Browsing: Crime

A Brief History On December 5, 1933, history was made that would change the United States (back) forever!  Well, you never know, so maybe not forever.  In any event, this date was the day Prohibition ended in the United States, although its legacy lives on in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Digging Deeper The 18th Amendment to the Constitution, known as the Volstead Act had been passed in 1920 riding a wave of anti-alcohol sentiment, largely by women that had previously been active in the women’s suffrage movement. Apparently, women especially were likely to be anti-alcohol as they saw drunkenness as a…

A Brief History On December 3, 1984, the terrible tragedy at Bhopal, India took place when a huge quantity of methyl isocyanate (MIC) escaped and exposed 500,000 people to this poison and other chemicals, over 2,200 of whom died immediately and perhaps 16,000 more deaths over the ensuing weeks. Digging Deeper Digging deeper we find the table set for disaster at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) plant built in 1969 to produce the pesticide “Sevin” and later the pesticide MIC when numerous leaks and other safety violations took place leading up to the disaster. Ignoring normal safety practices and…

A Brief History On December 2, 1993, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was shot (through the ears!) and officially killed in Medellín by Colombian National Police, although his brothers claim the death was a suicide. Digging Deeper In 1993, the second of December was a bloody day of victory for international law enforcement.  That day marked the end of Pablo Escobar (aka: Pablo Emillio Escobar Gaviria), the head of the Medellin drug cartel and the second worst (best) money launderer in human history. Born December 1, 1949, Escobar started a long criminal career by stealing grave stones, running a variety…

A Brief History On November 30, 2001, a depraved serial killer, known as The Green River Killer, was finally arrested. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find Gary Ridgway, aged 51 of Renton, Washington finally arrested after leaving work, but only after he killed at least 48 women and girls! Conducting a one man serial rampage, Ridgway was convicted of 48 counts of murder, but actually confessed to killing at least double that amount!  He usually strangled his victims, sometimes with a rope or other object, but sometimes with his bare hands and arms.  If the senseless waste of female life was not…

A Brief History On this date, November 27, 1978, Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk were gunned down by an irate former supervisor. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find mentally distraught Daniel White was a police officer prior to becoming a supervisor, and after quitting that job due to ill will generated by his reporting on another officer for beating a suspect, White became a firefighter for the city. Elected as a supervisor in 1977 (similar to councilman in other cities), White had to give up his firefighter job as holding those two positions was not allowed.  At…