Mob Barker and Herman's Crimes in Tulsa

In 1915, Herman Barker was the first of mob Barker's sons to be arrested on suspicion of attempted theft. By 1917, he had robbed a number of jewelry stores and banks and was wanted in several states. Ma charged them in a modest fee to hide out at her place, where she kept the fugitive's fed and steered authorities in a different direction if they came nosing around. "It might just be that their hat wasn't a pile of dirt on their head," says author John Sutter.