1 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:02,880 Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media. 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:08,200 Speaker 2: In December of twenty eighteen, a jury in Charlottesville, Virginia 3 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:12,399 Speaker 2: returned a guilty verdict in the trial of James Alexfields Junior. 4 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 2: They recommended a sentence of life in prison for the 5 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 2: murder of Heather Hire and another four hundred and nineteen 6 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 2: years for the wounding of members of the crowd of 7 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 2: peaceful demonstrators he'd rammed with his car after a Nazi 8 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 2: rally the previous summer. I remember sitting in that courtroom 9 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:33,040 Speaker 2: when the verdict was read aloud. It was filled to capacity. 10 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 2: I could barely write in my notebook for the lack 11 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 2: of elbow room almost usually empty wooden benches. This was 12 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 2: big news. Reporters from outlets all over the country, the 13 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 2: world even had descended on Charlottesville to write about this trial, 14 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 2: and beyond the walls of my local courtroom, reporters who 15 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 2: couldn't make it to the trial in person were writing 16 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 2: about it too. Every time, Charlottesville's back in the news 17 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 2: for all the wrong reasons. Little newspapers and towns you've 18 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 2: never heard of look for local angles. On the aftermath 19 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 2: of that Nazi rally, they interview middle school classmates of 20 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:14,399 Speaker 2: men who were identified in photos of violent mobs that 21 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:18,040 Speaker 2: beat students with torches and bloodied members of the clergy 22 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 2: in a public park. After that verdict was in in 23 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,560 Speaker 2: December of twenty eighteen, in a tiny town in May, 24 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:31,120 Speaker 2: eight hundred miles away from Charlottesville, a reporter from the 25 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 2: Ellsworth American found her local angle as front pages of 26 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:39,479 Speaker 2: newspapers everywhere were once again filled with pictures of Nazis. 27 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 2: She paid a visit to a Nazi who had been 28 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 2: living in their midst in Maine for decades. He hadn't 29 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 2: marched in Charlottesville. His marching days are long. 30 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 1: Passed, but at ninety eight years old, Frank Smith still 31 00:01:56,120 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: had fond memories of his close friendship with Commander George 32 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: Lincoln Rockwell. 33 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 2: I'm my conguered and this is weird. Little guys. You 34 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 2: probably thought we were moving on from the American Nazi Party. 35 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 2: I thought I was done too. I never even really 36 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:34,799 Speaker 2: had much interest in writing about the party's founder, George 37 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:39,119 Speaker 2: Lincoln Rockwell at all. I did four episodes in three 38 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 2: weeks about his assassination and a whole episode about his 39 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 2: weird funeral. How much could there really be left to 40 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 2: say about the circumstances surrounding one man's death a lot, 41 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 2: as it turns out, and I was willing to let 42 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 2: it lie, to leave some stones unturned, to leave some 43 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:04,639 Speaker 2: stories for another day, move on for now, and put 44 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 2: a pin in some of these events, to revisit down 45 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,120 Speaker 2: the road with a different weird little guy as our 46 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 2: focal point. There are so many side characters in the 47 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:18,760 Speaker 2: story of the American Nazi Party who warrant their own episodes. 48 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 2: I have no doubt that I will eventually subject you 49 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 2: to God, probably at least a month's worth of episodes 50 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 2: about William Luther Pearce. And obviously eventually we'll have to 51 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 2: talk about James Mason. Before he was an elderly pedophile 52 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 2: living in government housing in Denver and advising young terrorists, 53 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 2: he was a teenage boy who joined the American Nazi Party, 54 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 2: and Ralph Forbes had a long, strange career that I'd 55 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 2: like to dig into. So I know we aren't done 56 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 2: with these characters, and I know I can't get lost 57 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 2: down every rabbit hole while I'm just trying to get 58 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 2: across the finish line on one story. But there was 59 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 2: one strange little side quest that I couldn't let go 60 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 2: of Frank Smith. Something about Frank just wouldn't let me 61 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:20,720 Speaker 2: mark him down in my notes as something to come 62 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:25,359 Speaker 2: back to later. He was setting off my weird little 63 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:29,599 Speaker 2: guy radar in a way I could not ignore. And 64 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 2: I'll tell you my instincts were not wrong. I found 65 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 2: dynamite organized crime, FBI wiredtap memos about mafia hits, a 66 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 2: fake church, a nazi's mistress having a secret baby under 67 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:50,480 Speaker 2: a fake name, And for some reason, the disgraced mayor 68 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:55,279 Speaker 2: of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, if he listened to the last 69 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 2: five episodes, the ones about Rockwell's murder and his funeral, 70 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 2: you heard a little bit about Frank Smith. You even 71 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 2: heard from Frank himself in clips from interviews over the years. 72 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 2: He very publicly insisted that John Patler was not guilty 73 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,680 Speaker 2: of the murder of George Lincoln Rockwell. He set it 74 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 2: on the stand at Patler's trial in nineteen sixty seven, 75 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 2: and he was still saying it fifty years later, in 76 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,839 Speaker 2: a rambling interview with a South African neo Nazi in 77 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:30,600 Speaker 2: twenty sixteen. And you might remember him from the dramatic 78 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 2: shootout with Christopher Vidyevitch in nineteen sixty eight, an incident 79 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 2: that Frank believed was an attempted assassination to prevent him 80 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 2: from getting to the real truth about Rockwell's murder. In 81 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:46,760 Speaker 2: the two biographies of Rockwell that I read while I 82 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 2: was researching John Patler, Frank Smith really just gets a 83 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 2: few passing mentions as a member of the American Nazi 84 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 2: Party and as a witness at Patler's trial. But when 85 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 2: I start started reading the actual trial transcripts, something caught 86 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 2: my eye. I can't quite describe it. He talks like 87 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 2: a con man. I don't know how else to put it. 88 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:17,760 Speaker 2: I've sat through a fair number of trials, and I've 89 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 2: read thousands of pages of trial transcripts, over a thousand 90 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 2: in this case alone. And most people aren't great on 91 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:33,360 Speaker 2: the stand. They're nervous. They give short answers, and when 92 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 2: you press them, they sort of backtrack. They don't want 93 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 2: to commit to a lot of specific, hard details, especially 94 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 2: if you push hard and they get rattled on cross examination. 95 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 2: Most people do, it's normal, But Frank Smith was chatty 96 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:57,320 Speaker 2: up there. I mean, he talked up a storm on 97 00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 2: the witness stand. He was giving answers that spanned multiple 98 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 2: pages of the transcript without interruption from the attorney asking 99 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 2: him the questions. He claimed to recollect specific verbatim quotes 100 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 2: from long conversations, but he would never quite commit to 101 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 2: the specifics when it came to exactly where he was 102 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 2: at any particular time. Specifically, there's no proof of where 103 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 2: he was or wasn't at three pm on June twenty seventh, 104 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:41,600 Speaker 2: nineteen sixty seven. There's only so much they could ask 105 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 2: him about June twenty seventh, nineteen sixty seven. At that trial, 106 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:50,080 Speaker 2: he wasn't on trial, and George Lincoln Rockwell didn't die 107 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 2: on June twenty seventh. Rockwell died on August twenty fifth, 108 00:07:55,080 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 2: nineteen sixty seven, and John Patler killed him. But Rockwell 109 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 2: had survived a prior assassination attempt just two months before 110 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 2: his death. As he was pulling into the driveway with 111 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:13,000 Speaker 2: the Nazi Party barracks in Arlington, Virginia that afternoon, someone 112 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 2: fired a single shot at him, but they missed, and 113 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 2: I assumed, Well, that was John Patler, right, that makes sense. 114 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:27,680 Speaker 2: At his trial, a witness said that he saw him 115 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:31,200 Speaker 2: doing target practice in July, the month before the murder. 116 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:34,559 Speaker 2: In August, So you can see how it would make 117 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 2: sense to assume that he tried to shoot Rockwell in June. 118 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 2: He missed, he practiced some, he tried again. His aim 119 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 2: was better the second time. Rockwell's dead makes sense. When 120 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 2: Rockwell wrote about the assassination attempt in his newsletter, he 121 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,440 Speaker 2: said he didn't see who did it, But at trial, 122 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 2: Mantius Cole testified that Rockwell had privately confined him that 123 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:05,720 Speaker 2: the shooter was John Patler. William Luther Pierce years later, 124 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 2: told his own biographer the same thing. Rockwell told me 125 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 2: he saw him, and it was Patler, And like I said, 126 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 2: it makes perfect sense that that's who it would have been. 127 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:22,680 Speaker 2: But I don't think it was. I don't think John 128 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 2: Patler was the only person who took a shot at 129 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 2: George Lincoln Rockwall in the summer of nineteen sixty seven. 130 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,960 Speaker 2: Now we've covered this, but Patler's alibi on the day 131 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 2: of the actual murder was no good. His wife and 132 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 2: his father in law testified to his schedule that morning, 133 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 2: he'd been running errands with his wife. He couldn't possibly 134 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 2: have gotten to the murder scene. But when push comes 135 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 2: to shove, the times weren't right, and witnesses couldn't really 136 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 2: be sure when and where they'd seen him. I still 137 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:56,400 Speaker 2: believe that he fired the shot that killed Rockwell, but 138 00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 2: on the day that someone shot at Rockwell and missed. 139 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 2: On June twenty seventh, John Patler was in Washington, d c. 140 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:12,160 Speaker 2: Taking a drawing class. People saw him. His name was 141 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:15,160 Speaker 2: on the sign in sheet, and a witness testified to 142 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:19,960 Speaker 2: having taken attendance that day himself. This wasn't a member 143 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 2: of the American Nazi Party or his wife. This is 144 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 2: someone with no reason to lie for him. John Patler 145 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:30,920 Speaker 2: couldn't have been in Arlington on the afternoon of June 146 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 2: twenty seventh when Rockwell saw this would be assassin sprinting away. 147 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 2: I think he did recognize him. According to the college 148 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:45,120 Speaker 2: student who was in the car with him when this happened, 149 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:48,319 Speaker 2: he cried out in surprise when he saw the man, 150 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:54,080 Speaker 2: and what he said was the Holy Father. It's an 151 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,720 Speaker 2: odd sort of thing to yell, you know. It's not 152 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:03,080 Speaker 2: quite oh my God or Jesus Christ, things you might 153 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:06,839 Speaker 2: say if someone was shooting at you. But the Holy 154 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:11,200 Speaker 2: Father isn't really a thing people say, at least not 155 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,679 Speaker 2: as far as I know. I mean, it is what 156 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:18,160 Speaker 2: Catholics call the pope, but they don't use it as 157 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:23,080 Speaker 2: an exclamation. And Rockwell was raised Methodist anyway, The young 158 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 2: man who heard him yell this didn't really think much 159 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:30,840 Speaker 2: of it. He didn't know that it was someone's name. 160 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 2: It was a nickname that Rockwell had given Frank Smith, 161 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 2: and it didn't have all that much to do with religion. 162 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:44,680 Speaker 2: Frank Smith really was holy in the sense that a 163 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:47,640 Speaker 2: mafia hit man had put five bullet holes in him 164 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 2: right around the time he joined the American Nazi Party. 165 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:57,240 Speaker 2: But let's start at the beginning. Francis Joseph Smith the 166 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:01,680 Speaker 2: second was born in Massachusetts in December nineteen twenty, just 167 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:04,880 Speaker 2: a few months after his parents' marriage. According to the 168 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:07,600 Speaker 2: nineteen forty census, when he was nineteen, he was working 169 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 2: as a waiter and living at home with his parents 170 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 2: and two younger siblings in Medford, Massachusetts. It's hard to 171 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:16,360 Speaker 2: say what he got up to in the nineteen forties, 172 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:18,840 Speaker 2: but when he was arrested for bank robbery for the 173 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:22,800 Speaker 2: first time in nineteen fifty two, newspapers reported his occupation 174 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 2: as a boxing promoter. Maybe everybody else already knew this, 175 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 2: and I'm going to sound silly, but I never gave 176 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 2: it much thought until I was writing about it this week. 177 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 2: Boxing was run by organized crime. I mean, I had 178 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:46,200 Speaker 2: this vague notion about fixed fights and sports betting, but 179 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:53,439 Speaker 2: in the nineteen fifties, the mafia ran boxing top to bottom. 180 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:56,280 Speaker 2: I mean, they had a monopoly on the sport that 181 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:59,440 Speaker 2: the Department of Justice had to get involved with. They 182 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 2: didn't just promote the fights, fix the fights, and profit 183 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:07,880 Speaker 2: off the fights. They also coerced young boxers to do 184 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:11,800 Speaker 2: a little work outside the ring, off the books, and 185 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:15,600 Speaker 2: they were recruited to work as street level enforcers. And 186 00:13:15,679 --> 00:13:19,160 Speaker 2: not having that knowledge top of mind, as I was 187 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 2: going over all these old newspaper clippings, it seemed so 188 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:26,320 Speaker 2: strange to me that every time Frank Smith got arrested 189 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:30,800 Speaker 2: in the nineteen fifties, all of his named associates seemed 190 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:36,400 Speaker 2: to be current or former boxers or boxing promoters. I thought, 191 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:39,199 Speaker 2: you know, maybe the boys met at the boxing gym. 192 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:42,559 Speaker 2: But given the context of New York and Boston in 193 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:46,000 Speaker 2: the fifties, the fact that all of these accused bank 194 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:51,640 Speaker 2: robbers and murderers are also boxers is really just short 195 00:13:51,679 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 2: of absolute proof. That the crimes were mafia related. Admittedly, 196 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:11,080 Speaker 2: I did not have time this week to learn about 197 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:14,960 Speaker 2: a whole new genre of terrible guy. I mean, I 198 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:18,960 Speaker 2: saw every episode of The Sopranos, obviously, but I don't 199 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:23,280 Speaker 2: actually know that much about organized crime, especially outside of 200 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:27,000 Speaker 2: the big New York names, because we're talking about Boston 201 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 2: and Providence and there is apparently a lot to know, 202 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:35,440 Speaker 2: And I bet the story would have made more sense 203 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:40,840 Speaker 2: faster if I had some pre existing knowledge of this world. 204 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:44,560 Speaker 2: But this isn't my usual kind of guy, so we'll 205 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:48,640 Speaker 2: have to make do. My apologies to any listeners from 206 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 2: New England who know the deep lore. In February of 207 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 2: nineteen fifty two, a twenty four year old pants salesman 208 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 2: named Arthur Schuster was riding the subway in Brooklyn when 209 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:05,680 Speaker 2: he saw someone who looked familiar. It wasn't someone he knew, 210 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 2: but he recognized the man from the wanted poster that 211 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:13,320 Speaker 2: had been sitting in his office for months. It was 212 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 2: the missing bank robber Willie Sutton. He followed Sutton off 213 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:21,400 Speaker 2: the train and alerted the police to his location, leading 214 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:23,240 Speaker 2: to the arrest of a man who was on the 215 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:28,560 Speaker 2: very first FBI's most wanted the list. A few days 216 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 2: after Willy Sutton was arrested, Arthur Schuster went to the press. 217 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 2: He believed that he'd been cheated out of a cash 218 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:39,960 Speaker 2: reward for this tip. It turned out the seventy thousand 219 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:43,960 Speaker 2: dollars reward was just an urban legend, but it was 220 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:49,000 Speaker 2: too late in his quest for credit. Every newspaper in 221 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:53,600 Speaker 2: New York City had already run his picture. Two weeks later, 222 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:55,960 Speaker 2: he was shot in the head outside of his apartment. 223 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 2: Police and FBI were scrambling to find the kiseller, and 224 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:05,960 Speaker 2: in May they thought they had. They arrested Harvey Bostani, 225 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:09,720 Speaker 2: a known associate of Willie Sutton's and a career bank 226 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:14,040 Speaker 2: robber in his own right. They didn't exactly have enough 227 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:17,240 Speaker 2: to charge Bastani in connection with the murder, but they 228 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:19,480 Speaker 2: were able to hold him for questioning because he was 229 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:23,920 Speaker 2: already wanted in connection with several armed robberies, a handful 230 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 2: of burglaries involving safe cracking and the theft of nearly 231 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:32,200 Speaker 2: thirty thousand dollars worth of fur coats. And once they 232 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 2: had Bastanian custody, they started rolling up his associates. Over 233 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 2: the course of two weeks. In May of nineteen fifty two, 234 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:46,400 Speaker 2: the FBI arrested twelve men in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Chicago, 235 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:49,520 Speaker 2: all of whom were believed to have been in Bastani's 236 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:54,960 Speaker 2: bank robbery. Gay Arthur Schuster's murder was never actually solved, 237 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:58,880 Speaker 2: although years later a mob informant would claim that the 238 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:04,600 Speaker 2: hit had been ordered by a Gambino family boss. One 239 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:07,080 Speaker 2: of the first members of Bastani's gang to get picked 240 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:12,800 Speaker 2: up was William Smith, Frank's younger brother, a boxer and 241 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:18,120 Speaker 2: part time bartender. At William's house, police found several suitcases 242 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,960 Speaker 2: full of loaded guns and ammunition, a suitcase full of 243 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:26,840 Speaker 2: burglary tools, a sawt off shotgun, a machine gun, disguises 244 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:33,399 Speaker 2: including a clerical caller, investments and fake police uniforms, explosives, 245 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 2: and a box full of stolen license plates. When they 246 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:40,439 Speaker 2: searched the bar where he worked nights, they found a 247 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:44,800 Speaker 2: cash of dynamite. Shortly after the raid at William's apartment, 248 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 2: the FBI announced they were looking for his brother too. 249 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:50,639 Speaker 2: Frank was one of the last of the group to 250 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:54,040 Speaker 2: be arrested, and both brothers were charged in connection with 251 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:59,359 Speaker 2: a bank robbery in Medford Massachusetts. Despite Harvey Bestani turning 252 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:04,000 Speaker 2: state's witness and testifying against them, both Smith brothers were 253 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 2: acquitted at trial for that Medford bank robbery. Unfortunately, for Frank, 254 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:13,560 Speaker 2: the acquittal in February of nineteen fifty three wasn't the 255 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 2: end of his troubles, because after that first arrest, things 256 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:22,879 Speaker 2: kind of snowballed. In January of nineteen fifty three, just 257 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,639 Speaker 2: weeks before his bank robbery trial was set to begin, 258 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:31,440 Speaker 2: Frank Smith was indicted on new charges. New York City 259 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:35,160 Speaker 2: attorney Saul Rosenblatt identified Frank Smith as the man who'd 260 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:37,840 Speaker 2: fired three shots at him on Park Avenue in March 261 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 2: of nineteen fifty two, hitting him once in the thigh. 262 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:44,320 Speaker 2: When he went to trial in New York for the shooting, 263 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:48,480 Speaker 2: Frank Smith admitted that sure he was in New York 264 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:51,280 Speaker 2: City on the day that Rosenblatt was shot, but it 265 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:55,240 Speaker 2: was for business. A longtime friend of Frank's testified that 266 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:59,719 Speaker 2: Frank and his co defendant, a mafia associate named Sammy Lindon, 267 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:03,760 Speaker 2: had showed up at his hotel room that night, bragged 268 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 2: about shooting Rosenblat, and paid him to steal a car 269 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:11,520 Speaker 2: that they could use to leave the city. On the stand, 270 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,440 Speaker 2: the victim positively identified Frank as the man he saw 271 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:21,080 Speaker 2: shoot him in broad daylight, but the jury acquitted him. 272 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:26,200 Speaker 2: It's possible the jury was just confused about the lack 273 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:30,560 Speaker 2: of a clear motive presented at trial. Immediately after the shooting, 274 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:35,159 Speaker 2: newspapers in New York ran wild with speculation that the 275 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 2: attempted murder was connected to Rosenblat's involvement in a particular 276 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:44,480 Speaker 2: high profile case. He'd recently been named the sole beneficiary 277 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:48,720 Speaker 2: in one of his clients' wills, and the dead woman's 278 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:53,560 Speaker 2: sister was contesting the will in court. It didn't help 279 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:57,640 Speaker 2: that the dead woman in question was Eleanor Morgan Satterly, 280 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 2: the granddaughter of J. P. Morgan. Yes, that JP Morgan, 281 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:06,520 Speaker 2: the one whose name is on your bank. But as 282 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:11,160 Speaker 2: the investigation into the shooting continued, police were less convinced 283 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:14,959 Speaker 2: that Satterly's will had been the cause, and at trial, 284 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:20,160 Speaker 2: the judge reminded the jury that proving motive isn't necessary 285 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:23,800 Speaker 2: for a conviction. I think any criminal lawyer will tell 286 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:28,879 Speaker 2: you though, juries are troubled by a crime without a motive. 287 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:34,480 Speaker 2: But it's also very possible that those twelve New York 288 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:38,240 Speaker 2: City jurors knew well enough not to be seen in 289 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:42,480 Speaker 2: open court poking their nose into the business of organized crime. 290 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 2: No one was ever convicted for shooting Saul Rosenblock, and 291 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:51,720 Speaker 2: I'm pretty sure everyone involved is dead now, so I 292 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:57,000 Speaker 2: think it's safe to offer you my theory. Frank Smith 293 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:01,640 Speaker 2: and Sammy Lindon did shoot Saul Rosenblock, but it had 294 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:05,679 Speaker 2: nothing to do with J. P. Morgan's granddaughter. Saul Rosenblatt 295 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:09,960 Speaker 2: had other clients he was involved in other ongoing litigation, 296 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:14,640 Speaker 2: and there was one client he dropped as soon as 297 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:17,760 Speaker 2: he got out of the hospital after the shooting. He 298 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:22,040 Speaker 2: withdrew as counsel of record in a paternity suit. He'd 299 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:25,920 Speaker 2: been representing a nightclub singer named Virginia Summers in her 300 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:30,520 Speaker 2: lawsuit against a Boston lawyer named Joseph Sachs, and at 301 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:33,920 Speaker 2: his trial, Frank Smith was asked about a recent flight 302 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:39,040 Speaker 2: he'd taken to London. A month before the shooting. He 303 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,840 Speaker 2: flew to England, but he insisted that this had to 304 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:47,280 Speaker 2: do with his boxing promotion and nothing to do with 305 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:56,000 Speaker 2: following Virginia Summers, who had also recently flown to London. Now, 306 00:21:56,040 --> 00:22:03,199 Speaker 2: I can't find any source that concrete, openly and plainly 307 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:08,679 Speaker 2: accuses Joseph Sachs of working for the mob, But you 308 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:12,439 Speaker 2: can make up your own mind what you think. Sax 309 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 2: had previously represented Frank's co defendant, Sammy Lindon, in an 310 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:21,119 Speaker 2: armed robbery case that was definitely mob related, and Sax 311 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,400 Speaker 2: would later represent Frank in a case involving a bombing 312 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 2: that was definitely mob related. Joseph Sachs himself was later 313 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 2: accused of some pretty serious mob related crime. He was 314 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:42,520 Speaker 2: to be fair acquitted at trial, but in nineteen sixty 315 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:45,439 Speaker 2: two he was one of several men indicted on charges 316 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:50,520 Speaker 2: of trafficking thousands of pounds of heroine. The bust was 317 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:54,520 Speaker 2: part of the investigation into the French Connection, a global 318 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:58,200 Speaker 2: network run by the Corsican mafia that moved heroin through 319 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,640 Speaker 2: France and into the United States, where it was then 320 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:06,520 Speaker 2: distributed by organized crime outfits in major cities. Sacks was 321 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,320 Speaker 2: arrested in connection with an operation that had been taking 322 00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:15,640 Speaker 2: advantage of the diplomatic immunity afforded to ambassadors. The Guatemalan 323 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:19,600 Speaker 2: ambassador to Belgium, a man named Mauricio Rosal, had been 324 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:23,480 Speaker 2: acting as their courier bringing fifty kilos of heroin at 325 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:28,040 Speaker 2: a time into New York City in his suitcase and 326 00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:32,359 Speaker 2: what I think is a pretty rare move. Mauricio Rosal 327 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:37,760 Speaker 2: was denied diplomatic immunity and he went to prison. But 328 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:44,440 Speaker 2: like I said, Joseph Sachs was acquitted. There's a lot 329 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:48,840 Speaker 2: of allegedly, a lot of maybe a lot of fill 330 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:53,520 Speaker 2: in the blank with your own most reasonable assumptions. The 331 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:57,879 Speaker 2: jury said Frank Smith didn't shoot Saul Rosenblat. A jury 332 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:01,600 Speaker 2: said Joseph Sachs wasn't in involved in a decade long 333 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:05,080 Speaker 2: scheme to move thousands of pounds of heroin between the 334 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:08,240 Speaker 2: Corsic and Mafia and the mafia in New York and Boston. 335 00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:13,359 Speaker 2: And I guess, legally speaking, these are all just a 336 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:16,960 Speaker 2: series of unrelated facts about cases that never got solved. 337 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:22,560 Speaker 2: And maybe Saul Rosenblat dropped Virginia Summer's case because he 338 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:26,159 Speaker 2: wasn't feeling well after the gunshot wound, not because he 339 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:30,560 Speaker 2: thought Joseph Sachs had him shot. As far as I 340 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:34,399 Speaker 2: can tell, the prosecutor didn't argue at trial that it 341 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:37,879 Speaker 2: was a paid hit. But it is worth noting that 342 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:42,280 Speaker 2: at Frank's bail hearing, the prosecutor told the judge that 343 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:47,919 Speaker 2: Frank had been hired by people in Massachusetts to kill Rosenblatt. 344 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:53,120 Speaker 2: He called him a plain and simple killer for hire. 345 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,359 Speaker 2: When the jury returned a not guilty verdict for Frank 346 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:02,199 Speaker 2: in the Rosenblack case, the judge was visibly angry. Newspapers 347 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:06,680 Speaker 2: quote him scolding the jury, saying, it is my opinion 348 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:10,080 Speaker 2: that you have been fooled. It is strange to me 349 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:14,080 Speaker 2: how grown men can be so naive. Again, you never 350 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:17,320 Speaker 2: know why a jury makes the decisions they make. But 351 00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:22,240 Speaker 2: I don't think they were fools or naive. I don't 352 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:26,479 Speaker 2: think they were tricked into thinking Frank was innocent. I 353 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:29,080 Speaker 2: think they knew exactly what they were looking at, and 354 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 2: they didn't want to be involved in mafia business. The 355 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:37,640 Speaker 2: newspaper that quoted the judge's angry outburst doesn't say whether 356 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:40,560 Speaker 2: the judge looked amused when Frank Smith was arrested as 357 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:43,639 Speaker 2: he tried to leave the courtroom. He'd been acquitted in 358 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:48,199 Speaker 2: New York, but he was wanted in New Jersey for 359 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:52,959 Speaker 2: robbing a bank in Newark with a machine gun. So 360 00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:55,159 Speaker 2: New York City held him in their jail for a 361 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:59,320 Speaker 2: few weeks pending extradition, which is pretty normal, and he 362 00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:03,400 Speaker 2: fought the extradition, which is a little less normal. I mean, 363 00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:06,680 Speaker 2: you have a right to try. It's just not typical. 364 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:10,840 Speaker 2: But it worked. He's in this jail in New York 365 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:15,440 Speaker 2: City for a couple of weeks, no news, and then 366 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:19,680 Speaker 2: suddenly there's just a passing mention in the Newark Star 367 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:24,080 Speaker 2: Ledger two days before Christmas that the prosecutor changed his mind. 368 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:27,119 Speaker 2: The charges have been dropped and there are no other suspects, 369 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:33,119 Speaker 2: so to put all of this in order. On March sixth, 370 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:37,840 Speaker 2: nineteen fifty two, someone who looked just like Frank Smith 371 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:42,600 Speaker 2: shot Saul Rosenblatt on Park Avenue. Two days after that, 372 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:48,040 Speaker 2: someone unknown shot Arnold Schuster in the head outside of 373 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:51,680 Speaker 2: his apartment in New York City. Two days after that, 374 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:54,600 Speaker 2: a couple of guys who might have been the Smith 375 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:59,840 Speaker 2: brothers robbed a bank in Medford, Massachusetts. In April, someone 376 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:02,920 Speaker 2: who looked just like Frank Smith robbed a bank in 377 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:07,600 Speaker 2: Newark in May. Smith and a dozen associates of known 378 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:12,119 Speaker 2: bank robber Harvey Bistani were all arrested in January of 379 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:15,720 Speaker 2: nineteen fifty three, Frank is charged for shooting Saul Rosenblatt. 380 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,520 Speaker 2: In February, he's acquitted on that first bank robbery. In November, 381 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:21,760 Speaker 2: he's acquitted on the shooting, but he's arrested for the 382 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:25,399 Speaker 2: New Jersey bank robbery, and by December of nineteen fifty 383 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:29,679 Speaker 2: three he's free and clear. He was accused of robbing 384 00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:32,439 Speaker 2: banks in two different states and trying to murder a 385 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:35,960 Speaker 2: man in a third, crimes that all took place within 386 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,800 Speaker 2: mere weeks in the spring of nineteen fifty two, but 387 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:44,159 Speaker 2: he celebrated the new year as a freeman in nineteen 388 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,679 Speaker 2: fifty four. I can't pick him back up again in 389 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:52,520 Speaker 2: the archives until May of fifty seven, when he's arrested again. 390 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:56,320 Speaker 2: But when he was arrested in nineteen fifty seven for 391 00:27:56,400 --> 00:28:00,640 Speaker 2: bombing a home in Wooburn, Massachusetts, police in the neighboring 392 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:06,080 Speaker 2: towns expressed their interest in questioning him about similar unsolved 393 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:23,879 Speaker 2: bombings over the last few years. Now, no one was 394 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:27,760 Speaker 2: ever convicted in the first three bombings police suspected Frank 395 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:31,040 Speaker 2: Smith was involved in. In June of nineteen fifty four, 396 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:35,920 Speaker 2: four bombs exploded inside the Chelsea, Massachusetts home of boxing 397 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:40,280 Speaker 2: promoter Sam Silverman. If you know a lot about old 398 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:44,600 Speaker 2: school boxing promoters, you've heard of Sam Silverman. And if 399 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:47,280 Speaker 2: you don't know anything about old school boxing promoters, you 400 00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:51,160 Speaker 2: don't care who Sam Silverman is. But he had recently 401 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 2: cut ties with the International Boxing Club of New York, 402 00:28:55,000 --> 00:29:00,320 Speaker 2: that corporation whose monopoly on boxing was almost entirely under 403 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:05,360 Speaker 2: the control of former murder inc hitman Frankie Carbo. A 404 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:08,840 Speaker 2: few months before the bombing, Ray Arcell, a promoter Silverman 405 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:12,479 Speaker 2: worked with to televise the fights he promoted, was beaten 406 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:17,520 Speaker 2: almost to death with a lead pipe. Arcell survived and 407 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:20,640 Speaker 2: Silverman and his wife weren't home when those bombs went off, 408 00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:24,160 Speaker 2: but both men took these attacks as a clear message 409 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:29,440 Speaker 2: from the mafia stop promoting fights. In May of nineteen 410 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:33,040 Speaker 2: fifty five, Vincent Denuno, a regional director of the Building 411 00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:36,920 Speaker 2: in Common Laborers Union with the AFL, was finalizing a 412 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:42,680 Speaker 2: report on organized crime activity within his union when suddenly 413 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:45,600 Speaker 2: his car exploded inside of his garage in East Boston. 414 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:48,880 Speaker 2: Police believed it was the work of a professional killer 415 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,680 Speaker 2: trying to take out the labour leader, but it was 416 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:53,720 Speaker 2: his twenty four year old son in law who was 417 00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:57,760 Speaker 2: gravely injured instead. Then, in June of nineteen fifty six, 418 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:03,120 Speaker 2: John Sullivan, a booking agent in Medford, Massachusetts, narrowly escaped 419 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:05,360 Speaker 2: being blown to bits when he walked out his front 420 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:08,680 Speaker 2: door because he smelled smoke and he found a bomb 421 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:12,160 Speaker 2: on his front porch that hadn't gone off yet. None 422 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:15,280 Speaker 2: of these bombings were ever solved, least as far as 423 00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:18,680 Speaker 2: I can tell, But Frank Smith was a very strong 424 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:22,160 Speaker 2: suspect in all three after his arrest in May of 425 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:26,600 Speaker 2: nineteen fifty seven. But this fourth bombing was pretty open 426 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 2: and shut. They thought maybe he did those other three, 427 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:35,880 Speaker 2: but they saw him do this one. It was a 428 00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:39,240 Speaker 2: little after midnight when two cops who were just sitting 429 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 2: in their patrol car saw a man sprinting down the 430 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:46,440 Speaker 2: street in the dark. At first, they assumed the man 431 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:50,000 Speaker 2: leaving Everett Bixby's yard was a burglar and they were 432 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:53,400 Speaker 2: going to chase him, But just as the man disappeared 433 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:57,640 Speaker 2: into a nearby wooded area, the bomb went off. A 434 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:00,160 Speaker 2: description of the man they'd seen went out over the radio, 435 00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:03,480 Speaker 2: and officers spotted him less than a mile away at 436 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:08,719 Speaker 2: a phone booth. He was filthy and soaking wet, as 437 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:12,360 Speaker 2: if he'd perhaps run in the dark through the thick 438 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:16,360 Speaker 2: underbrush of the wooded area the bomber disappeared into. He 439 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:20,680 Speaker 2: also had explosive residue embedded in burnmarks on his shoes. 440 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:24,240 Speaker 2: Police found him in a phone booth less than a 441 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:27,480 Speaker 2: mile away from the Bixby's house, and they found his 442 00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:31,800 Speaker 2: car a mile in the other direction, parked outside of 443 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:35,080 Speaker 2: a friend's house. That friend happened to be a man 444 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:38,600 Speaker 2: named Louis Venios, a mafia associate who was due in 445 00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:42,080 Speaker 2: court the following morning to face a federal mail fraud charge. 446 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:48,200 Speaker 2: Frank's story just kept changing, and honestly, none of the 447 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:51,440 Speaker 2: stories were very good. On the night of his arrest, 448 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 2: he explained to the police that he's a prize fight 449 00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:58,200 Speaker 2: trainer and he's just out doing some roadwork, which is 450 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:03,880 Speaker 2: apparently what boxers call r at three am in a 451 00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:06,800 Speaker 2: town where he doesn't live, and they found him at 452 00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:09,840 Speaker 2: the phone booth because while he was out running, he 453 00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:12,600 Speaker 2: had this sudden thought that he needed to make a 454 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:16,920 Speaker 2: phone call to a friend again at three am. By 455 00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:19,280 Speaker 2: the time he got to trial, he'd come up with 456 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:23,920 Speaker 2: what I guess he thought was a better story. He 457 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:26,800 Speaker 2: said that he couldn't have bombed the Bixby's house at 458 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:29,880 Speaker 2: twelve forty five am because he was at a bar 459 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:34,160 Speaker 2: with his friend Louis Venios from midnight and till around 460 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,800 Speaker 2: one am, and then after the bar they stopped back 461 00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:41,320 Speaker 2: off at his apartment because he needed to wring out 462 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:46,120 Speaker 2: some wet laundry and that's why he was all wet. 463 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:50,080 Speaker 2: And then after he got all wet at his apartment, 464 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:53,560 Speaker 2: he didn't change his clothes. He got into his car 465 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:57,960 Speaker 2: and drove Louis Venios home to Wuburn, and then he 466 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:00,959 Speaker 2: left his car at Venios's house because he needed to 467 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:04,000 Speaker 2: borrow it, and when police found him in the phone booth, 468 00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:06,160 Speaker 2: he was just calling his wife to come pick him 469 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:11,720 Speaker 2: up again at three am. I don't think he could 470 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:17,040 Speaker 2: make up a worse series of lies if he tried, right, 471 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:20,480 Speaker 2: Because if he and Venios were at his apartment and 472 00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:25,520 Speaker 2: Venios needed to both go home to Woburn and borrow 473 00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:30,600 Speaker 2: Frank's car, why wouldn't Venios just drive himself home in 474 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:33,120 Speaker 2: Frank's car and Frank would just stay at his apartment. 475 00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:37,440 Speaker 2: And if he had to be the one to drive, 476 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:40,440 Speaker 2: but his wife was able to come pick him up, 477 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:44,000 Speaker 2: why didn't she just follow him? Why didn't he tell 478 00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:47,600 Speaker 2: her before he left the apartment. If he hadn't to 479 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:50,000 Speaker 2: call his wife, why didn't he call from Benios's house? 480 00:33:50,040 --> 00:33:53,160 Speaker 2: Doesn't he have a phone? Why would you walk a 481 00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:55,560 Speaker 2: mile in the dark at three am to call your 482 00:33:55,560 --> 00:34:00,160 Speaker 2: wife from a payphone. I just don't understand why he 483 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:03,040 Speaker 2: thought we would believe that he needed to walk a 484 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:05,280 Speaker 2: mile in the dark at three am to call his 485 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:07,640 Speaker 2: wife to come pick him up from the fakes sounding 486 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:12,399 Speaker 2: errand anyone has ever made up And at trial they 487 00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:15,080 Speaker 2: didn't even put Louis Venios on the stand to corroborate 488 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:19,279 Speaker 2: the alibi. I just can't get over. Oh, I had 489 00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:22,319 Speaker 2: to go home and wring out my wet laundry in 490 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:25,560 Speaker 2: between drinking at the bar and driving my friend home 491 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:28,799 Speaker 2: and then walking around in the dark, And that's why 492 00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:31,759 Speaker 2: my shoes are all wet. I mean, got at that 493 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:33,920 Speaker 2: point just say you pissed on your own shoes. At 494 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:39,160 Speaker 2: least people might believe it. Reading between the lines and 495 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:43,080 Speaker 2: the appellate record in this case, it sounds like everyone 496 00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:46,120 Speaker 2: in the courtroom knew that the Boston Police officer the 497 00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:51,760 Speaker 2: defense put on the stand was lying. Joseph Sachs. Remember 498 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:55,000 Speaker 2: he's the lawyer who, according to the jury who acquitted him, 499 00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:59,720 Speaker 2: was not at this time, seven years into a decade 500 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:04,439 Speaker 2: law international heroin smuggling operation for the mafia. Sachs put 501 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:08,160 Speaker 2: Boston patrolman John O'Neil on the stand to testify that 502 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:12,120 Speaker 2: he knew Frank Smith and Louis Venios and he remembered 503 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:14,200 Speaker 2: seeing them at the bar at the time of the bombing. 504 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:18,960 Speaker 2: The jury found Frank Smith guilty of the bombing, and 505 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:22,480 Speaker 2: he was given a sentence of fifteen to eighteen years 506 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:28,759 Speaker 2: in prison. Based on the admittedly limited information that we have, 507 00:35:29,880 --> 00:35:35,000 Speaker 2: it seems very possible that Everett Bixby wasn't the intended 508 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:39,080 Speaker 2: target of this bombing. He was a funeral director with 509 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:44,040 Speaker 2: no known ties to organized crime. He was the chairman 510 00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:48,960 Speaker 2: of the Woburn Licensing Board, so I guess it's possible 511 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:51,759 Speaker 2: that there was a dispute over a liquor license. But 512 00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:56,560 Speaker 2: in nineteen fifty seven, the city of Wooburn only issued 513 00:35:56,600 --> 00:36:01,560 Speaker 2: liquor licenses to stores that sell liquor. In Massachusetts, they 514 00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:05,759 Speaker 2: call them package stores, and a local newspaper that year 515 00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:09,440 Speaker 2: said that the city of Wooburn had plenty of package stores, 516 00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:14,560 Speaker 2: but they didn't actually have any bars, and Bixby told 517 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:17,200 Speaker 2: the newspaper that no one had even applied for a 518 00:36:17,239 --> 00:36:21,040 Speaker 2: liquor license lately. There was nothing for there to be 519 00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:24,560 Speaker 2: a dispute over it. Kind of looks like Frank got 520 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:28,160 Speaker 2: the wrong house. I saw a few news stories that 521 00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:32,720 Speaker 2: made vague mention of the fact that the Bixby's lived 522 00:36:33,520 --> 00:36:38,680 Speaker 2: pretty close by to several known gangland figures. That's all 523 00:36:38,719 --> 00:36:42,520 Speaker 2: it ever, really says, just several known figures in this world, 524 00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:48,840 Speaker 2: they're never named. Look is it possible to cross reference 525 00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:52,600 Speaker 2: seventy year old property records with the names of known 526 00:36:52,719 --> 00:36:57,719 Speaker 2: mafia associates in the Boston suburbs. Look? I thought about it, 527 00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:01,400 Speaker 2: and I think I probably could do it if I 528 00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:02,720 Speaker 2: had an extra day this week? 529 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:05,560 Speaker 3: Did I? No? 530 00:37:06,239 --> 00:37:09,840 Speaker 2: I had to file my taxes this week. It's October, 531 00:37:10,239 --> 00:37:12,960 Speaker 2: I know, but I was getting married in the spring, 532 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:15,120 Speaker 2: so I was like kind of busy. So I got 533 00:37:15,160 --> 00:37:19,040 Speaker 2: an extension. So they're like, actually do now. So that's 534 00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:22,000 Speaker 2: what I did this week instead of finding out which 535 00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:25,239 Speaker 2: patriarch of crime family associates might have been ever at 536 00:37:25,239 --> 00:37:29,040 Speaker 2: Bixby's neighbor in wober, Massachusetts. In nineteen fifty seven. So 537 00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:34,560 Speaker 2: I'm sorry, but I think the fact that Frank Smith 538 00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:38,920 Speaker 2: had parked his car at Louis Venios's house and Venios 539 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:43,200 Speaker 2: was due in federal court the very next morning, I 540 00:37:43,239 --> 00:37:48,320 Speaker 2: think that does imply the possibility of a relationship between 541 00:37:48,360 --> 00:37:54,600 Speaker 2: these things, you know. And finally, at the end of 542 00:37:54,680 --> 00:38:00,480 Speaker 2: nineteen fifty seven, Frank Smith went to prison on some 543 00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:03,680 Speaker 2: time in jail after his prior arrests when he couldn't 544 00:38:03,719 --> 00:38:08,520 Speaker 2: make bail. But this was the real thing. He's guilty 545 00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:11,360 Speaker 2: of a felony now, and he's staring down the barrel 546 00:38:12,160 --> 00:38:16,560 Speaker 2: of fifteen years. He didn't end up serving his whole sentence. 547 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:22,160 Speaker 2: He was released in November of nineteen sixty four. And 548 00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:25,080 Speaker 2: while he was in prison, he got his hands on 549 00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:31,480 Speaker 2: some interesting reading material. Someone had been sending him copies 550 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:33,040 Speaker 2: of the Rockwell Report. 551 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:41,000 Speaker 3: The first week in January of nineteen sixty five, I 552 00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:45,799 Speaker 3: went to Rolington, Virginia, Tom Command of Rockwell. I'd heard 553 00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:47,680 Speaker 3: about him, I'd read some of the things about him, 554 00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:51,560 Speaker 3: and I'd read some of his rock Werry reports, and 555 00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:55,200 Speaker 3: we were akin in our thanking. 556 00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:59,240 Speaker 2: Just weeks after he got out of prison, Frank Smith 557 00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:02,440 Speaker 2: drove from Massa chooseys to Virginia to meet the man 558 00:39:02,480 --> 00:39:06,000 Speaker 2: whose newsletter he'd been reading in prison. He spent the 559 00:39:06,080 --> 00:39:09,520 Speaker 2: nineteen fifties robbing banks and bombing houses for the Mob. 560 00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:13,160 Speaker 2: He must have spent those seven years behind bars planning 561 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:16,719 Speaker 2: his next big move, because he really didn't hesitate to 562 00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:20,879 Speaker 2: start taking big swings when he got out. Immediately upon 563 00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:25,680 Speaker 2: his return from the Nazi Party headquarters, Frank Smith had 564 00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:30,000 Speaker 2: a face to face meeting with Raymond Patriarca, the head 565 00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:34,040 Speaker 2: of the New England Mafia. Frank wanted to cut Patriarca 566 00:39:34,080 --> 00:39:39,160 Speaker 2: in on a deal, a mutually beneficial arrangement between the 567 00:39:39,200 --> 00:39:45,080 Speaker 2: mafia and the Nazis. You'll have to wait until next 568 00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:47,080 Speaker 2: week to find out how Frank ended up full of 569 00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:49,960 Speaker 2: bullet holes in the midst of a gang war, and 570 00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:52,479 Speaker 2: why Frank's name is on the birth certificate for George 571 00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:56,439 Speaker 2: Lincoln Rockwell's i legitimate daughter. And maybe by next week 572 00:39:56,520 --> 00:39:59,480 Speaker 2: Kull have made some more progress trying to sort out 573 00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:02,560 Speaker 2: exactly what to make of the fact that a Nazi 574 00:40:02,600 --> 00:40:05,760 Speaker 2: in his fake church show up in the financial record. 575 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:08,880 Speaker 2: It's a corrupt mayor who went to prison for racketeering. 576 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:12,959 Speaker 2: Weird little Guys is a production of cool Zone Media 577 00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:16,560 Speaker 2: and iHeartRadio. It's researched, written and recorded by Me Molly Conger. 578 00:40:17,239 --> 00:40:20,600 Speaker 2: Our executive producers are Sophie Littman and Robert Evans. The 579 00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:23,640 Speaker 2: show is edited by the wildly talented Rory Gaigan. The 580 00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:26,880 Speaker 2: theme music was composed by Brad Dickert. You can email 581 00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:29,200 Speaker 2: me at Weird Little Guy's podcast at gmail dot com. 582 00:40:29,239 --> 00:40:31,359 Speaker 2: I will definitely read it, but I probably won't answer. 583 00:40:31,360 --> 00:40:34,960 Speaker 2: It's nothing personal. You can exchange conspiracy theories about the 584 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:37,480 Speaker 2: show with other listeners on me Weird Little Guy subreddit. 585 00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:41,360 Speaker 2: Just don't post anything that's going to make you one 586 00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:43,080 Speaker 2: of my weird Little Guys.