BABE OF THE WEEK

This week's babe is Law & Order hottie Angie Harmon, who played ADA Abbie Carmichael. Sidebar, anyone?

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: MARCH 30, 1981

On this date in 1981, a pathetic loser named John Hinckley, Jr. made a play for the attention of actress Jodie Foster by attempting to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. President Reagan and three others were wounded in the attempt. Hinckley, who wound up buried under a mountain of Secret Service agents and cops, was arrested at the scene. He was later found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was confined to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, DC, where he is still awaiting a visit from Jodie Foster. Keep the faith, Johnny. She'll be stopping by any day now.


Further reading:

The Trial of John Hinckley

Wikipedia - Reagan assassination attempt

FRIDAY MOVIE QUOTE

"Listen, punk. To me you're nothin' but dogshit, you understand? And a lot of things can happen to dogshit. It can be scraped up with a shovel off the ground. It can dry up and blow away in the wind. Or it can be stepped on and squashed. So take my advice, be careful where the dog shits you."

-Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood), Sudden Impact (1983)

BABE OF THE WEEK

This week's babe is so hot, you have to say her name twice. Kelly Kelly (real name Barbara Jean Blank) is a WWE Diva who appears on WWE Raw.

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: MARCH 24, 1934

On this date in 1934, Harry Pierpont, Charles Makley, and Russell Clark were sentenced for the murder of Allen County, OH Sheriff Jesse Sarber. Sheriff Sarber was shot and killed when the three outlaws broke their friend John Dillinger out of the Allen County jail in Lima, OH. Clark was sentenced to life in prison, while Pierpont and Makley were sentenced to die in the electric chair.

Further reading:

truTV - John Dillinger

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: MARCH 21, 1963

On this date in 1963, the prison they called "The Rock" closed its doors for good. The federal penitentiary at Alcatraz opened in 1934. At its peak, it held over 200 inmates. Some of its more famous residents include Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, and Robert "Birdman" Stroud.

For more info, check out these sites:

National Park Service Alcatraz website

Alcatraz History

Alcatraz Cruises

Ghosts of Alcatraz

FRIDAY MOVIE QUOTE

"We didn't exactly believe your story, Miss O'Shaughnessy. We believed your two hundred dollars."

-Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart), The Maltese Falcon (1941)

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: MARCH 20, 1933

On this date in 1933, would be presidential assassin Giuseppe Zangara was executed in the Florida electric chair. Forty-five days prior to his execution, Zangara had tried to assassinate President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He missed Roosevelt, but managed to shoot several other people, including Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak. Cermak later died of his wounds.

The general consensus among historians is that Roosevelt was the intended target, and that Cermak was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But there is another school of thought: Cermak was the real target. As the story goes, Cermak was behind the attemtped assassination of Chicago Outfit boss Frank Nitti. The designated hitters for that job were officers of the Chicago PD, who claimed that they shot Nitti in self defense. Nitti survived the shooting and stood trial for his supposed assault on the officers. The jury didn't buy it, and Nitti was acquitted. The officers, on the other hand, were eventually charged with assault. One flipped on the other, and they were both convicted and fined $100 each.

As payback for the attempt on his life, the Outfit supposedly contracted Sicilian immigrant Giuseppe Zangara to kill Cermak. The hit went down as planned, and Zanagara took the fall as a "crazed gunman." Of course, there's not much proof to support this theory, which is fairly standard for conspiracy theories. But it makes for an interesting story. Maybe Oliver Stone will make a movie about it someday.


Further reading:

Awesome Stories: Frank Nitti - The Enforcer

Chicago Cubs History - Anton Cermak and Franklin Roosevelt

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: MARCH 19, 1943

On this date in 1943, Chicago mob boss Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti committed suicide. Nitti, who rose to prominence as Al Capone's right hand man, was facing a prison sentence for shaking down several Hollywood movie studios. Severe claustrophobia, which had surfaced during a previous eighteen month stint in prison, made the mobster terrified at the thought of being locked up again. On the morning of March 19th, after his wife left for church, Nitti began drinking heavily. Once he had enough liquid courage, Nitti got his gun and went for a walk. He wound up at a rail yard several blocks from his house. He sat down on the ground, put the gun to his head, and pulled the trigger.

My Al Capone Museum - Frank Nitti

Find A Grave - Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti

Wikipedia - Frank Nitti

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: MARCH 18, 1990

On this date in 1990, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA was robbed. It was just after midnight when two men dressed as police officers appeared at the museum's door, claiming they had received a report about a disturbance at the museum. One of the two guards on duty that night let them in. Minutes later the guards were overpowered, bound with duct tape, and stashed in separate parts of the museum's basement. The two bogus cops went to work stealing various items, including works by Rembrandt, Degas, and Manet. The estimated value of their haul: over $300 million. It was the largest art heist in US history. To date, the case remains unsolved, and none of the stolen works of art have been recovered.

Further reading:

FBI - Art Theft program 

Boston.com - Secrets behind the largest art theft in history

BABE OF THE WEEK - ST. PATRICK'S DAY EDITION

This week's babe is Dublin-born Sinead Noonan, who is Miss Ireland 2008.

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: MARCH 16, 1934

On this date in 1934, Herbert Youngblood, an accused murderer who escaped from the Lake County Jail in Crown Point, IN with John Dillinger, was killed in a shootout with police in Port Huron, MI. Undersheriff Charles Cavanaugh was also killed in the shootout, which left two lawmen and a civilian injured.

Further reading:

Time - "Bad Man at Large"

Dillinger: The Untold Story, by G. Russell Girardin, William J. Helmer, and Rick Mattix

John Dillinger Historical Sites - Port Huron, MI

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: MARCH 14, 1950

On this date in 1950, the FBI debuted its 10 Most Wanted List. As of November 29, 2008, 491 fugitives - including 8 women - have appeared on the list. To date, 460 of those fugitives have been located.

Further reading:

FBI - Ten Most Wanted Fugitives

Ten Most Wanted Fugitives - FAQ

FRIDAY MOVIE QUOTE

"Now nobody get nervous, you ain't got nothing to fear. You're being robbed by the John Dillinger Gang, that's the best there is! These few dollars you lose here today are going to buy you stories to tell your children, and your great-grandchildren. This could be one of the big moments in your life; don't make it your last!"

-John Dillinger (Warren Oates), Dillinger (1973)

PUBLIC ENEMIES

Check out this trailer for the movie Public Enemies.


I was skeptical about Johnny Depp as Dillinger, but the trailer leads me to believe he can pull it off. I probably shouldn't have doubted him; he was great as Joe Pistone in Donnie Brasco. And Christian Bale is an awesome choice to play FBI Agent Melvin Purvis. Michael Mann directed, so my expectations are high. Scheduled release date is July 1st.

A big tip o' the fedora to Pat Downey. And that's Mister Downey to you, wiseguy.

BABE OF THE WEEK

This week's babe is Michelle Rodriquez, who starred in The Fast and the Furious, S.W.A.T., and the TV series Lost. She's also in Fast & Furious, the third sequel to The Fast and the Furious, which is slated to be released next month.

WHY DOES A COD NEED A CAPE, ANYWAY?

I had Air Guard drill last weekend, so it was off to Cape Cod for me. It was a three day drill. We do two of those, and then we don't have one in July. It all works out for the best in the long run, but three days of drill gets old fast.

I had a sinus infection hit me just before I went out to the cape. Needless to say, I was miserable pretty much the whole time. I'm still fighting it, and I'm going through Sudafed so fast, the folks at the pharmacy probably think I have a meth lab in my basement.

As I was driving out on Thursday, I was just past Springfield when I noticed that my registration had expired. Brilliant, eh? I phoned the wife and asked her if we had received anything from DMV lately. She dug through the mail and found that they had sent us the application for registration renewal, which we hadn't sent in. Whoops. She managed to renew it online that night, but I spent the weekend driving around with an expired registration sticker on my Jeep. Fortunately, I managed to get through the weekend without attracting any unwanted attention from the police.

I got a TV tuner for my computer for Christmas. It has come in really handy for drill weekends. All of the rooms in the barracks have a cable hookup, but no TV. With the TV tuner, I can hook up the laptop to the cable and watch TV in my room. There's a TV in the lounge down the hall, but you're at the whim of the majority. And besides, some dipshit stole the remote. WTF is up with that, anyway?

We got out a little early on Saturday, so I decided to use the extra daylight to go check out Falmouth. That town has the most un-Walmart looking Walmart I've ever seen. It has that New England-y shop look on the outside. The inside looks pretty much like any other Walmart. Falmouth also has a bookstore, but it didn't have a large selection. I guess I'll have to travel to Hyannis to find a Barnes and Noble. Before I left town, I stopped at the 99 and ate until I was about ready to burst.

Saturday's DVD selection was THE BANK JOB. Great movie. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and check it out.

We switched to daylight savings time on Sunday morning. That always seems to land on drill weekend every year. There's nothing like losing an hour's sleep when you have to get up early to be at work. Having a sinus infection makes it that much better.

When they cut us loose on Sunday, I threw my gear into the Jeep and hit the road, vowing to make no stops on the drive home. I kept my vow, and I drove as fast as a guy with an expired registration would dare drive. I made it home in three hours and fifteen minutes. Pretty good time. And I'm off the hook for another month. I may have to retire soon, I'm getting too old for this shit.

FRIDAY MOVIE QUOTE

"When you're dealing with a store like this, they're insured up the ass. They're not supposed to give you any resistance whatsoever. If you get a customer, or an employee, who thinks he's Charles Bronson, take the butt of your gun and smash their nose in. Everybody jumps. He falls down screaming, blood squirts out of his nose, nobody says fucking shit after that. You might get some bitch talk shit to you, but give her a look like you're gonna smash her in the face next, watch her shut the fuck up. Now if it's a manager, that's a different story. Managers know better than to fuck around, so if you get one that's giving you static, he probably thinks he's a real cowboy, so you gotta break that son of a bitch in two. If you wanna know something and he won't tell you, cut off one of his fingers. The little one. Then tell him his thumb's next. After that he'll tell you if he wears ladies underwear."

-Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Reservoir Dogs (1992)

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: MARCH 4, 1944

On this date in 1944, it was the big adiós for Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and two of his henchmen. Lepke Buchalter and Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia ran the mob crew that the media of the day tagged "Murder, Incorporated." Buchalter, along with Murder, Inc. members Emanuel "Mendy" Weiss and Louis Capone (no relation to big Al), was convicted and sentenced to death for the killing of Brooklyn candy store owner Joseph Rosen. All three men were executed within minutes of each other in the electric chair at Sing Sing prison.

Further reading:

AmericanMafia.com - The Last days of Lepke Buchalter, et al

Crime Magazine - The Last Days of Lepke Buchalter

Wikipedia - Murder, Inc.

THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: MARCH 3, 1934

On this date in 1934, notorious bank robber John Dillinger escaped from the Lake County jail in Crown Point, IN. Dillinger, who had been arrested in Tucson, AZ in January, was awaiting trial for the murder of a police officer. On the morning of March 3rd, Dillinger pulled what was later reporterd to be a fake gun on jail guards and convinced them to open his cell. He and another inmate locked up the guards, grabbed some machine guns, and fled the jail with a deputy as a hostage. They made their way to a nearby garage, where they stole Sheriff Lillian Holly's (front row, far left in the above photo) brand new Ford V-8. Dillinger and company fled across the state line into Illinois. This turned out to be John Dillinger's fatal mistake. He had taken a stolen car across state lines, which is a federal crime. He would soon have the full attention of the FBI - the kind of attention he could live without.


Further reading:

truTV - John Dillinger

FBI Files - Famous Cases: John Dillinger

The John Dillinger Scrapbook

Time Magazine - Whittler's Holiday

Wikipedia - John Dillinger

BABE OF THE WEEK

This week's babe is C&W cutie Gretchen Wilson. She's so hot, she could almost make me a fan of country music. Almost. You can see more of Gretchen at her official website.

OVERTAXED

You'll be happy to know that my 2008 taxes are done, and I've paid my "fair share." Rich bastard that I am. Damn I hate tax time. Glad it's over. Until next year.