Maloney added to his underworld knowledge in prison, where he befriended fellow inmate John Paul Spica, a St. Louis Mafia soldier. Police never filed charges in the murders. A few days later I received a letter from Thorpe Menn, literary editor of the Star, who rejected the poem but said he liked the last four lines. . Wortman died in a St. Louis hospital Aug. 3, 1968, at age 63 after throat surgery. John will tell you he brought him [James Earl Ray] to St. Louis, Jerry Ray says. He said, Youve saved my life, for the time being, anyway.. Although the property was listed in his estranged wifes name, Linda Sonnenscbein wasnt charged, either. Readmore storiesfrom Tim O'Neil's Look Back series. For Sale on 1stDibs - "Paddock" Pars 1969, 20th Century oil on canvas by Spanish Artist E. Grau Sala, Canvas, Oil Paint by Emilio Grau Sala. He wrote to me as if I were just another person, another young writer.. Thiemann died as a result of the wounds he sustained in the fracas. His second novel, The Chain, is based on his years behind bars, including his incarceration at the Missouri Penitentiary and the old St. Louis City Jail. Vintage Matchcover: The Paddock Lounge & Club Supper Room, East St Louis, IL | eBay The Paddock Lounge & Club Supper Room, East St Louis, IL. I dont know.. The literary editor was with Maloneys mother on Sept. 25, 1972, when Maloney walked out of prison for the last time. The next day I called Bonadonna, Maloney recalled later. On one occasion Jones accompanied him to the Three Little Pigs, an after-hours caf that was a favorite of the Mafia. They preferred a more cautious approach, advising that the coverage be focused more indirectly on corruption inside the citys liquor-control agency. Slay was a partner in Guilfoil Petzall & Shoemake for 20 years prior to becoming mayor. His editors opposed the idea. For those under 21 years of age, we offer sodas, teas, waters, Gatorades, Red Bull energy drinks, and Nescafe coffee. He didnt see what kind of car his brother was driving, but he got the sense that someone was waiting for him. On Aug. 26, 1961, Maloneys girlfriend, Edith Rhodes, was murdered near Huzzah Creek in rural Crawford County, Mo. We just went in there one night to sit and watch. The brand varied with the decade: L&Ms or, later, Marlboro Lights. Until January, Sweeney headed the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, a county agency that was used to dole out the contracts to Rallo and other political contributors to Stengers campaign coffers. The Kansas City Mafia wielded considerable economic cloutcontrolling several banks [and] owning ten percent or more of the taverns and nightclubs in the city. But the mob kind of looked at Joe as a turncoat. Nash released Maloney from solitary and assigned him to the newly formed prison art class. Maloneys formal education had ended in the ninth grade, but Menn recognized raw talent when he saw it. But when his brother arrived, he showed no interest in purchasing guns. It was like he was from another planet. Callow, however, is not the only link between the mayor and the radioactive waste that has plagued the region since it first began piling up as a byproduct of Mallinkcrodt Chemicals work on the Manhattan Project. 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. A year after his parents divorced, a hit-and-run driver killed his brother, Bobby. He had seen his share of bloodshed. Case Closed: Crime scene photo of the interior of the 1995 Ford Crown Victoria occupied by Jesse Stoneking on Jan. 19, 2003. I dont know.. Paddock Lounge Killer Reporting J.J. Maloney traded a knife for a pen, swapping a life of crime for a career in journalism. Or you may simply say the wrong thing to the wrong person. They are, from left, Morris Shenker, Murry L. Randall, Saul Cohn, Ray Foreman, James F. Nangle Jr. and Norman London. All of a sudden their stories would change. On Aug. 26, 1961, Maloneys girlfriend, Edith Rhodes, was murdered near Huzzah Creek in rural Crawford County, Mo. In the first installment of the series, Maloney gave a lengthy first-person account of life inside the Walls in Jefferson City. Wortman, Dowling and a third man were found guilty Feb. 26, 1962, of conspiracy to avoid income taxes. But the mob kind of looked at Joe as a turncoat. His defiance dashed his hopes of gaining parole and put him at odds with the prison administration for the remainder of his sentence. He chain-smoked. (Robert LaRouche/Post-Dispatch), The house that was built on the island. After the breakout, John Larry Ray says, he picked James Earl Ray up and drove him back to St. Louis. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Stelzer An earlier version of this story appeared in the St. Louis Journalism review in 2008 and Focus/midwest magazine in 2010. 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.. She was 16 and insisted she would commit suicide before she was 21, because she had a fear of not being beautiful. 4.4. Everyone was shocked. In a sense, Maloney did respect their trade. His stepfather, Julius Dutch Gruender, an ex-con, became Maloneys less-than-sterling guardian. A sheriffs posse pursuing the fugitives heard the shots and found Moyer lying next to the body. Daniel Waugh drove a cab at night and chased old mobsters by day. The next year, Maloney ran away again. Double Deuce Lounge. On his death, in 1915, the founder of the paper, William Rockhill Nelson, had willed the Star to his employees. If the remark bothered Maloney, he didnt show it. In her first letter, Hinkley advised Maloney to seek divine guidance, but she also offered him a more down-to-earth deal. We offer freshly baked cookies for dessert, and fries or chips for a quick snack option. I tried to contact OBrien but I couldnt find him, says John Larry Ray. (Renyold Ferguson/Post-Dispatch), Douglas Keith, a fingerprint specialist for the Illinois State Police, takes picture of Melvin Beckman's car, in which he and Dutch Dowling presumably were shot before being dumped onto Wolf Branch School Road on the night of March 3, 1962. People started dying. James Earl Ray subsequently fled north of the border, but there is no indication that he participated in such a caper. 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. He encouraged me to keep working on the poem, and asked me to stay in touch with him. (Edward Burkhardt/Post-Dispatch), Buster Wortman's home at on Grandview Drive on the western outskirts of Collinsville in February 1954. Goldsmiths boss at that time was then-U.S. Attorney Charles Grace, who initiated wide-ranging probes of organized criminal enterprises during his tenure. 1 in Fulton for psychiatric observation. He died of kidney failure and complications of liver disease at Nashville Memorial Hospital on April 23, 1998. He rejected Maloneys poem but continued to correspond, providing him with professional advice and personal guidance. Rays late brother James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to Kings murder in 1969 but quickly recanted his confession. In those days the Kansas City Star printed a poem on the editorial page every day, so I mailed the poem to the Star. Maloneys own artwork took awards at state and county fairs and was exhibited at a gallery in Paris. The plant at Weaver and College streets operates today as Magnesium Elektron of North America, a non-union company and a subsidiary of Luxfur Group of Great Britain. Live Racing. Subscribe with this special offer to keep reading, (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). They also interviewed city and federal law-enforcement authorities and pumped confidential sources for information. It didnt take very long for that to happen. Printable Racing Calendar & Promotions Schedule While there, he remembers, Malcolm X was murdered. The revelation was allegedly made in October 1974, when the two brothers shared a cell at the Shelby County (Tenn.) Jail in advance of an evidentiary hearing to determine whether James Earl Ray should be granted a trial. I was even more impressed that he did not ask why I was in prison, or for how long. Having been a convict, they thought he should have respected their trade a little more than he did.. 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. He was one of those guys who was constantly fidgeting, or his knee was pounding up and down. Last chance! Maloneys formal education had ended in the ninth grade, but Menn recognized raw talent when he saw it. In late 1967, the parole board indicated the possibility of Maloneys being released early the next year. I told him, if youre looking for guns, I can get any gun you want from Ft. Campbell, Ky. Its like the Mississippi River, says John Larry Ray. By the time we were cellies, Joe had straightened up his act and was staying out of trouble, working on his parole. The two reporters began knocking on doors, talking to area business owners. He rejected Maloneys poem but continued to correspond, providing him with professional advice and personal guidance. John Larry. Will you make a promise (and keep it) not to try and run awayto obey the rules of the prison and try to do whatever work is assigned to you? But Maloney became more devoted to writing as he matured. Gerhard J. Petzall, a former law partner of St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, was a director of Spectrulite Consortium Inc., which owned and operated an Eastside plant contaminated with radioactive waste. In July 1976, David Bonadonna, the father of Fred Bonadonna, owner of Poor Freddies restaurant in the River Quay, became the first victim. Despite the low wages, the offer was priceless because it cinched his parole. Sonnenscheins latest bust appears to have been part of a larger federal investigation into prostitution on the Eastside. You cant stop one place and jump to another place.. A subdivision now adjoins the lake, known today as Magin's Lake, named after Wortman's old bartender. 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. James Earl Ray subsequently fled north of the border, but there is no indication that he participated in such a caper. Solitary confinement involved long-term segregation, whereas the hole was a short-term punishment, usually a 10-day stint, during which prisoners were deprived of cigarettes, bedding and sometimes clothing. After Army service in Europe during World War II, Dowling became and ally of Wortman, then on the rise in East St. Louis. Among those standing near the bodies are Dr. C.C. Maloney had no way of knowing the significance that his verse would ultimately play in redirecting his life. An ex-con, became Maloneys less-than-sterling guardian and chased old mobsters by day said, Youve saved my life for. For how long where he befriended fellow inmate John Paul Spica, a hit-and-run driver killed brother. 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