Too Sad....

Well my worst fears came true...when I got the box that should have contained the Vivian Chase file...nothing. The HQ FBI index lists Vivian's file number as 91-866-20 which according to the NARA file listing should be located at RG 65 230/A/15/02 box 60; well box 60 contains information about the Bank of Cairo robbery in 1937. The thieves netted all of $446.50. So was Vivian's file destroyed? Why would they keep a file on such a small time job, but destroy the file on one of a stand up criminal like Vivian? I'm truly blue now because my research is at an impasse. I was hoping that the FBI file might contain information such as the interviews with Dorothy Flournoy and Lyman Ford's wife. Interviews that were referenced in the Luer kidnapping file; I was also hoping that it might contain a more thorough explanation about how she made bail for the Cherryvale robbery and maybe the autopsy photos. Yes, I'm morbid...

Well, I got the information for contacting the person at the FBI who is responsible for transferring eligible files to the archives. I'm just hoping that maybe the old FBI indices aren't reliable for finding the file transferred to the archives. I know it's stupid but I'm hoping that the file wasn't destroyed and somehow some benevolent spirit will lead me to it. Or maybe they can give me a list of the files that were destroyed. You know it would save me a lot of time, trouble, and money.

I need chocolate but I'm out; so I'm gonna have a couple of shots of vodka. Medicinal you know...

Panic

It's snowing! UGH! Tomorrow is my day at the archives! Hopefully this won't amount to anything...and all will be well. I'm not worried. Snow wimps like me just have to trust God.

There is one slight glitch...all FBI files requested from the Archives now have to go through a review to make sure that the files are appropriate for copying. Because the class 91 records contain files up to 1960's they need to make sure that no one is copying prohibited records. I wish they would just take my word for "she died in 1935". It's just going to mean a longer wait for the file. I'm not patient!

Verne Sankey

I picked up Timothy W. Bjorkman's book Verne Sankey America's First Public Enemy because of the title. America's first Public Enemy? Since the cover photo is of a man in modern dress, I was intrigued. I thought I pretty much knew all of the major criminals from the 30's. I was wrong and the book is great reading.

For the unaware, Verne Sankey committed 2 kidnappings in the 1930's. One in Minnesota, Haskell Bohn, and another in Denver, Charles Boettcher. It' s the Boettcher kidnapping that gave Sankey his notoriety.

Bjorkman manages to do what many historian's have difficulty accomplishing. He seamlessly weaves economic realities into his discussion of Sankey. He also manages to use the economic realities of the 20's and most importantly the 30's without using those realities as an explanation of Sankey's crimes.

Honestly, the image of Sankey is one of a personable, but domineering individual (to those he could dominate) who thought he was smarter than the police. He was a caring family man who supplemented his income first by running a lucrative bootlegging operation in the 20's. He loved excitement and gambling. Crime suited him. He was smart. He chose his home in Denver and built a ranch in S. Dakota so that both included features that would allow him to know if Police were coming. He chose men who were not criminals as his associates. But the men he chose were down on their luck and easily led. Sankey's tale isn't a typical gangland drama with loads of gun play, but Bjorkman relates the history of the players in thoughtful detail. Sankey comes across as a true rogue. He threw away a secure respectable lifestyle for one that was thrilling, but he didn't throw away his life. He went to school functions for his kids, assisted his neighbors, and if it wasn't for the discovery of his kidnappings he could have been elected mayor or sheriff in many a small town.

Nothing Much....

I haven't been doing much lately...went to the archives New Year's eve. I found Vivian Chase's case file record information. Finally! Believe it or not the FBI indexes (indices for snobs) are still on 3x5 index cards! Yes, for class 91 (bank robbery) there are 64 card file boxes. Each index contains a name (and if your lucky) cross references. I'd be happy to input that stuff on an excel spread sheet; but according to one NARA employee the FBI is going to give NARA a copy of their electronic index SOMEDAY soon. I wonder how many of those cards actually made it to the electronic index! Call me paranoid if you like. I've been called worse and a few people actually meant it!

So my boss has been so kind as to let me take Jan. 18 off so off to the archives I'll be in my comfortable shoes so I can make loads of copies.

Needless to say if Vivian's file only has congratulatory letters to Hoover I will be heartbroken.

Charlie Mays

Chas. Mays circa 1919 when admitted into Kansas State Penitentiary for robbery.

You know my first reaction was that he looked a little like Charlie Birger, but no my senses are a little off these days so I'll reserve that comparison for another day.

Charlie doesn't really seem to have been a very nice guy but he appears to have known how to play the system. His original sentence was for 10 to 21 years. He got that commuted to 1 to 5 by having one of the men he robbed Arthur Henderson write a letter saying that he was never certain of the robber’s identity. In fact once Henderson got a good look at Mays close up (you see Henderson through dumb luck of his own happened to get incarcerated also) he could tell that Mays just wasn't the guy! Henderson writes that he was pressured to identify Mays by the court. Since the robbery occurred in a box car it's hard to believe that he didn't get that close but hey I wasn't there. Well things just fell into place after that. After serving a year and eight months he received parole on 6/12/1921. The Kansas parole board was very understanding: even though Mays did not report to his parole officer during 1922 and had been arrested for vagrancy repeatedly in Joplin, MO he received a full commutation in early 1923. Which I'm sure he appreciated (it's so stressful having to keep up with these small details when your casing banks).

I do wonder if this is the right Charlie Mays though; I mean supposedly he murdered a man in that box car when he was robbing them. His papers don't mention the murder although there is a statement that one of his victims can't be found.

Earl McDowell

Finally got to LOC newspaper reading room again. Found articles on Earl McDowell in the Chicago Tribune when he murdered a young woman who had the bad fortune to be in the bullets way. One night, McDowell went to a "beer flat" in Chicago, IL with some friends. While there, he took an intense dislike to the radio station being played. In order to register his displeasure he shot the radio. Unfortunately, the bullets found Dorothy Evelyn Renshaw, a 23 year old mother from Sioux City, IA, killing her. McDowell fled to Kansas City, MO after this incident.

It's his Kansas City exploits that concern me and proved to be the death of him. Once there he began living with Vivian Chase who began using his name. It's evident McDowell was a handsome man, but evidently he had a nasty temper. He once shot at his wife but missed her. It's always been said that Luther Jordan , another of Vivian's paramours, was intensely jealous of McDowell, but Jordan always denied any relationship with Vivian or jealousy resulting from her affections for McDowell. It makes since that Jordan would deny his involvement with her. McDowell was found dead in a ditch outside of Kansas City shortly after his arrival.

Crash Out!

The time frame for this book is just on the cusp of period I usually read. The story begins in 1939 with the Shopping Bag Gang from Hell's Kitchen, their exploits and capture for robbery, and the gang leaders' attempt to escape from Sing Sing.

It's a great read. Goewey has provided meticulous details for every facet of the book. He really shines describing the break out and the gang's capture. The 3rd degree given to the captured suspects is described in graphic detail. He also manages to be fair in his assessments of all the characters involved- police, criminals, guards, family members. The details in the book make it easy for the reader to have sympathy for Whitey Riordan (executed for the murder of a guard and a policeman during the robbery but not the actual killer); but, Goewey doesn't just gloss over the escape attempts victims and it's a rotten deal that they were killed in what was supposed to be a clean break.

UGH!

I'm mad at everyone. No getting around it; today is one of those days that I'm sure I exist because people need to say the word NO.

The FBI can't find the record for the Cherryvale Bank Robbery investigation. Although the file is referenced in the Luer documents, it appears that it no longer exists. I was looking forward to reading that file on my next day off. But it's not to be. I'll make another request using the names of the other principals in the case, Charlie Mayes, Lee Flournoy, Lyman Ford, & Clarence Howard. I thought that since the agent referenced a file called George C. Robertson, Montgomery National Bank....that one must surely exist. Silly me.

It's a shame that so many records from the past were destroyed or are put someplace where no one can find them. I've been trying to find out if any original materials still exist for Vivian's arrest following the Picher, OK shootout. No such luck. If they do exist there isn't anyone in OK who knows where they are. But at least everyone I talked to was polite when they said no to me.

I'll look at it in the positive think of how much copying fees I'm saving by not having access to that file!