In May 1991, Stoneking informed the FBI that Berne had told him that the Rallo Construction Company belonged to the Chicago La Costa Nostra. The literary editor was with Maloneys mother on Sept. 25, 1972, when Maloney walked out of prison for the last time. 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. That J.J. Maloney survived is remarkable. Hinkley, a former St. Louis Globe-Democrat Woman of the Year, was an early advocate of prison reform and used her social standing to influence decisions of the Missouri Department of Corrections. and the proprietorship known as Paddock Liquor Company, and the names (or identifying descriptions) of the books and records in which the alleged conspiracy sought to cause . Moreover, Jerry Ray, John Larry Rays surviving brother, disputed John Larrys account in a telephone interview from his home in McMinnville, Tenn., in October. In 1948, he equipped it with the novel luxury of air-conditioning. 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. After returning to the United States, he occasionally talked to his brother by phone. He didnt bring him to St. Louis. They also interviewed city and federal law-enforcement authorities and pumped confidential sources for information. In July 1976, David Bonadonna, the father of Fred Bonadonna, owner of Poor Freddies restaurant in the River Quay, became the first victim. voice be heard! The car, shot up on the inside, was found in the parking lot of the Bel Air bowling alley in Swansea. He was between jobs, collecting unemployment benefits. In 1956, workers began digging an oval lake and fashioning an island near South Mulberry Road southeast of Collinsville. He drew five years, but the conviction was reversed. By any measure, he had to be considered beyond salvation, a lost cause. The FBI knew that the Rallo Construction Co. had alleged ties to the Chicago Mafia for decades. (Renyold Ferguson/Post-Dispatch), The island home of Frank "Buster" Wortman in April 1969, eight months after his death. Latest reviews, photos and ratings for Double Deuce Lounge at 601 S 10th St in East Saint Louis - hours, phone number, address and map. The current owners of the sex businesses operating on his property were not charged. He wrote to me as if I were just another person, another young writer.. A judge cited him for contempt of court. Their stories ran as a four-part series in April 1973. 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. In those days the Kansas City Star printed a poem on the editorial page every day, so I mailed the poem to the Star. . Thiemann died as a result of the wounds he sustained in the fracas. If you are young and good looking, you can count on being confronted again and again. He says he drove down from St. Louis in his cream-colored Thunderbird with a machine gun and other weapons in the trunk. An earlier version of this story appeared in the St. Louis Journalism review in 2008 and Focus/midwest magazine in 2010. Before the details of that caper could be hashed out, however, the Ray brothers got jittery and split for Chicago. 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. If the remark bothered Maloney, he didnt show it. Double Deuce Lounge. 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.. C. M. Raemer U.S. That, of course, was back in the day, when a lifer could still aspire to being released on parole. This time he made it as far as Hannibal before crashing a stolen car. But his mother remained faithful: She never gave up. Dowling was known as an elegant dresser who preferred expensive businessmen's clothing to the more garish threads of many mobsters. Bonadonna disappeared in 1978, presumably into the federal witness-protection program. It might have been recycling. People [were] shot and blown up.. 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. Goldsmiths boss at that time was then-U.S. Attorney Charles Grace, who initiated wide-ranging probes of organized criminal enterprises during his tenure. The brand varied with the decade: L&Ms or, later, Marlboro Lights. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}. Gruender, a housepainter, had a string of arrests and convictions for car theft and burglary dating back to 1926. The mob continued to influence the police department, city hall, the county courthouse and the state legislature. O'Brien knew the owner of the Paddock, Frank "Buster" Wortman, the East Side mob boss. Kim Gardner faces calls to resign, threat of removal, 4 killed, 4 critically injured in crash at South Grand Boulevard and Forest Park Avenue, What we know about the suspected driver in volleyball player crash in downtown St. Louis, Kim Gardner calls removal attempt a political stunt, defends handling of case, Brothers who did everything together, fashionista among victims in fatal St. Louis crash, Boeing to end F/A-18 Super Hornet production by 2025, Family of teen hit by driver in St. Louis leans on strength, asks for wave of prayers, Missouri attorney generals ultimatum to Kim Gardner: Resign or face removal from office. Dope was easier to get in prison than it was on the streets. East Saint Louis, Illinois. At the same time, dissension was brewing in the newsroom. By the time we were cellies, Joe had straightened up his act and was staying out of trouble, working on his parole. 787 N 53rd St, East St Louis, IL 62203 (618) 274-3168 Suggest an Edit. In later years he worked as a freelance writer and as an editor for the alternative press. After the breakout, John Larry Ray says, he picked James Earl Ray up and drove him back to St. Louis. 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. The last time John Larry Ray visited New York City was in 1965. The next day, Maloney returned to the newsroom not as a guest but as an employee. For many of . If you have money, there will be people who want it. 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. 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 brand varied with the decade: L&Ms or, later, Marlboro Lights. Or you may simply say the wrong thing to the wrong person. 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. . 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. 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. Its the smoking that eventually killed him. Exposure to art ignited Maloneys innate creative streak. Maloneys own artwork took awards at state and county fairs and was exhibited at a gallery in Paris. I collared outgoing St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay at the Earth Day celebration in Forest Park back in 2013 and asked him for a spot interview. Maloney had no way of knowing the significance that his verse would ultimately play in redirecting his life. Maloney frequented the mob hangouts at night to develop leads. I tried to contact OBrien but I couldnt find him, says John Larry Ray. . A version of this story appeared in Illinois Times, April 2, 2008. Maloney was 19 years old when he committed the crime. These days there are less than a dozen. He says he drove down from St. Louis in his cream-colored Thunderbird with a machine gun and other weapons in the trunk. Sonnenscheins latest bust appears to have been part of a larger federal investigation into prostitution on the Eastside. She had eloped from the state mental hospital in Fulton and gone on another crime spree, this time with a 22-year-old hoodlum from Flat River. 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. copyright 2021 by C.D. 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. 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. 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.. 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. 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. Beckman was a bodyguard in Wortman's organization. It was like he was from another planet. The first, I Speak for the Dead, is a fictionalized account of Kansas Citys mob war, drawn straight form his clip file. He rejected Maloneys poem but continued to correspond, providing him with professional advice and personal guidance. Inside your new home, you will find window coverings, spacious walk-in closets . Maloney ended up moving to the West Coast. Despite the low wages, the offer was priceless because it cinched his parole. A short time later, he went to federal prison for slugging a liquor agent during a raid on a still near Collinsville. I was impressed that the literary editor of a famous newspaper would write to me. Paddock Village Apartments in St. Louis, MO offers two bedroom lofts, two bedroom apartments, and two and three bedroom townhomes. During the conversation, John Larry Ray says, Kings name came up only in reference to the possibility of traffic congestion resulting from his visit to Memphis the next day. 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. Pendergast was long gone, but his machine was anchored in place. She kept her end of the bargain. John Larry Ray, a convicted bank robber, spent more than a quarter-century behind bars himself. The couple then took a cab to the Soulard neighborhood in South St. Louis. We just went in there one night to sit and watch. Barbecue, Barbeque, Bar. Printable Racing Calendar & Promotions Schedule Thiemann died as a result of the wounds he sustained in the fracas. 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. The report goes on to say that Berne told [Stoneking] that if Chicago wanted to buy property, businesses, get loans or some other such financial transaction it would be done through Rallo Construction Company in St. Louis.. As a result, the mayor does not appear in our documentary, The First Secret City. Kane, the St. Clair County coroner (fourth from left). 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. Meanwhile, O'Brien was supposed to check with Wortman about a proposed diamond heist. The only thing his real father ever gave him was his name. They drove to Kansas City together and toured the Stars editorial offices. OBrien knew the owner of the Paddock Frank Buster Wortman the East Side mob boss. As a result, he was put in solitary four times and sentenced to the hole another 18 or 20 times. He rejected Maloneys poem but continued to correspond, providing him with professional advice and personal guidance. Latest reviews, photos and ratings for Spanky's Lounge at 1434 Piggott Ave in East Saint Louis - view the menu, hours, phone number, address and map. On March 3, 1962, Dowling and a bodyguard were found murdered on a rural road north of Belleville. 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? 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. Menn patiently waited until 1967 before publishing one of Maloneys poems in the Star. By checking liquor-license applications, Maloney determined that mobsters or their relatives secretly owned several restaurants and bars in the River Quay. Paddock Village Apartments offers one-of-a-kind 2 bedroom apartment homes and 2 or 3 bedroom townhomes. His editors opposed the idea. He went to prison for slugging a liquor agent in 1933 at a still near Collinsville. 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. It didnt take very long for that to happen. In the city of St. Louis, there were once twenty bars located between Bates on the north and the city limits on the south. The prison series later won the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association. He had publicly refuted the Stars story simply to keep from being killed. A sheriffs posse pursuing the fugitives heard the shots and found Moyer lying next to the body. Meanwhile, Menn had interested Random House in publishing a book of Maloneys poetry. C.D. 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. I was impressed. In June 1964, at Hinkleys urging, Warden E.V. Wortman's headquarters was his Paddock Lounge, at 429 St. Louis Avenue in East St. Louis. In the first installment of the series, Maloney gave a lengthy first-person account of life inside the Walls in Jefferson City. Buster Wortman kept a close eye on the project, but never said anything about it. Its far-flung empire stretched all the way to Las Vegas, where the KC mob oversaw the skimming of millions of dollars from casinos. A sheriffs posse pursuing the fugitives heard the shots and found Moyer lying next to the body. We are also conveniently located near shopping, dining, and entertainment options. 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. In Dowling's pocket were notes scrawled on napkins that bore the names of jurors and things they'd said in secret deliberation. I remember telling him, Joe, lets just wait until they start killing each other, says Jones. He said, Youve saved my life, for the time being, anyway.. Or you may simply say the wrong thing to the wrong person. On hearing the bad news, Maloney vowed to kill Moyer and tried to escape. The FBI knew about an alleged connection between the Chicago Mafia and Rallo Construction Co. of St. Louis as early as 1991, according to a classified FBI report released under the Freedom of Information Act. He encouraged me to keep working on the poem, and asked me to stay in touch with him. The Paddock Lounge & Club Supper Room, East St Louis, IL. Brokered by Platinum Realty of Saint Louis LLC . I heard he was in Florida someplace., They sipped beer together for a couple of hours, says John Larry Ray. 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. He reported for the Orange County Register in 1980 and 1981. 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. 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. He had learned about it from his mobbed-up stepfather. O'Brien knew the owner of the Paddock Frank "Buster" Wortman the East Side mob boss. Wortman had died in Alexian Brothers Hospital in St. Louis five days before after undergoing throat surgery. 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. Sonnenschein must also hand over five parcels of property in Brooklyn, Ill., where the now-defunct Free Spirit Massage Parlor was located. 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. Asked why John Larry Ray would incorporate a stopover in St. Louis into his story, his brother replies: I guess to dramatize the book. He would serve the next 13 years at the Missouri Penitentiary, in Jefferson Cityarguably the worst prison in the United States at the time. Meanwhile, OBrien was supposed to check with Wortman about a proposed diamond heist. In his phone call he had asked his brother to pump OBrien for information. 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. Most are from the 1930's-1980's. This one is Condition is as pictured. In her first letter, Hinkley advised Maloney to seek divine guidance, but she also offered him a more down-to-earth deal. 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. . There were captains on the guard force who owed their souls to certain convicts. Martin Luther King Jr., who died in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 1968. In that role, Callow has acted to tamp down public concerns about the severity of the environmental and health problems related to the troubled landfill. Having been a convict, they thought he should have respected their trade a little more than he did.. 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 the first installment of the series, Maloney gave a lengthy first-person account of life inside the Walls in Jefferson City. Maloney had been in solitary confinement for nearly four months after his escape attempt when Hinkley contacted him. There is no doubt now that John Larry Ray helped James Earl Ray escape from the Missouri State Penitentiary, but the devil is in the details. While confined at the hospital, Maloney met and fell in love with a fellow patient, 16-year-old Edith Rhodes, who had been transferred from Chillicothe. Maloney argued that the Star should immediately expose the Mafias infiltration of the River Quay. For those under 21 years of age, we offer sodas, teas, waters, Gatorades, Red Bull energy drinks, and Nescafe coffee. While in prison, Gruender met and befriended Elmer Dutch Dowling and Isidore Londe, lieutenants of East St. Louis mob boss Frank Buster Wortman. He quickly became an important part of the gang that terrorized Southern Illinois in the 1920s and early. (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. They preferred a more cautious approach, advising that the coverage be focused more indirectly on corruption inside the citys liquor-control agency. Only in an institution can love hit that hard and that fast, Maloney wrote. 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. John Larry Ray, a convicted bank robber, spent more than a quarter-century behind bars himself. May 14, 2013 - Rackets Boss. By then, most of his running buddies from the joint were long dead, victims, for the most part, of their own malevolent ways. John G. Rallo, also known as Johnny Roller for his long hours spent at the crap tables in Las Vegas, and fellow accomplice Sheila Sweeney were charged one week after Stenger pleaded guilty. 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. Menn then sold the proposal to Cruise Palmer, the executive editor. He died of kidney failure and complications of liver disease at Nashville Memorial Hospital on April 23, 1998. I asked him if hed read the story, and if it had helped him any. The white convicts slept three to a cell (except for several hundred in one-man cells). So hundreds of men carried a knife or had one they could get to one in an emergency. Gruenders association with these gangsters continued long after his parole. 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. Vintage Matchcover: The Paddock Lounge & Club Supper Room, East St Louis, IL | eBay The Paddock Lounge & Club Supper Room, East St Louis, IL. During a short parole in 1957, Maloney was arrested in Kansas City on suspicion of burglary and carrying a concealed weapon. 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. Over the next two years, eight more mob-related murders would go down before the violence subsided. A year after his parents divorced, a hit-and-run driver killed his brother, Bobby. A running dispute during the seven-week trial in 1962 was whether he even owned the place. 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. He brought him to Chicago. When he entered prison, Dwight Eisenhower was president; when he came out, the Watergate burglary had been committed. This was the town of Tom Pendergast, one of the most powerful Mafia/machine bosses in U.S. history, Maloney wrote. 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. He chain-smoked. Gruender used carpentry skills acquired in prison to rehab the old farmhouse, and he showered Maloney with gifts, including a motorcycle and a shotgun. Tucked in a peaceful neighborhood, Paddock Village Apartments offers a quaint residential setting, complete with lush green spaces. The Post-Dispatch ran the photograph because Wortman had refused to tell a federal grand jury where he lived. Five more years would elapse before Maloney finally made parole, during which time Menn continued to support and encourage his writing. Stelzer An earlier version of this story appeared in the St. Louis Journalism review in 2008 and Focus/midwest magazine in 2010. Its the smoking that eventually killed him. Gruender, a housepainter, had a string of arrests and convictions for car theft and burglary dating back to 1926. It was uncanny.. In subsequent tape-recorded telephone interviews with Maloney, Bonadonna said that the Mafia had also targeted him for execution. The next day I called Bonadonna, Maloney recalled later. In 1952 the family moved to a farm in New Florence, Mo., a small town 65 miles west of St. Louis. He is awaiting sentencing before Judge Catherine D. Perry in August. He is scheduled to be arraigned May 10. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. On hearing the bad news, Maloney vowed to kill Moyer and tried to escape. Jones and Maloney collaborated for months on the prison project, sharing the reporting and writing duties. By the time Maloney returned home, his mother had remarried. Sonnenschein was indicted because the ads drew customers and prostitutes across state lines, which is a federal crime. Petzall, the mayors legal mentor, will celebrate his 86th birthday in June. 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. Stelzer, a St. Louis-based freelance writer, is working on a biography of the late J.J. Maloney. [This story was first published in January 2, 2004.]. She corresponded. 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. The two reporters began knocking on doors, talking to area business owners. James Earl Ray also supposedly told his brother that the CIA had tapped him to be an intelligence asset. (Renyold Ferguson/Post-Dispatch), Elmer "Dutch" Dowling in 1938, when he was 32 years old and a suspect in the attempted murder of a prospective trial witness. At left is Dr. C.C. (Lloyd Spainhower/Post-Dispatch), In 1956, workers began digging an oval lake and fashioning an island near South Mulberry Road southeast of Collinsville. Spectrulite never operated its manufacturing plant in Missouri. It was uncanny.. Meanwhile, OBrien was supposed to check with Wortman about a proposed diamond heist. The reasons for murder and mayhem made little sense to anyone except the convicts. That arrangement was still in place in 1972. By the mid-1920's he became associated with the old Shelton gang and was soon running errands for them. Three River Quay nightclubs were soon torched or bombed, and the list of gangland hits rapidly grew. East Boogie created that same passion, drive and defiant spirit in the likes of a jazz musician by the name of Miles Davis and many achievers who dared to dream of success despite the negative. C.D. The court also ordered Sonnenschein to pay a $250,000 fine and give $1 million to Eastside charities. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. On Aug. 26, 1961, Maloneys girlfriend, Edith Rhodes, was murdered near Huzzah Creek in rural Crawford County, Mo. She visited. Readmore storiesfrom Tim O'Neil's Look Back series. 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. There were captains on the guard force who owed their souls to certain convicts. His editors opposed the idea. He proved to be an invaluable ally. She kept her end of the bargain. He was assigned to the Army Signal Corps School at Fort Gordon, Ga. 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