Army Welch

Name: Army Welch
Birth Name: F. Omar Welch
Hometown: Priest River, Idaho, USA
Pro Boxer: Record

Army Welch's real name was F. Omar Welch [1]. He had his last pro bouts around 1926.

He was 40-years-old by January 1934; had been the former Mullan, Idaho, police chief in 1929 [2]; and had just been convicted and sentenced to six years in prison for an $80 holdup. [3]. He was pardoned in December 1936, and was to be released from prison April 15, 1937 [4].

Omar Welch earlier had gone to federal prison (early 1930, after being stripped of his police chief duties by the Mullan City Council) with other former city council members, for a rum ring conspiracy called the "Mullan Rum Rebellion" [5]. This was a conspiracy to violate the national prohibition act involving Police Chief Welch, members of the city council and others (about 29 people in total) in which "liquor selling places, gambling houses and disorderly resorts were licensed, the fees going into the city treasury for civic improvements" [6] [7] [8] [9]. Welch himself was specifically accused of demanding "protection" money [10].