Finally! Sent book proposal off to a publisher
After five years with this project, The Mystery of the Iron Box, the story behind the 1934 ransom kidnapping of June Robles of Tucson, the book proposal is off to a university press for consideration. If all goes well, it will probably take about two years for publication, the academic hoops being what they are. Now to turn to the next project, whatever that may be. Each presents hurdles… another 1934 kidnapping that involves copying 15,000 pages of FBI files (Yikes!)…. or a biography of New Mexico rustler king, John Kinney….. never tackled biography before, and have yet to come across much of what went on in Kinney’s mind. Third option, trying to find a fresh take on the nemeses of Wyatt Earp, the Arizona Cow-Boys. I’ve got an idea for that, but will it translate into a book-length...
Read MoreA reading list for the well-read FBI G-man, 1936 (or so)
The early 20th century saw a rising tide of criticism against certain traditional methods used by police to catch killers and crooks, especially the too-easy reliance by unprofessional local law enforcers on unconstitutional and often barbaric third degree interrogations. In response, enlightened police administrators and policemen joined lawyers, scientists, and others in pushing for adoption of “scientific policing,” the contemporary term for what we now generically call CSI. FBI histories and biographies of J. Edgar Hoover uniformly credit the Bureau’s longtime Director with an early and sustained commitment to “scientific policing.” In 1924, he established a nationwide fingerprint clearinghouse (the Fingerprint Division) to assist state and local police catch criminals who ranged across jurisdictional lines. Eight years later, he authorized Charles A. Appel to set up the Bureau’s first criminal forensics laboratory. While scientific expertise and the responsibility for...
Read MoreBert Rovere’s Paris Inn & the lighter side of FBI undercover work – 1936
This was in the first draft of The Girl in the Iron Box. As much as I love the story, it had to go. Enjoy! If an undercover special agent wanted to show his “date” a good time, impress her with his life style, spill a few drinks, and trick her into spilling what she knew about the kidnapping of June Robles, he could do worse than take her to Bert Rovere’s Paris Inn. A favorite with the Hollywood crowd, the restaurant stood out in a city dotted with flashy and garish night spots. The exterior Paris Inn resembled a Norman castle, complete with turret, while the interior looked like a street café. The satisfied clientele was treated to French and Italian fare, singing waiters, and an orchestra playing opera and jazz, accompanied at times by the burly baritone-voiced...
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