Las Vegas mass shooter's father was wanted bank robber
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (KTRK) -- While the Las Vegas mass shooter appears to have no criminal past, the gunman's father does.
In fact, Stephen Paddock's dad has been on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list.
Benjamin Paddock was arrested for a bank robbery when his son was 7 years old. In 1968, the elder Paddock then escaped from federal prison in Texas, prompting his placement on the FBI's Most Wanted.
Benjamin Paddock was eventually caught after being on the run for nearly a decade.
Despite the escape, Paddock was paroled the following year and returned to his home in Oregon. He continued the bingo operation until authorities shut it down in 1987 and charged him with racketeering.
Don Bishoff, a columnist for The Register-Guard of Eugene, wrote in 1998 that Paddock pleaded no contest to the charges, but he received no jail time. He wrote that Paddock spent the last decade of his life in Texas.
The columnist described Paddock as one of the Eugene-Springfield area's "most colorful rogues." Paddock was also known as Bruce Ericksen.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
