 The gang later made headlines when gang member Leo Vincent Brothers was convicted of the murder of "Chicago Tribune" reporter Jake Lingle in June 1930.Egan's Rats was founded around 1890 by Thomas "Snake" Kinney and Thomas Egan, two street toughs living in the riverfront "Kerry Patch" neighborhood of St. Louis.Recruiting other members from the neighborhood, the Rats started out as pickpockets, burglars, and armed robbers.