CHAPTER 1. NORTH CAROLINA: THE DIXIE MAC MACHINE
Information on the Kripplebauer crew’s repeated forays through North Carolina was gathered through extensive interviews with Junior Kripplebauer and numerous other K&A burglars who periodically traveled to that state. Though North Carolina was the focal point of this chapter, any of two dozen other states could have been used to introduce the burglars, since their game plan was fairly similar for all locales.
Additional facts were gleaned from a series of excellent news articles on the Hallmark Gang written by Martha Woodall and published in the Greensboro Record over five days beginning on April 26, 1981. Woodall’s articles graphically present a community under siege and the monetary and social costs involved in the Philly burglars’ annual jewel and cash harvest in the Tar Heel State. Many other North Carolina newspapers provided less extensive coverage of the Hallmark Gang.
Repeated interviews with former Raleigh police officer D. C. Williams and Judge Rick Greeson also supplied important background for this chapter.
CHAPTER 2. “JUNIOR”
The description of Centralia, Pennsylvania, was based on a series of newspaper and magazine articles that tracked the gradual decline of this mining community, as well as the vivid recollections of Junior Kripplebauer.
Junior’s shootout with Florida authorities and subsequent imprisonment were covered in news articles that appeared in the Philadelphia Bulletin, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Philadelphia Daily News. Those same papers also provided useful articles on Kripplebauer’s first partner in crime, Tommy Lyons, a promising young jockey whose successful career was derailed by a severe drug addiction.
Details about Kripplebauer’s introduction to the K&A Gang at North Philadelphia bars such as Marty’s and the Shamrock were provided by bar owners and a number of former bar patrons and burglars, including Bill McClurg.
CHAPTER 3. KENSINGTON
My account of Kensington’s social and political history, including its gradual transformation from fishing village to industrial powerhouse, is based on numerous published sources. Some of the most helpful were: Peter Binzen, Whitetown U.S.A. (New York: Random House, 1970); Elizabeth M. Geffen, “Industrial Development and Social Crisis 1841–1854,” in Russell F. Weigley, Philadelphia: A 300 Hundred Year History (New York: W. W. Norton, 1982); Dennis Clark, The Irish in Philadelphia (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1981); “Kensington: From Fishing Village to Industrial Center,” in Jamie Catrambone and Harry Silcox, Kensington History: Stories and Memories (Philadelphia: Brighton Press/Institute for Service Learning, 1996); Kensington: A City Within a City (Philadelphia: Keighton, 1891); and an array of nineteenth-and twentieth-century articles from the Public Ledger.
Long-time Kensington residents Jimmy Moran, George Holmes, Andrew Guckin, Torben Jenks, Paul Melione, and Brother Hugh McGuire also contributed to this chapter through interviews.
Quotations come from the following printed sources:
“home to a hundred thousand”: Binzen, Whitetown U.S.A., p. 81.
“alien, papist, anti-democratic”: Weigley, Philadelphia: A 300 Year History.
“pledged themselves to an unremitting”: ibid.
“No theme in these textbooks”: ibid.
“bloody Irish transports”: Binzen, Whitetown U.S.A., p. 88.
“This is the fatal evil of Philadelphia”: Geffen, “Industrial Development.”
“thoroughly stigmatized white men”: ibid.
“a labyrinth of social and class”: ibid.
“enterprise dotted with factories so numerous”: A City Within a City.
“two-thirds of the insane in the state”: Clark, Irish in Philadelphia.
“reputation for alcoholic intake”: ibid.
“an oasis of camaraderie for the worker”: ibid.
“Drink, accursed drink is the cause”: ibid.
CHAPTER 4. PRODUCTION WORK
Numerous interviews helped illuminate the early years of the K&A Gang. Especially helpful in explaining the rudiments of production work, and recounting the lives of Willie Sears and Effie Burke, were Jimmy Laverty, Don Abrams, Bill McClurg, Jimmy Dolan, and Jackie Johnson. Arlene Burke and Carole Heidinger, Burke’s wife and sister-in-law, also contributed valuable information to this chapter.
Police officials who told of their run-ins with members of the K&A Gang in the 1950s included Clark Cutting and Herb Mooney from the Abington Police Department, Carl Butzloff from the Jenkintown Police Department; and John DelCarlino, Joseph Brophy, and Herbie Rhodes of the Philadelphia Police Department.
Once again, numerous articles in the Philadelphia Bulletin, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Philadelphia Daily News proved helpful for this early period in the gang’s development. Some of the more useful articles included: “City’s No. 1 Thief Slain in Gangland Style,” Philadelphia Daily News, February 21, 1964; “Bad Man Willie Sears Has Some Bad Luck,” Philadelphia Sunday Bulletin, June 22, 1958; “Anatomy of a Burglar,” Philadelphia Inquirer, February 2, 1964; “Parolee Is Caught in Stolen Auto,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, October 13, 1942; “Autoist, 16, Seized After Wild Ride,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 14, 1942.
CHAPTER 5. ROAD COMPANIES, BRUTES, AND SAFE CRACKERS
The account of the “Houston Airlift” is largely based on articles that appeared in the Houston Chronicle, official FBI and local Houston police reports, and Kripplebauer’s legal file.
On the far-flung travels of the K&A Gang, their strategies, and their various burglary tools and safecracking techniques, Jimmy Laverty, Jimmy Dolan, Chick Goodroe, Don Johnstone, Johnnie Boggs, and John L. McManus proved particularly helpful.
Many individuals, including Jimmy Moran, Jackie Johnson, and Jay Tipton, shared information on the #9714 screwdriver or “brute.”
Newspaper articles contributing to this chapter include: “Suspects Trailed for Three Weeks,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 7, 1959; “Philadelphia Quartet Held in Upstate Burglaries,” Philadelphia Daily News, July 7, 1959.
CHAPTER 6. THE POTTSVILLE HEIST
The 1959 Pottsville Heist is one of the most written-about criminal events in Philadelphia history. There are literally scores of articles on the burglary itself, the fascinating cast of characters (from Lillian Reis to Captain Clarence Ferguson), the murders of the Blaney brothers, and the subsequent criminal trials in Pottsville. Some of the more helpful newspaper and magazine pieces were: Alfred G. Aronowitz, “They Call Me Tiger Lil,” Saturday Evening Post, October 23, 1963; “Star Witness in Pottsville Theft Is Shot,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, August 14, 1960; “$478,000 Loot Fantastic, Pottsville Victim Insists,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, April 5, 1960; “Theft Story Is Given by Informer,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, March 16, 1961; “Big Heist Crimetable,” Philadelphia Daily News, October 19, 1961; “Lillian Reis and Staino Fight Police After Chase,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, February 25, 1963; “$30,000 in Box Is Linked to Pottsville Theft,” Sunday Bulletin, April 24, 1960; and Ron Avery, The City of Brotherly Mayhem (Philadelphia: Otis Books, 1997).
Recollections of the Pottsville caper stood out in the minds of just about everyone I talked to, but particular mention should be made of the contributions of Herbie Rhodes, Joe Daughen, Al Ronconi, Sal Avena, and Virginia Chiucarelli, each of whom actually played a role in the decade-long drama.
Specific quotations come from the following printed sources:
“Rollicking as a roller coaster”: Leonard J. McAdams, “Pottsville Burglary: An Incredible Caper That Had Everything,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 30, 1966.
“In my 45 years as a policeman”: quoted in Aronowitz, “They Call Me Tiger Lil.”
“It was the most incredible”: McAdams, “Pottsville Burglary.”
“She really made an impression on me”: Aronowitz, “They Call Me Tiger Lil.”
“almost fainted”: “6th Suspect Gives Up, Denies Pottsville Theft,” Evening Bulletin, April 7, 1960.
“money stacked in bundles”: ibid.<
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“It’s a very puzzling case”: Roland T. Moriarty, “Probe of Theft,” Evening Bulletin, April 6, 1960.
“were at his side when he drank”: “Blaney Took Gamble, Didn’t Inspect His Car,” Evening Bulletin, July 28, 1961.
“drove him back to Philadelphia”: ibid.
“was blown into eternity”: Philadelphia Daily News, July 28, 1961 (other quotations on the car bombing come from this source unless otherwise attributed).
“standing mute when being questioned”: Avery, City of Brotherly Mayhem, p. 104.
CHAPTER 7. NATURAL SELECTION
This overview of the lives and criminal pursuits of Jimmy Dolan and Chick Goodroe was based on numerous interviews with both subjects, augmented by news articles, police files, and the recollections of many of their associates.
CHAPTER 8. BLUE COLLAR ROBIN HOODS
Kensingtonians’ perspective on their homegrown criminal element was elicited through interviews with scores of long-time community residents, a cross-section of businessmen, clergy, and average homeowners. Particularly helpful in understanding the neighborhood’s opinion of their local second story men were Gil and Ronnie Slowe, Carole Heidinger, Mary Kober, George Holmes, Jack Dempsey, Joseph Edelman, Bob McClernand, Brother Hugh McGuire, Paul Melione, Joseph DiLeo, Ed Froggatt, and Andrew Guckin.
Former Assistant District Attorney Joel Moldovsky also contributed information to this chapter, as did Jimmy Moran and Jimmy Laverty.
CHAPTER 9. PUGILISTS, DRUNKS, AND MISFITS
Recollections of Kensington’s screwball characters were garnered through interviews with dozens of past and present neighborhood residents. Particularly helpful in their contributions were Herbie Rhodes, Don Abrams, Al Zabala, Jimmy Laverty, Jimmy Moran, Gene Pedicord, Marty Rubin, Tommy O’Rourke, John Kellis, John L. McManus, Jimmy Dolan, George Holmes, Jackie Johnson, Marvin Edelman, and Marty Bell.
Articles from the Philadelphia Bulletin, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Philadelphia Daily News drawn on for this chapter include: “Dismissed Patrolman Is Held Without Bail As Theft Gang Lookout,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 10, 1954; “Police Eye Reports of Mob Killing,” Philadelphia Inquirer, February 19, 1959; “Fugitive from Chain Gang Caught,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, January 19, 1935.
CHAPTER 10. KEYS TO THE KINGDOM
This chapter is based on the criminal career of Junior Kripplebauer and focuses on the period from the early 1960s through the mid-1970s. Much of the story was acquired during scores of interviews with Mr. Kripplebauer, his friends and associates, and various law enforcement officials over the course of several years.
Augmenting the Kripplebauer interviews were dozens of newspaper articles covering a wide range of criminal activities and Kripplebauer’s extensive legal file, which provides extensive background material on such events as the Food Fair burglary and the Shore Brothers Pontiac caper. Interviews with such close observers of events as his attorney also proved quite helpful.
Official court documents from the Magistrates Court and Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, plus various pieces of legal correspondence, helped to illuminate this period of Mr. Kripplebauer’s criminal career.
CHAPTER 11. THE COPS STRIKE BACK
A wide array of local, state, and federal officers recounted and analyzed the law enforcement response to the activities of the K&A Gang. Retired FBI Special Agent William Skarbek and retired Philadelphia police officer John DelCarlino were particularly helpful in laying out national and local operations in pursuit of the thieves.
Other law enforcement officers contributing to this chapter included a cross-section of local and national crime fighters: James Smith, William Drum, Robert Bazin, Joseph Brophy, Richard Richroath, D. C. Williams, and John Lanzidelle.
Letters from Robert Tunny of the Maryland state police and memos from George Bassett of the Greenwich, Connecticut, Police Department revealed how different communities responded to the K&A threat.
Others contributing to this chapter were Al Zabala, Chick Goodroe, Jimmy Dolan, and Donnie Johnstone.
I consulted official Philadelphia Police blue books, as well as facsimiles from states along the eastern seaboard. Other published aids included Joel Moldovsky and Rose DeWolf, The Best Defense (New York: Macmillan, 1975).
CHAPTER 12. PHILLY’S BONNIE AND CLYDE
A series of lengthy interviews with Mr. Kripplebauer were the main source of information for this chapter. His reflections were augmented by a vast array of documents: Martha Woodall, “The Hallmark Story,” Greensboro Record; articles from the Raleigh News and Observer and other North Carolina newspapers; letters from the law offices of Locke Clifford, Kripplebauer’s North Carolina attorney; and documents belonging to several North Carolina police departments, as well as FBI documents on everything from reports of stolen property to official investigation reports and individual arrest records.
Jackie Johnson, Bill McClurg, Jimmy Dolan, Donnie Johnstone, Steve LaCheen, and William Skarbek also provided important information.
CHAPTER 13. ON THE RUN
The bulk of this chapter is based on Mr. Kripplebauer’s recollections of, augmented by numerous interviews with several Kripplebauer associates and law enforcement officers. Articles on the Trading Post jewelry store heist and Richard Henkel appeared in several Pittsburgh newspapers.
CHAPTER 14. COURTROOMS AND PRISONS
This chapter is primarily based on Mr. Kripplebauer’s recollections. Interviews with D. C. Williams, Rick Greeson, and Jimmy Dolan also contributed to it.
I also relied upon the many articles about the Hallmark Gang that appeared in various North Carolina newspapers; court documents of the Eighteenth Judicial District in Greensboro, North Carolina; records of the Raleigh Police Department; documents of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania; the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County, Pennsylvania; and FBI documents, including individual arrest records of members of the K&A Gang and criminal investigation reports.
Also helpful were letters to and from the North Carolina Parole Commission about Mr. Kripplebauer’s status and documents from Piedmont Community College, Roxboro, North Carolina.
Other useful material come from the legal correspondence between Mr. Kripplebauer and his various lawyers, including Michael Healey, his attorney in Pittsburgh; Locke Clifford and David Rudolf, his North Carolina attorneys; and the notes, memoirs, and correspondence of his Philadelphia attorney, Stephen LaCheen.
CHAPTER 15. FROM BURGLARY TO DRUGS
Information in this chapter was procured from numerous interviews with Mr. Kripplebauer. The story of the K&A Gang’s switch from burglary to drugs came from interviews with the burglars as well as the police, FBI agents, and others. They included Frank Wallace, James McAleer, John Wilson, Jim Catahlo, Jimmy Dolan, Jackie Johnson, Chick Goodroe, Steve LaCheen, and Donnie Johnstone.
Among the published documents contributing to this chapter were numerous newspaper articles, portions of the Pennsylvania Crime Commission reports for 1980 and 1990, and Ed Moran, “The Double Life of Ronald Raiton,” Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday Magazine.
EPILOGUE
Numerous interviews with Mr. Kripplebauer, many of his past criminal associates, his attorney, and several local police and FBI officials were the basis for this chapter.
Confessions of a Second Story Man Page 42
