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. 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. Dowling was known as an elegant dresser who preferred expensive businessmen's clothing to the more garish threads of many mobsters. Last chance! His editors opposed the idea. He called me one time, asking about a gun, John Larry Ray says. 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. On the basis of this anecdote, co-author Barsten speculates that James Earl Ray was subjected to the CIAs behavior-modification program known as MK-Ultra. Eunice Dowling, widow of Dutch Dowling, testifies during a St. Clair County coroner's inquest on March 6, 1962, investigating her husband's murder. Maloneys formal education had ended in the ninth grade, but Menn recognized raw talent when he saw it. Bonadonna disappeared in 1978, presumably into the federal witness-protection program. Maloney had reached his nadir. Maloney then married a former inmate of the girls reformatory at Chillicothe, and they moved to Alabamabut the marriage fell apart. The housepainter soon introduced his young stepson to the underworld, taking Maloney with him on occasional visits to the Paddock Lounge, Wortman's bar in East St. Louis, which was a hangout for organized crime figures. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. By then, most of his running buddies from the joint were long dead, victims, for the most part, of their own malevolent ways. Having written it, my next problem was deciding where to send it. He also worked diligently to establish a national writers association for prisoners. Offered by GALERIA LUIS CARVAJAL. Daniel Waugh drove a cab at night and chased old mobsters by day. Gruender used carpentry skills acquired in prison to rehab the old farmhouse, and he showered Maloney with gifts, including a motorcycle and a shotgun. The literary editor was with Maloneys mother on Sept. 25, 1972, when Maloney walked out of prison for the last time. A neighborhood setting, within minutes of key places such as Emerson Electric, Boeing, Express Scripts and major highways 70, 270 & 367. Bartolottas defense attorney was reported in the Globe as Andrew Leonard. The only thing his real father ever gave him was his name. When the verdict went wrong, Wortman wanted the money back. Vintage The Paddock Lounge And Club Room Restaurant Menu St. Louis Ave East St Louis from Among those standing near the bodies are Dr. C.C. The St. Louis mobster and federal informant died from a gunshot wound to the head. After Army service in Europe during World War II, Dowling became and ally of Wortman, then on the rise in East St. Louis. Inside your new home, you will find window coverings, spacious walk-in closets . 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. His defiance dashed his hopes of gaining parole and put him at odds with the prison administration for the remainder of his sentence. In July 1976, David Bonadonna, the father of Fred Bonadonna, owner of Poor Freddies restaurant in the River Quay, became the first victim. The brand varied with the decade: L&Ms or, later, Marlboro Lights. Meanwhile, OBrien was supposed to check with Wortman about a proposed diamond heist. He chain-smoked. 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. He died of kidney failure and complications of liver disease at Nashville Memorial Hospital on April 23, 1998. (Buel White/Post-Dispatch), Buster Wortman being driven away from the St. Clair County Courthouse in Belleville after a brief appearance before the county grand jury on July 2, 1955. It was the beginning of a long-term relationship carried out by correspondence. Maloney was 19 years old when he committed the crime. . After his return to Missouri, his parole officer committed Maloney to State Hospital No. After his fourth escape from Boonville, juvenile authorities transferred him to Algoa, the states intermediate reformatory, where his behavior worsened. Before the details of that caper could be hashed out, however, the Ray brothers got jittery and split for Chicago. While in prison, Gruender met and befriended Elmer Dutch Dowling and Isidore Londe, lieutenants of East St. Louis mob boss Frank Buster Wortman. It didnt take very long for that to happen. Six days after the verdict, Dowling and a bodyguard were found shot to death on a dark road north of Belleville. The reasons for murder and mayhem made little sense to anyone except the convicts. 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. Their stories ran as a four-part series in April 1973. (John LaBusier/Post-Dispatch), Claire Stowers, a waitress at the Bel Air bowling alley, looks over mug shots of suspects in the murders of Dutch Dowling and Melvin Beckman. Otherwise, he rolled his own from pouches of Ozark-brand tobacco, manufactured and distributed for free at the Missouri Penitentiary. Parking: Valet. Dowling and bodyguard Melvin Beckman met the mystery man in Belleville, who apparently decided to shoot first. The last time John Larry Ray visited New York City was in 1965. Wortman's headquarters was his Paddock Lounge, at 429 St. Louis Avenue in East St. Louis. In later years he worked as a freelance writer and as an editor for the alternative press. After his fourth escape from Boonville, juvenile authorities transferred him to Algoa, the states intermediate reformatory, where his behavior worsened. Back home, he muscled out the Shelton brothers and took over the East Side rackets. The Paddock Lounge also boasts an extensive beverage menu*. In the mid-70s, some Star editors were even reluctant to print the word Mafia, Maloney later wrote. 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. 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. 4.4. Given this evidence and other indictors, it is unclear why federal prosecutors in St. Louis did not now pursue the Stenger case under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which was crafted specifically to address such criminal enterprises. But Maloney became more devoted to writing as he matured. They both concluded that their fears were unfounded, says John Larry Ray. Rays late brother James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to Kings murder in 1969 but quickly recanted his confession. Webbe, a former city alderman, was convicted of voter fraud and obstruction of justice in 1985. She seemed fragile and shy, yet she wasnt. On hearing the bad news, Maloney vowed to kill Moyer and tried to escape. People [were] shot and blown up.. He chain-smoked. In 1956, workers began digging an oval lake and fashioning an island near South Mulberry Road southeast of Collinsville. Mugshot of Mike Lacey courtesy of the Maricopa County Sheriffs Department. 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. On Aug. 26, 1961, Maloneys girlfriend, Edith Rhodes, was murdered near Huzzah Creek in rural Crawford County, Mo. Dowling was convicted of assault in the case, but he won a reversal from the Missouri Supreme Court. 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. Beneath the outward generosity, however, Gruender was an angry and hardened man who drank heavily and sometimes abused his wife and stepson. 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. The Star published a verbatim transcript of his claims in its next edition. The next day, he says, they met with Joe Burnett, another criminal, at a Manchester Avenue bar: The reason we went there was to try and put some money into James pocket. Burnett referred them to safecracker and burglar James Obie OBrien. Play "The Decider" and let your 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. Mayor Slay leaves office next week, after serving an unprecedented four terms. Paddock Lounge Melvin Beckman Mystery Man Wolf Branch School Road Shelton Gang Collinsville Look Back Tim O'neil Larry Coyne As featured on A Look Back Two mobsters found guilty in East. More Info. copyright 2021 by C.D. 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. Our community in Florissant, MO . Arizona authorities ruled it a suicide. Instead, James Earl Ray appeared edgy and expressed apprehension about his future. He is scheduled to be arraigned May 10. The FBI knew that the Rallo Construction Co. had alleged ties to the Chicago Mafia for decades. Sonnenschein was indicted because the ads drew customers and prostitutes across state lines, which is a federal crime. The convicted assassin spent the rest of his life in the Tennessee prison system. 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. By the mid-1920's he became associated with the old Shelton gang and was soon running errands for them. Maloney also tagged along when his stepfather drove to Jefferson City to visit a friend still incarcerated at the penitentiary. Meanwhile, Menn had interested Random House in publishing a book of Maloneys poetry. View the menu for Paddock Lounge and restaurants in Fitchburg, MA. O'Brien knew the owner of the Paddock, Frank "Buster" Wortman, the East Side mob boss. The literary editor was with Maloneys mother on Sept. 25, 1972, when Maloney walked out of prison for the last time. Kane, county coroner. Facebook. Live Racing. You cant stop one place and jump to another place.. 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 Detroit and St. Louis Mafia families are related. The last time John Larry Ray visited New York City was in 1965. The next year, Maloney ran away again. He was found shot to death and stuffed into the trunk of his car. Welcome to Ivy Ultra Lounge, the premier upscale night life attraction located in downtown East. I was glad to get out of there. Before they departed, Jones overheard the bodyguard to Carl Corky Civella threaten to rape Maloney. On one occasion Jones accompanied him to the Three Little Pigs, an after-hours caf that was a favorite of the Mafia. If you will make these promises, I will ask the warden to take you out of solitary confinement.. The same year, Maloneys byline disappeared from the pages of the Star when he quit the paper in a dispute over overtime pay. Post-Dispatch artist Albert Schweitzer made this drawing of the courtroom because no cameras were allowed inside. If you will make these promises, I will ask the warden to take you out of solitary confinement.. Beckman's shot-up car was found in the parking lot of a bowling alley in Swansea. A running dispute during the seven-week trial in 1962 was whether he even owned the place. Log In. 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. 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. An earlier version of this story appeared in the St. Louis Journalism review in 2008 and Focus/midwest magazine in 2010. The Chicago mob had allegedly put a $100,000 contract out on Stonekings life after he became an informant. At a tape-recorded meeting held in the Stars conference room, Fred Bonadonna refuted any possibility that Willie Cammisano had had anything to do with the death of his father. They also interviewed city and federal law-enforcement authorities and pumped confidential sources for information. Kevin Horrigan, a cub reporter at the Star in 1973, remembers Maloney as an affable colleague but one who stood apart. He was Wortman's right-hand man when they were convicted together in the income-tax case in 1962. 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. For many of . By then the Star had been bought by Capital Cities, a media chain with a history of poor labor relations. 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. Maloney thought of Menn as the father he never had. Maloney moved back to Kansas City, perhaps drawn by memories of his glory days. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Liberty High student killed in St. Charles shooting could heal you with a smile, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol slams ump C.B. By checking liquor-license applications, Maloney determined that mobsters or their relatives secretly owned several restaurants and bars in the River Quay. (Post-Dispatch), Morris Shenker, lead defense lawyer for Buster Wortman, addresses the judge during the trial in February 1962. O'Brien arranged for the Ray brothers to spend the night at a nearby apartment above an illegal gambling den . Ratings. The Kansas City Mafia wielded considerable economic cloutcontrolling several banks [and] owning ten percent or more of the taverns and nightclubs in the city. See restaurant menus, reviews, ratings, phone number, address, hours, photos and maps. After Maloney punched Thiemann in the face several times, the old man agreed to hand over the cash. By the time Maloney returned home, his mother had remarried. If the remark bothered Maloney, he didnt show it. Circuit Court for the Southern District of Illinois. EAST ST. LOUIS The jury had been out five days when the courtroom buzzer sounded. This was the town of Tom Pendergast, one of the most powerful Mafia/machine bosses in U.S. history, Maloney wrote. Maloneys own artwork took awards at state and county fairs and was exhibited at a gallery in Paris. Brokered by Platinum Realty of Saint Louis LLC . Investigators developed a keener interest in the project after Buster Wortman allegedly slugged an IRS agent in the Paddock Lounge, a 429 St. Louis Avenue in East St. Louis on July 1, 1956. You have permission to edit this article. 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