Robert H. "Bobby" Mais (right) was a key cog in the "Tri-State Gang" along with his lieutenant, Walter Legenza (left). The duo were sentenced to death for the killing of a Federal Reserve truck driver in 1934. Read more The Morning Call Archive

by Tommy Rowan Published Oct. 17, 2025, 5:59 a.m. ET

Elizabeth Mais sealed pistols inside cans of baked chicken , wrapped them up in a neat package, and dropped it off for her son at a jail in Richmond, Va.

A few days later, gangster Bobby Mais and his lieutenant Walter Legenza proceeded to shoot their way out of their incarceration on Sept. 29, 1934 .

And then the duo, later nicknamed the “ Dillingers of the East ,” headed toward Philadelphia.

Running and gunning

Philadelphia native Robert H. Mais was a mama’s boy. He had a

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