PENDERGAST'S RETALIATION
A True Cold Case File
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Imagine a town where numerous police officers have criminal records! Imagine a city known to most people across the country by the name of the city's crime boss, "Tom's Town." During the November 1932 elections, the city was filled with intimidation, beatings and corrupted ballot boxes to insure that Boss Tom's candidates were voted into office. Tom Pendergast controlled the police department, the city council, the city manager, and was gaining control in the Missouri State Legislature. He ran Kansas City's politics and its underworld. His power was legendary and it seemed he was untouchable. During the course of learning about my mother's family, I happened upon an article about Great Uncle Reid. He had committed suicide! I wanted to know why! I wanted to know more about this man. My sister and I spent the next year and a half investigating his death. We discovered political corruption, voter fraud, links to prostitution and more! Uncle Reid had ties to the Democratic Party prior to relocating in Kansas City. However, sometime along the way, Uncle Reid decided to change his political affiliation to the Republican Party! We wanted to know why! Did his switch in politics result in his death? Who was the unknown woman in Uncle Reid's life that appeared shortly before his death and disappeared right after he died? Was she a part of a plot against Uncle Reid? How could a man with $26,000 in his bank account and the owner of three homes in 1930 die penniless and in foreclosure in 1932? Where did the money go? How could he be in foreclosure when his father-in-law built the homes for him? We wanted to know why! Since Uncle Reid's "suicide" occurred over seventy-nine years ago, we've had a difficult time searching for answers because some of the clues have disappeared, some of the homes have changed and the witnesses have died. Many records have simply vanished or been destroyed. This is a true story about our quest to understand why Uncle Reid committed suicide or was he another victim of the political machine! Did he uncover ties to the mob and corruption? Did he pose a threat to Boss Tom? Watch for many twists and turns!
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
"Uncle Reid committed suicide!" Shirley read from an article found in Mother's genealogy records. We looked at each other in amazement as I shouted, "Mother, what happened to Uncle Reid?" A compelling true drama of political corruption, voter fraud and murder focusing on the 1932 Pendergast era in Kansas City, Missouri. Uncle Reid was a courageous and political figure who dared to take on the Pendergast machine! Did Uncle Reid commit suicide or was he another victim of the political machine? Did he uncover ties to the mob and corruption? Did he pose a threat to Tom Pendergast's political machine? Who was the unknown woman in Uncle Reid's life that appeared shortly before his death and disappeared right after he died? Was she a part of a plot against Uncle Reid? We discovered at the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department that suicide records are not kept and that the coroner in 1932 was a Pendergast elected official. No police or coroners records and no living relatives made our quest for answers frustrating. Watch for many twists and turns.
About the Author
Shirley Clyde McCullough was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She has lived in the Shawnee Mission, Kansas area most of her life. A graduate of Shawnee Mission North High School, Shirley worked for the United States Post Office for over ten years. In 1985, she began work at the Johnson County Library. Currently, she is a Circulation Clerk at Corinth Library. Assisting the public at a very busy library is a joy for Shirley. Her interest in genealogy is relatively new. The news about her Uncle's death encouraged her to learn more about her extended family. Living in Prairie Village, Kansas, with her husband, Bill, Shirley has two sons--Robert and Drew, and one grandson, Jordan. Carolyn Clyde Dolan lectured to law enforcement officials, college and grade school students, nurses and doctors on the topic of "Understanding the Victim and Victim Survivors Rights" following the death of her stepson in 1979. While attending Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas, Carolyn was appointed to the Governor's Crime Prevention Committee. She is a past member of Kansans for Effective Criminal Justice and the Kansas Division of the International Association for Identification. Carolyn presented several workshops for Law Enforcement Officers throughout the State of Kansas and in conjunction with the Kansas Bureau of Investigations on "How to Promote Citizens Involvement in Neighborhood Watch." Currently Carolyn is Vice-Regent of her local chapter of the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. For 2011-2012, she is President of the Northeast Kansas Regents Round Table, Kansas Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. Carolyn has an A.A. Degree from Johnson County Community College. She is married and has one daughter and one grand-daughter.