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According to most biographies that I could find citation needed , the conman Viktor Lustig was sentenced to 15 years in Prison in Alcatraz, got pneumonia in March 1947 and died two days later in Springfield, Missouri. For example, this is what Wikipedia has:

"Lustig pleaded guilty at his trial and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison on Alcatraz Island, California for his original charge, with a further five years for his prison escape. On 9 March 1947, Lustig contracted pneumonia and died two days later at the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri."

The death certificate was issued in Springfield, so this part is probably correct. What I don't understand why a prisoner would have been transferred some 1900 miles for something "simple" as a pneumonia. There must have been facilities closer by that could have dealt with something like that.

EDIT:

I found some references that mentioned a brain tumor. Reading the death certificate linked above more carefull has:

Immediate cause of death: Pneumonia
Due to: Hemoplegia, probably caused by brain abscess

and

Length of stay. In hospital or institution: 2 months, 12 days

This is a much different case than a simple pneumonia

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    This doesn't fully answer the why question, but it seems like "Fed Med" in Springfield routinely accepted prisoners from around the country in those days: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7721423
    – Brian Z
    Commented Sep 23 at 13:03
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    Thanks @BrianZ I found more info that he was actually suffering from another, much more serious condition relating to a brain abcess, which might have justified bringing him to a "state of the art" medical center for federal prisoners, which your document seems to suggest that Springfield was
    – FlyingTeller
    Commented Sep 23 at 13:23
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    The way it was phrased, "the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners", makes it sound rather like it was the only such facility they had at the time. In which case it would make perfect sense to transport a very sick federal prisoner there. That's what its for. So first thing I'd look into is how unique that facility was at the time.
    – T.E.D. ♦
    Commented Sep 23 at 13:54
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    Also, "Pneumonia" is not a disease, but a symptom. Lots of stuff can cause it. Most of the COVID-19 deaths (7 million now and counting) were due to the effects of its pneumonia.
    – T.E.D. ♦
    Commented Sep 23 at 14:02
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    You are right to catch that. According to the official timeline of the federal buerau of prisons it was the first (opened in 1933 , so in the 1940s still the only) institution of that kind
    – FlyingTeller
    Commented Sep 23 at 14:06

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Question:

Why was a criminal transferred 1900 miles from Alcatraz to Springfield, Missouri for medical reasons in the 1940s

Not just any prisoner, Viktor Lustig, one of the most infamous con men of the early 20th century, is best remembered for his audacious scams, including selling the Eiffel Tower twice and perpetrating numerous fraudulent schemes throughout Europe and the United States. Despite his criminal exploits, Lustig’s life took a somber turn in the 1940s when he was incarcerated at the notorious Alcatraz federal prison. In 1947, he was transferred from Alcatraz, located on an isolated island in San Francisco Bay, to the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. Transfers to this modern medical facility in Springfield were a common event for inmates requiring specialized medical treatment. Treatment that could not be provided in many of the nation's penitentiaries including Alcatraz.

“The Fed Med” 90 years in Springfield, Missouri

The new hospital immediately became quite active with medical transfers received from throughout the federal prison system consisting of 240,000 prisoners.

So rounding 240,000 prisoners transferred to Springfield over 100 years, roughly. Equates to 2,400 transfers a year, or 7 every day. The Springfield hospital had 1000 beds, So they were turning over their population 2 1/2 times a year, every year with transfers from all over the US prison system.

The transfer highlights the limitations of prison healthcare at the time and the specific reasons why Springfield, Missouri, became the destination for federal prisoners with severe health issues.

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    Does the quote says that Springfield handled 240,000 prisoners each year or that the Federal prison system held 240,000 inmates at a time. The latter interpretation seems much more likely than the first for the 1930s, though possibly the first interpretation would be more likely for 2024.
    – MAGolding
    Commented Sep 24 at 1:53

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