Born in Dresden, Germany, the 13-year-old Puff, along with his mother and five-year-old brother, arrived in the US on June 6, 1927, at Ellis Island on board SS Columbus from Bremen.

By this time, his career as a bank robber had earned him a spot on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted List".

Shortly after he arrived at the Congress Hotel at 19 West 69th Street,[4] FBI agents were waiting to arrest him.

[5] He did not remain at Room 904, but returned to the first floor in a few minutes by the stairway where FBI Special Agent Joseph John Brock, aged 44, was stationed.

Then, with a gun in each hand, Puff zig-zagged through the hotel's lobby, firing another shot at converging agents.