100 Years Later, 6 Victims of Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Identified

Joseph Berger of The New York Times reports that six previously unidentified victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 have finally been identified, thanks to the perseverance of amateur genealogist and historian, Michael Hirsch.

The factory fire at Washington Place and Greene Street that occurred on March 25, 1911, claimed the lives of 146 persons (129 women, 17 men).

Twenty-three families sued the two owners and were eventually paid $75 each. The owners were acquitted of any wrongdoing.

A centennial commemoration of the fire at the Greenwich Village building will be held on Friday, March 25, 2011, from 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. which will include a reading of the victims' names -- which is now complete. At 4:45 p.m. (the time of the fire), a bell vigil will take place; 146 bells will ring, one for each victim, as visitors meditate on the lives lost. They are requesting churches, fire departments and the public to join in a pealing of bells.

Mr. Hirsch was hired by HBO as a co-producer for the upcoming "Triangle: Remembering the Fire." The documentary will debut on March 21, 2011. See the viewing schedule here. (On Twitter, you can follow @HBODocs or like their page on Facebook.)

Cornell University has assembled a comprehensive web site on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

A list of events honoring the 100th anniversary can be found at "Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition." Like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter @trianglefire.

Visit wnyc.org to hear one of the survivors speak (1986), and see photos.

On March 25th every year, volunteers fan out across the city to chalk the sidewalk with the names of the victims in front of their former homes.

Ten years ago tomorrow -- on February 22, the last survivor of the fire, Rose (Rosenfeld) Friedman, passed away at age 107. Read her incredible story here -- and how she survived by following company executives to the roof. She became a lifelong crusader for worker safety.

TRIANGLE: Remembering the Fire from Blowback Productions on Vimeo.

Mystery Monday: Who Killed Sir Harry Oakes?

This past fall, I watched the outstanding HBO series, Boardwalk Empire. Last week, I saw the brilliant movie, The King's Speech. The two stories remind me of the unsolved murder of Sir Harry Oakes.

Let me explain.

The series, directed by Martin Scorcese, is based upon the 2002 book, Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City, by Nelson Johnson. Among the many characters portrayed in the Prohibition-era series is Lucky Luciano (photo below) who was instrumental in creating the American Mafia.

The King's Speech, starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter, is the amazing story of King George VI (who took over after his brother, Edward, abdicated the throne in order to marry the twice-divorced Mrs. Wallis Simpson), and the difficulty he faced as a stutterer.

Harry Oakes was born in 1874 in Sangerville, Maine. He attended Syracuse Medical School, but gave it up to pursue a gold rush in the Klondike. At 23, he ventured to the Klondike; he was shipwrecked off the Alaskan coast, was taken prisoner by Russians, he sailed to Australia, New Zealand and California. He nearly froze to death in Alaska. When he made his way to Kirkland Lake, Ontario, he discovered gold underneath the lake. His Lake Shore Mines earned him about $60,000 a day.

He was soon the richest man in Canada. He married Eunice MacIntyre, and for tax reasons, they settled on the island of Nassau in the Bahamas. Oakes was named a baronet by King George VI in 1939.

When Oakes' family was vacationing in their summer house in Bar Harbor, Maine, in July 1943, Oakes was murdered in the Bahamas on July 7 in his bedroom. A fire had been set in the bedroom. His body was discovered by Sir Harold Christie, a close family friend.

Oakes' son-in-law, Count Alfred de Marigny, became a suspect. He was disliked by Oakes and the society members of Nassau. The other notable figures on the island included the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (Edward and Wallis).

The investigative work on the case was poor. Marigny's trial began in October 1943 and when the case went to the jury, he was acquitted in less than 2 hours. Marigny later accused Christie of the murder. There were rumors that Mob boss Meyer Lansky was behind the murder because of Oakes' opposition to build casinos. It was believed to be Lucky Luciano's idea to build casinos on the island, and figured between the connections with Christie and the Duke of Windsor, he'd have the means to do it; only Oakes wasn't interested.

The murder of Sir Harry Oakes remains unsolved.

Steve Buscemi, one of my favorite actors (and fellow Long Island native), won a Golden Globe for his performance in Boardwalk Empire. HBO recently began airing an encore presentation of the series. If you have HBO and missed it this fall, catch it now!

James Ellroy's LA: City of Demons

One of Hollywood's notorious unsolved murders, that of Elizabeth Short, whom the papers dubbed "The Black Dahlia," is featured in the first episode of Investigation Discovery's new six-part series, "James Ellroy's LA: City of Demons," which premieres this Wednesday, January 19, at 10 p.m. ET.

Short's body was discovered on January 15, 1947.

Ellroy is the best-selling crime writer of such novels as L.A. Confidential, Blood's a Rover, American Tabloid, and two memoirs, The Hilliker Curse and My Dark Places.

Ellroy is a larger-than-life character who was so emotionally wounded as a child when he secretly cursed his mother dead after an argument, and she turned up dead three months later. When his father gave him The Badge by Jack Webb, he was astonished after reading about the Black Dahlia. For him, the Black Dahlia was just like his mother -- and he became obsessed.

Wednesday's episode, "Dead Women Own Me," also features several other murders, including Ellroy's mother, Jean Hilliker (1958), 16 year old Stephanie Gorman (1965) and 17 year old Lily Burk (2009).

Ellroy is a lively host who enjoys alliteration. He also doesn't mince words. "Closure is nonsense," he insists. "Nothing this bad ever ends; murder is a powerfully perennial puzzle."

The show includes several interviews and a couple of scenes with "Barko," Ellroy's animated bull terrier sidekick.

Mystery Monday: The Murders of Nicole Simpson & Ron Goldman

F. Lee Bailey has just released what he calls "new evidence" proving O.J. Simpson's innocence of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Bailey was one of Simpson's defense attorneys in the high-profile 1995 trial.

It is a 46-page document on his web site, entitled, "The Simpson Verdict." (photo source: Bailey and Elliott Consulting.)

I've always wondered, if O.J. didn't do it, who the heck did? (I know they brought up some nonsense about drug dealers, but it was laughable). On June 12, 1994, someone wanted to kill Nicole, and Ron was unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I watched most of the televised trial and of course the verdict. I couldn't believe it when one of the jurors, Brenda Moran, interviewed after the verdict, said, "This was a murder trial, not domestic abuse. If you want to get tried for domestic abuse, go in another courtroom and get tried for that." Moran told People magazine that the prosecution's suggestion that Simpson went from being an abusive spouse to a killer was "a waste of time."

What planet was she residing on?

According to the Silent Witness National Initiative, by the mid-1990's, at least fifteen hundred women each year were murder victims from domestic violence.

What do you think?

(O.J. currently sits in jail after being convicted of armed robbery, kidnapping, and assault charges in Las Vegas. In December 2008, Simpson was sentenced to at least 15 years in prison.)

Mystery Monday: Bodies on Long Island

This is the most current "mystery" on Long Island. Suffolk County Police are investigating the deaths of four bodies dumped along a roadway. Their identities are unknown. At least two are women.

On Saturday, December 11, 2010, Suffolk County Police K-9 officer John Mallia and his partner, "Blue" (photo, above, from Overoll.com) were conducting exercises and searching for a woman who went missing in May: 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert from Jersey City. They found skeletal remains of a woman. When the search expanded on Monday, imagine their surprise upon finding three more bodies, within a quarter-mile stretch along Ocean Parkway. The parkway runs from Jones beach, which is 14 miles west, past Oak Beach, to Captree State Park.

None of the bodies turned out to be Shannan Gilbert. Police are investigating whether the remains could be of another woman, Megan Waterman, of Scarborough, Maine, who was last seen at a Hauppauge hotel in June, where she was staying with her boyfriend, but early reports indicate it is unlikely her remains.

A web site has been established concerning the whereabouts of 22-year-old Megan Waterman, who was an escort who advertised on Craigslist. A $2500 reward is being offered for her safe return, or her recovery and an arrest and conviction.

The New York Daily News has photos of the missing women.

The police are hoping that science may help crack open the case.

Even if none of the bodies turns out to be Megan Waterman, in addition to the identities of the four bodies recovered, another mystery remains: Where are Shannan and Megan?

If anyone has information concerning the identity of the four bodies, the whereabouts of Shannan or Megan, or any other clues, please contact Crime Stoppers of Suffolk County. Thanks!

Mystery Monday: The Disappearance of Judge Crater

On August 6, 1930, Judge Joseph Force Crater disappeared after hailing a cab in Manhattan on 45th Street near Eighth Avenue after dining at a Times Square restaurant with his mistress and a friend. He had just withdrawn $5100 from his two bank accounts.

It is the longest unsolved missing person's case in the NYPD.

Following the Judge's disappearance, "Pulling a Crater" became a part of the lexicon, as did "Judge Crater, please call your office," by comedians.

Novelist Peter Quinn wondered about his disappearance for years ~ his father was a justice at the same courthouse as Judge Crater ~ and he decided to fictionalize the story in The Man Who Never Returned, through the eyes of a detective in 1955. This past August, Alan Feuer interviewed Quinn for an article in the New York Times. Quinn's fascination and involvement in this case is detailed in this informative article.

In August 2005, authorities announced they had received notes left by the wife of an NYPD officer, after her death at age 91. The notes alleged the judge was buried under the boardwalk in Coney Island. Author Richard J. Tofel expressed skepticism of the woman's account in his book, Vanishing Point: The Disappearance of Judge Crater and the New York He Left Behind.

Sounds like some intriguing books for my Christmas list!

Images from The Overlook Press blog and Barnes and Noble.

Facebook Renews Interest in Missing Person Case

The past few days in Newsday, Long Island's daily newspaper, and the New York Daily News, articles have appeared about a 1984 missing person's case, that of Kelly Morrissey -- who was 15 years old when she disappeared. Her story has re-surfaced because of chatter on Facebook; people were reminiscing about their roller skating days at Hot Skates Rink in Lynbrook. In doing so, the topic of the disappearance of Kelly surfaced, since it was from that vicinity of Nassau County she was last seen. In addition, however, people were discussing the case of two women who went missing within months of Kelly's disappearance -- but their bodies were found, raped and strangled. One of the victims was a friend of Kelly's. Those murders have gone unsolved, and police have not made a connection between the three cases.

Kelly's parents, Iris and Paul Olmstead, are thankful for the new interest and would of course appreciate any information about Kelly's whereabouts.

As a former police officer who worked for many years in Crime Stoppers, I know that the police and the missing person's family would be extremely grateful to receive information about the mystery surrounding Kelly Morrissey. If you or someone you know has information about Kelly, please contact the Nassau County Police Crime Stoppers tips line at 1-800-244-TIPS.

For a photo of Kelly (above) and this age-progressed photo, visit Help Find the Missing.

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The Criminal Justice Degrees Guide has prepared a list of the Top Ten Unsolved Missing Person Cases.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children maintains an extensive web site with information concerning missing children.