The Union Station Massacre: The Original Sin of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI

by Robert Unger

The Union Station Massacre tells the story of how a bloody shoot-out in Kansas City in 1933 became the lynchpin for J. Edgar Hoover's successful tranformation of the FBI from a powerless subagency into a law-enforcement juggernaut. Using dubious authority and outright lies, Hoover's FBI turned the massacre case into a witch-hunt for "Pretty Boy" Floyd and Adam Richetti. Floyd was gunned down in a field in Ohio, and Richetti was convicted of murder and executed, based on perjured testimony and manipulated evidence. All the while, the FBI scrupulously avoided the truth. The Union Station Massacre strips away years of legend to reveal what truly happened that June day in 1933. The story it tells will change the way Americans look at J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI.

Genres: History, True Crime, Crime, American History, Nonfiction

250 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1997

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had always heard and read about what a self serving corrupt piece of trash J. Edgar Hoover was. This book was the nail in the coffin. I pretty much feel like he belonged in Alcatraz more than half the people he sent there. It's not hard to see why no one trusts the FBI when you learn about it's beginnings. Or should I say first 40 years. This is a great book. To the point and easy to read. I'd recommend it anyone whether you're a history buff or not. Great ole timey corrupt cops vs gangland hoods. 4.5 stars.

[Jon Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased my copy of this book used in hardcover on eBay in September 2025. I learned about the Union Station Massacre while taking a guided tour of the historic Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City, MO in September. The notorious gangster Pretty Boy Floyd had been an inmate at the penitentiary, and our tour guide mentioned Floyd's alleged role in the massacre at Kansas City's Union Station in June 1933. It was the first I'd heard of the crime; I was intrigued and wanted to learn more. This book turned out to be just the thing. The Union Station Massacre occurred on June 17, 1933. Frank Nash, an escapee from the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth KS, had been apprehended by lawmen in Arkansas and was being returned to Leavenworth. He was escorted by lawmen on a train that arrived at Kansas City's Union Station in the early morning, where additional officers met the train. Some of the officers were FBI agents since Nash had escaped from federal prison. Nash was to be moved by automobile from Union Station to the prison. The massacre occurred as the lawmen were putting Nash into a car outside the station - three armed men ambushed the officers in an attempt to free Nash. Nash and four of the officers were killed in a hail of gunfire. The three attackers fled the scene. In the aftermath of the massacre, J. Edgar Hoover, head of the fledgling FBI, seized upon this crime as a way to increase the visibility, funding, and reach of his agency. The book details how the FBI's investigation went down many rabbit holes as one theory after another as to who had ambushed the officers was invented and chased down. The author was a correspondent at a Kansas City newspaper for many years. To write the story of the massacre, he researched the massive FBI file on the case, uncovering a web of fabrications, evidence tampering, witness coercion, and outright lies on the part of Hoover and his Bureau as they developed the case. Pretty Boy Floyd, a prime suspect to be one of the massacre gunmen, was killed as he was being apprehended by FBI agents. The FBI's case against the men accused of conducting the massacre had so many holes in it they chose not to take it to federal court, leaving a Missouri court to try Adam Richetti, one of the accused gunmen, for the death of one of the lawmen. The author posits that Richetti was innocent of the crime; nonetheless he was sent to the gas chamber. The author ruthlessly exposes the FBI's lies, half-truths, and deceptions brought forth at the Missouri trial by comparing what was said in court to what was in the case file. The book is a stinging indictment of the corruption of Hoover and his FBI in its early years. All in all quite an interesting read. Four out of five stars.

[Chucky Fire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rotten soul.

[Sean Wicks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chronicling an event that helped lead to widening the powers of the FBI, the author delves deep into the Union Station Massacre (also known as the Kansas City Massacre) where Bureau agents were shot and killed along with a prisoner they were transporting to Leavenworth. Hoover used the incident to heighten a man-hunt for "Pretty Boy" Floyd who Hoover claimed was behind the hit. The book suggests otherwise. It lays out how the Bureau manipulated evidence and testimonies to fit Hoover's agenda to apprehend dead-or-alive (mainly dead) Floyd and his right hand man that was also fingered as one of the triggermen. What the author uncovers is shocking.

While an insightful read, it isn't the most engaging and loses steam. If you do read it stick with it though, the final rundown of what probably occurred is worth the read.

[Jerry Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

provides useful insight into the Union Station Massacre and gives us a theory of the true events of that day (at least as deduced by the author). The narrative is compelling and the theory credible.

The book attempts to set the events of the massacre into the context of the times and the struggle Hoover had to get the FBI established in terms of reputation and power. In this is pretty much succeeds, although there is a lot of assumption about perjured evidence and Hoover's personality.

It is particularly interesting as a resident of Kansas City and shed a lot of light on the growth of this town and it's history.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected a book that would be interesting only for a small, local (Kansas City) audience. Instead this book stands well on its own for all readers interested in the development of Hoover's FBI, centered on this KC event. Of course, plenty of detail is especially recognizable for locals; the book could have well employed a few maps and diagrams.