Is there any criminal history in your family

[yvr girl]

My great-grandfather was a VERY successful bootlegger.

As for myself, I particpated in extorsion, but I was only 7 and I thought it was a play.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

1. Yes. A couple cousins did jail time for drug stuff and one for...

kidnapping. Or as we put it in my family, "the guy owed him money, so he stole the guy." Things are very colorful on my dad's side of the family.

[lizziegrace]

2. We're related to the man who first used the insanity defense

and got off murdering Francis Scott Key's son Barton...

"In his pre- and post-Civil War careers, as well as during the conflict, Daniel E. Sickles proved to be one of the most controversial of Union corps commanders. Prewar, the New York City native had already become the first man acquitted of a murder charge on the grounds of temporary insanity. Sickles, a congressman, shot down Philip Barton Key-the son of the composer of the "Star Spangled Banner"-in LaFayette Park,across the street from both Sickles' home and the White House. Key had been having an affair with Sickles' wife, whom Sickles had married while serving as secretary of the U.S. legation in London. Defense attorney Edwin M. Stanton gained the innovative verdict. Sickles then publicly forgave his wife, outraging the public, which had applauded his role in the shooting, and apparently ending his political career. just then the Civil War broke out and he saw his chance to get a new start."

more here: http://www.civilwarhome.com/sicklesbio.htm

[Crazy Dave]

3. Myself

Marijuana dealing and a DUI in my younger days.

[Fuzz]

4. I once shot a man in Reno

just to watch him die.

Wait, no. . . .That wasn't me.

[ellisonz]

40. That was the Man In Black

Amen

[Oeditpus Rex]

5. My great-great grandfather was a horse thief

and was killed at the OK Corral. He's buried at Boot Hill in Tombstone, Ariz.

If you heard the name, you might know it — especially if you've seen "My Darling Clementine." (He was played by John Ireland.)

[Joe Chi Minh]

11. What was his name?

[RebelOne]

6. Yes, I have a brother who has been in and out of prison

since he was a teenager. And my ex-husband was a moonshine runner but never was caught at it.

Oh, forgot to mention that one of my ancestors was Edward Teach (Blackbeard).

[mdmc]

7. herb smokin

:shrug:

[TexasLady]

8. grandpa had a still out in the woods

according to grandma. far as i know, he never got caught tho. i think he was too busy drinking it instead of selling it.

[yvr girl]

21. Mine was a big time bootlegger

He got tired of being chased by the US Coast Guard, so he hired them to run it for him.

[bridgit]

9. well, hubby's great x 5 grandma used to turn an eye in southern cali...

when & while Joaquin Murieta hid from Mexican authorities http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaquin_Murieta he later came and danced at her wedding, which was supposed to be a big deal

vicarious aiding & abetting maybe :shrug:

[Joe Chi Minh]

10. Gunpowder plotters, the Wynter brothers. Funnily enough an

uncle of mine was nicknamed 'Guy Fawkes' in his primary school, for trying to blow the school up; a "respectable", Harry Lime kind of ring-leader of Welsh smugglers, called Perrot, who got off when the rest were caught; also more recently, "foot-soldiers" in the smuggling line; a pirate ship owner, and a pirate ship sponsor; an English toff sent to Ireland to help suppress the Irish, but led them in rebellions and was beheaded; a remote connection to the Irish nationalist hero, Kevin Barry (as, also, are all folk with the name Barry or Fitzgerald); and others who were 'respectable', but in many cases, I dare say, were bigger villains than any of the aforesaid!

[maveric]

12. Some Sicilian family members have been "mobbed up".

A few did big time in Walpole and Sing Sing. Not real "made" guys buys mafioso flunkies who ended up getting caught.

My Irish ancestors were from Southie and Somerville (MA) and worked with the "Winter Hill Gang" at the horestracks in MA and NH, fixing/doping races and other ill shit. An uncle of mine used to work at Whitey Bulger's garage in Somerville as a mechanic<sure...>, but never got his hands dirty with engine grease. He wouldnt know a solonoid from a radiator.

When I was young I was headed in the direction of my uncles. The Sicilians uncles wanted me to work for them driving a panel truck to Providence and back, not telling me what was in the boxes I was to deliver. I did that once and was so paranoid the whole trip. I delivered the load to this old mill building.The guys on the other end gave me $10.00 to go get something to eat, while they unloaded the boxes and told me to "keep your fucken mouth shut". Shortly after that I left Boston for CA just to get away from this element.

[Nikia]

13. One of my cousins is serving time for a fatal drunk driving accident

A couple years before that he was arrested after his drug supplier turned all his little dealers in as part of a plea bargin.
One of my dad's cousins was also a drug dealer, but never was caught. He left his life of drugs and became a Baptist minister.
My great aunt had an inappropriate relationship with one of her male high school students. She didn't do any time, but lost her teaching license and had to stay away children.

[retrospective66]

14. Had an uncle by marriage

who become a heroin addict and hermit who didn't pay his taxes for a couple of decades. He had been a real straightlaced kind of guy until Vietnam. He died of an overdose about 15 years ago. Sad.

[leftofthedial]

15. I had a great uncle who was a republican

[txwhitedove]

25. Ok, that's the worst one...

Good thing it's not hereditary.

[Nikia]

32. I had several Republican relatives

To be fair, some of my ancestors were Republican when it was more the anti slavery party of Lincoln.

[leftofthedial]

37. since the moment of Lincoln's death,

when they shot him for freeing the slaves,

being a repuke has meant being *for* slavery, if there's money in it.

[Human Torch]

16. My brother was run out of town by the mob

To this day, I don't know why. He's an alcoholic used car salesman, a lifetime hustler, a guy who could write a book on reform schools because he spent much of his youth in one.

He did "something"...owed someone money, got involved in the wrong one night stand, I don't know what. But he packed up everything virtually overnight and miraculously resurfaced in North Carolina.

What he did couldn't have been that bad, because if the mob wants you bad enough, they'll find you.

He stayed in NC for about 12 years or so, then went home. So the person he crossed either died of natural or unnatural causes, or he paid off the loan sharks, or whatever...but he went home.

I've left many details out of the story because of the high percentage of wiseguys and goodfellas in DU's 90,000+ population...plus guys like Agent Mike.

:evilgrin:

...but the story is true.

:toast:

[Sgent]

17. A little bit

My great-grandfather & his brother were charged with murder in Russia. It wasn't morally criminal IMHO (Killed 3 cassocks after they raped my g-grandmother).

[taterguy]

18. ancestor was a pirate

Really, some relative did the genealogy. She was a Dutch woman, first name was Theodora. Don't remember any other details.

[gizmo1979]

19. Just me.NT

[China_cat]

20. my great aunt's father-in-law was the first person

excuted in the electric chair in PA.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

22. History? It's more like present.

My half-brother is a con artist who uses his homosexuality to get close to men and then screw them out of everything. I have a cousin who's in jail for drugs, who beat his wives, burned a car to get back at an ex and shot a man 5 times in Arkansas. I have a 66 year old aunt who is in prison for three years right now for defrauding banks. She was getting loans for cars, selling the cars and never paying off the loans. My great great grandfather was shot by Belle Starr when he got a little frisky with her one night, or so the family legend goes.
Duckie

[vikegirl]

23. Mom's related to Clyde Barrow...

of Bonnie & Clyde fame (rather, infamy). Some sort of distant cousin X-removed.

[meow2u3]

24. My grandpa on my dad's side was a bigamist

He left my grandmother high and dry during the Depression and ran off to Mexico to marry another woman, never bothering to divorce my grandmother. I don't know whether or not he got caught.
He died long before I was born.

[NNadir]

26. My brother probably should be in jail, but could probably talk his

way out of it.

He did some terrible things, some of them to me. I just found out about one such thing this week. It has to be the most improbable story possible, but it's true.

I can't say more than that though.

I keep feeling some responsibility to keep the lines of communication open in memory of my parents. (I am the only one in my extended family who still talks with him.) But now I think it is time for me to cut whatever ties remain. I probably should never speak to him again.

[txwhitedove]

29. Sad to say, sometimes you have to cut the ties...

You love him because he's your brother, but you have to cut
the toxic people out of your life for your own
self-preservation.  Tell him you love him but he can't be part
of your life because of his behaviour.  Tough Love, sweetie.

[NNadir]

31. You have the toxic part right for sure.

I cannot believe what he's done, and this after, against my better judgement, I helped him out of a jam. Everyone said I shouldn't help him, but I did.

I felt that I should set an example of forgiveness for my two sons, because my father set such an example for me, having forgiven his brother, albeit for much less.

But I cannot be the man my father was. This guy is gone from my life. What happened involved my family and my wife. It will not be forgiven.

Thanks for your advice. I appreciate it.

[Spider Jerusalem]

27. Some, none of it very recent...

one of my ancestors was a participant in Nathaniel Bacon's rebellion against Governor Berkeley of Virginia in 1675; he was a colonel in Bacon's army, and narrowly escaped the noose when the rebellion collapsed after Bacon's death. (He was later elected to the House of Burgesses, but denied his seat for his part in the rebellion; he was eventually pardoned, but forbidden from holding public office.)

And another 17th century ancestor was a slave-trader, smuggler and pirate who abused his position as colonel of militia to conduct raids on Indian villages and slaughter the inhabitants, and abused his position as Surveyor-General of the colony to expropriate lands in Maryland belonging to Quakers (he was more or less untouchable because of his influence at the royal court...his brother was physician to Charles II).

[mvd]

28. Not in the immediate family

A cousin got into a minor scuffle with a cop and got arrested.

[frogmarch]

30. Not on my side of the family

as far as I know, but every time my husband has been called to serve on jury duty, he's been let go because he was related to the defendant.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

38. Eh, I have ignored three jury duty notices.

No one ever tracked me down. If they start sending it registered mail, then I'll start recieving them. Until them, they're all lost in the mail.

[ikojo]

33. My mom was busted for drugs back in 1973 or

1974. I don't know what happened but I know she had to get a lawyer. I was just a kid. All I remember is the other kids teasing me about it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

34. Holy shit, yes!

I don't know if any of us haven't been involved in some pretty illegal things. Some even got caught, though only a couple ever served time, and those that served time only did it for drunk driving (though one uncle avoided jail time by joining the army, at the judge's suggestion, during the Viet Nam war).

Even I, yea, even I have done some illegal things.

Most of what we've done has been harmless, though - no murder, no theft: mostly explosives, poaching, fighting and brawling, underage drinking (I won a six-pack of Olympia in a bar playing dice when I was ten), drunk driving, drunk fishing, illegal fishing, illegally fishing while drunk with explosives, the kind of stuff that rural "good ol' boys and gals" get into in the long summers...

Oh, and one of my great grandfathers deserted the German army in the late 1800s and came to America.

[Floogeldy]

35. I stole gum as a child.

It was great. :)

[mykpart]

36. My great-grandfather shot and killed a man

in a gunfight over the town whore!

[Darth_Kitten]

39. Remember the Donnellys ?

Maybe some Canadians will....

well according to my sister, my brother in law is descended from them, so that makes him and my youngest nieces and nephews part of the Donnelly clan.

http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/donnellys/home/howtousesite/indexen.html