1933 has been called "The Year of Fear" for good reason. Prohibition had led to a precipitous rise in crime, and some of the nation's most infamous criminals engineered a string of mayhem and lawlessness such as America had never seen. When Prohibition was repealed that year, these criminals looked elsewhere for sources of easy cash. George "Machine Gun" Kelly and his wife, Kathryn, set their sights on kidnapping. Their target was oilman Charles Urschel. Meanwhile, J. Edgar Hoover, in desperate need of a successful prosecution to impress the new administration and save his job, gave his agents the sole authority to chase kidnappers across state lines. When Kelly bungled the kidnapping, Hoover sensed his big opportunity. The criminals were chased 20,000 miles over the backroads of Depression-era America, crossing 16 state lines and generating headlines along the way. For transcript and more information, visit www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7739

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