This afternoon I was enjoying a Balinese foot massage(Yes, there are some new interns here at the DGIS Institute) and Since I had a few moments I watched most of a documentary on Lepke Buchalter.
Perhaps they mentioned it and I missed it, but if not, for anyone interested one murder they never seem to talk about in these made for cable docs is that of Verne Miller. VM was one of the most desperate of the mid-west desperadoes of the early 1930's. A bank robber and machine gun aficionado, he was also friends with Lepke until the Kansas City Massacre made Miller persona non grata in the American underworld.
If you want to know more about Verne Miller and Lepke I strongly suggest reading Lawman to Outlaw: Verne Miller and the Kansas City Massacre by Brad Smith. You may be able to find it here. Verne Miller is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting of the Public Enemies. A former sheriff and straight arrow who for some reason picked up a Thompson and blasted his way into infamy.
"He must have done something. They don't kill you for nothing." - Chicago Gangster Ted Newberry. Rubbed out January 7, 1933
5 comments:
What was the name of the Lepke documentary, and was it any good/accurate?
Not sure I tuned in late. I think it was on the Bio channel under the generic name "Mobsters".
PS it wasn't bad for what it was. Kind of hard to tell a life story in 45 minutes.
Hey Pat,
Was this the Lepke doc:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgaV724jiv4&feature=related
At one point they mention Lepke's men going into a baker's union meeting and leaving 12 people dead. Sounds a little far-fetched. i can't find any reference on the web to such a massacre, which, if it were true, would be as big as the St Val's and KC massacres combined.
I don't remember that line but I didn't see the whole thing, was tuning in and out. I agree 12 dead guys would have caused quite a stir. You have to take these cable docs with a grain of salt.
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