the way, since Rogge realized (correctly) that they are less likely to feel the urge to play hero and try to stop the robbery in progress. His MO was to call ahead and arrange a meeting with the bank manager. He would arrive in a nice neat suit and tie with a fancy briefcase, sit down, take out a robbery note and hand it to the manager. He would say something like "don't turn this into a homicide" and part his suit coat enough to show a gun handle. He would set a police scanner on the desk and advise against tripping any alarms under the threat of getting shot. Amazingly enough this worked almost thirty times to the tune of over $2-million.Another of Rogge's gifts is that of the consummate handyman. He's the kind of guy who can figure out how to operate or fix just about anything mechanical or electrical. He taught himself how to hot wire cars and drive them when he was just a kid. Later apparently taught himself how to fly airplanes and sail sailboats. He managed to fix boat and car engines, even airplane and one helicopter engine with no formal training. Too bad he didn't just concentrate on using that one skill. Actually he does, near the end of the book, while on the run in Guatemala. He becomes "Mr. Fix It" in the ex-pat gringo community in Antigua, where he and his common law wife Judy are living an idyllic life. At this point one begins to feel real sympathy for Rogge. He has given up robbing banks and is ripping off no one because in such a tight knit ex-pat community everybody knows everybody and you can't afford to get a bad rep.A third Rogge gift is just pure ballsyness. He literally has the nerves of a burglar. In a sense his bank robberies were more con jobs and burglaries than holdups. He conned his way inside, had what he wanted put in bags and he carried it out. The key was his very careful casing of the banks and his careful planning of how to get away. He always had at least two vehicles for the escape. One was the getaway car (usually stolen), which he and his sometimes accomplice would quickly abandon for the second vehicle which might be an SUV, a motor home, a boat or even an airplane. He would listen on the police scanner (which he had practiced listening to days before the robbery) to know just what the police were up too, when the alarm had sounded and where the police thought he was going.Finally Rogge had great natural social skills. He knew how to make people like him and trust him. Nobody ever turned him in, not even for the $25,000 reward money. Friends sent him money when he was in need and helped him out when he was on the run, no questions asked. Les Rogge is the classic example of a criminal who could have been a great success in life pursuing any one of a number of other careers.Another of the ironies of his life is that he often got into trouble for his generosity. Once he befriended an out-of-work hitchhiker who went on to steal his money and his car. And friends would sometimes inadvertently help the FBI reconnect to his trail. In the final insult, he helps a kid in Guatemala set up his computer connection only to have the kid spot him on the Internet as one of America's Most Wanted. The kid clicks on a site, the FBI is alerted and the kid tells all he knows and not long after Rogge (in order to save his beloved Judy from an aiding and abetting charge) turns himself in.This is not your polished Ann Rule or Edward Humes true crime sort of tale, but for all that it is just as interesting as something from the masters of the genre. Dane Batty has done a great (if somewhat amateurish) job of allowing his uncle to present himself in a way that turns his first-person escapades into a rounded tale of human strength and weakness, of a life well and poorly spent, about a man part hero and part villain. The only weakness in the book is what is missing. Relying almost entirely on Rogge's recounting of events ensures that the deeper, darker side of his life reminds untold.

This is an amazing true life story of a genius turning the wrong way. A list of firsts. First to be caught by the Internet. First to be on ten most wanted list who had no incidents of violence. First who was caught by helping a young man. First who was basically sentenced to life for robbing insured banks.A great candidate for a movie. Much more interesting than Bonnie & Clyde or Dillinger. If able I would purchase movie rights.He was a great guy who was a criminal at he same time.

Wanted: Gentleman Bank Robber is the true story of Leslie Ibsen Rogge who, during the span of two decades, did the unthinkable: he robbed over 30 banks, stole over $2M, appeared on "America's Most Wanted", and spent over a decade eluding the FBI while on their Top Ten List. And he did all of it without hurting anyone.A sample chapter of the book is available online ([...]), and it's a fascinating insight into how Rogge planned a bank robbery. Well, two actually (he decided robbing a second bank would be a good idea, while the cops were busy reacting to the first one).It's a fairly detailed account, and it's this attention to the particulars that makes reading about Rogge's lifestyle so fascinating. While Rogge carried a gun, the most he ever did was show off his holster. His typical approach would be to dress in a suit, contact the bank manager and relocate into his or her office. There, he would alert the manager that his intention was to rob the bank:"As she sat down, I handed her an envelope from my suit inside pocket. She took the envelope and opened it. As she did, I started to arrange my equipment on her desk starting with the two-way radio. Then as she looked up from the note with questions on her face, I pulled the scanner out of my other pocket and set it on the desk with a twist of the knob to show her it was on.I gave her my 'Don't turn this into a homicide' speech; that I wasn't alone and was monitoring her alarm system and the police, and should a call come through I would shoot her"I have to admit - based off of this online excerpt, I ended up ordering the book. I read through it pretty quickly, and enjoyed it... but it was hit and miss. It was a good book. Not great, but good. There were several moments where the overall storyline got me all turned around, and a few sections that were unnecessarily confusing. But if you overlook that, the book did a good job recounting Rogge's adventures, and followed along his lengthy criminal career - robbing banks and living on the run.Dane Batty (who is Rogge's nephew) does a decent job converting his uncle's stories and letters into a first person account. I truly think the book would have been much, much better had he gotten a different/better editor... but if you enjoyed the excerpt, you might enjoy the book.It's difficult not to compare Rogge with Frank Abagnale. While perhaps not as glamorous, Rogge's criminal acumen was no less impressive. Both seemed to share a certain knack for eluding authorities, and did so for an incredibly long, long time.

This is a moderately enjoyable book. It does have a strong first person element to it which I always enjoy. The stories are told directly from the view of the main character. On the hand, I often found myself questioning the reality of the stories. Some were just a bit too fantastic. It is a quick read and enjoyable enough that I would recommend it.

Excellent story and I read it in 1 day, very good

For $8 I can’t complain but like another reader I do believe a lot of the story’s are embellished. First of all his takes from small little banks in rural America don’t add up. He says he got 46K,68K, 85K from 3 banks on 3 robberies . BANKS DO NOT KEEP THAT MUCH CASH ONHAND. Also he says he made drivers license on a copy machine and it passed for authentic at a DMV . really ? And he also forged TITLES that also got accepted at DMV over and over . Maybe this could have happened in the 1930s not in modern times .