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Tag Archives: Monk Eastman

FIVE RED APPLES and AMBIGUITY

20 Wednesday Jun 2018

Posted by Waldo "Wally" Tomosky in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Jorge Luis Borges, Karl Kraus, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Monk Eastman

Both Karl Kraus and Ludwig Wittgenstein used language to get us thinking.

Wittgenstein used the method of “literal autopsy”; thus dissecting a simple statement and asking us to ask ourselves what language is and to think about how we use it.

Kraus searched for every missing comma and other literate errors. He used these examples as a metaphor for what was wrong with the world and a base for his polemics.

A favorite example is Wittgenstein’s “Five Red Apples.”

Five Red Apples

Now think of the following use of language: I send someone shopping. I give him a slip of paper marked “five red apples”. He takes the slip to the shopkeeper, who opens the drawer marked “apples”; then he looks up the word “red” in a chart and finds a color sample next to it; then he says the series of elementary number-words – I assume that he knows them by heart – up to the word “five”, and for each number-word he takes an apple of the same color as the sample out of the drawer. — It is in this and similar ways that one operates with words. — “But how does he know where and how he is to look up the word ‘red’ and what he is to do with the word ‘five’?” — Well, I assume that he acts as I have described. Explanations come to an end somewhere. – But what is the meaning of the word “five”? – No such thing was in question here, only how the word “five” is used.

So that is the way Wittgenstein makes us think. He asks us how we really know what “apples” are, what “red” means and what the term “five” signifies. What he intimates is what he hasn’t said about the subject. How did the grocer know there were charts? How did he know which chart? How did the grocer know that five was a quantity and not a star or a bird?

Whereas Kraus’ example, would be signified by a time when people were generally decrying the Japanese bombardment of Shanghai. Kraus, at that very moment, was struggling over one of his comma problems.

“I know that everything is futile when the house is burning. But I have to do this, as long as it is at all possible; for if those who were supposed to look after commas had always made sure they were in the right place, Shanghai would not be burning.”

Kraus makes us think about all the connections between his comma being missing and Shanghai. He makes us think about the Japanese, the war and the bombardments. He makes us think about news-writers who may be as sloppy about reporting important events as they are about not paying attention to their commas. Do they really understand the importance of either?

So, now that I have repeated Wittgenstein’s and Kraus’ words and their philosophies about words, I will be expected to say something brilliant.

How about if I say something only half-brilliant, something dusky, something foggy, something like the crack of dawn on an overcast day, something ambiguous?

I can and I will. But first I must confess to being a hypocrite.

I once departed a very large corporation where clarity was honored. It was a learned characteristic for me; not instinctive. To be ambiguous was the kiss of death for one’s career. I learned my lessons well and survived.

Upon departing that corporation I joined an Ivy League university where ambiguity was used as a tool. Muddying the water was a well-practiced skill; especially at the faculty level. The ‘faculty senate’ minutes were bathed in ambiguity. And I don’t even want to get into the ambiguous statements used in meetings of individual departments. Responsibility could be avoided by being ambiguous about one’s personal thoughts and opinions.

So that is one half of my confession on hypocrisy.

I hated ambiguity.

Now, I must confess the other half.

I have learned to embrace ambiguity. Why? Because; it enhances the reader’s experience.

I know; that is a very strange thing to admit.

I do not say it because I am a lazy writer. I say it because I realize that if two people read something there will be two versions of whatever was written. And if two hundred people read the same writing there will be two hundred versions of what was written.

That is the beauty of the written word. Each person’s mind sees a different image. This is not only true for the story, as a whole, but for each individual word.

Forgive me for introducing another philosopher of words; Jorge Luis Borges.

Borges uses the ambiguity of words to fool us, to turn us around, to make us think such things as “Is he telling us a true story or making up another one of his glorious lies?”

Borges was the master of obfuscation and ambiguity. He would lead his writings with facts and figures and places and dates and documents, then, once he had us hooked, he would unwind his fiction. Or, he would lead off with a fiction and then give us a truth.

For example;

“Whether profiled against a backdrop of blue painted walls or of the sky itself, two toughs sheathed in grave black clothing dance, in boots with high-stacked heels, a solemn dance—the tango of evenly matched knives—until suddenly, a carnation drops from behind an ear, for a knife has plunged into a man, whose horizontal dying brings the dance without music to its end. Resigned, the other man adjusts his hat and devotes the years of his old age to telling the story of that clean-fought duel. That, to the least and last detail, is the story of the Argentine underworld.”

 

Borges now has us hooked; our imaginations have us located in the back alley of some Argentinian city. But as he continues we find ourselves in a much different venue.

 

“The story of the thugs and ruffians of New York has much more speed, and much less grace.”

 

And midway through the story of “Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Iniquities” Borges finally offers what it is that Monk purveys.

 

I, wishing to remain ambiguous, leave this small missive hoping to have planted two seeds in your mind. My agency is complete. It is now your turn.

 

THE END (but not of ambiguity)

AS I WANDERED #42 CONEY ISLAND

20 Thursday Feb 2014

Posted by Waldo "Wally" Tomosky in AS I WANDERED

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Coney Island, Cortlandt Street, Dreamland, Monk Eastman, parachute drop, Steeplechase, Tammany Hall, The Beach, Times Square, Trains to Coney Island

Now – – – I really liked Moosic – – -and Rocky Glen was a great amusement park – – – but I had to brag about Coney Island.

However, I first had to explain why anyone would go to Coney Island.

For me it was just the escape from the hustle-and-bustle of Times Square. Anyone can see how busy it was.

Coney Times Square

And once you got out of that area you had to fight your way downtown and past Cortlandt Street where Tammany Hall and Monk Eastman had set up shop.

Coney Downtown

And then across the East River foot bridge if you wished to walk.

Coney East River Bridge

I think the kids had the most fun in Coney Island.

Coney pony rides

But the girls sure were pretty in their bathing dresses.

Coney Girls in surf

This is the mobbed entrance to Coney Island. Everybody is dressed up. Probably a holiday.

Coney entrance

I never got inside Dreamland. It was a big miss for me.

Coney dreamland

This slide is prettier than Rocky Glen’s but not as fast.

Coney Slide

But now it is going all modern on us.

Oh well.

As I Wander Introduction 2

©W. Tomosky♠

AS I WANDERED #20 TAMMANY HALL

29 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by Waldo "Wally" Tomosky in AS I WANDERED

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Bowery, Gangs of New York, Manhattan, Monk Eastman, Tammany Hall

I get a lot of questions about why I departed New York and my great paying job of bricklaying.

Well, part of the draw was just getting out of New York, both the city and the state.

Yes – – – the city had a lot of action and fun things to do.

But I could not stand the corruption any longer.

Everybody remembers that it all started with the politics of Tammany Hall. However, hardly anyone has met the goons that “the hall” hired to enforce their wishes.

Yes, Monk Eastman was a big player for Tammany Hall – – – until they had no more use for him.

Tammany Monk Eastman photo

Then they put him on trial.

Tammany Trial Record heading

And it was a rather exciting trial.

Tammany Trial Record body

Of course he was found guilty.

 

Now I shouldn’t be so harsh on New York City. The “Battery Park” on the southern end of Manhattan was a real nice place to sit and watch the boats while the trains puffed and tooted in the background.

Tammany Battery Park

And you could get around to almost any place on the train.

Tammany Walkway to train station

But those guys in Tammany Hall were always in the background and we all knew it.

Tammany finger pointing

And I could see nothing was ever going to change.

Ever – – – – – – –

As I Wander Introduction 2

©W. Tomosky♠

ARCHIVES OF SIN (The Final Post; Loci and Links) Post #8

23 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by Waldo "Wally" Tomosky in ARCHIVES OF SIN

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Arab, Archives, Criminal Justice, Egyptian, Elias Zreik, Forgotten People, Francesco Purpura, George Zreik, Greenwich Village, H.Simon, Harry Newman, Hirsch Seliger, J. Harris, John Dorthy, John Dozier, John Jay College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, John Jay Sealy Library, John Stephan, Jorge Luis Borges, Library hours, Library Records, Lloyd Sealy Library, Mabel Rosher, Manhattan, Martha Pell, Mary Green, Michael Whelan, Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Inequities, Richard Lee, Southern Manhattan, Stephan Hooker, Syrian, Toussaint Vogelsand, William Delaney

A SUMMARY OF WHERE THE CRIMES OCCURRED.

**************************

QUICK LIST: LOCATIONS OF CRIME, PERPETRATOR(S) and CHARGE

80 Catherine Street, Manhattan, Francesco Purpura, Rape

East 42nd Street and 6th Avenue, Monk Eastman, Attempted murder

532 East 20th Street, Michael Whelan, Attempted bribery

324 Greenwich Street, Harris/Simon/Seligar, Burglary and receiving

148 E. 45th Street, John Dorthy, Grand larceny

213 West 27th Street, Mary Green/Mabel Rosher, Grand larceny

25 Minetta Lane, Hooker/Vogelsang/Pell, Murder

81 Washington Street, Elias & George Zreick, Murder

East 19th and 20th Street, Richard Lee, Misappropriation

125 E. 50th Street, Harry Newman, Attempted rape

**************************

For those of you who wish to look at the transcripts.

QUICK LIST: Links to the ten trial transcripts

PUPURA, rape, 2 reels of microfilm:

        Reel #1

http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/1170.pdf

        Reel #2 http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/1170_2.pdf

 

EASTMAN, Attempted Murder, 1 reel:

 http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/421.pdf

 

Whelan, bribery, 1 reel

 http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/1850.pdf

 

HARRIS, SIMON AND SELIGER, Burglary and Receiving Stolen Property

                             http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/484.pdf

 

DORTHY, Grand Larceny

             Reel #1

http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/629.pdf

 

             Reel #2 http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/629_2.pdf

 

GREEN & ROSHER: Grand Larceny

 http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/485.pdf

 

HOOKER, VOGELSANG & PELL, Murder

                Reel #1 http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/39.pdf

 

                Reel #2 http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/39_2.pdf

 

THE ZREIKS, Murder

               Reel #1 http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/599.pdf

                Reel #2 http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/599_2.pdf

                Reel #3 http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/599_3.pdf

                Reel #4 http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/599_4.pdf

 

LEE, Innocent of Misappropriation

 http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/1354.pdf

 

NEWMAN, Attempted Rape

 http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/crimeinny/trials/pdfs/2100.pdf

*****************

Thanks for reading my posts regarding the “ARCHIVES OF SIN”.

ARCHIVES OF SIN (A look at two possible sinners and Southern Manhattan) Post #7

21 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by Waldo "Wally" Tomosky in ARCHIVES OF SIN

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Arab, Archives, Criminal Justice, Egyptian, Elias Zreik, Forgotten People, Francesco Purpura, George Zreik, Greenwich Village, H.Simon, Harry Newman, Hirsch Seliger, J. Harris, John Dorthy, John Dozier, John Jay College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, John Jay Sealy Library, John Stephan, Jorge Luis Borges, Library hours, Library Records, Lloyd Sealy Library, Mabel Rosher, Manhattan, Martha Pell, Mary Green, Michael Whelan, Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Inequities, Richard Lee, Southern Manhattan, Stephan Hooker, Syrian, Toussaint Vogelsand, William Delaney

How many of you read the title and thought “Southern Comfort Manhattan” instead of what you read? Tsk-tsk.

**************************             

Is there any good trial that ends up with the defendant getting smeared without any substantial proof? How this trial ever got past the grand jury is beyond the normal person. Richard Lee is a dock master of the wharves at the east end of 20th Street as it meets the East River (yesteryear’s North River). He is accused of taking $38 dock rental fee for the schooner “Nellie W. Craig” and then recording it as only a 50 cent rental. There is no proof that it is Richard Lee’s signature on the documents. The judge rightfully directs the jury to acquit Mr. Lee.

The Boat Captains Venue    and “Old New York”

**************************

Finally, in the last of the ten trial transcripts there is the inept sixteen year old Harry Newman who decides to either molest or rape a six year old girl. The activity is put to a halt as the girl’s mother finds her child partially unclothed and inept little Harry exposed. GUILTY!

A Link to a Modern Version of Young Harry Newman

**************************

With these ten cases reviewed I decided to determine in which neighborhoods of Manhattan these crimes took place. I had all the addresses recorded in my notebook. My next step was to do a Google map search on Manhattan.

When the map appeared on my PC I had no additional work to complete. I was a little concerned when I saw what I thought I saw. Was I dreaming or was it the Southern Comfort Manhattan?

Right there, popping out of the map, were all of the alleged criminals that I had become familiar with. None of them appeared to be happy as the policeman hauled them off to jail.

Go ahead. Look at the rendering and then click on the policeman doing the hauling.

A Rendering of the Sinners Getting Hauled in

*************************

That ended the evening. I never did get to shovel the fourteen inches of snow that night. It waited for me until morning.

This is where my story ends; HOWEVER:

For those of you who wish to look in the archives and get details of the crimes I will execute at least one more post with links to the archives. That way, if you enjoy reading or scanning the microfilm it will be at your fingertips.

 

ARCHIVES OF SIN (A look at eight more sinners) Post #6

19 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by Waldo "Wally" Tomosky in ARCHIVES OF SIN

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Tags

Arab, Archives, Criminal Justice, Egyptian, Elias Zreik, Forgotten People, Francesco Purpura, George Zreik, Greenwich Village, H.Simon, Harry Newman, Hirsch Seliger, J. Harris, John Dorthy, John Dozier, John Jay College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, John Jay Sealy Library, John Stephan, Jorge Luis Borges, Library hours, Library Records, Lloyd Sealy Library, Mabel Rosher, Manhattan, Martha Pell, Mary Green, Michael Whelan, Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Inequities, Richard Lee, Stephan Hooker, Syrian, Toussaint Vogelsand, William Delaney

John Dorthy; now there is a real weasel.

He had two accomplices who aided and abetted but they escaped the clutches of the law by the skin of their teeth. Mr. Dorthy, realizing that some poor working slob had saved over two thousand dollars, decided that he could scam him out of his hard earned savings. Knowing that the working man was not at the top of the intelligence game and hardly able to read, Mr. Dorthy made up a false will for a non-existent person. He then attached a blank bank withdrawal statement to the back of it. He read the “Last will and testament” to the unsuspecting fellow and asked him to witness it. The working stiff agreed and signed the second sheet which was actually the bank withdrawal statement. The rest is history.

A link to those who scam

**************************

Whoe unto the boat captain that decided to hit a few beer joints and talk to a few women with painted faces and scented bodies.

Larceny was on their minds. I think we may surmise what was on the captain’s mind. The two lovely lassies, Miss Green and Miss Rosher, decided to separate the captain from what remained of the ship’s money. They did, went to trial, were convicted and obtained free room and board on the tab of New York City.

A link to ‘low life’ no matter where they reside

**************************

The boys of Greenwich Village were just enjoying a nice game of craps when it hit the fan.

Pushing and shoving ended up with a broken front door. The owner of the door and young Stephen Hooker ended up in a second shoving match. Hooker was shamed by the older man. The two young men, Hooker and Toussaint conspired with Martha Pell (apparently a lady who enjoyed young men) to beat the owner of the broken door. Hooker ended up killing the owner with a couple of well-placed bricks to the head. We are not privileged to see how the story ended but it sure doesn’t look good for the three conspirators.

**************************

From the beginning of one the transcripts it looks like the Zreik boys really got themselves in trouble this time. However, before too long, it becomes apparent that confusion reigns.

Several translators have to be brought in to understand the majority of Arab witnesses. Add to that the several different stories that the Egyptian and Syrian witnesses tell. Even though this transcript covered 610 pages of double spaced testimony, both the beginning and the end of the story are missing.

Yes, we imported some of our best gangsters of yester-year.

Link to when they arrived

**************************

And we will save the last few sinners and a map of where these crimes occurred for the next post.

ARCHIVES OF SIN (A few more details about sinners) Post #5

17 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by Waldo "Wally" Tomosky in ARCHIVES OF SIN

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Tags

Archives, Criminal Justice, Elias Zreik, Forgotten People, Francesco Purpura, George Zreik, H.Simon, Harry Newman, Hirsch Seliger, J. Harris, John Dorthy, John Dozier, John Jay College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, John Jay Sealy Library, John Stephan, Jorge Luis Borges, Library hours, Library Records, Lloyd Sealy Library, Mabel Rosher, Manhattan, Martha Pell, Mary Green, Michael Whelan, Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Inequities, Richard Lee, Stephan Hooker, Toussaint Vogelsand, William Delaney

I closed my notebook and put the leg rest up on my Lazy Boy lounger. I closed my eyes to reflect on the people I had just read about.

 **************************

There was Francesco Purpura, rapist, who had taken advantage of a thirteen year old girl in the back of his shoe repair shop.

**************************

Then the semi-infamous Monk Eastman who was also known as William Delany. There is much more to be found of him than were in the trial transcripts.

Even Google and the NY Times knew about him.

Borges had compiled a list of the “inequities” that Monk Eastman had for sale.

However the transcripts only told a single story about him. He started his evening by carousing with his gang.  He ended it by attempting to shoot a private policeman.

And then they turned him into a hero.

A Link to The Soldier Hero Monk Eastman

Link to Eastman’s Guys setting up an “Inequity”

**************************

Ah yes! Let us not forget good old Michael Whelan the New York City building inspector. He could very well fit into today’s world. Michael attempted to hold the installation of a new boiler for ransom. If the boiler owners wanted to get a permit to install it they only had to deposit $25 into Michael’s pocket. They did. It was marked money. He was arrested. He was convicted. End of the story and Michael’s job.

**************************

The egg and butter thieves; now there is a classic case. Joe Harris and Harry Simon decided to steal cases and barrels of these goods and deposit them in Hirsch Seliger’s cellar. Hirsch received these stolen goods so that he could sell them in his upstairs store.

As the silly old poem goes;

“A bright policeman heard the noise,

and came to arrest those three bad boys.”

As I sat there relaxing other things popped into my mind.

A link to bad boys of the future

 **************************

Well, I think four cases of those who sin are enough for today. We can visit others on our next post.

ARCHIVES OF SIN (Ten of the infamous; or innocently accused?) Post #4

15 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by Waldo "Wally" Tomosky in ARCHIVES OF SIN

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Archives, Criminal Justice, Elias Zreik, Forgotten People, Francesco Purpura, George Zreik, H.Simon, Harry Newman, Hirsch Seliger, J. Harris, John Dorthy, John Dozier, John Jay College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, John Jay Sealy Library, John Stephan, Jorge Luis Borges, Library hours, Library Records, Lloyd Sealy Library, Mabel Rosher, Manhattan, Martha Pell, Mary Green, Michael Whelan, Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Inequities, Richard Lee, Stephan Hooker, Toussaint Vogelsand, William Delaney

There were so many criminals and such little time to visit them.

Maybe I had spent too much time with my good friend Monk Eastman; or William Delaney, or both.

I copied down several other names of the dutifully convicted. My plan was to select several names and to read the trial transcripts. I usually don’t stop to look at car and train crashes; however I do love a well organized criminal trial.

I summarized the following data from ten trial transcripts to save you time. We will look at the individual details in future posts.

**************************

FIRST RECORD: FRANCESCO PURPURA

Date: 1910/05/18                   

Mr. Francesco Purpura was charged with rape, assault and abduction. He allegedly committed the crime at 80 Catherine Street; in the back of his shoe repair shop. The victim was a thirteen year old Italian girl. The question of her consent was raised. Mr. Purpura was found guilty by the jury.

**************************

SECOND RECORD: WILLIAM DELANEY aka MONK EASTMAN

Date: 1904/4/12

Mr. William Delaney (aka Monk Eastman) was a gang member in 1904. The following fact does not show up in these trial transcripts but does appear in several other documents. Monk Eastman had been doing the dirty work for Tammany Hall, the corrupt force behind New York City politics. Monk Eastman had become arrogant and foolish. Tammany Hall had to get rid of him. Jail seemed the easiest method.

In this transcript Monk Eastman allegedly fired his pistol at two Pinkerton Policemen. They were hired to protect the black sheep of a well-to-do family. Monk and some of his gang attempted to rob the sheep. The Pinkerton’s moved in and the gun fight on 42nd street erupted. The jury found Monk Eastman guilty of the charges.

 **************************

THIRD RECORD: MICHAEL WHELAN

Date: 1914/3/11

Michael Whelan, a city building inspector in 1914, was accused of demanding and taking a $25 bribe. This was in relation to some boiler work being done at 532 E. 20th Street, Manhattan. Witnesses have stated that, after the demand for the $25 bribe, a sting was set up with marked money. Mr. Whelan took the marked money and placed it in his pocket. He was immediately arrested. The trial papers are prematurely terminated. Therefore we do not know if Mr. Whelan was found innocent or guilty.

 **************************

FOURTH RECORD: J. Harris, H. Simon, and Hirsch Seliger

Date: 1905/02/07

The case, tried in 1905, revolves around several cases of butter and eggs being burgled from 650 Hudson Street and delivered to 324 Greenwich Street. The goods were alleged to be illegally received and were of sufficient value to meet the requirements for grand larceny. Harris and Simon were caught delivering stolen goods to Seliger at his place of business. All three charges were bundled together to save time for the court. The defendants were found guilty.

 **************************

FIFTH RECORD: John Dorthy

Date: 1907/02/18

John Dorthy, in 1907, is charged with forging a working man’s name to a bank withdrawal statement. The location of the crime was 148 E. 45th Street. The crime was perpetrated under the pretenses that the working man was only signing as a witness to a will. There were two sheets of paper; the will and the second sheet being the withdrawal statement. The working man did not realize what he was signing. The top sheet was discarded and the money was taken from the bank. Because there was really no forgery that charge was dropped. The grand larceny charge was presented to the jury. The trial record does not show how the jury decided.

 **************************

SIXTH RECORD: Mary Green and Mabel Rosher

Date: 1905/02/07

In 1905 Frank Hellam, a boat captain from the state of Maine, contends that Mary Green and  Mabel Rosher have robbed him. This allegedly took place at 213 West 27th Street, Manhattan. This, indeed, is a strange official transcript. In fact, it is not a transcript but rather the remembrances of someone. The two female defendants were convicted of grand larceny of the first degree.

 **************************

SEVENTH RECORD: Stephan Hooker, Toussaint Vogelsand and Martha Pell

Date: 1893/11/10

The two males and one female defendant are charged with 1st degree murder in 1893. Neighborhood boys and men were playing craps on John Dozier’s front stoop at 25 Minetta Lane. An argument erupted and Dozier’s front door is broken. As a result a fight erupted between one of the young men and Dozier. Later that day three people conspired to give Dozier a beating. That evening Dozier was attacked and hit in the head with two bricks. He died the next day in the hospital. There is much testimony about the character of the defendants. The trial transcript does not include the jury’s decision.

 **************************

EIGTH RECORD: The Zreik Brothers; Elias and George

Date: 1906/10/1

The transcript starts on page 296. There is no explanation as to why. An unknown witness (due to the missing transcript pages) is being questioned with the aid of an interpreter. There was a stabbing and two gunshots in a restaurant at 81 Washington Street. A man named John Stephen has been shot and falls to the floor. The witness tells the jury that George Zreik had a knife and a pistol at the time. The transcript is extensive due to most of the witnesses being Arabic and requiring a translator. Much of the transcript is discussion about the true meaning/intent of the translation. Multiple translators are called in due to confusion. There are conflicting stories between several of the witnesses. The jury’s decision is not in the transcript.

 **************************

THE NINTH RECORD: Richard H. Lee

Date: 1911/4/18

The defendant, a dock master, is accused of changing the price of a docking fee. Triplicate fee tickets are always made. In this case ticket #1 shows that $0.50 was collected. Ticket #3 shows that $37.38 was paid for docking the schooner “Nellie W. Craig.” The dock is located between East 19th and 20th Street on the North River. The defendant is accused of pocketing the difference. There is much technical wrangling between the lawyers and the judge. Witness testimony is sparse and conflicted due to this. In the end the whole case falls apart due to a lack of comparative signatures for the defendant. The tickets which the entire case is built on are not allowed. The judge directs the jury to acquit.

 **************************

THE TENTH AND FINAL RECORD: Harry Newman

Date: 1915/9/20

Harry Newman, a sixteen year old, is accused of raping a 6 year old girl. The alleged place of the rape was 125 E. 50th Street. Several witnesses saw him take the girl into a hallway. They became alarmed. They notified the mother who was in a building attached to the hallway. The mother says she caught the man with his private parts exposed and her daughter had her dress up and her panties unbuttoned. None of the witnesses saw an actual rape. However a doctor examined the girl the day of the alleged rape.  He confirmed that her hymen had very recently been ruptured. A second doctor, less experienced, claimed that he only saw irritation of the girl’s private parts. After much discussion and closing remarks the jury finds the defendant guilty of a reduced charge of attempted rape.

 

 **************************

There I sat in my easy chair. Hardly had I expected to see such a group of infamous people.

Jorge Luis Borges had attempted to warn me when I read his “Book of Infamy.” He had introduced me to infamous people from around the world. But I never expected to see so many of them living in the south end of Manhattan, New York.

What is even more frightening is that I had only met sixteen of them. There were thousands more waiting for me in the college of John Jay’s “Lloyd Sealy Library.”

I hoped that none of them would appear to me that night.

 

ARCHIVES OF SIN (Opening the Library Doors) Post #3

13 Friday Jul 2012

Posted by Waldo "Wally" Tomosky in ARCHIVES OF SIN

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Tags

Albany, Archive Priests, Archives, Criminal Justice, Forgotten People, John Jay College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, John Jay Sealy Library, Jorge Luis Borges, Library hours, Library Records, Lloyd Sealy Library, Manhattan, Me, Monk Eastman, NY Sate Archives, Purveyor of Inequities, Snowblower, Southern Comfort Mahhattan

I placed the SoCo Manhattan on a coaster right next to my lounge chair. My tablet and pen were also on the same end table. I was now prepared for some serious work.

These are the Sealy highlights that I came up with:

 

140 Abductions

556 Assaults of both degrees

164 Third degree burglaries

957 Grand Larcenies of both degrees

445 Murders of the first degree

247 Rapes of both degrees

265 Robberies of the first degree (With several other variations)

 

There were myriads of other crimes; way too many to list by quantity; however, not too many to mention, this time in reverse alphabetical order:

 

Wrongful act

Weapon carrying

Voting offense

Seduction

Sodomy

Receiving

Public Officers; Misappropriation, Corruption, Neglect, Taking  (See Note 1 below)

Liquor

Forgery

Compounding a felony

Bribery

Arson

Note 1:  These are now “Ethics Violations”, not crimes, exercised by the NY State legislature.

I first took a peek at the summary data on Monk Eastman’s trial.

***********************************

TRIAL #421 Date: 1904/4/12; Reels(s): 73.

Defendant(s): William Delaney, Sex: M; Monk Eastman, Sex: M;

Charge(s): Assault (1st degree); Assault (2nd degree); Murder (1st degree), attempted;

 Judge: John W. Goff;

Defense Attorney(s): Cantwell; George W. Hurlbut; Moore;

Prosecuting Attorney(s): William Rand Jr.; Nathan A. Smythe;

Note(s): Alias Monk Eastman.

Stenographer Number: 514;

Page(s): 289 p.

Full-Text Transcript available: 421.pdf 

Court: Court of General Sessions

 ***********************************

 

And then I perused the top page of the legal document.

Finally I studied some of the testimony:

 Soon I realized that I had accidentally found a hot link that pointed to Monk’s trial record.

 You are more than welcome to peruse the entire record yourself:

A link to Eastman’s trial record

I was happy to realize that I was using a platform that allows me to hot-key to these documents. I now had the ability to sit through Monk Eastman’s trial.

But this was just the beginning.

ARCHIVES OF SIN – Post #2

11 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by Waldo "Wally" Tomosky in ARCHIVES OF SIN

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Albany, Archive Priests, Archives, Criminal Justice, Forgotten People, John Jay College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, John Jay Sealy Library, Jorge Luis Borges, Library hours, Lloyd Sealy Library, Manhattan, Me, Monk Eastman, NY Sate Archives, Purveyor of Inequities, Snowblower, Southern Comfort Mahhattan

There I sat, my attention drifting between the snow outside and the crimes inside. How I wanted to read about that purveyor of inequities! So I abandoned my original goal and searched on “names.”

Right there in front of me were the details of what the Sealy was offering about good old Monk Eastman. The Sealy also told me that his real name was William Delaney. I bet the Eastman family, of photography fame, was mortified when they heard about Delaney calling his self an Eastman.

But then an interesting thing occurred.

Right there, on Monk Eastman’s data blurb was a highlighted PDF hot link. Could this be true? That particular Eastman trial transcript had been copied and PDF’ed. Was I so lucky as to have all the Sealy records right at my fingertips? I started scrolling up and down the data.

Nope; I was not so lucky. However, there were several crimes whose court transcripts had been microfilmed and PDF’ed. Maybe a trip to Manhattan would not be necessary.

I hoped.

Right then and there I realized my afternoon had been laid out for me. Oh sure, I would have to go out and shovel snow at some point. It soon became a procrastination. After all, I could still shovel in the dark. I gently lifted my PC from my lap and placed it on the floor; I had preparation work to do.

I retrieved a fresh notebook from my stash and grabbed my favorite pen. These I needed to record some items from the Sealy warehouse of information.

Sure, I know you younger people would have “copied and pasted” from Sealy to Word but I remain here with one foot in the dark ages. Sometimes I even write things like this longhand in a notebook and then copy, via typing, into Word.

I know, I know. It seems redundant to you but to me it is easier to do multiple edits on a notebook than in Word. Go figure. And yes, I had one more item of preparation to do before wandering around in Sealy’s archives. This preparation I must tell in the present tense.

Now you have to follow exactly; no fudging, no changing, no editing. First get yourself a nice wide but shallow tumbler. I would suggest two inches in diameter and three inches deep. Put exactly ten ice thingies in it.

Ice thingies are those ice forms that modern refrigerators make. You know; the half round ones. Oh hell, let’s just give them a name; Ice Arcs. If you are using those old fashioned Ice Cubes then simply fill up the tumbler.

Pour three shots of Southern Comfort over the ice. Careful now, don’t spill any.

Take the cap off a bottle of extra dry vermouth. Fill the cap half-way with some vermouth. Once again you have to be careful not to spill and to use exactly one half of a cap full.

Finally add one teaspoon of cherry juice.

Mix delicately.

I had to tell you in present tense to make sure you didn’t screw it up or think it was simply part of the story.

Now back to past tense and the continuance of the archives that contain sin.

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