Serial Killer Hung In South Philly In 1896: How A Philadelphia Murder Led To Discovery Of H.H. Holmes' Chicago 'House of Horrors'

Tommy Rowan at the Philadelphia Inquirer offers an interesting piece on the hanging execution of serial killer H.H. Holmes in South Philadelphia in 1896.

As the sun rose on May 7, 1896, gawkers crowded outside the high stone walls of Moyamensing Prison in anticipation of the execution of one of America’s first serial killers.Reed and 10th Streets pulsed as policemen pushed the horde away from the gates and the horde pushed back. While observers could neither see nor hear the proceedings, they were nevertheless drawn to the fortress by a morbid fascination with an authentic monster. 

Herman Webster Mudgett is better known as H.H. Holmes, the man who built a “House of Horrors” in Chicago where he tortured and murdered unsuspecting victims between 1886 and 1894.  But it was not until he murdered a business partner in Philadelphia that police would discover the extent of his crimes.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/real-time/1896-How-a-Philadelphia-murder-led-to-discovery-of-HH-Holmes-Chicago-House-of-horrors.html

1880: Philly Surgeon And Soldier Duel With Pistols Over Fashion Statement

Tommy Rowan at the Philadelphia Inquirer offers an interesting piece on a duel in 1880.

At the count of three, the surgeon and the soldier both fired their 10-inch-long, platinum-lined pistols on April 10, 1880.

There was no doubt both men fired. But whether Dr. James William White aimed his shot at the sky rather than the heart of Robert “Bertie” Adams Jr. was the subject of much debate.

The “slight misunderstanding” that led to the once-infamous “affair of honor” was not over a woman — it was over an outfit.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/real-time/1880-Philly-surgeon-and-soldier-duel-with-pistols-over-fashion-statement.html 

My Washington Times Review of 'Eliot Ness: The Rise And Fall Of An American Hero'

 

My review of Douglas Perry's Eliot Ness: The Rise and Fall of an American Hero appeared in the Washington Times.

Eliot Ness, who died in 1957 at age 55, is once again in the news.

In January, Sen. Dick Durbin, Illinois Democrat, Sen. Mark Kirk, Illinois Republican, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, Ohio Democrat, introduced a bipartisan resolution to honor the late Prohibition agent by naming the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)  headquarters in Washington D.C., the Eliot Ness ATF Building.

“Chicago gangster Al Capone believed that every man had his price. But for Eliot Ness and his legendary law enforcement team 'The Untouchables,' no amount of money could buy their loyalty or sway their dedication to the Chicago’s safety. That steadfast commitment to public service is why it is so fitting that we remember Eliot Ness with this honor,” Mr. Durbin said.

... Like most of my generation, I grew up watching actor Robert Stack's portrayal of Eliot Ness on TV in "The Untouchable" during its run from 1959 to 1963. The crime drama is now in syndication and is viewed by a new generation, as well as those who watched it as kids.

Although I’m still fond of the show, I now know that it is historically inaccurate. The 1987 film starring Kevin Costner as Ness is also historically inaccurate, although I like Robert De Niro as Al Capone and Sean Connery as a tough Irish cop.

...While the IRS tallied Capone's lack of tax payment, Ness' small squad hit Capone where it hurt — his breweries. As Mr. Perry notes, Ness said the Capone mob’s breweries were a prime target since they had the most capital invested in them and they produced the greatest income. Ness smashed up breweries and he also gathered evidence against the Capone mob through informants and wire taps.

... “The thing that gets overlooked, even after all these years, is that Ness didn’t need Oscar Fraley's help to be a hero. Fans of the Robert Stack TV series and the Kevin Costner movie and the various novels and comic books can all legitimately lay claim to Ness being one of the most influential and successful lawmen of the twentieth century,” Mr. Perry writes.

You can read the rest of the review via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/19/book-review-eliot-ness/?page=all#pagebreak

A Look Back At The FBI's Hunt For Roger 'The Terrible' Touhy And His Gang

The FBI offers a look back at the hunt for the notorious criminal Roger 'The Terrible' Touhy.

In the early morning hours of December 29, 1942—70 years ago this month—FBI agents surrounded an apartment building on Kenmore Avenue in Chicago filled with a dangerous band of escaped convicts. With searchlights illuminating the building and nearby neighbors evacuated, an agent with a loudspeaker called for the men to surrender. Even Director J. Edgar Hoover was on hand.

... The prison break had taken place nearly three months earlier, on October 9. A group that included Roger “The Terrible” Touhy, Basil “The Owl” Banghart, Edward Darlak, and several other violent criminals escaped from the Stateville Penitentiary at Joliet, Illinois. They had guns smuggled in, cased the prison from all angles, and executed a well-planned break out.

Stealing a guard’s car, they sped away. Hours later, they abandoned the car openly in the middle of a small suburb east of Chicago. It was their signal to the FBI that they didn’t want to take the car across state lines and trigger Bureau jurisdiction. But they didn’t realize that they would soon run afoul of the Selective Service Act. On October 16, one week after the no longer imprisoned criminals failed to register for the draft, the FBI entered the case.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/december/the-hunt-for-roger-the-terrible-touhy-and-his-gang/the-hunt-for-roger-the-terrible-touhy-and-his-gang?utm_campaign=email-Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=fbi-top-stories&utm_content=163780