Willie Sutton

William Francis "Willie" Sutton, Jr. (June 30, 1901 – November 2, 1980) was a prolific American bank robber. During his forty-year criminal career he stole an estimated $2 million, and he eventually spent more than half of his adult life in prison and escaped three times. For his talent at executing robberies in disguises, he gained two nicknames, "Willie the Actor" and "Slick Willie". Sutton is also famous for his response to a reporter's question as to why he robbed banks, which has been misquoted as "Because that's where the money is."

Willie Sutton in The War That Came Early
When asked by Gerhart Beilharz why the U-30 had been assigned to patrol the Gulf of Finland for Soviet ships coming out of Leningrad, Julius Lemp replied with the aphorism attributed to Willie Sutton: "Because that's where the money is." Beilharz jokingly pointed out that this metaphor didn't fit the situation perfectly, because a boatful of Soviet money would be no good in Germany.

See Inconsistencies in Turtledove's Work