Meet 100-year-old retired NYPD detective Howard Bach — who met infamous bank robber Willie Sutton during his three decades on the force
By Tina Moore,
2024-09-21
He’s the NYPD’s oldest retired gumshoe, still plays the harmonica and remembers the day he met famed bank robber Willie Sutton — who happened to be half-naked at the time.
Howard Bach, who turned 100 in July, joined the police force in 1948 after serving as a US sailor for four years on the USS Mississippi in the Pacific during World War II. He retired from the NYPD in 1978 after 30 years on the job.
“It was quite an experience,” Bach told The Post of his NYPD career.
U.S. Navy veteran Howard Bach, who turned 100 in July, joined the Force in 1948 after serving four years on a battleship in the Pacific during WWII. Dennis A. Clark Bach retired from the NYPD in 1978 after 30 years on the job. Dennis A. Clark
“He fought for this nation in war and then Howard Bach served this city, proudly, as an NYPD detective,” Detectives Endowment Association President Scott Munro said. “We salute him on his hundredth birthday and wish this crime fighter many more healthy years.”
The DEA honored Bach for his life of service last month at the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Long Island.
Bach was born on the Fourth of July in 1924. Prohibition was still in effect, and the Big Apple saw its first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
He grew up in a house on stilts in a place called Springfield Dock, Queens, present-day John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Bach is seen in this October 1948 NYPD photo on the day of this NYPD training graduation. Dennis A. Clark
A strong swimmer by the time he was 8, Bach once saved another child from drowning. When the kid’s grateful dad gave him a rowboat as a gift, he wrote “PD” on the boat — for the Police Department he dreamed of joining one day.
“He always wanted to be a police officer,” bragged his proud daughter, Karen Clinton, 73.
He and his wife Dolores had three sons and three daughters. Two of their sons served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, returned home but have since died. Bach’s third son, a retired federal agent, and his daughters look out for their dad, Clinton said.
Bach (seen here in 1941) was a seaman first class and sailed on the USS Mississippi for 4 years. Dennis A. Clark
Bach was repeatedly recognized by the department for his police work in letters that his daughter saved.
In one, dated Dec. 13, 1948, Bach was praised for nabbing an armed robber who had assaulted and held up a Brooklyn hardware store owner. Bach heard the man’s calls for help, then chased the bandit down.
“This is indeed excellent work and your alertness, intelligent action and strict adherence to duty are deserving of the highest praise,” wrote then-Police Commissioner Arthur Wallander.
“He made so many arrests as a foot patrolman that they made him a detective in six months,” his daughter said.
Bach helped solve more cases than he can remember, he told The Post, including a Queens case where a man killed a woman in her cellar and then threw her body into the furnace.
“We got him down there,” Bach said. “We got a confession also, and he went to jail.”
Bach will always remember meeting Willie Sutton (above), the most notorious bank robber in American History. Getty Images
And he’ll always remember meeting Sutton, the most notorious bank robber in American History, who held up dozens of banks during a 40-year life of crime. He also escaped from jail three times .
When asked why he robbed banks, Sutton famously replied, “Because that’s where the money is.”
Bach’s partner arrested Sutton in 1952 in Brooklyn.
Bach and his wife Dolores (above) had three sons and three daughters. Courtesy of Howard Bach
He missed out on the collar because he was out at the store, but he met the stickup man when he returned to the 78th Precinct stationhouse. Sutton had just been strip searched.
“They had him in the back room and he didn’t have any pants on and he asked me, ‘Could you please put my pants on,’” Bach recalled.
Bach removed his cuffs and said, “Sure, go ahead Willie.”
Retired NYPD Detective Howard Bach celebrates his 100th birthday with members of the DEA and his family. Dennis A. Clark
“He was a very nice man, you know, a very kind man,” Bach recalled. “He never killed anybody or anything like that.”
Bach said he was proud of his years of service.
“I just had that calling,” he said. “I figured it was a good job and it turned out to be a good job.”
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Thank you SIR!! This was a good read. I also would love to shake your hand and thank you and sit a spell, you are a prime example of a fine human being!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND THANK YOU FOR BOTH OF YOUR SERVICES!! GODSPEED.
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