Dillinger and Purvis

Sarber Killers Identified

John Dillinger and Melvin Purvis are back in the public spotlight with the Friday release of Michael Mann’s Public Enemies. Johnny Depp is playing the role of Public Enemy John Dillinger, while Christian Bale is his FBI pursuer Melvin Purvis. While the movie will surely be entertaining, the coverage in newspapers during the ’30’s was almost more sensational.

A Historical Perspective

Dillinger’s first robbery, in 1924, ended in capture and a 10-to-20 year sentence. He was paroled after eight-and-a-half years, but during his stint in prison Dillinger had embraced the criminal lifestyle and learned from seasoned criminals. When he emerged from prison, he was a much more thoughtful robber - but his next heist went much as the first had. “John Dillinger, 30, identified as having taken part in the robbery of the Citizen’s National bank of Bluffton August 14, in which four unmasked bandits obtained approximately $2,100, was in the Allen-co jail Thursday afternoon,” reported The Lima News on September 28, 1933 (free newspaper page). “Sheriff Jess Sarber, who signed the warrant against Dillinger, charging him with participation in the Bluffton robbery, said that the man was identified at Dayton by Roscoe Klingler, cashier of the Bluffton bank.”

Bandit-Outlaw Prisoner Uses Wooden Pistol

Dillinger began his real notoriety by escaping from prison four days after his capture. “Six men, all fugitives from the Indiana state prison, have been identified as members of the gang that raided Allen-co jail last Thursday, killed Sheriff Jess L. Sarber and freed John Dillinger, confessed bank bandit,” explained The Lima News on October 19, 1933 (free newspaper page). “Following identification of the men, the Allen-co board of commissioners Thursday increased reward for the men, dead or alive from $5,000 to $7,000. It was was [stet] explained that $1,000 would be paid for each man brought in.”

John Dillinger and his gang the perpetuated a string of robberies throughout the midwest, but he was once again captured while hiding out in Tucson, Arizona, on January 25, 1934. On March 3, he escaped from the “unescapable” Lake County Jail in Crown Point, Indiana. “At the point of a wooden revolver he had whittled out in his cell, John Dillinger, America’s most murderous outlaw, walked out of the Lake county jail today,” explained The Lincoln Star on March 3, 1934 (free newspaper page). “Before leaving the jail, Dillinger locked up in a cell the only three guards on duty. Then he locked all doors of the jail. Other guards on duty outside the jail did not learn of the escape for some time.” Because Dillinger stole a car during the escape and crossed state lines with it, the FBI became fully involved - led by Melvin Purvis.

First National Bank Robbed

John Dillinger continued his bank-robbery spree. One of NewspaperARCHIVE’s papers, the Mason City Globe-Gazette (free newspaper page) , reported on their town’s robbery on March 13, 1934: “The First National bank of Mason City was robbed of between $25,000 and $50,000 by seven men armed with machine guns at 2:40 o’clock Tuesday afternoon. One of the gang was identified as resembling John Dillinger, escaped Indiana convict.” The paper continued, “With the building protected on the south and west sides by machine guns planted in doorways the bandits herded all the employees of the institution out the back door, surrounded their car with a wall of men and women for protection and drove calmly away.”

In April of 1934, the Dillinger gang killed their first FBI agent, W. Carter Baum. “Baby Face” Nelson shot Baum after the FBI surrounded the “Little Bohemia Lodge” in northern Wisconsin. “Hundreds of federal agents and possemen swarmed through a huge wilderness area today searching for John Dillinger and a half dozen associates after three desperate battles in which two men were killed, four others were wounded, one critically,” informed the Stevens Point Daily Journal on April 23, 1934 (free newspaper page). “The battles which raged through the dark forest of this resort country followed 48 hours in which Dillinger and his henchmen had held Emil Wanetka, proprietor of Little Bohemia lodge, captive in the resort with his wife, his 8-year-old son and two employees.”

Feds End Dillinger Career

Dillinger left the FBI with no leads, but on July 21, a prostitute in Chicago contacted the police with information about the criminal. On July 22, Dillinger was shot and killed while leaving the Biograph Theater in Lincoln Park, Chicago. “John Dillinger’s life history was ended today on the books of law. In a drab coroners office just removed from the ice filled vault where Dillinger’s body lay, a solemn jury wrote the last chapter,” reported The Brainerd Daily Dispatch on July 23, 1934 (free newspaper page). “It read: ‘Justifiable homicide by officers of the federal government.’ The man who ran him down was not present, the man whose bullet killed him was not named and the informant who led him to his death was not mentioned.” Thus ended one of the most infamous crime sprees in history.

Links to the Past

Bluffton Bank Holdup Laid To Prisoner
The Lima News, September 28, 1933

Sarber Killers Identified
The Lima News, October 19, 1933

Bandit-Outlaw Prisoner Uses Wooden Pistol
The Lincoln Star, March 3, 1934

First National Bank Robbed
Mason City Globe-Gazette, March 13, 1934

Two Men Killed As Dillinger Escapes
Stevens Point Daily Journal, April 23, 1934

Feds End Dillinger Career
The Brainerd Daily Dispatch, July 23, 1934

Redefining Health Care

Clinton calls for overhaul of nation's health care system

President Barack Obama has been promising a massive overhaul of the health care system, including greater efficiency and affordability. His new plan includes a government-run health care option, something that is not terribly popular with many Americans. The health care system needs some major overhauling, but other presidents have attempted health care reform in the past with mostly negative results.

A Historical Perspective

Teddy Roosevelt was the first U.S. President to work towards united health care coverage, though he was defeated in the 1912 election and his ideas never made it to Congress. But FDR did try to reform health care while in office. “The president appointed over the week end a 19-member council to assist his committee on economic security in recommending a program of social insurance,” reported the Ogden Standard-Examiner on November 12, 1934 (free newspaper page). “This would put unemployment insurance, old age security and adequate health care on a permanent basis.” But the backlash from the American Medical Association and other organizations prompted Roosevelt to remove health care provisions from the final bill.

A win for health care reform was the establishment of the Medicare program in 1965. “‘Mr. President, I’m glad to have lived this long,’ said a beaming Harry S. Truman, moving into the spotlight for a sentimental moment at the age of 81. Then, at President Johnson’s elbow, Truman witnessed the signing into law Friday of legislation for health care of the aged such as he proposed 20 years ago,” informed The Daily Times-News on July 31, 1965 (free newspaper page). “The $6.5-billion bill also increases old age payments and otherwise broadens the Social Security System, raising pay roll taxes to pay most of the cost.”

The 1990’s was not as promising, as another blow was dealt to health care reform. The 1993 Clinton health care plan looked promising at first: “Clinton laid out the broad outlines of his program in an impassioned hour-long speech Wednesday night and challenged Congress to act by the end of next year to revamp the current system and assure that every American has ‘health care that is always there.’,” explained the Kerrville Times on September 23, 1993 (free newspaper page). Members of Congress — at once eager and wary — pledged a bipartisan search for common ground.” But common ground could not be found, and Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell declared the bill dead a year later.

Links to the Past

Relief Viewed As Most Pressing Of New Deal Matters
Ogden Standard-Examiner, November 12, 1934

Medicare Bill Is Signed
The Daily Times-News, July 31, 1965

Clinton calls for overhaul of nation’s health care system
Kerrville Times, September 23, 1993

The Sole Survivor

Girl's Jungle Survival Epic

A Yemeni jet airliner crashed on Tuesday in the Indian Ocean with 153 aboard. The plane carried 66 French nationals, and combined with the earlier disaster of Air France Flight 447, creates an even greater tragedy for the French people. The plane that crashed had been banned from traveling in France because of “irregularities” in technical equipment, leading to questions about the plane’s safety. Only one survivor has been found (so far), a 14-year-old girl. This is not the first time a plane disaster has left a sole survivor.

A Historical Perspective

One of the most courageous stories of sole survival is that of Juliane Koepcke. Koepcke was 17 when her plane, LANSA Flight 508, was struck by lightning while flying two miles above the Peruvian rain forest. “Ground and air searchers combed jungle and mountains today for a missing Peruvian airliner with 92 persons aboard, including four Americans,” reported the Charleston Daily Mail on December 25, 1971 (view the Free Front Page here). “The four-engine Electra turbo-prop disappeared Friday on a 2 1/2 hour flight from Lima to the jungle city of Iquitos, about 900 miles northeast deep in the Amazon basin.”

Following is the story of what happened after the plane disappeared over Peru, quoted from The Fresno Bee Republican on January 5, 1972 (view the Free Front Page here, and the continued story in our Premium archive here), and narrated by Koepcke’s nurse:

“She remembered looking out the window and seeing an engine afire, then the airliner lurched and she suddenly found herself flying through the air.”

“The next thing the girl remembered, the nurse said, was waking up amid the wreckage, still strapped to her seat and covered by the bodies of three or four other passengers.”

“Freeing herself from the seat and bodies, the terrified girl ran from the scene, stopping only to pick up a Christmas cake which she had been bringing to her father.”

“Suffering from a number of cuts, the girl walked for several days following a stream, sometimes swimming across flooded areas and wading through swamps.”

“The cake lasted three days. After that Juliane ate nothing, the nurse said.”

“Finally she arrived at the Pachitea River, a tributary of the Amazon. there the young survivor built a crude raft of logs tied together with vines and launched it into the current.”

“It was not immediately known how many days Juliane spent aboard the raft, but the woodcutters–Amando Pereyra and Marcio Ribeya–reported that she was scarcely able to identify herself when she reached their camp Monday.”

“The men used gasoline to extract worms from several festering wounds and gave the girl food. The next day they took her to Tournavista when the flooded river subsided.”

You can search for Koepcke in our archives. Events surrounding the plane wreck can be found from December 25, 1971 to January 8, 1972. There are more stories concerning her tale in Free Front Pages through 1974 (search for “Koepcke” and “Peru”), and through 1980 in our Premium newspaper pages. Search today to read more about this amazing story!

Links to the Past

Liner Sought In Peru Jungle
Charleston Daily Mail, December 25, 1971

Girl’s Jungle Survival Epic
The Fresno Bee Republican, January 5, 1972

Jungle: Girl Survives Trek
The Fresno Bee Republican, January 5, 1972

Madoff Gets 150

"Get Rich Quick" Wizard Nabbed

Bernard Madoff, who masterminded the largest Ponzi scheme ever, has been sentenced to 150 years in prison - the maximum sentence allowable by law. Madoff was arrested on December 11, 2008, after being turned in by his sons. The government estimates that Madoff defrauded clients out of almost $65 billion, though the actual number is probably closer to $17 billion. He insists that he operated alone, and pled guilty to all charges rather than name accomplices. Madoff’s fraud was a Ponzi scheme, a pyramid scheme named after Charles Ponzi, who shocked the world in the 1920’s with his swindle. While I’ve written about Charles ponzi previously, today I’ll focus on his sentencing and what came after.

A Historical Perspective

Ponzi pled guilty and was sentenced on November 30, 1920. “Charles Ponzi, promoter of the get-rich-quick scheme in which thousands of persons invested millions of dollars before it collapsed last August pleaded guilty of using the United States mails to defraud in the Federal District Court here today,” reported the Gettysburg Times on November 30, 1920 (view the Free Front Page here). “Sentence of five years in the Plymouth county jail was imposed. The court took into consideration the first count of the indictment of forty three counts in which it is charged Ponzi represented falsely that he was able to pay interest at the rate of fifty per cent in forty five days from profits made in international postal reply coupons.”

Ponzi thought the five years was quite enough, but then the state of Massachusetts took Ponzi to court for state fraud. He protested the charges, believing that once sentenced in Federal Court you could not then be charged by a state. The Supreme Court heard the case and ruled against Ponzi (Ponzi v. Fessenden) and he was sentenced to another seven to nine years. While this was taking place, he was arrested by immigration authorities for being in the country illegally. “It was contended by the immigration authorities that when Ponzi re-entered this country several years ago he failed to make known the record of his convictions in Canada and in this country, which would have been sufficient to refuse him entry at that time, and which are considered sufficient to effect his deportation now,” explained the Fitchburg Daily Sentinel on November 29, 1924 (view the Free Front Page here).

Evidently his three-and-a-half years in prison was not enough to convince him not to “ponzi scheme” anymore. While released on bail in 1925, Ponzi left the state and assumed an identity in order to sell swampland while promising a 200 percent return in 60 days. Unlikely - this was a new Ponzi scheme. He was indicted in February of 1926, escaped after posting bond, and attempted to leave the country. “Charles Ponzi, erstwhile Boston financier and Florida land promoter, arrived in Houston today in the custody of Sheriff T. A. Binford, after having been trailed to New Orleans, where he was arrested yesterday on a ship which previously had sailed from Houston,” informed the Iowa City Press-Citizen on June 29, 1926 (view the Free Front Page here). He was imprisoned for seven more years, then deported to Italy upon his release.

Links to the Past

Ponzi Gets Five Years
Gettysburg Times, November 30, 1920

Charles Ponzi Is Placed Under Arrest
Fitchburg Daily Sentinel, November 29, 1924

“Get Rich Quick” Wizard Nabbed
Iowa City Press-Citizen, June 29, 1926

A History of Michael Jackson

Lights - cameras - Jacksons

The King of Pop Michael Jackson passed away Thursday evening. He was 50. Through a life filled with incredible talent and deep scandal, Jackson always packed auditoriums and thrilled crowds. He was preparing for a 50-show comeback tour, all of which had sold out. Fans will mourn his death for some time to come.

A Historical Perspective

Michael Jackson began his career at the age of eleven, singing with his family in The Jackson 5. While he quickly moved to front man for the group, it was his solo career that propelled him into the limelight. “Michael, dressed in a glittering silver jacket, red sash and black-and-white-striped pants, drew instant and ecstatic reactions from the audience with each move he made, however minor,” described the Syracuse Herald-Journal on July 7, 1984 (view the Free Front Page here). “On the west side of the stadium, a squadron of Michael imitators lined a balcony and mimicked their idol’s every step.” He was an unstoppable force. In November of 1982, Jackson released Thriller, which has become the best-selling album of all time.

In 1984, an accident with a pyrotechnics display during the filming of a Pepsi commercial left Jackson with second degree burns on his scalp. “Fans sobbed and shouted when Jackson was rolled out of an ambulance at Brotman with his head bandaged. He waved a silver-sequined, gloved hand before disappearing into the hospital,” reported the Chronicle Telegram on January 28, 1984 (view the Free Front Page here). “The singer managed to sleep overnight with the aid of medication for pain, a nursing supervisor said. Doctors believed Jackson ‘will be able to be back in the public within a couple of weeks,’ said Dennis Fliegelman, a hospital administrative assistant.”

Jackson’s fame during the ’80’s and early ’90’s continued to grow. “Within hours of touching pop music idol Michael Jackson’s hand yesterday, Joyce Nixon used a cliche only superstars seem to inspire,” explained The Capital on April 5, 1990 (view the Free Front Page here). “‘I’ll never was my hand again - never,’ exclaimed Ms. Nixon, a kindergarten teacher at Parole Elementary School.” But soon the tabloids began reporting the “strange” side of Michael, including a pet chimpanzee, the rumor (untrue) that he slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow aging, the lightening of his skin (caused by vitiligo), and the rumor of his purchase of the bones of The Elephant Man (also untrue).

In 1993, Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year old boy. “Jackson’s attorney, Howard Weitzman, said yesterday the allegations in the report [the caseworkers report of the abuse] are ‘totally false,’ and that ‘Michael is continuing to co-operate with law enforcement,’ according to the Associated Press,” reported the Winnipeg Free Press on August 27, 1993 (view the Free Front Page here). “A private investigator for Jackson said earlier this week that the boy’s charges are part of an extortion attempt.” The charges were eventually settled out of court, and the state closed its investigation for lack of evidence.

Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley later in 1993, but divorced in less than two years. He remarried in 1997 to dermatologist Deborah Jeanne Rowe, and fathered both a son (Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr.) and a daughter (Paris Michael Katherine Jackson). Michael and Deborah divorced in 1999. He had a third child (Prince Michael Jackson II) in 2002, from a surrogate mother artificially inseminated. Months after the birth of his new son, he again made headlines by dangling the child over a balcony in Berlin. “Singer Michael Jackson apologized Wednesday for dangling his baby boy from a fourth-floor hotel balcony after fans on the ground and others around the world watching on television denounced what they saw,” informed the Chronicle Telegram on November 21, 2002 (view the Free Front Page here). “‘I made a terrible mistake,’ Jackson said. ‘I got caught up in the excitement of the moment. I would never intentionally endanger the lives of my children.’”

There are hundreds more Free Front Page articles about Michael Jackson, and tens of thousands of total newspaper pages about Jackson at NewspaperARCHIVE. Try a search and read about the life of Michael Jackson.

Links to the Past

Michael Jackson apologizes for dangling son from balcony
Chronicle Telegram, November 21, 2002

Jackson scandal deepens
Winnipeg Free Press, August 27, 1993

A Real Thriller
The Capital, April 5, 1990

Lights - cameras - Jacksons
Syracuse Herald-Journal, July 7, 1984

Jackson set afire by sparks
Chronicle Telegram, January 28, 1984