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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Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Glory Days of Hollywood - my eye!

Just a quick film recommendation.

I've uploaded the trailer to the As Close to Crime YouTube channel in case you want a glimpse of what's in store for you should you chose to see this 2007 documentary. Here's the link - https://youtu.be/9s9ZDh-Y0FM

Here's the cover art from the DVD followed by a brief synopsis.



In 1937, Patricia Douglas was Girl 27 of 120 chorus girls invited to attend a sales convention for MGM. During the course of the evening she was raped. Patricia's attempts to seek justice fell flat due to the power of the film studio, the corruption of the District Attorney, the willingness of the newspapers to blame the victim and eventually betrayal by her own mother.

More than 50 years later author David Stenn reads about the crime in archived newspapers, becomes intrigued and spends the next 10 years investigating the story.

On screen interviews with Patricia Douglas and her daughter drive home the reality that this one evening ruined several lives.

Greta Van Susteren is as outraged as anyone can be 70 years after the fact.

Diana Serra Cary at the 2011 Cinecon Festival


Diana Serra Cary aka Baby Peggy, who was working as an MGM extra after her own career as a child actress was over, is as insightful as ever.


For more on Baby Peggy, I absolutely recommend her 1996 autobiography "What Ever Happened to Baby Peggy?"
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