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

Taking the Fun out of Fundraising

I'm not sure if it's ironic, appropriate or just downright disappointing that Sheriff Philip F. Corso, who has graced this blog's homepage since the beginning, was himself removed from office after being accused of committing seven felonies and six misdemeanors. It's not as bad as it sounds but it was enough to have him removed from office after nearly 20 years of service.

In 1975, following a three month investigation by his office's anti-corruption bureau, Suffolk County, New York District Attorney Henry F. O'Brien announced the 13 count indictment against Sheriff Corso. The felony charges included grand larceny by extortion and/or coercion, attempted grand larceny by extortion and/or coercion, attempted coercion, second degree conspiracy. The misdemeanor charges included official misconduct and violation of the Civil Service law.

Basically, Sheriff Corso was being accused of pressuring his subordinates and the vendors who were doing business with the Suffolk County Jail to purchase tickets to an upcoming Republican Party Fundraising Dinner. Tickets cost $50 a piece and those who refused to buy found their jobs in jeopardy or their contracts canceled.

Sheriff Corso told the judge and the press that he was innocent and he declared the indictment to be a "weak, cheap attempt by a Democrat (the District Attorney) to destroy the Republican party in this county. I have no intention whatsoever of stepping down. I know I will be completely vindicated on all of these charges."

It was no secret that Corso, aged 54, was a life-long Republican and active in the party. It was also true that O'Brien was on a tear and that this indictment against Corso was just the tip of the iceburg in his office's investigation of both corruption within the county's police force and collusion between the Republican Party and the SCPD. O'Brien had ordered wire taps and was subpoenaing records.

In the end, Philip F. Corso took a plea bargain. In May 1976, Corso admitted he was guilty of violating the state's Civil Service laws by selling tickets while on County Property. He resigned his position and was banned from holding public office for a year.

Corso vowed that we hadn't "seen the last of him" and suggested he might even run for sheriff again once the year was up but I can't find a record of him holding any elected or appointed office again.

Although, Corso was all smiles at an Old Timers Awards Ceremony in 1987.



photo courtesy of Suffolk County News, Jan 22, 1987 edition

The man who assumed Corso's office and responsibilities after the scandal was Donald Dilworth, a Democrat, who didn't linger long as Suffolk County's sheriff. In 1977, he would become the Suffolk County Police Commissioner.

For the most part, Corso seemed to be doing a good job but his tenure wasn't without incident.


Prior to his removal from office, Sheriff Corso had been named in a 1971 lawsuit brought by 22 inmates of Suffolk County's Riverhead Jail. Corso and Warden Charles Cyrta were accused of murdering the prisoners' pet mouse whom they had named Morris. The prisoners claimed that Morris was tame and had been trained to keep other mice and vermin, of which there was plenty, off of their cell tier but when jail officials discovered Morris, he was flushed down a toilet. Two months later this suit was dismissed by the Suffolk County Supreme Court after Justice L. Barron Hill toured the prison and found it a "an antiseptic, scrubbed stone environment." Hill pronounced Morris to have been a disease-carrying pest like any other then recited Robert Burns' quote about how "best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry."


In 1973, a US District Court ruled against Sheriff Corso and Warden Cleary when they tried to refuse the prisoners access to newspapers. Corso and Cleary claimed news from the outside world was disruptive and the accumulation of newspapers in the jail was a fire hazard but the judge found this censorship to be a violation of the inmates' First Amendment Rights.


Corso was also one of six people named in a class action lawsuit filed in March 1975 by Dinah Micaleff. On March 6, 1974, she was arrested on a bench warrant, detained for several hours and subjected to a full body and cavity search. Her crime? She was guilty of being delinquent in paying a $15 speeding ticket she'd received on March 30, 1973. In December 1977, U.S. District Court Judge George Pratt called for a halt to such practices as "there was no reasonable or rationale basis" for them and ruled that they violated the indivduals' 4th and 14th Amendments.


Philip F. Corso died August 29, 1994 at the age of 74.


In an August 11, 2006 NY Times interview, Thomas J. Spota, then Suffolk County's District Attorney, remembered Philip Corso as "Mr. Republican back in the '70s." In recalling the conviction of Corso, Spota claimed Corso cried afterwards and told him there was no worse punishment than walking into a courtroom as a person of stature and then walking out in terminal disgrace.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

It was an accident but Arlene Francis still killed somebody.

 

On Sunday, May 26, 1963, Arlene Francis was driving herself back to Manhattan in her agent Martin Goodman's car after a few hours on Long Island. She'd come east earlier that day to discuss her appearance in a future production at the Mineola Playhouse but now she needed to get back to NYC in time for her weekly Sunday evening appearance on "What's My Line?"



(The Mineola Theatre is no longer in operation but I've indicated its location with a red dot on the Google map below and here's a photo.)

Mineola Playhouse, circa 1964

Arlene was traveling west on the Northern State Parkway and had been stuck in the right lane behind someone whose right blinker had been on for a very long time so she decided to pass him. Arlene accelerated and made her move to the left. Unfortunately, Arlene didn't realize that just ahead of her there had been a minor traffic accident, causing the car driven by Louis H. Van Dam, to skid into the divider. Arlene hit the brakes.



Google Map showing the location of the Mineola Playhouse and the approximate site of the accident.

The roads were slick and the car Arlene was driving skidded then jumped over the 18 inch dividing wall, into east bound traffic. She collided head-on into a car carrying 5 people. The passenger, Mrs. Rose Arcos, aged 34, was killed. The driver, her husband, Joseph Arcos, also 34 years-old, was in serious condition, having suffered injuries to his head, face, legs and arms. Their 9-year-old daughter Celeste received minor facial injuries. Two rear seat passengers, Anthony Catapano, aged 58, and his wife Lena, aged 52, suffered facial injuries and were transported to the hospital.

This 2016 Google Maps image will give you an idea of the road but not the weather conditions.

I'm not exactly sure where Arlene's car jumped the divider. She testified that she was near the New Hyde Park exit when she changed lanes but she didn't specify if it was before or after the exit ramp. This is the view as one travels west on the NSP and approaches the exit. This stretch of road is before the overpass that I believe the cars were moved to after the collision, although on the opposite side of the Parkway. Further on down the road, there is substantial vegetation atop the dividing wall that would impede a car's progress over the barrier. If she crossed over here, before the exit, the leap over the barrier is easier.

Arlene's own injuries were substantial but not life-threatening. She had broken ribs, a broken collarbone, assorted bruises, a head laceration and a concussion; she was hospitalized for 10 days. Kitty Carlisle stepped in to take Arlene's place on the "What's My Line?" panel that evening. Arlene wouldn't be back to work on "What's My Line?" until June 16, 1963 and when she did return she had her arm in a sling.

On July 23, 1963, a lawsuit for $1 million ($500,000 each), alleging negligence, was filed against Arlene and her agent on behalf of the Arcos family even though no criminal charges were brought. It was ruled a tragic accident. Arlene's lawyer argued that the first accident involving Mr. Van Dam caused Arlene to brake so suddenly.

On July 29, 1963 there was a hearing regarding the accident at the DMV. Testimony from both Arlene and Joseph Arcos, who had automatically had their licenses suspended, was vague as they were both suffering from partial amnesia regarding the events. 

On June 4, 1965, the Queens Supreme Court awarded the Arcos family $210,000. The breakdown was $162,500 for the death of Rose Arcos, $40,000 for Joseph's injuries and $7,500 for Celeste's injuries.

Mr. and Mrs. Catapano had filed a separate claim and but their suit was dismissed.

This was not the first time Arlene Francis had been sued in a wrongful death suit.
 

On June 23, 1960, shortly after 2 PM, Detroit native Alvin Rodecker was struck on the head and killed by an eight pound dumbbell that fell from Arlene and husband Martin Gabel's 8th floor apartment in the Ritz Towers Hotel on 57th Street in Manhattan. 

Alvin and his wife Katherine were visiting NYC for a few days to celebrate his 60th birthday. They had just emerged from the neighboring Le Pavillon Restaurant when the accident occurred.

The last thing Alvin said to his wife was about the meal. "Holy cow, that was expensive. But it was worth it. We're really celebrating."

Neither Arlene or Martin were even in Manhattan when the accident happened. They'd left the city three weeks prior and were staying in Mt. Kisco, NY while their apartment's air conditioning unit was being repaired. Arlene would be performing in summer stock in nearby Westport, CT.

The air conditioner had been taken out of the window and replaced by an ill-fitting screen that was propped in place by a pair of dumbbells belonging to the Gabel's son Peter. 

In the apartment that afternoon was the Gabel's private secretary Muriel Fleit and Effie Turner, a maid employed by the hotel. 

Muriel Fleit, Billy Rose Theatre Collection image

Effie wanted to clean the screen, so Muriel picked up one of the dumbbells making the removal of the screen possible. As the maid was taking the screen out of the window, the second hand weight rolled towards the opening. Effie grabbed for it but she wasn't quick enough. 

The 8 pound dumbbell fell and hit Alvin directly on the head, his skull was fractured and he died the next day.

Hearing of the tragedy, the Gabels rushed right back to Manhattan.

There were no criminal charges brought against the Gabels but a lawsuit on behalf of the grieving widow was filed. Mrs. Rodecker's attorney was asking for $500,000 but she was awarded $185,000. The Gabels' insurance covered $175,000 and the hotel paid $10,000.

I've uploaded a video clip from the January 13, 1957 episode of What's My Line? to the As Close To Crime YouTube channel. Why? Because the among Mystery Guests that Sunday evening were the personal secretaries of Arlene Franics, Dorothy Kilgallen and Bennett Cerf. Those women were  Muriel Fleit, Myrtle Verne and Mary Barber. This would have been 3 1/2 years before the terrible accident that took the life of Alvin Rodecker. You can find that clip at - https://youtu.be/OtP-Hz5_q0g

The Murder of Margaret Zorn - Cold Case, 1976

Margaret Zorn, photo from Bethpage Tribune

Here's an unsolved crime from my childhood that has always stuck with me.

The robbery and murder of Margaret Zorn on November 22, 1976.

I didn't know the victim. My family only occasionally bought meals from the establishment owned by the Zorn family - we weren't regular customers but we liked the product, and yet the crime has always stayed with me.

Photo courtesy of Bethpage Chamber of Commerce

I don't think I fully appreciated how close my later place of employment (for 30 years) was to where her car, with her dead body in the front seat, was parked until I found a series of archived newspaper articles earlier this year. I wasn't working anywhere at the time of the crime. I was, maybe, in my first year of Junior High School.

The week of Thanksgiving is always a busy one at Zorn's and the daily deposit reflected this. On Monday, November 22, 1976, Margaret, 66-years-old, was driving to the Farmingdale, New York branch of Banker's Trust, 170 Conklin Street, with $6,000 in cash and $10,000 in checks. She left the store at 1:30 PM.

Traffic on Hempstead Turnpike/Conklin Street can be very slow and congested but when Margaret hadn't returned within 2 hours, the store employees called the bank to see if she'd made it there. She had not - they phoned the police.

This wasn't the only phone call to police that afternoon regarding Margaret Zorn. A 17-year-old boy had discovered Margaret slumped over in her car and he alerted a neighbor who then phoned police. This was at 3:40 PM. She was dead.



Photo from the Farmingdale Observer

Margaret's car was parked on the south side of Prospect Street, near the corner of Bernard Street. She had been shot once. Gone were the cash and checks but Margaret's jewelry hadn't been stolen.

Police interviewed more than 350 people and Margaret's family offered a reward of $5,000 for information leading to an arrest but to no avail. The rumor I'd always heard was, the ever-vague, "it was an inside job" but that gossip never led to an arrest.

The Doctor Will See You Now - For the Last Time



Graphic courtesy of The American Journal

A few years ago I was researching the family tree and came across a story of jealousy, murder and illegal surveillance. Naturally, I was disappointed to learn that the accused was not the same Florence Carman who was my GGrandmother but soon it didn't matter. The crime was sensational and I was quickly as caught up in it as the rest of the nation had been in 1914.

Lulu Bailey



Lulu Bailey was paying a professional, although after hours, visit to the prominent Dr. Edwin Carman at his office/home in Freeport, NY on June 30, 1914. Suddenly there was the sound of breaking glass, a hand appeared in the window and a single shot rang out. Within minutes Mrs. Bailey was dead. The gun was never found.



Florence Carman

Who was the killer? What was the motive? Who was the intended target? Why didn't Mr. Bailey know his wife had made this appointment? Did he know his wife was pregnant? So many questions including why did Mrs. Carman enter the crime scene after the police had departed to remove a hidden listening device that she'd recently had installed in her husband's office without his knowledge? Well, the latter is easy enough to answer.

Florence's jealousy was well-established. On May 20, 1914, Florence had been spying on her husband through the same ground-floor window when she'd seen Dr. Carman give his nurse, Mrs. Varance, $15, then the two kissed. Mrs. Carman burst in, slapped the woman across the face, told them both "This is a nice way for a married man and a married woman to act." She followed this up with "So that's where all your money goes?" Florence demanded the cash be handed over then kicked Mrs. Valance out of the office, telling her never to return. This didn't sit well with her husband and they argued. 



Dictaphone machine, circa 1914



Florence Carman long suspected her husband might be cheating on her and she wanted to listen in on the appointments he had with various female patients, so on June 23, 1914, she purchased a Dictaphone and hid it in Edwin's office.

Could there have been a recording of conversation between husband and wife after the shooting which would incriminate Mrs. Carman? Is that why she snuck the device out of the office when the police weren't looking?

Differing testimonials about Florence's movements on the night Lulu Bailey was shot and killed resulted in her arrest.

The Carman's maid, Celia Coleman, initially backed up Mrs. Carman's alibi but then she started to change her story; and as a witness during the October 1914 trial, Celia had firmly implicated Mrs. Carman in the shooting.

Much of the prosecution's case rested on the validity of Celia's testimony.

Celia testified that on the morning after Lulu Bailey was    killed, Mrs. Carman said to her "Oh Celia, why did I shoot that woman? I hope God will forgive me." 



Celia Coleman

 When asked why she'd lied initially lied to the police about Mrs. Carman, Celia responded that she'd "felt sorry for her." She also admitted to accepting a $5 bill from Mrs. Carman after the shooting and was told at the time, "This is for keeping your mouth shut."

Celia went on to say that, after she'd started to tell the truth, a representative of the Carmans had offered to buy her silence with a $300 bribe.

The prosecution failed to get a conviction....twice.

The first jury was deadlocked and the second trial in May 1915 saw Mrs. Carman acquitted.

The investigation ended there but not the story. Some possible insight into the reason for Mrs. Bailey's secret visit with the doctor came in 1929 when Dr. Carman was himself arrested. He'd been performing illegal abortions. He was on trial for manslaughter in connection to a 1928 procedure and another botched & illegal surgery the following year in which the woman lived. He was sentenced to 4 years in Sing Sing & obviously lost his license to practice medicine but the judge took pity on the 61-year-old physician and granted him probation.

Dr. Edwin Carman