Update: William Alfred Ginglen, Turned in by Sons, Gets 40 Years
Earlier this week I wrote about William Alfred Ginglen, the ex-Marine who taught his son such deep values that they felt compelled to turn in him when they discovered dad was robbing banks. Now comes word that the 64-year-old Ginglen has been sentenced to 40 years behind bars. The married Ginglen was leading a double life that included drugs and prostitutes, which he funded through small-town bank heists. In sentencing the repentant Ginglen, Judge Scott said the case posed a real “dilemma”, as Ginglen was once regarded as a pillar of his community.
Shit. Now I feel even worse for this guy than before. This story has such a “There but for the Grace of God go I” feel that it’s hard to read it as anything other than a cautionary tale about the dangers of losing your way in the world.
Tags: crime, father, illinois, lewistown, robbery
15 opinions for Update: William Alfred Ginglen, Turned in by Sons, Gets 40 Years
Meh
Dec 29, 2005 at 5:38 pm
Losing your way in the world?
Anybody who actually knows this guy (I do) knows that he was a big spender who thought very highly of himself. An egotistical jerk–and it’s ego that leads to this kind of tragic downfall. Early in life, upon breaking the law, he was given the option of going to the military or going to jail. Apparently he didn’t learn anything about honor in the military–at least nothing he couldn’t forget when his own high opinion of himself was on the line.
If he had problems he brought them on himself. A lot of people trusted him and he was just a smarmy bastard, probably the whole time. He borrowed a lot of money from relatives while he was doing all that bad stuff, ostensibly for his wife. He cared about no one but himself–about pleasuring himself to overcome his depressions–so if you want to feel sorry for that, well, go ahead, I guess.
Jay Allen
Dec 29, 2005 at 6:02 pm
If that’s the case, I feel even more sorry.
Bonnie Kauth
Dec 29, 2005 at 6:06 pm
Give me a break….my husband and I have known Bill “Al’ Ginglen for more than 35 years. He has a history of being on the edge of several ethical situations. I cannot believe this “pillar of the community” nonsense. BTW, it was his wife, Donna Jean, who raised her sons to be such upstanding men.
Bonnie Kauth
Dec 29, 2005 at 6:07 pm
Give me a break….my husband and I have known Bill “Al’ Ginglen for more than 35 years. He has a history of being on the edge of several ethical situations. I cannot believe this “pillar of the community” nonsense. BTW, it was his wife, Donna Jean, who raised her sons to be such upstanding men.
Hula Doula
Dec 30, 2005 at 7:19 am
Honestly it was the right thing for his children to do. They did not have a choice. Wrong is still wrong.
Shlomo
Dec 30, 2005 at 1:03 pm
Feeling even more sorry for this loser? His children did have a choice… and they made the right one. Enduring pain and shame of turning in a close family member? I commend thee.
All of this man’s actions in life were for his own aggrandizement. There is no dilemma, Judge Scott, sentence him to a long time in a small cell then loose the key. Rot…Rot…Rot.
Jay Allen
Dec 30, 2005 at 7:24 pm
I commend them as well. It doesn’t mean I don’t feel sorry for the guy over the hash he made out of his life.
KimPossible
Dec 31, 2005 at 7:47 pm
I want to thank Bonnie for her comments.Because my mother is a very private person,you won’t hear her story.It is safe to say that she is one of the strongest people I know.What happened in my family was a tragedy.Now we have to deal with the aftermath.Happy New Year to All!!! Take care of each other!
“THE BANK ROBBERS’DAUGHTER”
Bonnie
Jan 1, 2006 at 12:53 pm
Kim,
I am SO glad someone in the family read my response. I have been trying to “get out the story” on every board I read that slams your brothers/family. I hope all is well for you. GIve your MOM a hug from Bob and me.
Bonnie
Bonnie
Jan 1, 2006 at 12:53 pm
Kim,
I am SO glad someone in the family read my response. I have been trying to “get out the story” on every board I read that slams your brothers/family. I hope all is well for you. GIve your MOM a hug from Bob and me.
Bonnie
Bonnie K
Jan 1, 2006 at 1:07 pm
Kim, I’m so glad someone in your family read this. I have been sending messages to all of the ‘message boards’ that are slamming your family/brothers. I hope all is well with you. Give your Mom a hug from Bob and me. Remind her that people who know the real story are sending warm thoughts her way.
Bonnie
Bonnie K
Jan 1, 2006 at 1:07 pm
Kim, I’m so glad someone in your family read this. I have been sending messages to all of the ‘message boards’ that are slamming your family/brothers. I hope all is well with you. Give your Mom a hug from Bob and me. Remind her that people who know the real story are sending warm thoughts her way.
Bonnie
Rat Number One
Jan 4, 2006 at 12:18 pm
Bonnie,
We have all read your comments on the various boards. Thank you for your kind words. As I read these comments, especially the ones that condemn what we did, I keep telling myself that it is not their fault. I hope that most of the people who call us “rats” or “communists” are just missing the facts of the story. As Kim said, most of the real story remains untold. People are forming opinions based on the media’s representation of some of the facts. However, it is very nice to read comments such as yours defending what we did and trying to dispell some of the people’s misunderstandings of what really happened here.
God Bless,
RN1
Jul
Jan 25, 2006 at 2:41 pm
I commend the guys for doing what they did. I grew up with them and went to grade school with RN1. My aunt and their sister were best friends. They are a wonderful family. They were then and they are now. I just watched the Oprah show about their story. I hope the entire family is doing well now and can slowly put this behind them.
God Bless and take care.
Julie (Hough) Mibbs