This Day in Crime History: JULY 06, 1946 : GEORGE “BUGS” MORAN IS ARRESTED

FBI agents arrest George “Bugs” Moran, along with fellow crooks Virgil Summers and Albert Fouts, in Kentucky. Once one of the biggest organized crime figures in America, Moran had been reduced to small bank robberies by this time. He died in prison 11 years later.

Bugs Moran’s criminal career took an abrupt downturn after the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929, in which his top gunmen were slaughtered by rival Al Capone’s henchmen. (A lasting feud had been established after Capone’s men killed Moran’s friend and mentor, Deanie O’Banion, in 1924.) Moran, who just missed the massacre by a couple of minutes, was visibly shaken when reporters talked to him days later. He shouted at them, “Only Capone kills like that!”

Al “Scarface” Capone established his alibi by vacationing in Florida at the time of the Valentine’s Day murders. Sitting poolside, he mocked Moran, chuckling as he told reporters, “The only man who kills like that is Bugs Moran.” Later, while Capone was serving time for tax evasion, Moran may have earned a measure of revenge by killing Jack McGurn, one of the men who had carried out the massacre.

A bank robbery charge conviction eventually landed Moran in Leavenworth federal prison. Hewas releasedin 1956, but was then re-arrested for an earlier bank robbery. He died in prison of lung cancer on February 2, 1957.

Article Details:

July 06, 1946 : George “Bugs” Moran is arrested

• Author

  History.com Staff

• Website Name

  History.com

• Year Published

  2009

• Title

  July 06, 1946 : George “Bugs” Moran is arrested

• URL

  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/george-bugs-moran-is-arrested

• Access Date

  July 06, 2016

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  A+E Networks

This Day in Crime History: JULY 04, 1954 : A SENSATIONALIZED MURDER TRIAL INSPIRES THE FUGITIVE

Marilyn Sheppard is beaten to death inside her suburban home in Cleveland, Ohio. Her husband, Dr. Sam Sheppard, claimed to have fallen asleep in the family’s living room and awakened to find a man with bushy hair fleeing the scene. The authorities, who uncovered the fact that Dr. Sheppard had been having an affair, did not believe his story and charged him with killing his pregnant wife.

Creating a national sensation, the media invaded the courtroom and printed daily stories premised on Sheppard’s guilt. The jurors, who were not sequestered, found Sheppard guilty. Arguing that the circumstances of the trial had unfairly influenced the jury, Sheppard appealed to the Supreme Court and got his conviction overturned in 1966. Yet, despite the fact that Sheppard had no previous criminal record, many still believed that he was responsible for his wife’s murder.

The Sheppard case brought to light the issue of bias within the court system. Jurors are now carefully screened to ensure that they have not already come to a predetermined conclusion about a case in which they are about to hear. In especially high-profile cases, jurors can be sequestered so that they are not exposed to outside media sources. However, most judges simply order jurors not to watch news reports about the case, and rely on them to honor the order.

Sheppard’s case provided the loose inspiration for the hit television show The Fugitive, in which the lead character, Richard Kimble, is falsely accused of killing his wife, escapes from prison, and pursues the one-armed man he claimed to have seen fleeing the murder scene.

In 1998, DNA tests on physical evidence found at Sheppard’s house revealed that there had indeed been another man at the murder scene. Sheppard’s son, who had pursued the case long after his father’s death in order to vindicate his reputation, sued the state for wrongful imprisonment in 2000, but lost.

Article Details:

July 04, 1954 : A sensationalized murder trial inspires The Fugitive

• Author

  History.com Staff

• Website Name

  History.com

• Year Published

  2009

• Title

  July 04, 1954 : A sensationalized murder trial inspires The Fugitive

• URL

  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/a-sensationalized-murder-trial-inspires-the-fugitive

• Access Date

  July 04, 2016

• Publisher

  A+E Networks

This Day in Crime History: MAY 10, 1924 : J. EDGAR HOOVER BEGINS HIS LEGACY WITH THE FBI

J. Edgar Hoover is named acting director of the Bureau of Investigation(now the FBI) on this day in 1924. By the end of the year he was officially promoted to director. This began his 48-year tenure in power, during which time he personally shaped American criminal justice in the 20th century.

Hoover first became involved in law enforcement as a special assistant to the attorney general, overseeing the mass roundups and deportations of suspected communists during the Red Scare abuses of the late 1910s. After taking over the FBI in 1924, Hoover began secretly monitoring any activities that did not conform to his American ideal.

Hoover approved of illegally infiltrating and spying on the American Civil Liberties Union. His spies could be found throughout the government, even in the Supreme Court. He also collected damaging information on the personal lives of civil rights activists, including Martin Luther King, Jr.

While Hoover’s success at legitimate crime fighting was modest, his hold over many powerful people and organizations earned him respect and kept him in power. He was extremely successful at attracting attention and favorable press to the FBI. It wasn’t until after his death in 1972, right before the beginning of the Watergate scandal, that Hoover’s corruption became known.

Article Details:

May 10, 1924 : J. Edgar Hoover begins his legacy with the FBI

• Author

  History.com Staff

• Website Name

  History.com

• Year Published

  2009

• Title

  May 10, 1924 : J. Edgar Hoover begins his legacy with the FBI

• URL

  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/j-edgar-hoover-begins-his-legacy-with-the-fbi

• Access Date

  May 10, 2016

• Publisher

  A+E Networks