Category Archives: Crime and Courts

Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 3

Posted on February 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

Here’s the third installment of the Non-Smoking Gun for Feb. 20, 1950. Are you bored with this yet? Phone rang 12 times —  No answer! Ellen enters –- turns on radio – Mexican program!!!!! The George Hodel files Part 1 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1950, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, LAPD | 4 Comments

Smallpox Epidemic – Los Angeles, Feb. 7, 1863

Posted on February 5, 2013 by lmharnisch

Read the entire Feb. 7, 1863, edition of the Los Angeles Star from the Huntington Library, scanned by USC. Feb. 7 1863: The coroner holds an inquest in the killing of Christian Hutt. George Wright, the father of accused killer … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, Animals, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Medicine | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

LAPD Officer Kicks News Photographer, Delays Beebe Inquest

Posted on January 24, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 13, 1943: The inquest in the death of Stanley H. Beebe, who was fatally injured in a beating by LAPD officers, is halted when Officer John Yates kicks Herald-Express photographer Edward Phillips in the groin. Recall that it was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Seals Juggle, Walk Rope, Plus Little Miss Manicure at the Pantages!

Posted on January 23, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 23, 1913: Juggling, rope-walking seals! Little Miss Manicure and the Scarecrow Man! On the jump, a couple of juicy divorces and Carl Warr, the dynamiter.

Posted in 1913, Animals, Crime and Courts, Stage | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Jerry Giesler, Miracle Man

Posted on January 14, 2013 by lmharnisch

Photo: Walter Wanger, left, and Jerry Giesler. Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Long before Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., Richard “Racehorse” Haynes, or F. Lee Bailey hit the scene, soft-spoken, circumspect Jerry Giesler iced his competition as Los Angeles’ top criminal defense … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

LAPD the ‘Storm Troopers’ of L.A., Lawmaker Says of Police Brutality

Posted on January 10, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 1, 1943: This is the beginning of the Stanley H. Beebe case, in which LAPD officers were accused of beating a suspect who died of his injuries.  Beebe, an accountant, was arrested on a streetcar at 1st and Hill … Continue reading →

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The Day’s News – Pestilence and Starvation, Jan. 9, 1913

Posted on January 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 9, 1913: We like to think that the past was a kinder, simpler time — when life moved at a slower pace. But no. The Times publishes a Page 1 news map “as an aid to the busy reader … Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, A Kinder, Simpler Time, Broadway, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Latinos | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

China Bans Traditional Clothing for Western Fashions

Posted on January 3, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 3, 1913: The Chinese government issues an edict against traditional clothing in favor of Western fashions. Women were called upon “to abandon their trousers for the occidental skirt and men to give up their comfortable loose clothes for the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, Crime and Courts, Education, Fashion, Film, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on China Bans Traditional Clothing for Western Fashions

Christmas in Los Angeles, 1912

Posted on December 26, 2012 by lmharnisch

Dec. 26, 1912: The Times makes the rounds of Christmas celebrations among the less fortunate and discovers that the emergency wards are full – but readers are assured that no women or girls are among the victims.

Posted in 1912, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Food and Drink, LAPD, Religion | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Millennial Moment – Investigation of LAPD Spy Unit Sought

Posted on December 12, 2012 by lmharnisch

Dec. 11, 1982: David Johnston writes about the case of undercover LAPD Officer Fabian Lizarraga, who infiltrated the Revolutionary Communist Party and led protesters in a May Day march in 1980 that resulted in a fight with police and arrests … Continue reading →

Posted in 1982, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Millennial Moments | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Millennial Moment – Cheating at Card Clubs

Posted on December 5, 2012 by lmharnisch

Dec. 5, 1982: George Reasons and Anne La Riviere write a long investigative piece about professional cheats at the card clubs in Bell and Gardena. According to Reasons and La Riviere, cheaters are divided between mechanics who manipulate the cards … Continue reading →

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Millennial Moment: Church Officials Killed

Posted on November 9, 2012 by lmharnisch

Nov. 9, 1982: Patrick James Henneberry and George Peters, leaders of the purported Church of Naturalism, were beaten to death with a blunt instrument and shot at close range on the Laurel Canyon estate on Woodstock Road leased by the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1982, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Millennial Moments, Religion | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Millennial Moment: Church Officials Killed

Errol Flynn Set for Trial in Sex With Underage Girls

Posted on November 7, 2012 by lmharnisch

Nov. 7, 1942: Pursuing British mobile forces, equipped with big American-made Gen. Sherman tanks, have overtaken some of the remnants of Marshal Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps in the Matruh region of Western Egypt “and are steadily chopping them to pieces,” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Errol Flynn Set for Trial in Sex With Underage Girls

Black Dahlia – Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on October 30, 2012 by lmharnisch

Curbed L.A. has posted a list of some “haunted” locations in L.A., including the Biltmore, where Elizabeth Short was left by Red Manley in January 1947, never to be seen again. The photo, alas, shows the current lobby, which didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Lon Chaney’s Ghost Haunts Hollywood and Vine!

Posted on October 26, 2012 by lmharnisch

Oct. 26, 1942: Rosetta (D. 1958) and Vivian (D. 1986) Duncan appear in “Topsy and Eva,” a musical version of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” a musical comedy in which they first appeared in San Francisco in the 1920s. The Duncan sisters … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, African Americans, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Feuding Women Sentenced to 90 Days in Same Jail Cell

Posted on October 24, 2012 by lmharnisch

Oct. 24, 1942: Yetta Furst of 2208 Sheridan St. and Anna  Rubenstein of 2214 Sheridan St. had been feuding for 20 years and had been charged with disturbing the peace. Municipal Judge Ida May Adams sentenced them to  90 days … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Crime and Courts, Film, World War II | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Gang Blamed in Riot at Glendale Carnival

Posted on October 19, 2012 by lmharnisch

Oct. 19, 1942: Members of the Van Nuys “Chain Gang” are blamed for a riot that broke out at a carnival in Glendale, leaving one man near death from stab wounds and five others injured. About 30 members of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Religion, World War II | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Millennial Moment: Hit Man Says Car Dealer Belongs to Mafia

Posted on October 18, 2012 by lmharnisch

Oct. 18, 1980: In one of the more unusual revelations in testimony by admitted hit man Jimmy “the Weasel” Fratianno, El Monte Toyota dealer Dominic Longo (d. 1985) is described as a Mafia member. Appearing at the trial of five … Continue reading →

Posted in 1980, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Millennial Moments, Politics, Television | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Victor Segno: Success Wave!

Posted on October 2, 2012 by lmharnisch

Prof. A. Victor Segno and a success wave (artist’s concept). My latest column for The Times deals with my favorite L.A. con man, Prof. A Victor Segno.

Posted in Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, History | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Retired Police Lt. George H. Williams, Badge 1, Dies at 84

Posted on September 13, 2012 by lmharnisch

Sept. 13, 1942: Retired Lt. George H. Williams,who held LAPD retirement Badge 1, dies at the age of 84. He retired in 1912 after serving with the department for 23 years and was in charge of the detail that brought … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Obituaries, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Retired Police Lt. George H. Williams, Badge 1, Dies at 84