Why are you here and why am I doing this?

Why are you here and why am I doing this?

If you're like me, THIS is as close to crime as you want to get.

You want to maintain a safe distance and delve into it when it's convenient for you; not when some lunatic knocks on your door in the middle of the night, runs you off the road or approaches you in a parking lot.

Maybe you are a Murderino?

I'm someone who resolves every New Year's Eve to NOT be the victim of a crime.

Some of the crimes I'll describe here aren't horrific or even result in death, but they're still situations to be avoided. Who wants the drama or the paperwork associated with a non-violent crime? Not me.

I know I'm not the only one who's interested in reading about crime & criminals. I hope to use this blog to share that interest with others.

My process is to find something in an old newspaper, news broadcast or my own memory that grabs my attention and delve deep. I research the cases and people using newspaper and magazine archives, genealogy sites plus court or prison documents (when I can afford them). Lately the way I write the stories has changed. I'm starting to show the effort I've made to track down specific details. I also seem to be posting less frequently. This can be attributed to the fact that I'm now concerned with the As Close to Crime YouTube channel as well as my habit of falling deeper and deeper into rabbit holes with each new entry. I'd rather have quality than quantity, so I've come to terms with the lessening output.

I try not rely too heavily on other websites or books but I credit people when it's appropriate. In fact, if my main source of information is someone else's book, I'll just recommend the book. This was the case with "The Bobbed Haired Bandit."

Don't expect too many Top 10 lists from me. I instead prefer to select the more obscure crimes that some visitors to this blog have either never heard of or haven't thought about in awhile.

I also like to give attention to not just those who break the law but those who uphold the law. So you can expect to see some of that here.

There's a companion YouTube Channel for this blog, called As Close to Crime, where I occasionally post clips related to particular blog entries or just random clips concerning criminal activity. I'm never going to post an entire commercially available film.

Be sure to subscribe to the channel or this blog.

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Sunday, December 30, 2018

Amelia Earhart Rabbit Hole

Nearly 50 years ago New Jersey resident Irene Bolam found herself accused of being Amelia Earhart. Is that a crime? Did the U.S. government aid in the deception? So many questions.

Irene Bolam vehemently denied all of it.

Irene Bolam at the November 10, 1970 press conference

I've uploaded a clip to the As Close to Crime YouTube channel of Irene at a news conference in which she sounds pretty convincing. You'll find the link at the end of the blog. Btw, Irene had little regard for the book she's holding so I don't believe it being upside down is accidental.

To this day, despite Irene's passionate denial, it is believed by many that she was the lost aviatrix who famously disappeared in 1937.

It's also theorized that there were 2 Irene Bolams. The one photographed in 1965 by Joseph Gervais and the one who appeared in public to deny the accusations.

It's a delightful rabbit hole to fall into and I encourage you to do so.

There are plenty of great websites out there devoted to this conspiracy theory and I'll recommend a few at the end of this post.

The very basics pertaining to the clip and the theory are this -

Joseph Gervais was introduced to Irene Bolam in 1965 at a Long Island, NY gathering for retired pilots and claims to have immediately recognized her as Amelia Earhart. The more Gervais investigated this theory, the more convinced he became.

photo of Irene Bolam, 1965 -
from the Irene-Amelia.com website


In 1970, a book called "Amelia Earhart Lives" written by Joe Klaas and using the Gervais Theory as a springboard was published. Irene Bolam filed a $1.5 million lawsuit. The lawsuit was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Joe Klaas book


Irene Bolam died on July 7, 1982 at the age of 78. Cause of death was cancer. Upon her death, Joseph Gervais asked for permission to fingerprint and photograph her body. He was denied.

People - Dec 20, 1993
Joe Klaas died February 25, 2016 at the age of 95. Just as a side note - Joe Klaas was the paternal grandfather of 12-year-old Polly Klaas. On October 1, 1993, Polly Klaas was kidnapped at knifepoint from her own Petaluma, California slumber party and later killed. Richard Allen Davis was found guilty of those crimes on June 18, 1996 and sentenced to die by lethal injection. He sits on death row waiting for the needle.

For further reading on Irene Bolam and her possibly being Amelia Earhart, visit any and all of these sites -

http://www.irene-amelia.com/index.html

http://www.dannychesnut.com/Amelia/Irene-Amelia.htm

https://earharttruth.wordpress.com/2015/12/29/irene-bolam-and-the-decline-of-the-amelia-earhart-society-part-i-of-iv/

Asbury Park Press photo -
November 10, 1970



Here's the link to my YouTube upload - https://youtu.be/kgVZ8lv3xUE



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