|
Page 1 of 2
 Print
The Story of Mary Kay Beard
Mary Kay Beard releases new book: Rogue Angel. Learn more.
Visit Mary Kay Beard's website at: http://www.marykaybeard.com/
It was right out of Bonnie and Clyde. A striking, well-dressed woman, accompanied by a neatly dressed man, entered a small bank and walked up to the lone teller. At first glance, the bank teller noticed just the flaming red hair, but then he saw the shotgun in his face.
“Just give me the money, Hon,” the redhead drawled.
And the teller handed it over.
Only this wasn’t a movie, but the real thing. This “Bonnie” was Mary Kay Mahaffey, bank robber, safecracker. Her photo hung in the post office on the FBI “Most Wanted” list.
For five years Mary Kay ran, first with her husband, Paul, who taught her everything she needed to know about guns, safes, and bank alarms. When he ditched her, she teamed up with a couple of buddies, Joe and Ed. They pulled bank stickups and other thefts across the southern part of the U.S. for several years. But eventually Mary Kay’s boldness and arrogance caught up.
Happily, the FBI found her before the Mafia did. In addition to 11 federal indictments, four states filed 35 charges against her. She was told she’d serve between 75 and 180 years.
But she didn’t. Released after serving less than six years, she married ex-prisoner Don Beard and joined Prison Fellowship as an area director for Alabama, where she created Angel Tree in 1982.
Today she serves as lead counselor with Impact Family Counseling and works with troubled youth in Alabama, trying to redirect youngsters away from the prison experience she and Don faced. How did she do it? How did Mary Kay Beard go from America’s Most Wanted to Founder of Angel Tree?
|
