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Sale 64
| Lot |
Photo |
Description |
Realized |
Lot 373 |
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Al Capone's Chicago. Two photos. Includes:
a. Portrait of the jurors hearing the trial of Al Capone on income tax evasion charges 1931 8x10 in.
b. "Three Finger" Jack White shot down in lavish Chicago apartment, 1934, 7x9 in.
Estimated Value $200 - 300.
View details and enlarged photo
| Unsold |
Lot 374 |
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Albert Anastasia, Willie Sutton, Arnold Schuster, Murder Inc Mafia. Seven photos. Includes:
a. Albert Anastasia stands with his legal counsel after pleading guilty to tax evasion, 1955, 7x8 in.
b. Albert Anastasia is rolled over by NYPD detectives after his barbershop murder, 1957, 7x8 in.
c. Albert Anastasia's body lies prone and covered with a sheet in Arthur Grasso barbershop, 1957, 7x9 in.
d. Willie Sutton residence when fingered by civic-minded Arnold Schuster, 1952, 7x9 in.
e. Willie Sutton is held on charges of possessing revolver found at his rooming house, 1952, 8x10 in.
f. Diagram of spot where Arnold Schuster was shot and killed on orders from Albert Anastasia, 7x9 in.
g. Anastasia murder suspect Santo Trafficante leaves jail in Queens, NY, 1966, 7x9 in.
Estimated Value $700 - 900.
View details and enlarged photo
| Unsold |
Lot 375 |
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[Bonnie and Clyde] 1933 "Sowers Raid" Archive From Clyde Barrow Gang Investigator. Millard Edgar Sweatt joined the Dallas County Sheriff's Department in 1931 and while working under the command of legendary Sheriff Richard A. 'Smoot' Schmid (alongside future Dallas Sheriff J.E. 'Bill' Decker) participated in the apprehension of Depression-era outlaws such as the Hamilton brothers, 'Huron' Ted Walters, and members of the notorious Barrow Gang - the latter pursuit lasting until the deadly 1934 ambush of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow by a task force which included Dallas County Sheriff Deputies and Sweatt's lifelong friend, Ted Hinton.
On November 22, 1933, Millard Sweatt was a member of the Sheriff's posse that surprised Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker during a family picnic outside of Sowers, Texas, and was credited with collecting the accompanying relics from Parker and Barrow's disabled automobile.
Earlier the same year, Millard E. Sweatt reportedly assisted in organizing an Old West-style "showdown" between Clyde Barrow and Sheriff Smoot Schmid. Accepting a challenge issued by Barrow himself, Sheriff Schmid showed up ready for a gunfight at the appointed hour, but Barrow failed to appear.*
Millard Sweatt ascended through the ranks of the Dallas Sheriffs Department until, coinciding with the election of Bill Decker as Sheriff in 1949, he was promoted to Chief Criminal Deputy -second in command of Dallas law enforcement.
After retiring from his distinguished career at the Dallas Sheriff's Department, Millard Sweatt became Chief Investigator for Dallas District Attorney, Henry Wade. It was from his office in Dealey Plaza that - exactly 30 years and one day after he raided Bonnie & Clyde - that Millard Sweatt witnessed the assassination of President John Kennedy and its aftermath: the open limousine carrying Kennedy passed directly beneath his office window and Sweatt made a comment about the size of Jackie Kennedy's feet just before the first rifle shot rang out.* The responsibility of building criminal cases against Lee Harvey Oswald and, ultimately, Jack Ruby, then fell in large part to Millard Sweatt. (*Data confirmed by the son of Millard E. Sweatt, an executive within the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.)
Included in this archive are the following items:
2 - .45 caliber Colt ammo magazines abandoned at Sowers, Texas
15 - .45 caliber ammunition rounds (live) abandoned at Sowers, Texas
4 - .38 caliber ammunition rounds (live) abandoned at Sowers, Texas
5 - Ammunition carton remnants abandoned at Sowers, Texas
1 - 1933 dated Texas automobile license plate abandoned at Sowers, Texas
1- 8x10 portrait taken after Sowers Raid of senior officers Sheriff Smoot Schmid and Ted Hinton
1 - 1933 Dallas County Sheriff group portrait with Millard Sweatt, Bill Decker, Ted Hinton, Bob Alcorn, Sheriff Smoot Schmid.
6 - Antique childhood portraits of Millard Sweatt and family including brother, Deputy Allan Sweatt
1 - May 1934 Wanted Bulletin for Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrow
1 - Dallas Police Department's official "Master" of Buck Barrow's 8x8 inch booking card with mugshot
13 - 4x5 inch snapshots of Barrow Gang & Police provided to Sweatt by posse member Ted Hinton
5 - 8x10 portraits of Barrow Gang fatal ambush aftermath given to Sweatt by posse member Ted Hinton.
1 - Handwritten letter from Ernest Sweatt of Dallas transferring possession of Barrow Gang relics to Millard Sweatt's younger brother, future Chief Criminal Deputy Allan Sweatt.
Estimated Value $15,000 - 20,000.
View details and enlarged photos
| Unsold |
Lot 376 |
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Bugsy Siegel, Virginia Hill, Mickey Cohen. Four photos. Includes:
a. Bugsy girl Virginia Hill is locked out of her house by Treasury agents (undated original), 8x10 in.
b. Bugsy best pal Allen Smiley is acquitted of assault, poses with Tommy Dorsey & wife, 7x9 in.
c. Bugsy underboss Mickey Cohen forced to sell his gun collection to pay lawyers, 1951, 8x10 in.
d. Bugsy murder suspect Mickey Cohen is led in handcuffs to Alcatraz Island, 1962, 6x9 in.
Estimated Value $400 - 600.
View details and enlarged photo
| Unsold |
Lot 377 |
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Crime Figures: Dio, Milito, Castellano. Three photos. Includes:
a. Rackets figure Johnny Dio pleads Fifth after slugging newspaper cameraman, 1957, 7x9 in.
b. Ex-Boxer, Ex-Con and hijacker Leo Milito shot down on Lower East Side, 1958, 7x9 in.
c. Arrested at Apalachin conference, Paul Castellano arrives at NYC courthouse, 1959, 8x10 in.
Estimated Value $300 - 500.
View details and enlarged photo
| Unsold |
Lot 378 |
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Depression-era Public Enemies. Five law enforcement investigative file cards, 5 x 3¼ in. with images and information pertaining to armed & dangerous fugitives George "Machine Gun" Kelly, "Pretty Boy" Floyd, Wilbur Underhill (who "died of wounds in fight with police"), Alvin Karpis, Arthur R. Barker and bankrobbing gang leader William "Jake" Fleagle (mounted upon a real-photo mugshot), whose status was updated to "DEAD" following a shootout with law enforcement aboard a train in Branson, Missouri. Information is jotted on the back of each card, such as crimes committed, who he was pals with, what gang he belonged to and where he had served time; some also have physical descriptions of the criminal.
Estimated Value $2,000 - 3,000.
View details and enlarged photo
| Unsold |
Lot 379 |
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Dillinger-era Criminal Alvin "Creepy" Karpis. Original 9½ page typescript of the first chapter from Karpis' autobiography titled Public Enemy #1. The chapter is titled, "Well I Don't Care: All the Banks Ever Do Is Foreclose on Us Farmers" and Karpis signed his name at the end. The chapter tells how Karpis and Fred Barker (of the Ma Barker gang) became friends in prison and formed a partnership (the Karpis-Barker gang) in 1931 after being released. Karpis relates some of their crimes, particularly the robbery of the Wahpeton bank. In 1933 they kidnapped William Hamm Jr. (of the brewery House) and shortly thereafter kidnapped Minnesota banker Edward Bremer, Jr. Karpis was captured in 1936 (the last "public enemy" to be caught) and spent 33 years in prison.
Estimated Value $750 - 1,000.
View details and enlarged photo
| Unsold |
Lot 380 |
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J.F.K. Assassination/Lee Oswald/Jack Ruby Investigator Archive. In December 1954, Allan Sweatt emulated his older brother Millard (see Bonnie and Clyde lot) by joining the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, but he would earn his own reputation as a legendary Texas lawman. A direct consequence of the J.F.K. assassination - the need to identify and interrogate suspects - fell to Allan Sweatt, who by 1963 had taken his brother Millard's former job as Chief Criminal Deputy of Dallas County, into whose custody Oswald was being transferred when he was shot and killed by local burlesque club owner Jack Ruby.
On November 22, 1963, Allan Sweatt was positioned outside Sheriff's Headquarters, observing the tail end of the President's motorcade, when he heard the first of three gunshots. As the highest ranking lawman in Dealey Plaza, it became Allan Sweatt's responsibility to coordinate the actions of Sheriff Deputies in the immediate wake of the shooting which included arresting an early murder suspect, identifying eyewitnesses, scouring the plaza for ballistics evidence, securing Lee Oswald's alleged shell casings inside the Book Depository, and dispatching officers who would apprehend Oswald at the Texas Theatre.
Possibly the closest personal confidant of Sheriff Bill Decker, it was Allan Sweatt who reported to Secret Service agents that Lee Harvey Oswald was, at the time of Kennedy's assassination, receiving a monthly stipend of two hundred dollars from the F.B.I. - even providing them with Oswald's registration number as an informant.
At the specific request of Sheriff Decker - Allan Sweatt was appointed Jack Ruby's private chaperone during his incarceration at the Dallas County Jail. A nationally respected Polygraph examiner, Allan Sweatt was the department's official witness to Jack Ruby's lie detector exam and is even said to have administered his own 'dry run' polygraph exam to Ruby, the existence of which has never been made public. (Data confirmed by the son of Millard E. Sweatt, an executive within the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.) The purpose of Sweatt's preliminary test was allegedly intended to satisfy Sheriff Decker's own curiosity, but also to settle Ruby's own fear of later "flunking" the lie detector.
Allan Sweatt died in 1975 at the age of 58 and is listed among the "Convenient Deaths" surrounding JFK's murder. At the time of his death, Sweatt was the Chief of Field Operations for the Dallas County Sheriff. Included in this archive are the following:
1 - Commissioner of Law Enforcement official diamond ring. 10k band engraved "Allan Sweatt"
1 - Allan Sweatt's "Assistant Chief Deputy Sheriff" Identification card
2 - Allan Sweatt "Deputy Sheriff" Identification cards, both signed Bill Decker, Sheriff
1 - Allan Sweatt's "Dallas County Sheriff Department Director of Field Operations" gold badge in wallet
1 - Brown leather wallet containing Allan Sweatt's "Provost Marshal Investigator" military ID card
2 - Antique childhood portraits of future Dallas County Chief Criminal Deputy Allan Sweatt
4 - Shapshot photographs of Allan Sweatt during his career with the Dallas County Sheriff
9 - 8x10 (or larger) portraits including several of Allan Sweatt's immediate superior Sheriff Bill Decker, as well as Allan Sweatt with a wounded outlaw, participating (w/ brother Millard) in 1950s Masonic Temple rite, receiving accolades, with members of polygraph association in 1963.
7 - News clippings pertaining to Allan Sweatt's law enforcement exploits, captured jailbreakers, escorting a murderer to the electric chair, etc.
1 - 1961 Polygraph Examiner diploma awarded to Allan Sweatt
1 - 14k Gold wedding band
2 - Masonic Temple membership rings
1- 1960s vintage souvenir miniature White House
14 - Allan Sweatt's assorted jewelry/monogrammed accessories including gold/crystal American flag pin
1- "Reeves Souncraft" record album containing the "Confession of Huron Ted Walters", the notorious outlaw pursued by both Chief Deputy Allan Sweatt and, decades earlier, his older brother Millard.
10 - Dallas County Sheriff internal documents including a 10-pg Sheriff's Department personnel roster typescript (with handwritten corrections) compiled days after the JFK assassination, handwritten notes on a Right-Wing extremist group, and the bombing of a Jewish Temple, a list of prisoners transferred to Department of Corrections, a "Glossary of Homosexual Terms," a guide to "Narcotics Parlance of the Underworld" and a 7 page report titled "Don't Trust The Lie Detector."
Estimated Value $4,000 - 6,000.
View details and enlarged photo
| Unsold |
Lot 381 |
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John Dillinger - 1st Booking Mugshot, & Five Members of His First Gang. John Dillinger's first booking photograph (1924 real-photo mugshot) & handwritten investigative files pertaining to 5 members of Dillinger's first gang: Harry Pierpoint, Charles Makley, Russell Clark, Tommy Carroll and John Hamilton.
Information is jotted on the back of each card, such as physical description (including a limp, amputated fingers, etc.), crimes committed, and "pal of John Dillinger." Law enforcement officers kept these files as ready references and updated them as the criminals were caught or killed. Dillinger's card lists an alias (Jack Lawrence) and calls him a murderer, bank robber, and bully.
The crime for which Dillinger was arrested at the age of 21 (robbing a local grocer), and for which this mugshot was taken, occurred September 6, 1924. Dillinger's prison experience embittered him and he became friends with hardened criminals such as Harry Pierpont, John Hamilton, and Russell Clark. In April 1934 Dillinger was named Public Enemy Number One but he was actually popular with the public because he was robbing banks which were foreclosing on people (it was the Depression). He was set up by Anna Sage, a Rumanian brothel owner who was going to be deported, and on July 22, 1934 he was shot down outside the Biograph Cinema by young FBI agent Melvin Purvis. He was 31 years old.
This is believed to be the only surviving real-photo specimen of Dillinger's first arrest other than one in the Indiana State Archives.
Estimated Value $5,000 - 6,000.
View details and enlarged photo
| Realized
$2,950 |
Lot 382 |
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John Dillinger Gang. Four photos. Includes:
a. Photograph of John Dillinger being led by police to a lineup, where he was identified as the killer of a policeman in a Chicago bank robbery (1930s original, verso stamped w subsequent publish dates).
b. Dillinger's machine gun, bulletproof vest.45 Colt and ammunition recovered after his death 1934 7x9 in.
c. Police Chief in Puerto Rico holds Dillinger death mask, a gift from Secret Service agent 1939 7x9 in.
d. Thompson submachine gun recovered from Pretty Boy Floyd's car after his death (undated orig.) 7.5x9 in.
Estimated Value $400 - 600.
View details and enlarged photo
| Unsold |
Lot 383 |
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Kidnapping, Alvin Karpis, Barker Gang, Touhy Mob. Four photos. Includes:
a. Roger Touhy gang led to face charges they kidnapped brewer William Hamm Jr., 1933, 7x9 in.
b. Barker Gang's Alvin Karpis and co-defendant led to trial for kidnapping William Hamm Jr., 1936, 7x9 in.
c. Jess Doyle in custody on suspicion he participated in kidnapping of banker Edward Bremer, 1935, 7x9 in.
d. Prison cell occupied by kidnap killer Richard Loeb after he was slain by fellow inmate,1 936, 5x7 in.
Estimated Value $400 - 600.
View details and enlarged photo
| Unsold |
Lot 384 |
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Lansky, Meyer (1902-83) Polish-born organized crime figure. As a young man, he became a friend and partner-in-crime with Bugsy Siegel and with Lucky Luciano created a gambling empire that stretched to the Caribbean. Lansky was the money guy who was content to stay in the background and let Luciano get the publicity. Autograph Letter Signed ("Meyer"), 1½ pages on ruled paper, n.p. (Miami), Mar. 1, 1979. To Al Smiley, mobster who was a member of Murder, Inc., founded by Lansky and Siegel, and famous as the guy who was at Bugsy Siegel's Beverly Hills home on June 20, 1947 when Siegel got "whacked" by the mob because of his on-going losses at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. Lansky writes a personal letter to Smiley after meeting his daughter Gaye. In part: "…Never have I met a child that resemble [sic] the parents as much as Gaye does. If she was a boy (Gaye) she would be you. When she said 'you guys' I was reliving again. I just flipped. I saw so much of you in her. The little that I saw her impressed me much and I'm not quick on forming opinions….for the first time in my life a young or old lady ever lifted my dinner check. I know the apple doesn't fall far from the tree….You deserve credit for raising your children in the fashion you did with all the problems you always had hanging over your head. If nothing else in life has given you hope in living, I know the children did and will continue to do….We are looking forward to visit you…in the summer. Gaye gave us to understand that her sister may come to Florida. Please, give us at least two days notice….Take care, all the best. Your friend Meyer." It is extremely rare to find a letter written by one crime figure to another. Even rarer: this is the only Lansky letter to come to auction.
Estimated Value $4,000 - 6,000.
View details and enlarged photo
| Realized
$2,360 |
Lot 385 |
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Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby, John F. Kennedy Assassination. Four photos. Includes:
a. Lee Harvey Oswald, in pain from gunshot, is taken by stretcher to Parkland Hospital, 1963, 5x9 in.
b. Jack Ruby all smiles in a portrait with a Carousel Club showgirl taken year before shooting, 1963, 7x9 in.
c. Crowd outside County Jail in Dealey Plaza erupts in cheers upon hearing Ruby shot Oswald (photo by Eamon Kennedy 1963), 8x10 in.
d. Lee Harvey Oswald's dead body is escorted through a corridor by Sheriff's Department (photo by Eamon Kennedy 1963), 8x10 in.
Estimated Value $400 - 600.
View details and enlarged photo
| Unsold |
Lot 386 |
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Mayor Jimmy Walker, Tammany Hall, Seabury Vice Commission. Three photos. Includes:
a. Targeting gangster vice and crooked politicians, Samuel Seabury arrives at Governor's Office 1930 7x9 in.
b. Mayor of NYC, Jimmy Walker, was target of Seabury Commission and resigned (undated orig.) 7x9 in.
c. Labor strikebreaker Sam "Chowderhead" Cohen appears before labor panel, 1936, 7x9 in.
Estimated Value $300 - 500.
View details and enlarged photo
| Unsold |
Lot 387 |
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Murder Inc, Abe Reles, Louis Lepke. Five photos. Includes:
a. Abe Reles death plunge diagram of Half Moon Hotel exterior, 1941 (w Police & dead body), 8x11 in.
b. Body of Abe Reles carried by NYPD to the morgue wagon, 1941, 5x9 in.
c. Reles target Louis "Lepke" Buchalter smiles in handcuffs after surrendering, 1939, 5x9 in.
d. Informant Abe Reles smiles after missing date to testify against Bugsy Siegel in 1940, 5x9 in.
e. Reles' widow in composite photo with gravediggers closing his grave, 8x11 in.
Estimated Value $750 - 1,000.
View details and enlarged photo
| Unsold |
Lot 388 |
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Prohibition, Bootlegging, Mad Dog Coll, Dutch Schultz Gang. Seven photos. Includes:
a. NYC Arrest photograph of Vincent Coll, killed by bootlegger Dutch Schultz, 1932, 5x9 in.
b. Dutch Schultz lawyer Richard "Dixie" Davis leaves jail to visit dentist, 1938, 5x9 in
c. Prohibition agents raid illegal liquor still, dump mash on front lawn (undated original), 5x9 in.
d. "Traveling Barroom Seized" for violating Volstead Act; flasks resemble life vest (undated orig.), 5x9 in.
e. Agents test bootleg beer in NYC, declare it's as good as before Prohibition (undated orig.), 5x9 in.
f. Shipment of liquor arrives by boat during Prohibition, reserved for foreign dignitaries (1920s), 5x9 in.
g. Wife of Legs Diamond leaves hospital in tears after hearing his last words, 1930, 5x9 in.
Estimated Value $700 - 900.
View details and enlarged photo
| Unsold |
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