This Day in Crime History: DECEMBER 02, 1961 : CASTRO DECLARES HIMSELF A MARXIST-LENINIST

Following a year of severely strained relations between the United States and Cuba, Cuban leader Fidel Castro openly declares that he is a Marxist-Leninist. The announcement sealed the bitter Cold War animosity between the two nations.

Castro came to power in 1959 after leading a successful revolution against the dictatorial regime of Fulgencio Batista. Almost from the start, the United States worried that Castro was too leftist in his politics. He implemented agrarian reform, expropriated foreign oil company holdings, and eventually seized all foreign-owned property in Cuba. He also established close diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, and the Russians were soon providing economic and military aid. 

By January 1961, the United States had severed diplomatic relations with Cuba. In April, the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion took place, wherein hundreds of rebels, armed and trained by the United States, attempted a landing in Cuba with the intent of overthrowing the Castro government. The attack ended in a dismal military defeat for the rebels and an embarrassing diplomatic setback for the United States.

In December 1961, Castro made clear what most U.S. officials already believed. In a televised address on December 2, Castro declared, “I am a Marxist-Leninist and shall be one until the end of my life.” He went on to state that, “Marxism or scientific socialism has become the revolutionary movement of the working class.” He also noted that communism would be the dominant force in Cuban politics: “There cannot be three or four movements.” Some questioned Castro’s dedication to the communist cause, believing that his announcement was simply a stunt to get more Soviet assistance. Castro, however, never deviated from his declared principles, and went on to become one of the world’s longest-ruling heads of state. In late July 2006, an unwell Fidel Castro temporarily ceded power to his younger brother Raul. Fidel Castro officially stepped down in February 2008.

Article Details:

December 02, 1961 : Castro declares himself a Marxist-Leninist

• Author

  History.com Staff

• Website Name

  History.com

• Year Published

  2009

• Title

  December 02, 1961 : Castro declares himself a Marxist-Leninist

• URL

  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/castro-declares-himself-a-marxist-leninist

• Access Date

  December 02, 2015

• Publisher

  A+E Networks

This Day in Crime History: DECEMBER 01, 2004 : DEFENSE PRESENTS ITS CASE IN HAMPTONS MURDER TRIAL

On this day in 2004, the defense for Daniel Pelosi, an electrician on trial for the killing of his girlfriend’s estranged husband, R. Theodore “Ted” Ammon, a wealthy investment banker, begins presenting its case in a Riverhead, New York, courtroom. Less than two weeks later, a jury found Pelosi guilty of Ammon’s murder.

On October 22, 2001, the 52-year-old Ammon, whose fortune was worth a reported $80 million, was found bludgeoned to death at his mansion in tony East Hampton, New York. Police determined that robbery did not appear to be a motive for the slaying. At the time, Ammon was in the midst of a bitter divorce from his second wife, Generosa, with whom he had two children. Three months after Ammon’s murder, Generosa, who inherited her late husband’s estate because their divorce was not yet finalized, wed Pelosi. The blonde socialite and the then-married, high-school dropout from Long Island became romantically involved in 2000 after she hired him to work on a Manhattan townhouse she was renovating.

Pelosi went on lavish spending sprees with his new wife’s money, and the marriage soured. In August 2003, Generosa, then 46, died from breast cancer. In her will, she left the bulk of her wealth to her children, not Pelosi. In March 2004, Pelosi was arrested and charged with Ted Ammon’s murder. When the high-profile case went to trial in the fall of that year, amidst great media interest, prosecutors contended that the electrician, who had a history of financial problems, substance abuse and prior arrests, had slain Ammon to get access to his millions. The prosecution called several witnesses who testified Pelosi had admitted to them that he killed the Wall Street mogul. Additionally, prosecutors pointed to the fact that Pelosi had overseen the installation of a security camera system in Ted Ammon’s Hamptons home–the same system police believed was disabled by the financier’s killer. 

On December 1, Pelosi’s defense began its case, arguing that Ammon was bi-sexual and could have been slain by someone he met on a gay beach near his home. Pelosi, who maintained he had nothing to do with Ammon’s murder and said he was buying beer with a friend on the night of the crime, later testified it was Generosa who wanted her husband dead. The electrician said Generosa had asked if he knew anyone who would kill Ammon—or if Pelosi would do it himself. There was no physical evidence directly linking Pelosi to the crime, and he accused the witnesses who testified against him in court were lying.

On December 13, 2004, after deliberating for two-and-a-half days, a jury convicted Pelosi of second-degree murder. In January 2005, the 41-year-old was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Later that year, “Murder in the Hamptons,” a made-for-television movie about the case, was released.

Article Details:

December 01, 2004 : Defense presents its case in Hamptons murder trial

• Author

  History.com Staff

• Website Name

  History.com

• Year Published

  2011

• Title

  December 01, 2004 : Defense presents its case in Hamptons murder trial

• URL

  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/defense-presents-its-case-in-hamptons-murder-trial

• Access Date

  December 01, 2015

• Publisher

  A+E Networks

This Day in Crime History: NOVEMBER 26, 1933 : VIGILANTES IN CALIFORNIA LYNCH TWO SUSPECTED MURDERERS

Thousands of peoples in San Jose, California, storm the jail where Thomas Thurmond and John Holmes are being held as suspects in the kidnapping and murder of Brooke Hart, the 22-year-old son of a local storeowner. The mob of angry citizens proceeded to lynch the accused men and then pose them for pictures.

On November 9, Brooke Hart was abducted by men in his own Studebaker. His family received a $40,000 ransom demand and, soon after, Hart’s wallet was found on a tanker ship in a nearby bay. The investigative trail led to Holmes and Thurmond, who implicated each other in separate confessions. Both acknowledged, though, that Hart had been pistol-whipped and then thrown off the San Mateo Bridge.

After Hart’s body washed ashore on November 25, a vigilante mob began to form. Newspapers reported the possibility of a lynching and local radio stations broadcast the plan. Not only did Governor James Rolph reject the National Guard’s offer to send assistance, he reportedly said he would pardon those involved in the lynching.

On November 26, the angry mob converged at the jail and beat the guards, using a battering ram to break into the cells. Thurmond and Holmes were dragged out and hanged from large trees in a nearby park.

The public seemed to welcome the gruesome act of vigilante violence. After the incident, pieces of the lynching ropes were sold to the public. Though the San Jose News declined to publish pictures of the lynching, it condoned the act in an editorial. Seventeen-year-old Anthony Cataldi bragged that he had been the leader of the mob but he was not held accountable for his participation. At Stanford University, a professor asked his students to stand and applaud the lynching. Perhaps most disturbing, Governor Rolph publicly praised the mob. “The best lesson ever given the country,” said Governor Rolph. “I would like to parole all kidnappers in San Quentin to the fine, patriotic citizens of San Jose.”

Article Details:

November 26, 1933 : Vigilantes in California lynch two suspected murderers

• Author

  History.com Staff

• Website Name

  History.com

• Year Published

  2009

• Title

  November 26, 1933 : Vigilantes in California lynch two suspected murderers

• URL

  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/vigilantes-in-california-lynch-two-suspected-murderers

• Access Date

  November 26, 2015

• Publisher

  A+E Networks