The Black Dahlia Avenger: The True Story

by Steve Hodel

  What those officers and the rest of LAPD did not know, however, was that Stoker was more than an honest cop: he was a crusader, for whom police work — and specifically LAPD police work — was above politics. His zeal for the job and the organization, coupled with a tenacious personality, quickly put him on a collision course with his corrupt superiors all the way up the chain of command to an assistant chief of police and his counterparts in city hall. Stoker's refusal to back down also made him a target of many of the top-echelon politicians in the mayor's and district attorney's offices.

  Stoker's troubles began with the 1949 arrest of Hollywood vice queen Brenda Allen, whom newspapers referred to as "Hollywood Madam" and "the Queen of Hearts." Allen ran a stable of 114 prostitutes and was paying off Hollywood vice officers as well as officers from the centralized Administrative Vice Unit, which conducted city-wide vice investigations. Hollywood Division needed to be paid off, as that was the division in which Allen lived and from which she based her operation. Brenda's monthly income generated plenty of juice for the policeman's fund and her friends at city hall. Corrupt police and city officials had come to rely on a steady stream of income from graft and payoffs.

  In addition to Stoker's arrest of Allen, the newspapers revealed that LAPD had surreptitiously — and without a court order — listened in on telephone calls coming from gangster Mickey Cohen's Hollywood residence. So brazen was the LAPD command that in 1948 several officers experienced in audio electronics donned old clothing and, posing as construction workers, installed bugging devices at Cohen's home as it was being constructed. For over a year, LAPD officers maintained audio surveillance on Cohen's operations, tape-recording the comings and goings of his henchmen as well as many of his guests, which included state agents, police officers, and investigators and staff from the district attorney's office. After gathering a year's worth of covert "intelligence, " several enterprising LAPD vice officers in 1948 approached Cohen with a shakedown, demanding $20, 000 for some "campaign contributions." All of this would be revealed the following year, and that investigation threatened to topple the entire police department.

  In May 1949, Stoker testified in secret before a grand jury to everything he had discovered about internal LAPD graft and corruption by high-ranking police officers. He blew the whistle, even though he had been told that it would ruin his career and probably the rest of his life. But he persisted. The newspapers picked up the scent of scandal, and for months he and the story made local headlines. Stoker's testimony resulted in indictments and perjury charges against then chief of police Clemence Horrall, his assistant chief Joe Reed, a lieutenant, and several sergeants. Many more were expected to follow, with the prospect that L.A.'s best-known gangster, Mickey Cohen, was rumored ready to talk to the 1949 grand jury. It was anticipated that Cohen would reveal high-level LAPD police corruption, as well as corruption within the ranks of the DA's office and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, which had a shared jurisdiction with the LAPD on Brenda Allen's bordello. Cohen's testimony would confirm all that Stoker had testified to and much more.

  Cohen was persuaded to rethink his position about testifying. At 3:00 a.m. on the morning of July 20, 1949, he and his entourage — which included Neddie Herbert, a New York gangster and Cohen's number one man; state attorney general's investigator Harry Cooper, who had been assigned to bodyguard Cohen after rumors circulated of a planned assassination; newspaper columnist Florabel Muir; and actress Dee David — walked out the front door of Sherry's cocktail lounge onto Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Sherry's, a notorious meeting place and hangout for local gangsters, was owned and operated by colorful retired New York detective Barney Ruditsky. As the group was saying its goodnights on the sidewalk in front of the bar, shotgun blasts were fired from across the street into the crowd. Cohen, Neddie Herbert, Harry Cooper, and Miss David were all hit. Agent Cooper and the actress, though seriously wounded, survived. Herbert died two days later. Though Cohen received only a minor wound to his right shoulder, it apparently affected his vocal cords. After the attempted hit, the usually forthcoming Cohen refused to make any statements relating to police corruption and provided no information or fuel for the grand jury investigation.

  When Cohen backed down, anyone else who might have come forward fell silent as well. And with no one at a high level willing to corroborate the charges the outspoken Stoker had made, he stood alone. Now it was his turn to feel the heat. A policewoman, Stoker's former partner, was quickly brought forward to testify that she had been with him when he committed a burglary of an office building. She alleged he stole back a personal check he had written for some construction work. He was arrested, booked, and charged with a felony count of burglary. Fortunately, Stoker had an airtight alibi for the time the policewoman claimed she had been with him, and a jury speedily found him not guilty.

  LAPD regrouped, charging Stoker with "conduct unbecoming a police officer" and secondary allegations of insubordination. The former is an administrative charge so nebulous as to involve almost anything imaginable, a catch-all that permitted the department to get rid of anybody, anytime, for anything — for example, for driving your city car six blocks to your home to share a forty-five-minute lunch with your wife. "Conduct unbecoming" was a ground for dismissal.

  The hearing board, comprised of LAPD captains and above — the senior chair being held by Deputy Chief of Detectives Thad Brown — quickly convened, refusing to allow Stoker's case to be continued until after the burglary trial could be heard. The board found him guilty of administrative violations, and the case was then submitted to the newly appointed chief of police, W. A. Worton, who would decide the penalty, which could range anywhere from a one-day suspension in pay to termination. Chief Worton reviewed the case and immediately fired Stoker. After Stoker's acquittal on the false and perjured burglary charge in the criminal case, in which most jury members concluded he had been framed, Stoker attempted to be reappointed as a police officer, but his request was denied.

  Immediately before he was fired, and three months prior to my father's arrest for incest, Sergeant Charles Stoker was subpoenaed by the sitting 1949 grand jury to testify about all aspects of police corruption that he had discovered while assigned as a Hollywood vice operator. His revelations included firsthand information that went beyond the Brenda Allen scandal and the wiretapping and attempted extortion of monies from gangster Mickey Cohen.

  Sergeant Stoker's secret testimony, some of which was leaked to the press, also included his discovery of an abortion ring within the City of Los Angeles, run by medical doctors who were paying protection money to members of the LAPD Gangster Squad, the specialized unit within the Homicide Division.* Stoker learned that this ring of abortionists included only M.D.s; each member paid regular "dues, " which entitled him or her to operate freely and conduct abortions without fear of arrest.

  Stoker became aware of the activities of the abortion ring when he was approached by a retired LAPD lieutenant, now an inspector for the California State Medical Board, who informed him he had heard about Stoker's good work and ability, admired his courage, and needed to talk to him. In checking out the inspector's reputation, Stoker learned that he had a solid reputation for honesty and would not connive, play ball, or cut corners.

  The investigator told Stoker that he and others in his unit believed that members of LAPD's Gangster Squad, the unit responsible for making the arrests on the referrals from the medical board investigators, were protecting the abortionists, either by informing the medical doctors that they were under investigation, or if an arrest was actually made, smothering it before any charges could be formally filed with the DA. This occurred only in the cases of those doctors suspected of being within the ring of protection of the Gangster Squad detectives. All others — non-M.D.s, midwives, and chiropractors — were arrested and successfully prosecuted.

  The inspector told Stoker that the suspected leader of the abortion ring was a Dr. Audrain, whose office was located in downtown Los
Angeles at 6th and St. Paul. The investigators had an informant who had received an abortion from Dr. Audrain, and they wanted Stoker to conduct an undercover operation, using a policewoman as an operative. Stoker was informed that the medical board investigators' supervisor, who was also on the take, was on vacation; with him away, it was unlikely the LAPD Gangster Squad would receive word about the planned investigation and forewarn Dr. Audrain. The medical board inspectors asked Stoker to investigate the doctor in secret, which would circumvent the standard operating procedure of notifying the Gangster Squad detectives.

  Stoker went to Lieutenant Ed Blair, his vice-supervisor, told him what he wanted to do, and explained that he had learned that the state investigators had requested his assistance because they suspected the Gangster Squad detectives of taking payoffs and protecting doctors performing illegal abortions. Lieutenant Blair, recognizing that the operation was far afield of Stoker's normal assignment as a vice squad officer, still approved Stoker's request, but ordered him to "take it easy and keep me out of it."

  A policewoman posing as a "girl in trouble" made an appointment at Dr. Audrain's office, located at 1052 West 6th Street. She was examined and told by the nurse the "test came back positive for pregnancy.1An appointment was scheduled late the following week. The policewoman was advised to bring $250 in cash and return to the office at 7:30 in the morning the day of the operation. Normal abortionist working hours were from midnight until 9:00 A.M.

  The day before the scheduled appointment, Stoker was contacted by the medical board investigators, who were, in Stoker's words, "down in the mouth." They advised him that their supervisor had returned from his scheduled vacation early, and they were left with no choice but to inform him of Stoker's pending investigation. Although their supervisor had told them to go forward with the plan, they were sure he would warn the Gangster Squad, who would in turn warn the doctor.

  Ever confident and optimistic, Stoker decided to go ahead with the plan anyway, and the following morning the policewoman, backed up by Stoker and his partner, Officer Ruggles, went to Audrain's office. The state investigators had surmised correctly. The doctor had indeed been tipped off; the office was locked tight and remained closed for a full week following the anticipated arrest. The investigation having ended in failure, Stoker returned to his normal duties, putting the abortion ring concerns out of his mind.

  In the spring of 1949, the subject of this protected abortion ring resurfaced. This time, the same medical board inspector approached Stoker with a new case, involving a female M.D. (her name was never revealed by Stoker) believed to be connected with the abortion ring, who was performing abortions to well-recommended customers out of her expensive office in the movie colony district on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks.

  The state investigators had obtained the name of one of the doctor's former clients, which they could use as an entree and reference. This time they asked Stoker to operate on his own, without involving their office, which would obviate the necessity of their having to inform their supervisor, thus effectively bypassing LAPD Homicide and its Gangster Squad.

  Stoker agreed, and the same undercover policewoman who had attempted to obtain the abortion at Dr. Audrain's office again posed as a pregnant woman seeking help. She met the woman doctor at her office, who informed her that "she was not doing abortions as she could not find a dependable assistant." The doctor said she would personally contact another doctor who would perform the abortion. The policewoman was advised to call back the following morning and the doctor would provide the other doctor's name. The following morning, the woman doctor told the undercover policewoman that she had spoken with another doctor, Eric Kirk, who had agreed to perform the abortion. She gave her Kirk's phone number.

  Sergeant Stoker immediately contacted the state medical investigator, who told him that while Eric Kirk was a suspected abortionist, he was a chiropractor, therefore not a member of the ring. A decision was made to proceed anyway, to see if an arrest could be made on Kirk.

  The policewoman made an appointment, was examined at Kirk's office on Riverside Drive in the North Hollywood area, was again, per standard operating procedure, found to be pregnant, and was given an appointment for an abortion for the following Saturday. She was again advised to bring $250 in cash. I checked the 1949 Los Angeles telephone directory for a listing of chiropractors and found Eric Kirk's office listed at that time at 2157 Riverside Drive. In the same directory, Kirk advertised his specialty as "Obstetrics and Gynecology."

  On the day of the scheduled appointment, the cash was marked and the policewoman was driven to Kirk's office by Stoker and Officer Ruggles, where they maintained surveillance a block away. The policewoman entered the office and within five minutes exited the front door and was observed to enter a large sedan that had pulled up in front of the office. Stoker and Ruggles, on foot and out of their unmarked police car, ran back to it and quickly searched the area for the sedan, but could not locate it. Now fearful for the policewoman's safety, they entered the office and found a receptionist inside. Initially, the woman denied any knowledge of the appointment with a pregnant woman seeking an abortion, but when confronted with arrest as an accessory, she identified herself as Eric Kirk's wife, breaking into tears. "I knew it, " she said. "He's done it again. I hope you catch the son-of-a-bitch and send him to jail for life!"

  Stoker contacted his vice unit, reported the police officer missing, and put out a broadcast for all units to be on the lookout for the vehicle and the missing policewoman. At that point, the policewoman walked into the medical office accompanied by Dr. Eric Kirk, who, upon learning that his patient was an undercover police officer, related the following story to Sergeant Stoker, Officer Ruggles, and the policewoman.

  Two days after he had scheduled the appointment with the policewoman, Kirk said, two officers from LAPD Gangster Squad came to his office and arrested him for soliciting abortions. Stoker asked Kirk to identify the detectives and he complied. In his book, Stoker referred to them as "Detectives Joe Small and Bill Ball" — not their real names.

  Since Dr. Kirk had not completed a solicitation for abortion with Stoker and the policewoman, Stoker lacked enough reasonable cause to make an arrest and was therefore forced to call the Gangster Squad detectives and inform them of the circumstances. Stoker contacted the two detectives and advised them of his own investigation and what had transpired that morning. He was told by them to "keep his nose out of their business and stop conducting unauthorized abortion investigations."

  A few months later, the third and final incident involving Stoker, the California state medical investigators, and the Gangster Squad detectives took place. This one involved a nurse who was arranging for abortions for young girls at a cost of $500. The suspected doctor was one of the protected M.D.s, and again the state investigators asked Stoker to operate without the knowledge of their supervisor. This time they added another twist: he would have to obtain the $500 from his own department, in order not to tip off their connection to the investigation. Stoker went to his supervisor, Lieutenant Blair, who again said, "I'll try and get the money for you, but keep me out of it." Blair obtained the $500 from a vice slush fund, Stoker signed for the cash, and all was ready to proceed. The following morning at eight o'clock Stoker's phone rang. It was detective "Joe Small" from Homicide. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked, reminding Stoker that he had "already been told once to stay out of abortion investigations." Small informed Stoker that an officer would be by to pick up the $500 and would give him a signed receipt for the cash. Stoker signed over the cash to this officer: that ended his involvement in the abortion ring investigations. Eric Kirk was convicted of performing abortions and speedily sentenced to prison at San Quentin.

  In May 1949, behind closed doors, Sergeant Charles Stoker was called before the grand jury and testified to everything he had learned about the abortion ring and the involvement of Gangster Squad detectives "Joe Small and Bill Ball." As a result of this testimony, the
information he provided about the Brenda Allen scandal, and other testimony from LAPD officers, grand jury indictments were secured against Chief Clemence B. Horrall, Assistant Chief Joe Reed, Captain Cecil Wisdom, Lieutenant Rudy Wellport, and Sergeant E. V.Jackson.

  After Stoker's testimony, Kirk, who remained behind bars in San Quentin, submitted, through his attorneys, a written affidavit to the Superior Court in an attempt to get a new trial based on the evidence provided by Stoker. In his affidavit, Kirk stated that he had been told by three separate Los Angeles attorneys that "some politicians, or the Los Angeles Police Department, were out to get me, but that they [the attorneys] could not identify the interested parties or give their reasons for wanting me out of the way." In his affidavit, Kirk said that immediately after his initial arrest, a co-defendant by the name of Tulley (no additional information was provided by Stoker) informed him that $2, 500 would "square the beef." The Monday following his arrest, Kirk and Tulley, out on bail, met with a seventy-one-year-old man named Dan Bechtel at his office in downtown Los Angeles. Upon receiving $2, 500 each from Tulley and Kirk, Bechtel immediately called a man by the name of "Joe, " spoke with him, and then told both defendants that the charges "had been quashed by Joe." Both Tulley and Kirk left Bechtel's office, but several days later were contacted and told to return. Both complied, and their monies were returned, whereupon Bechtel explained, "the deal could not go through, as too many people were involved." Bechtel made a final contact with Kirk, where he advised the chiropractor that "he could get the charges dismissed but it would cost Kirk $16, 000." Kirk could not raise that amount of money and, after his conviction, was remanded to custody and sent to prison. According to Stoker, in 1950 Dan Bechtel was indicted by the grand jury "for accepting large sums of money from abortionists on the pretense that this money would be utilized in paying off law enforcement officers whose duty it is to arrest and prosecute abortions."