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But John Larry Ray believes that his brother maintained contact with OBrien after their hasty departure. Paddock Village Apartments offers one-of-a-kind 2 bedroom apartment homes and 2 or 3 bedroom townhomes. Buster Wortman kept a close eye on the project, but never said anything about it. He pitched various book proposals and collaborated on at least three different screenplay adaptations of his first novel, but none of the projects came to fruition. Fact-checking the claims on case related to St. Louis crash, McClellan: Too many have lost faith for Kim Gardner to continue, Kim Gardner calls press conference amid mounting calls for resignation, threat of removal, The end for St. Louis top prosecutor? They also interviewed city and federal law-enforcement authorities and pumped confidential sources for information. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. He chain-smoked. They both concluded that their fears were unfounded, says John Larry Ray. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}. The Kansas City Mafia wielded considerable economic cloutcontrolling several banks [and] owning ten percent or more of the taverns and nightclubs in the city. Beckman was a bodyguard for Wortman and Dowling. Tucked in a peaceful neighborhood, Paddock Village Apartments offers a quaint residential setting, complete with lush green spaces. It was uncanny.. Nash released Maloney from solitary and assigned him to the newly formed prison art class. More than a decade earlier, a federal probe linked RFT sex ads to the Eastside rackets. Red Apple BBQ & Lounge - 2112 St Clair Ave, East St Louis. He brought him to Chicago. East St. Louis Community College Center. While there, he remembers, Malcolm X was murdered. Dennis W. Sonnenschein will have plenty of time to reflect on his business career over the next year. He wrote to me as if I were just another person, another young writer.. On hearing the bad news, Maloney vowed to kill Moyer and tried to escape. He was Wortman's right-hand man when they were convicted together in the income-tax case in 1962. Spectrulite never operated its manufacturing plant in Missouri. We drove across the river to the Paddock Lounge in [East St. Louis] Illinois and I introduced him to Jimmie OBrien, Ray says. Magin was a defendant in the 1962 tax case, but was acquitted. In 1952 the family moved to a farm in New Florence, Mo., a small town 65 miles west of St. Louis. On Aug. 26, 1961, Maloneys girlfriend, Edith Rhodes, was murdered near Huzzah Creek in rural Crawford County, Mo. Last chance! Stelzer, a St. Louis-based freelance writer, is working on a biography of the late J.J. Maloney. He was kind of fearless, says Jones. In her first letter, Hinkley advised Maloney to seek divine guidance, but she also offered him a more down-to-earth deal. It didnt take very long for that to happen. (Edward Burkhardt/Post-Dispatch), Buster Wortman's home at on Grandview Drive on the western outskirts of Collinsville in February 1954. East Saint Louis, Illinois. I dont know.. In the late 1990s, shortly before his death, he established a Web site, crimemagazine.com, which is maintained by his friend J. Patrick OConnor, former owner of the New Times, a now-defunct alternative weekly in Kansas City. Gruender, a housepainter, had a string of arrests and convictions for car theft and burglary dating back to 1926. (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. In addition to the failed escape attempt, the prison administration cited Maloney for stabbing another inmate, manufacturing zip guns, using stimulants and committing sodomy. 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 heard he was in Florida someplace., They sipped beer together for a couple of hours, says John Larry Ray. The delays in communications eventually killed his deal with Random House. The blacks slept as many as eight to a cell. Bucknor for rejecting handshake: Zero class, Suspect charged in fatal shooting in downtown St. Louis, Man shot and killed after fight in downtown St. Louis, Is Kim Gardner right? It was the beginning of a long-term relationship carried out by correspondence. 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. Or you may simply say the wrong thing to the wrong person. Maloney then married a former inmate of the girls reformatory at Chillicothe, and they moved to Alabamabut the marriage fell apart. Over the next two years, eight more mob-related murders would go down before the violence subsided. 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. Back home, he muscled out the Shelton brothers and took over the East Side rackets. Maloney argued that the Star should immediately expose the Mafias infiltration of the River Quay. He didnt bring him to St. Louis. Google. Jesse Stoneking, the unnamed informant cited by the FBI in the report, died of a gunshot wound to the head in Arizona in 2003. Beckman's shot-up car was found in the parking lot of a bowling alley in Swansea. St. Clair County sheriff's detective William Butler (center) and Illinois State Police detective Jerry Fitzgerald dropped by the bowling alley March 11, 1962, because Beckman's shot-up car had been found in the establishment's parking lot. At the same time, dissension was brewing in the newsroom. Only in an institution can love hit that hard and that fast, Maloney wrote. That, of course, was back in the day, when a lifer could still aspire to being released on parole. Maloney also tagged along when his stepfather drove to Jefferson City to visit a friend still incarcerated at the penitentiary. 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. . Its like the Mississippi River, says John Larry Ray. 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. (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. While there, he remembers, Malcolm X was murdered. 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. 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. 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. By checking liquor-license applications, Maloney determined that mobsters or their relatives secretly owned several restaurants and bars in the River Quay. Wortman later moved into a home built upon the island, reached by a wooden bridge -- and always guarded by gunmen. The truck driver attributed his lung cancer to his occupational exposure to radiation in the late 1950s and early 1960s. If you will make these promises, I will ask the warden to take you out of solitary confinement.. 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. I told him, if youre looking for guns, I can get any gun you want from Ft. Campbell, Ky. He had learned about it from his mobbed-up stepfather. At the time of his marriage to Maloneys mother, he had only been out of the Missouri Penitentiary for a year. On his death, in 1915, the founder of the paper, William Rockhill Nelson, had willed the Star to his employees. But his rise from convicted murderer to award-winning investigative reporter for the Kansas City Star is a feat unparalleled in the annals of American journalism. All of a sudden their stories would change. Given where hed come from, its easy to figure out why.. His stepfather, Julius Dutch Gruender, an ex-con, became Maloneys less-than-sterling guardian. People started dying. Through her encouragement, elderly attorney Mable Hinkley began to correspond with Maloney. Competing mob interests were in the midst of fighting for control of the River Quay entertainment district. Brokered by Platinum Realty of Saint Louis LLC . They registered at the St. Francis Hotel, at Sixth and Chestnut, under the name Mr. and Mrs. John Ducharme of Jacksonville, Fla. That evening Maloney, armed with a hunting knife, robbed the clerk at another downtown hotel. Books sent to him for review were screened by the prison administration and sometimes rejected.Instead of zip guns or knives, Maloney fought back with the law as his weapon. In 1948, he equipped it with the novel luxury of air-conditioning. Sam Magin, former manager and bartender at Wortman's Paddock Lounge in East St. Louis, told investigators and reporters that he was in charge of the project and that it was being built for a boys' club. Its far-flung empire stretched all the way to Las Vegas, where the KC mob oversaw the skimming of millions of dollars from casinos. The Chicago mob had allegedly put a $100,000 contract out on Stonekings life after he became an informant. Maloneys formal education had ended in the ninth grade, but Menn recognized raw talent when he saw it. Entering the store, he pulled a hunting knife and demanded money from Joseph F. Thiemann, the 74-year-old store owner. A running dispute during the seven-week trial in 1962 was whether he even owned the place. Maloney then wrested the gun from his victim and fled. In prison he preferred Camels, when he could afford them. Wortman was acquitted at retrial, but he spent his last years hunkered in his island home, protected by gunmen. Maloney moved back to Kansas City, perhaps drawn by memories of his glory days. Maloney had been in solitary confinement for nearly four months after his escape attempt when Hinkley contacted him. Sam Magin, former manager and bartender at Wortman's Paddock Lounge in East St. Louis, told investigators and reporters that he was in charge of the project and that it was being built for a boys' club. He was between jobs, collecting unemployment benefits. When he made the demand for money, he and Thiemann began struggling, according to the confession Maloney later gave St. Louis police. In 1952 the family moved to a farm in New Florence, Mo., a small town 65 miles west of St. Louis. Over the next two years, eight more mob-related murders would go down before the violence subsided. He is awaiting sentencing before Judge Catherine D. Perry in August. Jones and Maloney collaborated for months on the prison project, sharing the reporting and writing duties. (Post-Dispatch), Elmer "Dutch" Dowling arriving at the federal courthouse in East St. Louis in a light rain during the trial. Pendergast was long gone, but his machine was anchored in place. Petzall, the mayors legal mentor, will celebrate his 86th birthday in June. He filed suit against the Department of Corrections, arguing that his constitutional rights under the First Amendment had been violated. When they parted, he watched his brother walk down the back alley alone. 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. (Renyold Ferguson/Post-Dispatch), Workers build a bridge to the mysterious island. Its far-flung empire stretched all the way to Las Vegas, where the KC mob oversaw the skimming of millions of dollars from casinos. He had learned about it from his mobbed-up stepfather. He claims that his brother was then fronted an estimated $50,000. The time period investigated by federal prosecutors, 1994-2000, spanned the ownership change at the RFT. After Army service in Europe during World War II, Dowling became and ally of Wortman, then on the rise in East St. Louis. 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. Paddock Lounge Killer Reporting J.J. Maloney traded a knife for a pen, swapping a life of crime for a career in journalism. The Riverfront Times publishes ads for the Eastside strip clubs and massage parlors every week. (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. 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. On Dec. 19, 1945, at the age of 14, Maloney ran away from home for the first time.I was prepared, Maloney recalled later. Maloney worked on his writing for as much as six hours every evening. They preferred a more cautious approach, advising that the coverage be focused more indirectly on corruption inside the citys liquor-control agency. He was always writing somethingstories, critiques, opinion pieces and, yes, poetry.. Bartolottas defense attorney was reported in the Globe as Andrew Leonard. 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. 1 in Fulton for psychiatric observation. Maloney added to his underworld knowledge in prison, where he befriended fellow inmate John Paul Spica, a St. Louis Mafia soldier. It was curious, too, how they seemed to hate Joe more than me, although our names appeared together on stories. Maloney was also keenly aware that local law-enforcement officials were hesitant to use the M-word. Stenger was introduced to Rallo by federal felon Sorkis Webbe Jr. in 2014, according to the federal indictment. Offered by GALERIA LUIS CARVAJAL. The St. Louis mobster and federal informant died from a gunshot wound to the head. Kane, county coroner. Witnesses who might have confirmed John Larry Rays expanded version of events are dead. By then the Star had been bought by Capital Cities, a media chain with a history of poor labor relations. She kept her end of the bargain. After returning to the United States, he occasionally talked to his brother by phone. In late 1967, the parole board indicated the possibility of Maloneys being released early the next year. I was even more impressed that he did not ask why I was in prison, or for how long. Moreover, Jerry Ray, John Larry Rays surviving brother, disputed John Larrys account in a telephone interview from his home in McMinnville, Tenn., in October. Despite his abominable record, the state had little choice but to parole him in January 1959, a few months after he turned 18. Before his contract expired, the Star hired him as a full-time general-assignment reporter. Once an adult (21 years old or older) has finished racing for the day (we have a strict anti-drinking and driving policy), they can enjoy a wide selection of beer and . C. M. Raemer U.S. In the first installment of the series, Maloney gave a lengthy first-person account of life inside the Walls in Jefferson City. He said, Youve saved my life, for the time being, anyway.. Entering the store, he pulled a hunting knife and demanded money from Joseph F. Thiemann, the 74-year-old store owner. A private drive connected the bridge to South Mulberry Road. The next day I called Bonadonna, Maloney recalled later. At the same time, dissension was brewing in the newsroom. I asked him if hed read the story, and if it had helped him any. voice be heard! It was the beginning of a long-term relationship carried out by correspondence. Federal prosecutors had charged Bartolotta and another Missouri resident with conspiring to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. Maloney also tagged along when his stepfather drove to Jefferson City to visit a friend still incarcerated at the penitentiary. James Earl Ray subsequently fled north of the border, but there is no indication that he participated in such a caper. Dowling had been Wortman's right-hand man and was convicted along with Wortman on Feb. 26. 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. By then, newspapers called it "Wortman's Island." View the menu for Paddock Lounge and restaurants in Fitchburg, MA. But as quickly as his cell door seemed to have started to creak open, the steel bars slammed shut again. 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