by Josh Levin
431 “If she was convicted”: “Convicted ‘welfare queen’ to undergo mental exam,” April 1, 1977.
432 “was incapable of knowing”: Petition for behavioral clinic examination, March 27, 1978, Linda Taylor burglary case.
433 filed a notice of appeal: May 12, 1977, Illinois v. Linda Taylor.
434 “a bank telling a bank robber”: “$6 million aid quiz called flop,” March 20, 1977.
435 The four-part series: “How ruses lure victims to child pornographers,” Chicago Tribune, May 21, 1977.
436 led to U.S. Senate hearings and the passage: U.S. Senate, “Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation,” Hearings before the Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency, Chicago, May 27, 1977; “Pleading the First,” Washington City Paper, August 7, 1988.
437 “We miss you around here”: Kirkpatrick to George Bliss, August 9, 1977, via Bliss family archive.
438 “king of the family”: “Granddad of 57 Is Honored at Family Party,” Chicago Tribune, December 18, 1966.
439 around five thirty the next morning: Case report, September 11, 1978, Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office/FOIA.
440 6:42 a.m. on September 11: Pathological report and protocol, September 11, 1978, Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office/FOIA.
441 Bliss’s friend John L. Sullivan: Incident report, September 11, 1978, Oak Lawn Police Department/FOIA.
442 the night of September 14, 1978: Therese Bliss death certificate, CCCO.
443 A toxicological analysis: Toxicologist’s report, September 13, 1978, Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office/FOIA.
444 It had been Bliss: “The reporter who taught how to give,” September 13, 1978.
445 the paper’s front-page obituary: “Pulitzer Prize winner George Bliss dead,” September 12, 1978.
446 “hope that his death”: “George Bliss,” September 12, 1978.
447 “people like Bliss need”: “The lesson of Bliss’ death,” September 15, 1978.
448 “really not enough”: Ward Hamlin Jr. quoted in “Welfare Queen’s Sentence Draws Van Buren Echo,” Herald-Palladium (Benton Harbor, MI), May 13, 1977.
449 “on very similar charges”: Chicago office memo, May 27, 1977, FBI/FOIA.
450 On June 20, 1977: Conviction information, People of the State of Illinois v. Sandra Brownlee, CCCC.
451 at least one newspaper: “State welfare princess, mate get probation,” AP/Southern Illinoisan (Carbondale, IL), June 21, 1977.
452 to claw back $7,000: “Welfare queen becomes case study,” Chicago Tribune, October 29, 1977.
453 Brownlee told her probation officer: Restitution ledger, June 29, 1977, Illinois v. Sandra Brownlee.
454 Piper affirmed: “Illinois Welfare Queen out on bond, seeks aid,” November 17, 1977.
455 On November 18, 1977: Memorandum of orders, November 18, 1977, Linda Taylor burglary case; “‘Welfare queen’ jailed for missing court dates,” Chicago Tribune, November 19, 1977.
456 In January 1978: Motion to withdraw as defendant’s attorney, January 13, 1978, Linda Taylor burglary case.
457 “had absolutely no cooperation”: John J. Wallace, motion to withdraw, February 24, 1978, Linda Taylor burglary case.
458 That same month: Memorandum of orders, February 3, 1978, Illinois v. Linda Taylor.
459 “has been unable to substantiate”: Nicholas C. Avgerin, motion in the nature of discovery, March 27, 1978, Linda Taylor burglary case.
460 petition was denied: “‘Welfare queen’ given 5 1/2 years for burglary,” Chicago Tribune, March 28, 1978.
461 she pleaded guilty: Change of plea, report of court proceedings, Linda Taylor burglary case.
462 Sklodowski sentenced Taylor: “‘Welfare queen’ given 5 1/2 years for burglary.”
463 amnesty to rule breakers: “29 Agree To Return Welfare,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 11, 1976.
464 “I think the welfare queen”: “Welfare cheats find ‘easy street’ has a dead end,” March 26, 1978.
465 “We don’t prosecute the mother of 10”: “Welfare crooks employ new tactics,” November 25, 1978.
466 “The thing that made”: “Welfare fraud investigated,” UPI/Republican and Herald (Pottsville, PA), November 22, 1978.
467 “Chicago’s second welfare queen”: “Probers think they have welfare queen successor,” Chicago Tribune, January 21, 1977.
468 “She had to write a report”: Quoted in “Criminal justice student indicted for welfare fraud,” AP/Decatur Herald, April 29, 1978.
469 “Atrocious things are going on”: “She’s Known As Chicago’s ‘Welfare Queen,’” July 3, 1978.
470 eight in-home client interviews per day: “More Welfare Spending, Staff Needed,” Decatur Herald, August 27, 1975.
471 directly to currency exchanges: Kohler-Hausmann, Getting Tough, p. 188.
472 “The benefits were too low”: Ibid., p. 171.
473 $317 per month: “Public aid’s housecleaning necessary to end abuses,” Lindsay-Schaub/Southern Illinoisan, June 30, 1978.
474 870 public assistance cases: “Disposition of Public Assistance Cases Involving Questions of Fraud” (Report E-7), Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1970.
475 2,638 cases: Report E-7, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1979.
476 George Lindberg…said in 1977: “Public Aid Fraud Not Overlooked,” Lindsay-Schaub/Decatur Herald, April 10, 1977.
477 a minimum of $50,000: “Millions spent in detecting losses,” Lindsay-Schaub/Decatur Herald, June 25, 1978.
478 For every cheat you get: “Needy, not the greedy should receive welfare,” UPI/Journal Gazette (Mattoon, Illinois), November 22, 1978.
479 A survey conducted in Illinois in 1978: Samuel Skinner, remarks at Secretary’s National Conference on Fraud, Abuse, and Error, December 1978, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare/NCJRS.
480 close to $1 million…closer to $300,000: “Too often, appearances deceiving in war against fraud,” Lindsay-Schaub/Decatur Herald, June 29, 1978.
481 partnered with George Bliss: George Bliss and William Crawford Jr., “Inside $7 million Medicaid eye care fraud conspiracy,” Chicago Tribune, June 13, 1976.
482 twenty welfare fraud cases: Notice, September 1977, LAC/ISA.
483 “correct public aid fraud”: “Republicans fail to cut aid appropriation,” Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL), April 30, 1976.
484 “I am aware of the fact”: 79th Illinois General Assembly, April 29, 1976, session transcript, ILGA online archive.
485 “‘Welfare cheaters’ has become”: “Leaders Meet on Poor,” Chicago Defender, November 26, 1977.
486 “I think they’re trying”: “Democrats ask new aid fraud panel,” Chicago Tribune, January 16, 1978.
487 on February 16, 1978: Warden Charlotte Sutliff to Sternik, February 28, 1978, Illinois v. Linda Taylor.
488 New Republic would publish an essay: “The President’s Mind,” April 7, 1982.
Chapter 10
Author interviews with Norris Bishton, Leon Wexler, Gerald Mannix, Robert Lombardo, Arthur Engelland, Gus Redmond.
489 decade-old refrigerator: “Gambler Left Over $770,000, But Wouldn’t Advance Maid $20,” Chicago Daily News, February 22, 1964.
490 the seventy-year-old woman: Although many news reports indicated that she was sixty-six, Kennedy would later testify that she’d been born in December 1893. Testimony of Rose Kennedy, June 3, 1965, In the Matter of the Estate of Lawrence Wakefield, (henceforth Wakefield estate), CCCC Probate Division.
491 travel by private ambulance: “$500,000 Found in Home; Seize Policy Hoard After Owner Dies,” Chicago Tribune, February 20, 1964.
492 He also noticed: Childs’s account in “How Patrolman’s Hunch Unveiled Riches,” Chicago Sun-Times, February 23, 1964.
493 At 3 p.m. on that second day: Robert McDonald testimony, April 5, 1965, People of the State of Illinois v. Rose Kennedy, CCCC.
494 almost fainted: �
�$500,000 Found in Home: Seize Policy Hoard.”
495 Kennedy watched…in a small chair: NEA Telephoto image in Jacksonville Daily Journal (Jacksonville, IL), February 23, 1964.
496 The money filled thirty-two sacks: “$500,000 Found in Home: Seize Policy Hoard.”
497 “the government would”: “Final Tally of Cache Is $763,223,” Chicago Sun-Times, February 21, 1964.
498 He’d died at 8:55 p.m.: Lawrence Wakefield death certificate, CCCO.
499 “I loved him and I am sorry”: June Kaufman testimony, April 5, 1965, Wakefield estate.
500 eventually counted: “The Fight Begins for Policy Hoard,” Chicago Daily News, February 21, 1964.
501 $763,223.30: “Big Crowd at Policy Boss Rites,” Chicago Daily News, February 25, 1964.
502 “They just wanted to see”: “Money Man Popular in Death: Chapel Flooded With Calls About Policy Future,” February 22, 1964.
503 None of them brought flowers: “‘Friends’ Jam Chapel to View Policy King,” Chicago Tribune, February 24, 1964.
504 “an unostentatious man”: “1,100 At Church for Last Rites of Policy Boss,” Chicago Tribune, February 26, 1964.
505 A day earlier: “The Policy Plot Thickens Around $760,000 Trove,” April 17, 1964.
506 “known to a generation”: “Over $250,000 Cache Found by Raiders; Believed Policy Money,” February 20, 1964.
507 $50-million-a-year business: “Betting on the Numbers—A $50 Million-a-Year Game,” February 21, 1964.
508 “less than half”: “The Players Get a Raw Deal,” February 21, 1964.
509 “all taken from poor Negroes”: X and Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, p. 248.
510 Wakefield had been arrested: “Hundreds at Rites for ‘Shabby’ Chi Policy Man Who Left Over $700,000 in Home,” ANP/Pittsburgh Courier, February 29, 1964.
511 “risk[ed] their insurance policy”: “Who Will Get Policy Baron’s Fortune?”
512 “Big” Ed Jones: “The Emperor Jones,” Time, May 27, 1946.
513 paid a $100,000 ransom: “Ted Roe Bares Inside Story of Jones Kidnaping,” Chicago Tribune, June 23, 1951.
514 “behind an appearance”: “Count $763,000 in Policy Hoard,” February 21, 1964.
515 “Two men from the crime syndicate”: “Escapes Crime Syndicates; ‘Shabby’ Policy Man Leaves over $800,000,” Pittsburgh Courier, February 29, 1964.
516 “a penny in the house”: “Count $763,000 in Policy Hoard.”
517 $250,000…$7,500: “Betting on the Numbers—a $50 Million-a-Year Game” and “$750,000! And Policy Hoard Count Goes On,” Chicago Daily News, February 20, 1964.
518 “an unattractive token operation”: “Who Will Get Policy Baron’s Fortune?”
519 Kennedy’s version of events: “Housekeeper of Wakefield Weeps, Freed,” Chicago Tribune, March 25, 1964.
520 In May, Constance Wakefield: Petition, May 19, 1964, Wakefield estate.
521 “suffered recurring illness”: Affidavit and motion for continuance, August 4, 1964, Wakefield estate.
522 “she apparently had fainted”: “Alleged Policy King Heir Faints at Hearing,” October 14, 1964.
523 Hospital records: Norris Bishton testimony on legal costs, December 9, 1964, Wakefield estate.
524 In September, a probate judge: Order, September 29, 1964, Wakefield estate.
525 receipt for $54.90…stud fee of $25: Deponent’s exhibits, Wakefield estate.
526 a brown leather billfold: Wakefield estate.
527 Jim and Virginia Collins: Deponent’s exhibit, Wakefield estate.
528 The first will: Wakefield estate.
529 The second will: Ibid.
530 hiring the president: Donald Doud to Norman J. Barry, detailed bill, January 11, 1965, Wakefield estate.
531 Linda Taylor took the stand: Court transcript, Wakefield estate.
532 That certificate: Constance Beverly Wakefield delayed record of birth, CCCO.
533 The petitioner had asked: Blowitz to Judge Kogut, November 9, 1964, Wakefield estate.
534 Barry then took over: Court transcript, November 9, 1964, Wakefield estate.
Chapter 11
Author interviews with Norris Bishton, Leon Wexler, Gerald Mannix, Johnnie Harbaugh, John Owens, Shelby Tuitavuki, Joan Shefferd, Betty Hudson, Sarah Mooney Hankey.
535 “Are you acquainted with”: Hubert Mooney examination, November 9, 1964, Wakefield estate.
536 “If we would feel”: Court transcript, November 9, 1964, Wakefield estate.
537 “Just say her attorney”: “The Fight Begins for Policy Hoard.”
538 “I hope she has a good time”: “Police Raid Ruled Illegal: Blonde Woman Renews Claim on $761,385,” April 4, 1964.
539 series of pencil marks: Doud to Barry, detailed bill.
540 “the biggest morass”: Bishton testimony on legal costs, Wakefield estate.
541 Eighty-seven long-distance phone calls: Ibid.
542 purchasing his star witness’s testimony…“strictly a fishing expedition”: Court transcript, November 10, 1964, Wakefield estate.
543 eleven black people: Data for Cullman precinct, 1930 U.S. population census.
544 zero people…had not changed: Data for Summit precinct (1930) and Brooksville Division (1960), U.S. population census.
545 “the only strictly white town”: “Only One Negro,” Tensas Gazette (Saint Joseph, LA) and Hinds County Gazette (Raymond, MS), April 10, 1908.
546 “not to have to stop at Cullman for any purpose”: “To Try 2 Boys With Murder Attempt In Morgan County, Ala.,” New Journal and Guide (Norfolk, VA), February 1, 1936.
547 “You ought to have”: “Ozie Powell and ‘killer’ sheriff,” Pittsburgh Courier, February 1, 1936.
548 After Mooney was excused: Constance Wakefield examination by Mannix, November 10, 1964, Wakefield estate.
549 On April 25, 1946: Arrest and booking report, Oakland Police Department, Wakefield estate; “Seek contempt ruling in will of Wakefield,” Chicago Tribune, November 11, 1964.
550 Two years later: Arrest and booking report, Oakland Police Department, March 18, 1948; Constance Wakefield examination by Mannix.
551 When she was fingerprinted: Constance Wakefield examination by Mannix.
552 On the afternoon of November 10: Sergeant Burton J. Buhrke examination, Wakefield estate.
553 “Everything is fictitious”: Court transcript, November 10, 1964, Wakefield estate.
554 Betty Day…swore she’d been present: Day examination, November 9, 1964, Wakefield estate.
555 he’d recently been arrested: “Charge Doctor in Dope Sale to Juveniles,” Chicago Tribune, January 5, 1963.
556 In 1970, though, Sill was arrested again: “Doctor Charged With Drug Abuse,” AP/Dispatch (Moline, IL), August 12, 1970.
557 “a little court deal”: Hubert Mooney examination, November 10, 1964, Wakefield estate.
558 three days later, Lydia Blount: Examination by Blowitz, November 12, 1964, Wakefield estate.
559 I said, “[Martha] is up here”: Hubert Mooney examination, November 12, 1964, Wakefield estate.
560 135 times: Blount examination, November 13, 1964, Wakefield estate.
561 rented a car: Bishton testimony on legal costs, Wakefield estate.
562 “smart little while”: Sarah Jane Mooney examination, November 13, 1964, Wakefield estate.
563 “Yes, yes, I guess I was”: Ibid.
564 a photograph taken in 1942: State of Illinois exhibit, Wakefield estate.
565 It had been twenty-two years: Thelma Helms examination, November 12, 1964, Wakefield estate.
566 “because of his age”: Court transcript, November 16, 1964, Wakefield estate.
567 “to strike and dismiss”: Mannix to Kogut, court transcript, November 16, 1964.
568 Rose Kennedy got: “Woman to Get $431,385 of Policy Hoard,” Chicago Tribune, September 16, 1965.
569 ordered to pay roughly $23,000: Order, December 10,
1964, Wakefield estate.
570 On November 29, 1966: Reversing and remanding order, Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Wakefield estate.
571 would fail to show up: Order, March 7, 1967, Wakefield estate.
572 ran a photo of the “phony heiress”: “Phony heiress of policy king gets 6 months.”
573 ice-skating rink: “Neighbors’ Zest Overflows—Into Ice Rink,” Chicago Tribune, March 1, 1964.
574 95 percent white…99 percent black: Data from 1960 for Lincoln Park and Grand Boulevard in Encyclopedia of Chicago online.
575 Forty-Third and South Calumet: Changes of address made by Connie Harbaugh compiled by the VA, provided in FBI Chicago office memo, June 25, 1975, FBI/FOIA.
576 she’d started hearing voices: Katherine Freiman forensic evaluation of Linda Springer, October 4, 1994, United States of America v. Linda Springer (henceforth USA v. Springer), Federal Bureau of Prisons/FOIA.
577 “a Portuguese or something”: Examination, November 10, 1964, Wakefield estate.
578 “she is supposed to be”: Examination, November 13, 1964, Wakefield estate.
Chapter 12
Author interviews with Joan Shefferd, Irene Greer Chambers, Betty Hudson, Sarah Mooney Hankey, Grady Mooney, Ed Stacy, Norris Bishton.
579 a rainstorm on a frigid winter day: Thelma Helms examination, November 12, 1964, Wakefield estate.
580 Marvin White, wasn’t around: Sarah Jane Mooney examination, November 13, 1964, Wakefield estate.
581 arrested twice for vagrancy: Register of prisoners committed to county jail, Marshall County, Alabama archives.
582 “any person who is”: Laws of the Various States Relating to Vagrancy, p. 9.
583 a handwritten note: Complainant exhibits, Marvin White v. Lyde White, circuit court of Marshall County, Marshall County, Alabama archives.
584 Lydia was fourteen: Birth date (April 12, 1908) per Lydia Blount obituary in Searcy Daily Citizen, August 9, 2003.
585 filed for divorce: Petition, October 14, 1927, Marvin White v. Lyde White.
586 He later helped send Head to prison: Marvin White testimony, court transcript, March 14, 1927, Arthur Head v. State of Alabama, Alabama Court of Appeals.
