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Monday, 24 November 2014

Sabotage: chronicle of the Chesterton crash

I have finally obtained a copy of Bryan Alaspa's book on the Chesterton crash and it makes a splendid read. It really does make the entire affair seem so much more mysterious as it delves into the world at the time and sets the scene for what was and still is a great aviation mystery. I only hope the relatives of the victims have an interest and eventually read this book.

114 comments:

  1. The biggest clue in the FBI files was the foreknowledge by the Reno-based fiance of passenger Dorothy Dwyer, a man with gangster connections identified as "Baldwin" or "Stanley," that the cause of the crash was a bomb. That and the tip out of Oklahoma that the target was a Justice Department rackets buster, who was a passenger on that same flight two days previously.

    The only mystery to me is why the investigators didn't focus on this man or investigate Dwyer's background. Hoover even tried to close the case down just a month after the crash. Hoover was known for his reluctance to investigate organized crime for most of his career. I wonder if someone paid him off to make the case go away.

    ReplyDelete
  2. If this was indeed a botched attempt to kill Justice Department rackets buster Joseph B. Keenan, who had flown the same plane two days earlier, how did the conspirators miss the connection by such a wide margin? I noticed passenger Dorothy Dwyer, who I suspect was the one who brought the bomb aboard the plane, had experienced several delays in making her flight:

    pg44 of 160
    Dwyer, "delayed her departure due to her desire to attend a Catholic mission which took place in Arlington, Mass."

    pg46 of 160
    Mr. Keeney(brother-in-law to Dwyer) "accompanied Miss Dorothy Dwyer to the airport at East Boston, Mass on Oct 10 and that due to failure to catch a ferry boat, Miss Dwyer missed the plane she had made reservations for, scheduled to leave at 10:10AM VIA American Airways."

    pg1 of 160
    "Miss Dorothy Dwyer....arrived at the Newark Airpot from Boston and missed a connection because of a puncture at Hartford, Connecticut. Arrangements were made for her to fly on the four o'clock plane but she failed to obtain her ticket in time and missed the plane. For this reason she was on the plane that left at 4:30pm".

    Also, and rather bizarrely, there was no visible attempt made by the FBI to interview Keenan, a possible target. He was not asked about threats made to him, he was not asked if had himself made changes in his travel dates or times, for example possibly getting on an earlier flight than the one scheduled.

    If Keenan had taken an earlier flight, combined with Dwyer's multiple delays, than it is very possible they could have origonally been expected to be on the same plane.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Regarding passenger Dorothy Dwyer, I noticed this comment:

    pg31 of 160
    "little more than a torso left of this body(Dwyer's) and remaining portion was badly burned.."

    So it sounds like Dwyer suffered dismemberment, and possibly even decapitation. This question is, was this damage a result of the impact with the ground, or was this damage to her body caused by the blast of the bomb while the plane was in the air? None of this type of dismemberment was noted for any of the other passengers or crew. The two bodies that were thrown out of the plane as it was descending to earth, as they were seated at the rear of the craft(and thus closest to the bomb), were apparently recovered in an intact state. Thus it is very possible, then, that Dwyer was very close to the blast, perhaps having just exited the bathroom when the device ignited. The blast then would have hurled her toward the front of the fuselage, which explains why her remains were found in the main part of the wreckage.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Regarding that tip that claimed the target was rackets buster Joseph Keenan:

    pg47 of 160
    FBI Memorandum dated 10-14-33
    "Mr. Gridley of the UP telephoned to state they had received a dispatch from Oklahoma City saying the United Airlines plane crash was arranged to "get" Mr. Joseph B. Keenan, but that he had gone over the route a couple of days before. ...Mr. Keenan was in the West.. ."

    The FBI tried to find the source of the tip, but was unsuccessful. Perhaps not coincidentally, Keenan was probably in Oklahoma at the time:

    Part 2
    pg90 of 123
    "(After landing in Chicago) Mr. Keenan boarded the plane for the southwest, presumably for Oklahoma..."

    This suggests that Keenan was himself the source of the tip, either directly or indirectly(for example if he told another of his suspicions). But why then did Keenan not loudly complain to the FBI? It would be interesting to find out Keenan's history after the bombing, but I am unable to find out anything more about him.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Another vital piece of evidence can be characterized as "the dog that wouldn't bark," in this case the undue haste with which the Director J. Edgar Hoover tried to close the case:

    Part 1
    pg49 of 160
    FBI Memorandum dated 10-14-33 from the Director(Hoover), just four days after the crash:
    "Mr. Douthat inquired when the investigation would be completed and I stated it would probably be some time next week."

    pg137 of 160
    Letter to SA Purvis date 11-13-33(just one month later):
    "Immediately submit closing and summary report United Air Lines..."

    pg138 of 160
    FBI report dated 11-14-33
    "No evidence obtained which might prove sabotage or illegal transportation of explosives in interstate commerce. Case closed by instructions of Director."
    (this after it had become conclusive that a bomb had brought down the plane)

    pg143 of 160
    "On instructions of the Director contained in wire to the Chicago Division Office, dated November 13, 1933, this case is being closed."


    It was only after protestations by his own agents in the field and by attorneys for the airline that the investigation would be kept open before finally being shut down on 9-20-35,

    To me, all this suggests that Hoover may himself have been the secret weapon that insured this crime would never be solved. According to other sources, Hoover was a big fan of horse racing, where he had an enviable record of winning big on his bets, based on tips given him by New York mob boss Frank Costello(probably via cutouts). This implies a possible route with which the coverup of the bombing might have been arranged; an arrangement which would have been extremely important to both parties.
    And possibly to many American politicians, who by this time has become used to big cash contributions by the racketeers to operate undisturbed. Thus in 1933 there would have been many powerful interests that wanted this case to go away as fast as possible.

    ReplyDelete
  6. "Justice Department rackets buster Joseph B. Keenan"

    Keenan's achievements at the Justice Department were the prosecution of "Machine Gun Kelly" and the "Ma Barker Gang." Both of these were part of the 'Mid-Western Bank Robber Gangs' of that era. They specialized in takeover-style bank robberies--with an occasional kidnapping thrown in. But the 'rackets' include criminal acts like bootlegging, organized gambling, running prostitution, extortion, labor racketeering, narcotics distribution, etc. So whatever Keenan managed to accomplish, it certainly didn't include busting the rackets. Undoubtedly, he got the message of the plane crash.

    -------------------------

    IF Dorothy Dwyer carried the bomb aboard the plane, how did they get her to do it? I suspect that Dwyer was they type of woman that gravitated toward the criminal element, perhaps even in the category of "gun moll." Thus it may have been normal for her to carry, for pay, packages--communications, cash, or contraband---from gangster to gangster around the country. So when they asked her to carry a package Reno or Chicago she wouldn't have blinked twice.

    I even wonder if her journey to Reno for the stated purpose of marrying Theodore/Stanley Baldwin was just a cover story. Why would she marry some much older guy who had lived across the country for the last five years whom she probably saw very rarely, if at all?

    Her relatives in Boston were unhappy about this 'marriage,' according to the FBI report. Unfortunately, they were never interviewed to clear up the mystery.

    ReplyDelete
  7. an airline employee (the stewardess?) carried the bomb on the plane in newark. it was jealousy of some male.

    ReplyDelete

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