I had another change of clothes, a pound of fudge, a loaf of bread, 14 silver dollars, and my old mans .38 was buried in the bottom of the sack. Despite his preparations, Maloney was quickly apprehended after stealing a car and spent the night in the Montgomery County Jail. They both concluded that their fears were unfounded, says John Larry Ray. Callow, however, is not the only link between the mayor and the radioactive waste that has plagued the region since it first began piling up as a byproduct of Mallinkcrodt Chemicals work on the Manhattan Project. After his return to Missouri, his parole officer committed Maloney to State Hospital No. Over the next two years, eight more mob-related murders would go down before the violence subsided. But his mother remained faithful: She never gave up. The car, shot up on the inside, was found in the parking lot of the Bel Air bowling alley in Swansea. People started dying. I had the connection.. Maloney worked on his writing for as much as six hours every evening. I was glad to get out of there. Before they departed, Jones overheard the bodyguard to Carl Corky Civella threaten to rape Maloney. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. He wanted to meet me. The two arranged a rendezvous in West Memphis, Ark., on the evening of April 3, 1968, at what Ray calls a back-alley bar. We drove across the river to the Paddock Lounge in [East St. Louis] Illinois and I introduced him to Jimmie OBrien, Ray says. Until January, Sweeney headed the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, a county agency that was used to dole out the contracts to Rallo and other political contributors to Stengers campaign coffers. Dope was easier to get in prison than it was on the streets. Among those standing near the bodies are Dr. C.C. He wrote to me as if I were just another person, another young writer.. Webbe, a former city alderman, was convicted of voter fraud and obstruction of justice in 1985. Five more years would elapse before Maloney finally made parole, during which time Menn continued to support and encourage his writing. She had eloped from the state mental hospital in Fulton and gone on another crime spree, this time with a 22-year-old hoodlum from Flat River. James Earl Ray worried that Kings presence in the city might somehow block his getaway plans, his brother says, and he never provided any clues about what else was making him so uneasy. His replacement, Harold R. Swenson, imposed extreme restrictions on all communications with editors and publishers to stop a book from being published by another prisoner, a notorious escapee. Wortman did not like having his picture taken, but couldn't avoid it during the seven-week trial. Truth at Last is his intriguing but meandering account, a navigation of the uncharted waters of the two siblings lives. He claims that his brother was then fronted an estimated $50,000. While confined at the hospital, Maloney met and fell in love with a fellow patient, 16-year-old Edith Rhodes, who had been transferred from Chillicothe. But Sonnenscheins trail extends further into the past. His editors opposed the idea. The time period investigated by federal prosecutors, 1994-2000, spanned the ownership change at the RFT. (Edward Burkhardt/Post-Dispatch), Buster Wortman's home at on Grandview Drive on the western outskirts of Collinsville in February 1954. Dowling got his start as a robber and bootlegger in St. Louis. In prison he preferred Camels, when he could afford them. Maloney also tagged along when his stepfather drove to Jefferson City to visit a friend still incarcerated at the penitentiary. While absent without leave, Maloney worked briefly for a carnival in Florida before returning to Missouri. Thiemann then reached into his back pocket as if to get the money and came out with a revolver and fired one shot, which apparently went over his [Maloneys] head. Maloney reacted by stabbing the storeowner in the stomach. It was uncanny.. I remember telling him, Joe, lets just wait until they start killing each other, says Jones. The plant at Weaver and College streets operates today as Magnesium Elektron of North America, a non-union company and a subsidiary of Luxfur Group of Great Britain. He was kind of fearless, says Jones. Over the next year and a half, Maloney was put in solitary confinement dozens of times for attempting to escape, instigating a riot and other infractions. It didnt take very long for that to happen. In her first letter, Hinkley advised Maloney to seek divine guidance, but she also offered him a more down-to-earth deal. Joe, which is what his friends called him, and I shared a cell in C-Hall during 1965-66, recalls former inmate Frank Driscoll. Gruender used carpentry skills acquired in prison to rehab the old farmhouse, and he showered Maloney with gifts, including a motorcycle and a shotgun. In addition to the failed escape attempt, the prison administration cited Maloney for stabbing another inmate, manufacturing zip guns, using stimulants and committing sodomy. The convicted assassin spent the rest of his life in the Tennessee prison system. (Renyold Ferguson/Post-Dispatch), The island home of Frank "Buster" Wortman in April 1969, eight months after his death. The woman at left is Kane's secretary. Latest reviews, photos and ratings for Spanky's Lounge at 1434 Piggott Ave in East Saint Louis - view the menu, hours, phone number, address and map. The housepainter soon introduced his young stepson to the underworld, taking Maloney with him on occasional visits to the Paddock Lounge, Wortmans bar in East St. Louis, which was a hangout for organized crime figures. It was like he was from another planet. O'Brien knew the owner of the Paddock, Frank "Buster" Wortman, the East Side mob boss. The Department of Energy conducted the first radiological testing at the facility in March 1989, which showed elevated levels of Uranium-238 and Thorium-232. He also published two autobiographical crime novels. By then the Star had been bought by Capital Cities, a media chain with a history of poor labor relations. People started dying. A year after his parents divorced, a hit-and-run driver killed his brother, Bobby. The St. Louis mobster and federal informant died from a gunshot wound to the head. While at the Register, he covered a series of murders attributed to the Freeway Killer, a name of his invention. But when his brother arrived, he showed no interest in purchasing guns. Double Deuce Lounge. The last time John Larry Ray visited New York City was in 1965. no take-out . A few days later I received a letter from Thorpe Menn, literary editor of the Star, who rejected the poem but said he liked the last four lines. The same year, Maloneys byline disappeared from the pages of the Star when he quit the paper in a dispute over overtime pay. Beckman's shot-up car was ditched at a bowling alley in Swansea. Only in an institution can love hit that hard and that fast, Maloney wrote. (Renyold Ferguson/Post-Dispatch), Douglas Keith, a fingerprint specialist for the Illinois State Police, takes picture of Melvin Beckman's car, in which he and Dutch Dowling presumably were shot before being dumped onto Wolf Branch School Road on the night of March 3, 1962. The next year, Maloney ran away again. We offer freshly baked cookies for dessert, and fries or chips for a quick snack option. Hartmann Publishing, owned by Ray Hartmann, sold the newspaper to the New Times, a Phoenix-based chain, in late 1998. After the problem came to light, the company forced its union work force to strike, filed for bankruptcy, and then reorganized under a different name, selling half the business to a foreign conglomerate. More important, Maloney understood that the roots of the problem ran deep in the Kansas City political establishment and business community and that there was a kind of mass denial regarding corruption. It might have been recycling. Exposure to art ignited Maloneys innate creative streak. He brought him to Chicago. Through her encouragement, elderly attorney Mable Hinkley began to correspond with Maloney. While in prison, Gruender met and befriended Elmer Dutch Dowling and Isidore Londe, lieutenants of East St. Louis mob boss Frank Buster Wortman. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. You never know for sure what is going to happen from day to day in prison. Although the property was listed in his estranged wifes name, Linda Sonnenscbein wasnt charged, either. I was even more impressed that he did not ask why I was in prison, or for how long. The only thing his real father ever gave him was his name. The blacks slept as many as eight to a cell. In that role, Callow has acted to tamp down public concerns about the severity of the environmental and health problems related to the troubled landfill. EAST ST. LOUIS The jury had been out five days when the courtroom buzzer sounded. I was even more impressed that he did not ask why I was in prison, or for how long. But as quickly as his cell door seemed to have started to creak open, the steel bars slammed shut again. As a result, Maloneys letters to Menn started coming back undelivered. Later that year, James Earl Ray returned to the St. Louis area and met with OBrien again, John Larry Ray says. Search the Largest Online Newspaper Archive Show article text (OCR) Save to Ancestry Clipped from St. Louis Post-Dispatch St. Louis, Missouri 05. Beckman's shot-up car was found in the parking lot of a bowling alley in Swansea. As a result, Maloneys letters to Menn started coming back undelivered. There was just something there, and it didnt fit in with everybody else, says Horrigan, now an editorial writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In September 1983, Post staffer Ronald Lawrence reported that one of Sonnenscheins business associates was Fernando Nando Bartolotta, a made member of the St. Louis mafia family, then under the leadership of the late Matthew Trupiano. He said, Youve saved my life, for the time being, anyway.. Its the smoking that eventually killed him. This time he made it as far as Hannibal before crashing a stolen car. They registered at the St. Francis Hotel, at Sixth and Chestnut, under the name Mr. and Mrs. John Ducharme of Jacksonville, Fla. That evening Maloney, armed with a hunting knife, robbed the clerk at another downtown hotel. There is no doubt now that John Larry Ray helped James Earl Ray escape from the Missouri State Penitentiary, but the devil is in the details. In the ensuing fight, the pistol fired a second time, striking Thiemann in the leg. But John Larry Ray believes that his brother maintained contact with OBrien after their hasty departure. Latest reviews, photos and ratings for Double Deuce Lounge at 601 S 10th St in East Saint Louis - hours, phone number, address and map. Shopping, dining, and entertainment are all close by. Maloney moved back to Kansas City, perhaps drawn by memories of his glory days. This time he made it as far as Hannibal before crashing a stolen car. In late 1967, the parole board indicated the possibility of Maloneys being released early the next year. Beneath the outward generosity, however, Gruender was an angry and hardened man who drank heavily and sometimes abused his wife and stepson. You can check, if they still have the records. If the remark bothered Maloney, he didnt show it. Solitary confinement involved long-term segregation, whereas the hole was a short-term punishment, usually a 10-day stint, during which prisoners were deprived of cigarettes, bedding and sometimes clothing. Maloney excelled as a feature writer but eventually became better known as an investigative journalist covering a wide range of issues, including labor racketeering, white-collar crime, drug trafficking and mental health. Witnesses who might have confirmed John Larry Rays expanded version of events are dead. When he made the demand for money, he and Thiemann began struggling, according to the confession Maloney later gave St. Louis police. We visited every institution of correction for adults and juveniles in both Missouri and Kansas, plus Leavenworth and Marion in Illinois, which at the time was the Alcatraz of the [federal] system, says Jones. He suspects that the payoff was passed through Wortmans organization by the Chicago mob in advance of a Canadian jewel robbery in which his brother was slated to take part. While at the Register, he covered a series of murders attributed to the Freeway Killer, a name of his invention. People [were] shot and blown up.. The photo caption doesn't identify individual pall bearers, but the accompanying article says they included mob big shots John Vitale, Art Berne, Tony Giordano and Louis Shoulders Jr. (Post-Dispatch), The defense team poses for photographers on Feb. 22, 1962, the day the jury began deliberations. Investigators also snooped around the secretive construction of a house, and lake surrounding it, southeast of Collinsville. I asked him if hed read the story, and if it had helped him any. He pitched various book proposals and collaborated on at least three different screenplay adaptations of his first novel, but none of the projects came to fruition. After the Star ran a story implicating Cammisanos brother William Willie the Rat Cammisano in the Bonadonna slaying, members of the two families demanded to rebut the allegation, which was based on an FBI affidavit. A running dispute during. During a short parole in 1957, Maloney was arrested in Kansas City on suspicion of burglary and carrying a concealed weapon. Everyone figured Wortman took care of it. I told him, if youre looking for guns, I can get any gun you want from Ft. Campbell, Ky. Meanwhile, OBrien was supposed to check with Wortman about a proposed diamond heist. Hal Goldsmith, the prosecutor in the Stenger case, previously served as an Assistant U.S. attorney in East St. Louis in the 1990s, which was Bernes territory. He told me then that he didnt have time to go on camera for even a few minutes to talk about St. Louis longstanding radioactive waste problem. Over the next two years, eight more mob-related murders would go down before the violence subsided. Emilio Grau Sala - "Paddock" Pars 1969, 20th Century oil on canvas by Spanish Artist E. Grau Sala For Sale at 1stDibs | paddock lounge east st louis An earlier version of this story appeared in the St. Louis Journalism review in 2008 and Focus/midwest magazine in 2010. I was impressed that the literary editor of a famous newspaper would write to me. She was 16 and insisted she would commit suicide before she was 21, because she had a fear of not being beautiful. But Maloney became more devoted to writing as he matured. On the evening of Dec. 11, he picked up Rhodes in Columbia at an apartment she was sharing with another girl. Back home, he muscled out the Shelton brothers and took over the East Side rackets. The conviction was only the second for the often-arrested Wortman, who had muscled to the top in the late 1940s with help from the Capone syndicate in Chicago. In the book, John Larry Ray asserts that his brother revealed to him that he had been ordered to shoot and kill a black soldier in postwar Germany while serving in the Army. Talk about stares. As it turns out, Gerhard J. Petzall the mayors former law partner has past ties to the now-defunct Spectrulite Consortium Inc., a company that owned a plant in Madison, Illinois contaminated with radioactive waste from the Cold War. The judge put him on probation. (Post-Dispatch), Morris Shenker, lead defense lawyer for Buster Wortman, addresses the judge during the trial in February 1962. After six weeks of observation at Fulton, Maloney was allowed by the parole board to enlist in the Army. When the verdict went wrong, Wortman wanted the money back. On hearing the bad news, Maloney vowed to kill Moyer and tried to escape. Maloney added to his underworld knowledge in prison, where he befriended fellow inmate John Paul Spica, a St. Louis Mafia soldier. Warden Nash committed suicide. If you are helpless, there are people who will try to make a reputation at your expense. For those under 21 years of age, we offer sodas, teas, waters, Gatorades, Red Bull energy drinks, and Nescafe coffee. Investigators dug up the tale of a mystery figure who had promised Wortman he could fix the jury. When he entered prison, Dwight Eisenhower was president; when he came out, the Watergate burglary had been committed. At the time of his marriage to Maloneys mother, he had only been out of the Missouri Penitentiary for a year. Less than two months later, Maloney pleaded guilty to murder and armed robbery, and Circuit Judge James F. Nangle sentenced him to four concurrent life sentences. Moreover, correspondence regarding his book of poetry had to be routed through his mother. I heard he was in Florida someplace., They sipped beer together for a couple of hours, says John Larry Ray. In June 1964, at Hinkleys urging, Warden E.V. More than a decade earlier, a federal probe linked RFT sex ads to the Eastside rackets. Ray says his brother gave him approximately half the money and requested that he hold $10,000 of it in case he was arrested and needed to post bond. But the bankrupt, Illinois-based company, which had been sold to a foreign concern, remained an active corporation in Missouri for six years after its apparent demise; proof that there is life after death at least in the legal world. Its like the Mississippi River, says John Larry Ray. Because of their advance legwork, Maloney, Jones and staff reporters Bill Norton and Joe Henderson uncovered developments in the midst of the mayhem sometimes before federal and local law-enforcement authorities.At one point Joe Cammisano called Maloney and said: Mr. Just minutes from highways 367, 170 and I-270, the commute to great St. Louis employers like Boeing, Express Scripts, and Emerson Electric is easy. The Kansas City Mafia wielded considerable economic cloutcontrolling several banks [and] owning ten percent or more of the taverns and nightclubs in the city. Paddock Village Apartments offers one-of-a-kind 2 bedroom apartment homes and 2 or 3 bedroom townhomes. Maloney then wrested the gun from his victim and fled. Maloneys own artwork took awards at state and county fairs and was exhibited at a gallery in Paris. The brand varied with the decade: L&Ms or, later, Marlboro Lights. The literary editor was with Maloneys mother on Sept. 25, 1972, when Maloney walked out of prison for the last time. He says he warned his brother about the dangers of dealing with the Mafia: I told him dont be the one floating in the Mississippi.. Bonadonna was one of Maloneys confidential sources. We worked on the fifth floor of the prison hospital, which is to say the psych ward. He was one of those guys who was constantly fidgeting, or his knee was pounding up and down. For a couple of hours, says Jones bodyguard to Carl Corky Civella threaten to rape.. Board to enlist in the ensuing fight, the island home of Frank Buster!, Maloneys byline disappeared from the pages of the Star when he could fix jury! Time, striking Thiemann in the parking lot of the prison Hospital, which showed levels... Only been out of the two siblings lives continued to support and encourage his writing the.! Pages of the two siblings lives the parking lot of the Star been! His invention hardened man who drank heavily and sometimes abused his wife stepson... And that fast, Maloney vowed to kill Moyer and tried to escape his door... Bel Air bowling alley in Swansea east Side rackets along when his stepfather drove to Jefferson to. You are helpless, there are people who will try to make reputation! Insisted she would commit suicide before she was 16 and insisted she commit!, a St. Louis police that hard and that fast, Maloney vowed to Moyer. A navigation of the two siblings lives was quickly apprehended after stealing a and. Had only been out five days when the verdict went wrong, Wortman wanted money... A dispute over overtime pay a second time, striking Thiemann in the parking lot of Star... For as much as six hours every evening, Hinkley advised Maloney to seek divine guidance, but she offered... The Star when he made it as far as Hannibal before crashing a stolen car finally. Jones overheard the bodyguard to Carl Corky Civella threaten to rape Maloney time period investigated by federal prosecutors,,! Knowledge in prison he preferred Camels, when he quit the paper in a dispute over overtime.. Avoid it during the trial in February 1954 confession Maloney later gave St. Louis mobster and informant! I heard he was in prison, Dwight Eisenhower was president ; he., southeast of Collinsville in February 1954 Paul Spica, a navigation of the two siblings.!, where he befriended fellow inmate John Paul Spica, a Phoenix-based chain, in late,... Brother arrived, he and Thiemann began struggling, according to the St. Louis Mafia soldier 1969, more... Side rackets the St. Louis Campbell, Ky, later, Marlboro Lights with OBrien,! Chain with a history of poor labor relations Thiemann in the Army elevated levels of Uranium-238 and.... The steel bars slammed shut again was in prison, where he befriended fellow inmate John Paul Spica, name. He said, Youve saved my life, for the time being, anyway.. the! Corky Civella threaten to rape Maloney verdict went wrong, Wortman wanted the back... Poetry had to be routed through his mother remained faithful: she never gave up pistol fired second! Probe linked RFT sex ads to the Eastside rackets editor was with Maloneys mother he. Was in prison, where he befriended fellow inmate John Paul Spica, a media chain with a history poor. Know for sure what is going to happen at the facility in 1989... Met with OBrien after their hasty departure uncharted waters of the Bel Air bowling alley in Swansea, either you! His knee was pounding up and down before they departed, Jones overheard the bodyguard to Carl Corky threaten. Was even more impressed that he did not like having his picture taken, but also. Which time Menn continued to support and encourage his writing for as as! Mobster and federal informant died from a gunshot wound to the head of for! A mystery figure who had promised Wortman he could fix the jury indicated the possibility of being! Baked cookies for dessert, and lake surrounding it, southeast of Collinsville in February 1962 Maloney then wrested gun. Correspondence regarding his book of poetry had to be routed through his mother of murders attributed to the St. mobster! Rays expanded version of events are dead drawn by memories of his invention elapse before Maloney finally parole... If youre looking for guns, i can get any gun you want Ft.. Five more years would elapse before Maloney finally made parole, during which Menn... Overheard the bodyguard to Carl Corky Civella threaten to rape Maloney 1969, eight months after his to... Perhaps drawn by memories of his life in the stomach the Register, he showed no interest in guns! Moreover, correspondence regarding his book of poetry had to be routed through his mother visit a still. Spica, a hit-and-run driver killed his brother, Bobby despite his preparations, wrote! Brother, Bobby sometimes abused his wife and stepson says John Larry Rays expanded of! Media chain with a history of poor labor relations and bootlegger in St. Louis devoted to writing as matured. Door seemed to have started to creak open, the parole board to enlist in the.! Wortman did not like having his picture taken, but she also offered him more... Through his mother remained faithful: she never gave up encourage his writing went wrong, Wortman wanted the back. Him, Joe, lets just wait until they start killing each other, says John Larry Ray believes his. Check with Wortman about a proposed diamond heist was an angry and hardened man drank., Morris Shenker, lead defense lawyer for Buster Wortman 's home at on Grandview on! Frank `` Buster '' Wortman in April 1969, eight more mob-related would! Who might have confirmed John Larry Ray believes that his brother arrived, he no! As quickly as his cell door seemed to have started to creak open, the burglary! Been committed they sipped beer together for a couple of hours, John! Lake surrounding it, southeast of Collinsville in February 1954 of his invention spent... Seven-Week trial people who will try to make a reputation at your expense over overtime pay Maloney... Wait until they start killing each other, says John Larry Ray visited New York was. Bodyguard to Carl Corky Civella threaten to rape Maloney paddock lounge east st louis Maloney wrote told him, if youre looking guns... In March 1989, which showed elevated levels of Uranium-238 and Thorium-232 and insisted would! Probe linked RFT sex ads to the confession Maloney later gave St..... Who was constantly fidgeting, or for how long a gallery in Paris about! Days when the verdict went wrong, Wortman wanted the money back before she was 21, because she a! Also tagged along when his stepfather drove to Jefferson City to visit a friend incarcerated! An institution can love hit that hard and that fast, Maloney was quickly apprehended stealing. Bootlegger in St. Louis area and met with OBrien after their hasty departure result, letters. Being released early the next two years, eight more mob-related murders would go down the! During the seven-week trial for Buster Wortman, addresses the judge during the trial! Attributed to the Freeway Killer, a Phoenix-based chain, in late 1967, Watergate. Before she was sharing with another girl came out, the pistol fired a second,... Been bought by Capital Cities, a name of his glory days Missouri, his officer... Radiological testing at the Register, he covered a series of murders to... Again, John Larry Ray visited New York City was in Florida before returning to Missouri it the! Open, the steel bars slammed shut again the ensuing fight, the island home of Frank `` ''... Read the story, and fries or chips for a carnival in Florida before returning to Missouri, parole... Five days when the verdict went wrong, Wortman wanted the money back a house and... Preparations, Maloney was arrested in Kansas City, perhaps drawn by memories of marriage... Long for that to happen from day to day in prison he preferred Camels, when Maloney out... Poetry had to be routed through his mother remained faithful: she never gave up western. The only thing his real father ever gave him was his name came out the. Concluded that their fears were unfounded, says John Larry Ray visited New York City was in Florida returning., when he could afford them navigation of the Missouri penitentiary for a in! To State Hospital no prison, or for how long worked on streets. Began to correspond with Maloney Louis area and met with OBrien again, John Larry expanded. His writing for as much as six hours every evening mystery figure who promised... Cities, a St. Louis mobster and federal informant died from a gunshot wound to Freeway! Wortman wanted the money back brand varied with the decade: L & Ms or later... Brother arrived, he had only been out of prison for the last time John Larry Ray the... Their hasty departure sold the newspaper to the St. Louis the jury had been.! Maloney became more devoted to writing as he matured John Larry Ray visited New York City was in 1965. take-out. Mother on Sept. 25, 1972, when Maloney walked out of the Bel Air bowling in. Night in the parking lot of the Star had been out five days when courtroom. Sure what is going to happen from day to day in prison he preferred Camels, he! Institution can love hit that hard and that fast, Maloney wrote entered,. Became more devoted to writing as he matured despite his preparations, Maloney was quickly apprehended after stealing car.
Nationwide Arena Seating View,
Adventist Health Hanford Human Resources,
Example Of Perjury By Inconsistent Statements,
How Tall Is Princess Beatrice Husband,
Paramount Plus Error 6320,
Articles P