James Earl Ray also supposedly told his brother that the CIA had tapped him to be an intelligence asset. Wortman later moved into a home built upon the island, reached by a wooden bridge -- and always guarded by gunmen. In 2000, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversaw a partial radioactive cleanup at the Spectrulite plant. When I went to the Missouri Penitentiary at Jefferson City, in February 1960, there were 2,500 men inside the walls, Maloney later told readers of the Kansas City Star. Having been a convict, they thought he should have respected their trade a little more than he did.. The Chicago mob had allegedly put a $100,000 contract out on Stonekings life after he became an informant. Maloney owed his freedom to Thorpe Menn, the Stars literary editor, who had supported his parole and helped him get his job at the newspaper. The first, I Speak for the Dead, is a fictionalized account of Kansas Citys mob war, drawn straight form his clip file. John Larry. The Detroit and St. Louis Mafia families are related. While at the Register, he covered a series of murders attributed to the Freeway Killer, a name of his invention. 787 N 53rd St, East St Louis, IL 62203 (618) 274-3168 Suggest an Edit. Meanwhile, OBrien was supposed to check with Wortman about a proposed diamond heist. We worked on the fifth floor of the prison hospital, which is to say the psych ward. He called me one time, asking about a gun, John Larry Ray says. Jones agreed with them. Through her encouragement, elderly attorney Mable Hinkley began to correspond with Maloney. He had publicly refuted the Stars story simply to keep from being killed. After his mother suffered a nervous breakdown, the court remanded him to the custody of the St. Josephs Catholic home for boys in St. Louis, where he stayed for nearly a year. Maloney was also keenly aware that local law-enforcement officials were hesitant to use the M-word. 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. Beneath the outward generosity, however, Gruender was an angry and hardened man who drank heavily and sometimes abused his wife and stepson. Maloney had been in solitary confinement for nearly four months after his escape attempt when Hinkley contacted him. They drove to Kansas City together and toured the Stars editorial offices. Maloney had no way of knowing the significance that his verse would ultimately play in redirecting his life. I asked him if hed read the story, and if it had helped him any. I told him, if youre looking for guns, I can get any gun you want from Ft. Campbell, Ky. Eunice Dowling, widow of Dutch Dowling, testifies during a St. Clair County coroner's inquest on March 6, 1962, investigating her husband's murder. Maloney frequented the mob hangouts at night to develop leads. A prison psychiatrist who evaluated Maloney shortly after his arrival characterized him as a socially diffident individual who seems to take a half-humorous rejection of the whole affair. If Maloneys initial demeanor seemed inappropriately aloof given the circumstances, it didnt take long for his mood to turn into a malevolent rage. In 1975, Maloney and Jones teamed up again to cover the corruption and violence surrounding a power struggle among factions of the Kansas City Mafia. You never know for sure what is going to happen from day to day in prison. If the remark bothered Maloney, he didnt show it. If you will make these promises, I will ask the warden to take you out of solitary confinement.. The Star published a verbatim transcript of his claims in its next edition. . They are, from left, Morris Shenker, Murry L. Randall, Saul Cohn, Ray Foreman, James F. Nangle Jr. and Norman London. But when his brother arrived, he showed no interest in purchasing guns. Dows work caused radioactive debris to accumulate on overhead girders where it was ignored for decades. I remember telling him, Joe, lets just wait until they start killing each other, says Jones. Maloneys good fortune was twofold: He had belatedly benefited from the prison-reform movement of the 1960s and also from the unique ownership structure of the Kansas City Star, then employee-owned. They preferred a more cautious approach, advising that the coverage be focused more indirectly on corruption inside the citys liquor-control agency. (Robert LaRouche/Post-Dispatch), The house that was built on the island. Missouri incorporation records show that Gerhard J. Petzall, a senior partner in the politically-connected law firm of Guilfoil Petzall & Shoemake, sat on the board of directors of Spectrulite for years and continued act as an attorney for the company until 2009. Frank L. "Buster" Wortman (December 4, 1904 - August 3, 1968) was an American St. Louis-area bootlegger, gambler, criminal gang leader, and a former member of the Shelton Brothers Gang during Prohibition.Wortman would eventually succeed the Sheltons, and take over St. Louis's gambling operations in southwest Illinois until his death. The Paddock Lounge & Club Supper Room, East St Louis, IL. They both concluded that their fears were unfounded, says John Larry Ray. Maloney worked on his writing for as much as six hours every evening. 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. On hearing the bad news, Maloney vowed to kill Moyer and tried to escape. Stelzer, a St. Louis-based freelance writer, is working on a biography of the late J.J. Maloney. In 1979, the St. Louis environmental activist had interviewed a terminally-ill truck driver who had delivered uranium ingots from Mallinckrodt Chemical in North St. Louis to the Dow plant in Madison. The two returned to St. Louis early the next morning on a Greyhound bus. He was one of those guys who was constantly fidgeting, or his knee was pounding up and down. He was always writing somethingstories, critiques, opinion pieces and, yes, poetry.. Jones and Maloney collaborated for months on the prison project, sharing the reporting and writing duties. John Larry Ray, a convicted bank robber, spent more than a quarter-century behind bars himself. 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. Sonnenscheins latest bust appears to have been part of a larger federal investigation into prostitution on the Eastside. In his phone call he had asked his brother to pump OBrien for information. In 1956, workers began digging an oval lake and fashioning an island near South Mulberry Road southeast of Collinsville. In advance of his release, Tom Eblen, then the Stars city editor, had written a letter to Maloney, offering him a three-month contract at a monthly salary of $550. In June 1964, at Hinkleys urging, Warden E.V. Search the Largest Online Newspaper Archive Show article text (OCR) Save to Ancestry Clipped from St. Louis Post-Dispatch St. Louis, Missouri 05. She sent money, clothing, food, stamps and other items. In 1948, he equipped it with the novel luxury of air-conditioning. At the same time, dissension was brewing in the newsroom. Wortman was 63. In addition to the failed escape attempt, the prison administration cited Maloney for stabbing another inmate, manufacturing zip guns, using stimulants and committing sodomy. I remember telling him, Joe, lets just wait until they start killing each other, says Jones. Maloney joined the newspapers staff after being paroled in 1972. 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. 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. Mugshot of Mike Lacey courtesy of the Maricopa County Sheriffs Department. For those under 21 years of age, we offer sodas, teas, waters, Gatorades, Red Bull energy drinks, and Nescafe coffee. The car, shot up on the inside, was found in the parking lot of the Bel Air bowling alley in Swansea. EAST ST. LOUIS The jury had been out five days when the courtroom buzzer sounded. You can check, if they still have the records. Buster Wortman kept a close eye on the project, but never said anything about it. In indictments filed by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri against St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger on April 25, 2019, John Johnny Roller Rallo was named as a participant in a pay-to-play scheme. He had his demons, says Mike Fancher, an editor who worked closely with Maloney, but I know that for the time that he worked for the Star he did some absolutely amazing work that I dont think any other journalist could have possibly done.. Truth at Last is his intriguing but meandering account, a navigation of the uncharted waters of the two siblings lives. A year after his parents divorced, a hit-and-run driver killed his brother, Bobby. When he made the demand for money, he and Thiemann began struggling, according to the confession Maloney later gave St. Louis police. I tried to contact OBrien but I couldnt find him, says John Larry Ray. You cant stop one place and jump to another place.. Take-Out/Delivery Options. 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. After six weeks of observation at Fulton, Maloney was allowed by the parole board to enlist in the Army. By the time we were cellies, Joe had straightened up his act and was staying out of trouble, working on his parole. Maloney thought of Menn as the father he never had. Circuit Court for the Southern District of Illinois. In prison he preferred Camels, when he could afford them. Maloney moved back to Kansas City, perhaps drawn by memories of his glory days. Printable Racing Calendar & Promotions Schedule O'Brien arranged for the Ray brothers to spend the night at a nearby apartment above an illegal gambling den . 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. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. We stayed all night at the Catmans in South St. Louis, says Ray, referring to Jack Catman Gawron, a criminal associate of the Ray brothers. In advance of his release, Tom Eblen, then the Stars city editor, had written a letter to Maloney, offering him a three-month contract at a monthly salary of $550. I was even more impressed that he did not ask why I was in prison, or for how long. Scheduled for completion in the fall of 2003, it will be shared by East St. Louis Community College, Southern Illinois University and the Illinois Department of Employment Security. He had seen his share of bloodshed. 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.. Driving the car, and trying to hide his face with a handkerchief, is Dutch Dowling. I was glad to get out of there. Before they departed, Jones overheard the bodyguard to Carl Corky Civella threaten to rape Maloney. He was assigned to the Army Signal Corps School at Fort Gordon, Ga. His military career lasted just three months: He went AWOL on Nov. 3, 1959. Moreover, Jerry Ray, John Larry Rays surviving brother, disputed John Larrys account in a telephone interview from his home in McMinnville, Tenn., in October. After the breakout, John Larry Ray says, he picked James Earl Ray up and drove him back to St. Louis. (Buel White/Post-Dispatch), On March 3, 1962, six days after the jury verdict, the bodies of Elmer "Dutch" Dowling (left) and Melvin Beckman were found sprawled on the pavement of Wolf Branch School Board (now Huntwood Road), north of Belleville. copyright 2021 by C.D. When he entered prison, Dwight Eisenhower was president; when he came out, the Watergate burglary had been committed. The brand varied with the decade: L&Ms or, later, Marlboro Lights. Wortman was vacationing in Michigan when he was subpoenaed to appear in an investigation of the murder of J. Fred Koenig, a bookmaker who allegedly was angry that Wortman had taken over his operation. Shopping, dining, and entertainment are all close by. Ray, a 75-year-old resident of Quincy, is giving media interviews in New York to promote the release of his memoir, Truth at Last, co-authored by Lyndon Barsten. In her first letter, Hinkley advised Maloney to seek divine guidance, but she also offered him a more down-to-earth deal. Wortman began his career hijacking liquor trucks for the old Shelton gang in East St. Louis. Parking: Valet. The last time John Larry Ray visited New York City was in 1965. All of a sudden their stories would change. Dope was easier to get in prison than it was on the streets. Thus inspired, the IRS began digging harder into Wortman's unusual financial world. Sonnenschein, 59, has been engaged in the flesh trade since the 1970s, when he operated mobile massage parlors from the backs of vans in St. Louis County. In the first installment of the series, Maloney gave a lengthy first-person account of life inside the Walls in Jefferson City. OBrien arranged for the Ray brothers to spend the night at a nearby apartment above an illegal gambling den also operated by Wortman. 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. 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. Testifiying against Bartolotta was FBI informant Jesse Stoneking, who the defense claimed had intimidated and entrapped the St. Louis organized crime figure. I did what all young poets do, I tried to write a nice little rhyming solution to all the problems of the universe, he later wrote. Or you may simply say the wrong thing to the wrong person. 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. In June 1964, at Hinkleys urging, Warden E.V. After Army service in Europe during World War II, Dowling became and ally of Wortman, then on the rise in East St. Louis. After Maloney punched Thiemann in the face several times, the old man agreed to hand over the cash. View the menu, check prices, find on the map, see photos and ratings. He called me one time, asking about a gun, John Larry Ray says. A prison psychiatrist who evaluated Maloney shortly after his arrival characterized him as a socially diffident individual who seems to take a half-humorous rejection of the whole affair. If Maloneys initial demeanor seemed inappropriately aloof given the circumstances, it didnt take long for his mood to turn into a malevolent rage. After his fourth escape from Boonville, juvenile authorities transferred him to Algoa, the states intermediate reformatory, where his behavior worsened. The last call he received from his brother before the assassination came on March 29, 1968: He was concerned about what was going down on some type of job. Double Deuce Lounge. The next day, Maloney returned to the newsroom not as a guest but as an employee. On one occasion Jones accompanied him to the Three Little Pigs, an after-hours caf that was a favorite of the Mafia. On March 3, 1962, Dowling and a bodyguard were found murdered on a rural road north of Belleville. Case Closed: Crime scene photo of the interior of the 1995 Ford Crown Victoria occupied by Jesse Stoneking on Jan. 19, 2003. Before the details of that caper could be hashed out, however, the Ray brothers got jittery and split for Chicago. Kane, the St. Clair County coroner (fourth from left). While absent without leave, Maloney worked briefly for a carnival in Florida before returning to Missouri. In November, St. Louis Post-Dispatch staffer Michael Shaw reported that Sonnenschein was sentenced to a year in jail in federal court in East St. Louis. When he visits the Big Apple this week, he will be discussing the assassination of another black leader, the Rev. He died of kidney failure and complications of liver disease at Nashville Memorial Hospital on April 23, 1998. (Renyold Ferguson/Post-Dispatch), Frank "Buster" Wortman in a St. Louis police mug shot in 1933, when he was 28 years old and member of the Shelton gang on the East Side. By then, newspapers called it "Wortman's Island." Instead, James Earl Ray appeared edgy and expressed apprehension about his future. If you have money, there will be people who want it. David Moyer, who confessed to the slaying, first told authorities that the girl shot herself and he had fired a second shot to end her pain. 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. He had his demons, says Mike Fancher, an editor who worked closely with Maloney, but I know that for the time that he worked for the Star he did some absolutely amazing work that I dont think any other journalist could have possibly done.. The only thing his real father ever gave him was his name. On the evening of Dec. 11, he picked up Rhodes in Columbia at an apartment she was sharing with another girl. Last chance! In the ensuing fight, the pistol fired a second time, striking Thiemann in the leg. When the verdict went wrong, Wortman wanted the money back. Police never filed charges in the murders. Much of the authors personal knowledge of his brothers exploits is limited to involvement in James Earl Rays escape from the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City in April 1967, a year before Kings murder. Edith was a strangely magnetic girl. Only in an institution can love hit that hard and that fast, Maloney wrote. 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. This meant that senior editorial staffers such as Menn, who had accumulated large stock holdings in the company, could negotiate with management on a more even level. The same year, Maloneys byline disappeared from the pages of the Star when he quit the paper in a dispute over overtime pay. If you are helpless, there are people who will try to make a reputation at your expense. Ratings. You can check, if they still have the records. 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 By then, most of his running buddies from the joint were long dead, victims, for the most part, of their own malevolent ways. Only in an institution can love hit that hard and that fast, Maloney wrote. In the wake of the mob violence, the River Quay was all but abandoned, with only six liquor licenses remaining in the district, down from 28 a few years earlier. During a short parole in 1957, Maloney was arrested in Kansas City on suspicion of burglary and carrying a concealed weapon. They drove to Kansas City together and toured the Stars editorial offices. He was between jobs, collecting unemployment benefits. 4.9. Most are from the 1930's-1980's. This one is Condition is as pictured. . But as quickly as his cell door seemed to have started to creak open, the steel bars slammed shut again. 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