Wanted: Gentleman Bank Robber by Dane Batty

WANTED: GENTLEMAN BANK ROBBER
The True Story of Leslie Ibsen Rogge, One of the FBI's Most Elusive Criminals


by Dane Batty

Non-Fiction
Nish Publishing
www.LesRogge.com

5 autographed copies will be given away on Friday, February 3, 2012!

About the Book:

What do you think of when you hear about someone on the FBI's Most Wanted List? Hardened criminals, without morals or any sense of right and wrong, ready to solve a dispute with a gun, right? But what if things weren't that cut and dried? What if the nice guy you hired to hook up your cable was Number Seven on the FBI's list? Les Rogge looks and acts just like your next-door neighbor. Yet in twenty years he may have robbed more banks than Jesse James and Bonnie and Clyde put together--without firing a shot. Caught and put in jail twice, he escaped--and went sailing around the Caribbean with his wife and dog! In Wanted: Gentleman Bank Robber: The True Story of Leslie Ibsen Rogge, One of the FBI's Most Elusive Criminals, Les details his adventures from Alaska to Antigua, the Chesapeake to Cancn, in everything from a converted shrimp boat at an abandoned marina to an R.V. at a Mayan ruin--and hundreds of vehicles and venues in between. But it all came to a halt when a fourteen-year-old in Guatemala forced him to turn himself in. Few felons have been as forthcoming about their successes, failures, robbery techniques, passion for sailing vessels... and love for his wife.

Exclusive Interview with the Author!

1) How did you first find out about your uncle Leslie Rogge's story?

I grew up hearing the amazing stories of my black-sheep uncle who was in trouble from birth. The whole family knew he would turn out different, and the stories of Les’s escapes from the family were epic. Each family member had their own too!

2) How did you approach Leslie about the project?

When Les surrendered in 1995 and ended up in prison in 96’ he and my mother started writing letters back and forth. My mother wrote letters, but Les wrote amazing stories that spanned his car theft days that transitioned into one of the best bank robbery careers the FBI has seen. My mother cherished these stories, so I put them into the computer for her and to save them forever. After I put 20 short stories into a timeline and asked Les to put them in order, and over the next 8 years we wrote his life story together.

3) How did you conduct the interviews?

I visited Les in prison, but those were mostly social visits since I couldn’t bring even a pencil in with me. I did get to listen to him tell stories, and I realized that I had to capture his verbal story telling voice within the book since he is an amazing story teller. The real interviews were through hand-written letters and phone calls.

4) What is one of the most common questions you get from readers?

One question I get a lot is how did Judy’s small boy that traveled with them quite a bit turn out? Well, I’m happy to say he turned out just fine. He works for the government actually, and he is now a friend.

5) How do you think Leslie's story relates to today?

Stories like Les’s are timeless. As Dillinger did before him, Les helped change the way the FBI came after criminals like him. He eluded the FBI and US Marshals for so long that they did just about anything to catch him.

About the Author:

What were at first just exciting letters from his uncle became much more than that as Dane Batty slowly discovered they were chronicling his uncle Leslie Rogge's extraordinary adventures as a man who would eventually become one of the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.

Through his skills as a technical writer, extensive research and in-depth interviews, Dane conveys the everyday drama of the highs and lows of Rogge's robberies, relationships and life on the run.

Dane earned his MBA from George Fox University and works as a writer and designer. He enjoys his own adventure filled life in Oregon with his family and weekend motocross racing action. Read more about the book online at: www.LesRogge.com.

**Please enter to win using the form on the left side bar of our website. Comments left on the post are not used as entry.