Criminal Career
Norway's prohibition from 1916 onwards opened up possibilities for a lucrative criminal career, and Andersen joined up in 1921 with old friends from his days at Toftes gave in grand-scale smuggling operations. Using ingenious methods for hiding the spirits, they smuggled alcohol into Norway by sea. In his smuggling years Andersen cooperated with future award-winning author Arthur Omre, serving as both crew and skipper on Omre's boats before getting his own smuggling vessel. Eventually his cover was blown, and being a wanted man in Norway he had to flee to Germany. While in Germany he worked for one of the biggest suppliers of spirits for the illegal Norwegian market. In 1925 Norway requested that Germany extradite him, and he was arrested in the harbour of Hamburg. Prison life was harsh, but Andersen managed to get transferred to a hospital when faking syphilis by burning his member with a cigarette. He was then deported under police escort back to Norway on the steamship Kong Dag, but when the ship entered the Oslofjord, Andersen escaped by jumping overboard near Spro. For several months he was on the run before being recaptured. In the years that followed he was in and out of prison repeatedly. He gained considerable renown for his elegantly executed burglaries, being labelled by the media "gentleman-forbryter i Grünerløkka-utgave" (English: gentleman criminal, Grünerløkka edition). He was also well known for his safe-cracking skills. Andersen once more tried to evade justice when he fled a crowded court room in Drammen in 1929, jumping out a window as the sentence was being proclaimed. He was then smuggled from Drammen inside a chest of drawers which was to undergo reparation in Oslo. He was recaptured shortly before intending to board a cargo ship bound for Canada.
His criminal escapades made Andersen a national celebrity in pre-war Norway, and his nickname "Gulosten" a household name. Between 1919 and 1937 he was sentenced to prison terms nine times, spending a total of around seven years behind bars. During the mid-1930s Andersen attempted to end his criminal career, became engaged, and started a furniture repair business. He remarried on 18 March 1939, wedding Ruth Johanne (born 1905), née Nilsen. They had one son. In 1935 Andersen attempted to get a children's book published, but it was rejected because of its inclusion of a number of "brutal scenes, unsuited for youths". The nature scenes in the book were, however, commended by the reviewer. After yet another spell in prison, Andersen was released on 9 April 1940, the day Germany invaded Norway as a part of World War II.
Read more about this topic: Johannes S. Andersen
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