Story Archive

Family Business

“I did it for the family,” insists Ronald Scott Catt, 51. “I swear to you, I would only rob banks for my family.” Well, maybe not for his family, but with his family. After his wife died from cancer, Catt started robbing banks to help pay the bills. After several successful robberies, he recruited his teenaged son, Hayden, to help. He and the boy pulled off another job without getting caught. Ronald was laid off from his day job, so he moved the family from Portland, Ore., to Houston, Texas, and he and Hayden started planning their first robbery there. Deciding they needed a getaway driver, the two persuaded Hayden’s sister, Abigail, to join them in the capers. Their first Texas job netted $70,000; the second $30,000. By then, the kids were adults; a detective figured out who the gang was, and they were all arrested. Ronald has been sentenced to 24 years in prison; Hayden, now 21, received a 10-year sentence, and Abigail, 19, got five years. “Hayden is a good kid,” said the son’s attorney, James Hanley. “Hopefully he can use his powers for good and get on with his life.” (RC/Houston Chronicle) ...Only a lawyer would recast a bank robber as a superhero.