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May 16, 2016

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Jon, I sent U a similar and bigger version of the following a few years ago.

Despite the fact that the Bolles killing brought together a mass of journalists and law enforcement the story has never really been told in it’s totality in an organized manner.

Despite all the authorities and others the Republic whose observations the paper continues to mention the articles are a hodgepodge of happenings.

The Bolles story started not in Arizona but in the bowels of Midwest organized crime looking for places to hide and invest its ill got gains. (On Oct. 17, 1931, Chicago gangster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion)
The local Organized crime imports furthered this with crooked land deals and liquor and drug movements. Organized crime ate its way into Arizona politics and helped facilitate one of the biggest land grabs in history along the Arizona/Mexico border.

When ever I hear of the Bolles case and on many other occasions I think of Phoenix Organized Crime/White Collar crime detective, Lonzo McCracken and one his many informants. McCracken was one of the few people I knew who could unannounced see Harry Rosenzweig anytime he desired. The result of one of these meetings was the resignation of a county attorney.

And in the Bolles matter seldom a mention of the attorney turned informant (to avoid prosecution).

Many folks believe the Bolles killing was a local affair and that many of the peripheral stories have little or no meaning in the scheme of things.

The bad guys keep winning even today they are out there, but who cares?

Someday I hope there is a writer/investigator out there that can pull it together and give the story a much better treatment than it has had to date.

Including a more diligent look at the local politicians of the time.

The attorney-turned-informant being Neal Roberts? North High schoolmate of many of the players in the case.

NO

Who?

@RC: I have responded (partially) to your quite valid criticisms of the last thread. There are a couple of other issues I didn’t respond to (but should) but I didn’t want to get too far into the weeds.

You pointed out in the number of commenters who have “gone away” recently (with Soleri being the probably most salient). I think this is just a function of the topics of late; for example this one. I find the “Phoenix 101” and “Phoenix Confidential” to be very interesting, but almost impossible to comment on in any constructive way. Kind of the same thing with “Circle Records” and “Macayo’s” postings. Even those familiar with the buildings didn’t have much to say about the situation.

Let me introduce a tangent to the current posting. I’ve always thought a city of substance needed a Red-Light District. Things like drinking, gambling and prostitution are always going to be with us; I’d almost go far as to say “who’d want to live anywhere that didn’t have them”. Making these activities legal or illegal introduces no end of problems. Having a semi-official Red-Light District would address these but introduces a large number of problems in its own right.
B’ham, by the way, is the gamblingest place I’ve ever lived – especially during football season. There are at least two mini-casinos that I know of. There are probably more – but gambling is one of the few vices I don’t have.

I found it interesting that Phoenix was a big dog racing city. I would have though car racing would have been more natural. I know there’s a NASCAR track there. But when I think of car racing I don’t think of Phoenix.


Car racing was never big in Phoenix, although NASCAR runs at Phoenix International Raceway. My cousin was the racer Jimmy McElreath. We would go to the old Veterans Memorial Coliseum to watch him in the Indianapolis 500.

We race Desert Tortoises harnessed to Road Runners, Beep Beep!
U dont gamble but you frequent the "houses"?

WKG said, "I’ve always thought a city of substance needed a Red-Light District. Things like drinking, gambling and prostitution are always going to be with us; I’d almost go far as to say “who’d want to live anywhere that didn’t have them”.

You live as a formally educated edurite gentleman in whats left of the worlds primeval swamp of stewing microbes. Plus it rains a lot. I would think that might lead to insanity.

However, for this informally knowledge seeking rat in the desert, I prefer

"the pre human sanity of the desert"
Ed Abbey

I do admit to my weakness of travel by motorized vehicles. But now at 75 and crippled, walking (the best way to observe) has become difficult. So I will not be backpacking to DC again.

@Cal: “U dont gamble but you frequent the "houses"? Nope have never paid for any – at least directly. But the indirect payments have been enormous.

Re; “Plus it rains a lot.” You got that right. Was curious about that and went to Wiki to look it up: Annual rainfall for selected cities:
Portland, Org 36.03”
Seattle 37.49”
Orlando, Fla 50.6"
Phoenix 8.03”
Birmingham 53.72
Mobile Ala 66.1”

Well according to Jim Harrison (and I agree) it's better on dry land than underwater.

Arizona has always been a fertile ground for organized crime from the "Cowboys of Cochise County" to Emprise, the Mafia and more.
Political corruption and OC have always been in bed together. No investigation has ever really gone anywhere because they are all "bought"

The old trite saying "Money talks and Bullshit walks has never been truer.

Closely related to a red-light district, a city needs a skid row. Much like sinners, the hard-luck folks will always be with us. Those oh-so-expert planners would leveled “The Deuce” in Phoenix thought they were doing the right thing. As an aside (damn it all – I’m sucked into “Death and Life” again) Jane Jacobs speaks quite fondly of the atmosphere and usage of New York’s skid row parks. Those are parks that actually work – and most don’t – even in New York.

Parks dont work?
Parks dont kill people.
Parks do not work because people do not make them work.
Most of the parks I go by in the "Valley of The Sun" have some to a lot of activity. But then it doesn't rain here.

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