No Joke!

Evidently, the FBI has located 20 pages on Microfilm about Vivian Chase! Woe, Friday I got two letters telling me no there's nothing. So of course I'm excited even if it's only 20 pages. The files have to be processed which means they will go through a classification review. The information is over 70 years old if I get one blacked out name I'm appealing. I've been through too much to get very little to put up with that BS.

I also have to decide whether I will appeal one of the 'no information' letters I received. Essentially, the letter said that it was FBI HQ policy to limit searches to HQ folders and indices in order to save time. The FBI has essentially refused to search through it's field office information. Now if the letter had said 'there's no information relevant in the field office files' I would give up with out any argument. But of course in order to tell me that they would have to know what the FO records contain. I also need to ask them to tell me if the records have been destroyed. As anal as the FBI is with information I'm sure that they could tell me definitively if those records are lost. What records you ask? Well, Vivian's autopsy file is referenced in the Luer kidnapping file and there are also Kansas City FO reports referenced that would provide information on the FBI's search for her after the Luer kidnapping and a report that might illuminate the Cherryvale Bank Robbery.

I realize that after 80 years (Cherryvale) there's a good chance something happened to the records but just tell me they are no more and I'll be gone.

Well...

Well, I've hit the wall. Friday I received a letter from the FBI basically saying they can't find any other records for Vivian Chase other than the file numbers I was previously given. Those files turned out to be perfectly worthless to me containing no information. I guess it's possible that the information was misfiled and may turn up but it's equally possible that it was stolen or destroyed. I say stolen because it wouldn't be the first time that someone walked out with a file. Of course it would have happened before there was so much security in place to prevent that.

So where do I go from here? I guess I just keep trying to close the gaps on the information I have. You know Vivian was not a major criminal (although as a female she was major) but her associates were incredibly interesting. For now I'm concentrating on Lee Flournoy and Charlie Mays. They are an interesting pair particularly Flournoy. Something tells me if I keep researching their robbery and bootlegging gangs I might just find out what happened to George M. Chase.

Truthfully, I admit to myself, I may never have all the answers to the questions I have about Vivian's life. Vivian was notoriously closed mouthed about herself. Somehow I think the problems with finding information about her have a lot to do with her karma! But you never know...maybe I'll find an answer here and there despite the cosmic interference!

The Devil's Gentleman

The Devil’s Gentleman by Harold Schechter…where to begin? First like most people I read the book because I enjoyed Schechter’s earlier work. He’s written several historical books on famous serial killers. Schechter is that rare historian who has a knack for story telling. His books read more like novels as opposed to dry historical text. He creates atmosphere and fleshes out characters better than many popular novelists and his books aren’t fiction but well researched history.

Enough of the praise! While I enjoyed the book the subject matter is a departure from Schechter’s earlier works. Previously, he wrote about serial killers including H.H. Holmes; Ed Gein; and little Jesse Pomeroy. Lurid tales in the best sense of the word! This time around he covers the sensational murders involving Roland Molineaux and the poisoning deaths of a Mrs. Adams during the turn of the century in NYC.

It’s odd…Schechter uses terms like libertine to describe Molineaux, but there isn’t a lot of detail to back up that description. He had an affair at 15 with a married woman. In his 20’s he seduced a 13 yr old child. He was rumored to have tried Opium while slumming in a hop house. Even so, I just did not get the sense of deviance that Schechter accuses Molineaux. But maybe that is Schechter’s device. Molineaux is convicted and sentenced to death largely because of circumstantial evidence and evidence that he was a degenerate. In the world of Victorian America degenerate evidently was used as a euphemism for homosexual. Molineaux, although no evidence was ever introduced that he was homosexual, was not manly enough. A century and change before the term “metro-sexual” was employed, Molineaux grooming, bearing, and choice of stationary condemned him in the eyes of the prosecution. Was he guilty? Most likely. Would they have convicted him on the same evidence today? No. But they did have sufficient evidence to charge Molineaux for the murder of his romantic rival, but never pursued the case. Why? Read the book and tell me what you think

Here we go again...

These mugs are on the inside cover of Run the Cat Roads by L.L. Edge. A book I will not be able to read because I'm too busy studying and procrastinating. (Not that anything that I'm studying is actually sticking too my brain)

I got an email from the FBI again telling me that the files I want are at the NARA and the file numbers I should request. The file numbers are the same file numbers that I requested on my last visit. If you recall I was woefully disappointed.

So, I guess it's back to square one with NARA. I forward the email, explain the tragedy of my last visit, and ask for confirmation that NARA destroyed the files after they were sent over from the FBI. If NARA did destroy the files then they did so with out the FBI's knowledge because my email says that the documents have not been destroyed. Maybe they still exist but they are just lost. So let's all say a collective prayer that what is hidden in the dark comes to light. I know I will. My one consoling thought is that if this proves to be my worst problem this year then I am truly blessed!

John Langan

So this is John Langan; he was pointed out as Vivian's accomplice when she when on her KC, Mo crime spree. They held up a series of small stores (shoe stores, drug stores, etc) for some small change. Langan was also involved with Clarence Sparger and a couple of robberies that put him on the FBI radar. I had requested the FBI to search to see if they still maintained the files on him. No such luck. Evidently "records responsive to my request were destroyed on 2/1/1990; 3/1/1993; and 3/1/1998. Oh well...all is lost.

The FBI may still have Vivian Chase's file...they have searched through records still in their possession and have found files that were microfilmed that may be relevant. Just one problem the FBI's microfilm readers are broken! A very nice Public Information Officer explained that they would not know if these were the files that I sought for at least another month by which time the microfilm machines would be fixed. I wish I had become interested in Vivian earlier in the 80's or 90's.

The Pickpocket's Tale

Let me gush I really really liked this book! Once in a while I read a book that makes me say "WOW"; sometimes a historian/writer is able to combine excellent research, seamless writing, cohesive arguments and an interesting subject. (You know something that makes me think with out it hurting!) A Pickpocket's Tale: The Underworld of Nineteenth Century New York is Timothy J. Gilfoyle's biography of George Appo, a 19th century thief. I've always been interested in 19th century criminal history it's a period that appeals to my love of lurid material. This book is a stunner because it satisfies my curiosity about NYC Police Court, life in the Tombs, and the abject wickedness of Sing Sing during this period. The author uses Appo's short autobiography and expands upon it by giving details about NYC courts and jails, the criminal lifestyle, prison life and reform concerns.

George Appo, was the son of a Chinese immigrant Quimbo Appo and an Irish mother. During a dismal childhood (his father is convicted of murdering a woman and sent to Sing Sing when Appo is 3; after which his mother abandoned him) Appo learns to steal. He becomes one of the most accomplished pickpockets in NYC. The book takes you through his early incarcerations. Appo was not only sentenced to traditional detention centers but spent time on one of the experimental detention sea vessels. The Author describes them all. Gilfoyle provides a considerable amount of detail about Appo's world without hindering his narrative. He doesn't lose his focus so he doesn't lose his voice. I never had to hurry through a chapter because it was boring me to distraction.

The author argues that the 19th century crime world is the embryo for organized crime in America. You have criminals who are capable of organizing on a national scale for theft while at the same time gambling, prostitution, and other vices are already establishing teritories and protection networks. While I don't agree with Gilfoyle's every argument I did enjoy reading them. BTW if any one would like to Read first hand news accounts about Appo and other 19th century crimes the Brooklyn Eagle has an archive for newspapers from 1840 to 1902 available online.

Sin in The Second City

I had a snow day (more precisely an icy road day) so I used it to read a book that's off my usual path of thieves. I'm glad that I picked Karen Abbot's Sin in the Second City. It's a fun, fast paced read. I was surprised it was so enjoyable. Probably because the stars of the books are the self named Everleigh sisters Mina and Ada. Prostitution has never been an easy job for it's workers particularly in earlier periods when abuse and other degradation were thought their due as "fallen women". According to Abbot, the Everleigh sisters not only ran the most exclusive brothel in Chicago's Levee district. The two were enlightened pimps who ran a humane brothel. Decent pay for the workers, decent working conditions (hey they even had medical) no brothel enforcer to keep the women in line. And all women had to prove they were over the age of 18. Hey this at a time when it was not unusual to find young teen 'working girls' and not unusual for them to be sold into the position.

Abbot takes readers through the Levee district in Chicago. Readers see the outrageous characters, political, criminal, and religious. She gets as far as anyone can in explaining the Everleigh sisters past. The book is salacious, informative, and well written. I couldn't put it down yesterday and I'm glad I picked it up.

The Bobbed Haired Bandit

Stephen Duncombe and Andrew Mattson have written a wonderful book about the 1920's exploits of Celia and Ed Cooney in Brooklyn, NY.

The Bobbed Haired Bandit as Celia was dubbed with her "cake eater" accomplice held up 10 mom and pop establishments in Brooklyn during 1924. They never made $300 during a robbery and once netted as little as $17, but they were hunted by the NYPD as if they were netting millions each robbery. It seems that it was bad for publicity that a little girl could outwit the police.

The book is as much about how the "PRESS" can create a celebrity by manipulating public sentiment. Besides being great social history it's also a fast paced read that is hard to put down.