FBI Agent and Bureau Chief Melvin Horace Purvis was born on October 24, 1903, in Timmonsville, South Carolina, and is best known as the federal agent responsible for bringing several notorious criminals to justice, among them outlaws John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Adam Richetti. He graduated from the University of South Carolina with a law degree in 1925.
He went on to work as a junior partner at The Willcox Law Firm in Florence, South Carolina. Heeding the call of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to set new professional standards at the FBI, Purvis moved to Washington, D.C. and joined the Bureau in 1927.
Purvis excelled as a field agent, and quickly rose through the ranks. He was one of the few agents given special attention by Hoover, in spite of his less-than-stellar administrative performance. During his early career, he headed the Division of Investigation offices in Birmingham, Alabama, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Cincinnati, Ohio, performing his duties in an exemplary fashion. In 1932, he was placed in charge of the Chicago office by Hoover.
In 1933, John Dillinger went on a violent spree of bank robberies throughout the states of Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio, killing numerous innocents and several local police officers. In less than a year, his gang stole an estimated $150,000. In an infamous escape from jail—legend has it he brandished a wooden gun fooling police officers—Dillinger fled Crown Point prison on March 3, 1934. He drove a stolen vehicle across state lines, which was a federal offense and brought him into the jurisdiction of the FBI. Two days after Dillinger’s jailbreak, Hoover ordered Purvis to develop a network of informants to capture the desperado. Dillinger was deemed “Public Enemy No. 1,” and the manhunt was on.
On July 22, 1934, after a setup crafted by Mr. Purvis, agents waited outside the Biograph Theater in Chicago until Dillinger emerged. Although Purvis never fired a single shot, it was his signal—he identified Dillinger to his men by lighting a cigar—which led to the shootout that killed the gangster and made Purvis an overnight hero. But Purvis refused to accept any direct credit. Nonetheless, Purvis became famous as “The Man Who Got Dillinger.”
Among his other credits, Purvis was also responsible for bringing about the conviction of Kansas City gangster Adam Richetti by serving as a key witness at his trial in the Union Station Massacre of 1933. He also spearheaded the raid that led to the capture of Vern Sankley, another “Public Enemy No. 1” who faced charges of abduction, but who killed himself before he could be brought to trial. Beyond Dillinger, the most notorious gangster to be overthrown was Lester M. Gillis, a.k.a. “Baby Face Nelson,” who died in a Purvis-led shootout in Chicago on November 27, 1934.
After his resignation, Melvin Purvis returned to the practice of law. He signed up for military duty during World War II, serving as a lieutenant colonel. He married Marie Rosanne Willcox, the daughter of his former law partner, and had three sons: Melvin, Alston, and Christopher. For a time he owned a radio station, WOLS, in Florence, South Carolina. Melvin H. Purvis died on February 29, 1960.
Story by Robert B. Moore, Jr., Administrator, Willcox, Buyck & Williams, P.A.
