People v. Touhy

• Decision Date: 02 October 1935
• Docket Number: 22864.,Nos. 22789,s. 22789
• Citation: 361 Ill. 332,197 N.E. 849
• Parties: PEOPLE v. TOUHY et al.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

361 Ill. 332

197 N.E. 849

PEOPLE

v.TOUHY et al.

Nos. 22789, 22864.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

June 14, 1935.

Rehearing Denied Oct. 2, 1935.

Error to Criminal Court, Cook County; Michael Feinberg and Walter P. Steffen, Judges.

Roger Touhy and others were convicted of kidnapping for ransom, and they bring error.

Affirmed.Wm. Scott Stewart, of Chicago, for plaintiffs in error.

Otto Kerner, Atty. Gen., Thomas J. Courtney, State's Atty., of Chicago, and J. J. Neiger, of Springfield (Wilbert F. Crowley, Edward E. Wilson, Henry E. Seyfarth, John T. Gallagher, and Marshall V. Kearney, all of Chicago, of counsel), for the People.

JONES, Justice.

Roger Touhy, Peter Stevens, Albert Kator, Hugh Basil Banghart, Edward McFadden, William Sharkey, and Charles Connors were indicted in the criminal court of Cook county upon a charge of kidnapping John Factor for ransom. Touhy, Stevens, Kator, and McFadden were tried before Judge Feinberg. At the close of the evidence a nolle was entered as to Mcfadden. The jury did not agree upon a verdict, and was discharged. On a second trial the plaintiffs in error were found guilty. Banghart was tried separately before Judge Steffen and found guilty. Each of the verdicts fixed the penalty at 99 years in the penitentiary. Judgments were entered on the respective verdicts, and writs of error sued out as to each. The causes were consolidated in this court but later, upon Banghart's application, the consolidation was vacated and the writ of error in his case was dismissed. Sharkey and Connors are dead. Stevens is often referred to in the testimony as Gus Schafer. Banghart frequently went by the name of Larry Green. None of the defendants testified on the trial.

John Factor testified he was kidnapped on the night of June 30, 1933, while leaving the ‘Dells,’ a roadhouse in the northwest part of Cook county. His party consisted of his wife, his son Jerome, his brother-in-law, Harold Cohn, Mr. and Mrs. Epstein and their son, Mr. and Mrs. Hyman and their daughter Catherine, and Charles Redlick. They started for their homes about 1 o'clock a. m., leaving in three cars. One of the cars was driven by Jerome Factor, with Epstein and John Factor as passengers. About a block and a half east of the Dells three cars containing about a dozen armed men approached the Factor car and forced it to the curb. Members of the Factor party who were following came up, and they were compelled to get out of their cars and line up along the roadway. Factor and Epstein were taken out of the car in which they were riding and put into a car of the kidnappers and were blindfolded. After going a short distance this car turned to the right and Epstein was allowed to go. Factor was kept that night and the next day in the basement of a house called the ‘Glenview house.’ The next night he was taken to a farmhouse and kept there until July 12, when he was released upon a payment of a large ransom.

The evidence for the people shows that while Factor was in the basement at the Glenview house one of the men removed the handkerchief blindfold and replaced it with adhesive tape. Factor got a look at a man standing opposite him and identified him as Kator. At the farmhouse he recognized Banghart by his voice. Factor was directed to write a letter to his wife and the blindfold was removed. While he was writing the letter two men stood in front of the table with a blanket partly concealing them. He identified one of them as Roger Touhy. On the night before his release they told him his wife had $70,000 and asked if he could get $50,000 more provided they would release him. He agreed to get it in about a week or ten days. They talked over the method of sending the money, and arrangements were made to have Costner, one of the kidnappers, telephone Factor about it. Factor did not know Costner's name at that time but afterwards learned it in Baltimore. He identified Schafer and Sharkey as two of the men who captured him on Dempster street. After his release he received five or six telephone calls in reference to the balance of the ransom money. At one of the conversations arrangements were made for him to pay $15,000. Prior to that he had talked to Captain Gilbert, of the police, and two agents of the Department of Justice. They were always present with Factor during the telephone conversations. At the last telephone conversation it was agreed that the $15,000 should be sent by a messenger boy in a Checker cab. By arrangement with the authorities a dummy package was made up with $500 and given to two officers, one of whom was disguised as a Western Union messenger boy and the other as a taxi driver. They drove to an appointed place in Willow Springs and delivered the package to Banghart and Connors.

In August, after Factor was released, Captain Gilbert showed him a picture of Kator and told him he was an associate of Roger Touhy. Factor stated that it was the picture of the man he saw in the basement. In November he saw Kator after he was in custody. Factor identified the Glenview house as the house in the basement of which he was first held. He testified he was able to identify Touhy, Kator, Costner, and Banghart by their voices.

Jerome Factor identified a picture of Sharkey as one of the kidnappers. Mrs. Factor also identified it. Epstein and wife were unable to identify any of the kidnappers. James Reddick, Epstein's chauffeur, testified that he got a good look at one man's face and could recognize him, but had never seen the man since. He saw him about 10 o'clock that night at the Dells leaning against a car with a machine gun, and concluded he was one of the guards. He did not identify any of the other men. As he started out of the Dells yard with his party a car tried to beat him out. It was the car that cut Factor's car off.

Isaac Costner testified, in substance, that he came to Illinois from Tennessee between the 25th and 28th of June. He went to Park Ridge, Ill., to see Basil Banghart, whom he had known five or six years, and stayed with him that night. He knew, or became acquainted with, Touhy and his associates. He, Connors, Banghart, Touhy, Gus Schafer, and Kator frequented Jim Wagner's saloon. ‘The Touhy outfit’ had two or three places to live. On the night of June 30 he was in one of their places. After he had gone to bed, three or four men, including Banghart, work him up about 11 o'clock and said they wanted to grab Factor. He went with them to the Dells. They had three cars. He, Connors, Touhy, Schafer (Stevens), Sharkey, Banghart, Kator, Porkey Dillon, and some others whom he did not remember, were there. They parked their cars northwest of the Dells, on the roadway. A man who Banghart said was Silvers came out and reported on Factor. They stayed there some time, then drove out and parked their cars on the right side of Austin avenue, facing Dempster street. The same man again came over and described Factor and the car he would be in. When Factor and Epstein were captured Costner helped put them in one of the cars. Touhy and either Connors or Sharkey were in the back seat. When they took Factor into the house Costner stayed in the automobile. He slept at one of the Touhy houses that night. The next day he stayed with Factor in the basement of the house where the latter was confined. Two to four of the others were there, coming and going. About 10 o'clock that night they left in three cars, taking Factor along. Connors, Banghart, Touhy, Sharkey, Kator, Schafer, and some others whom he did not know, were there at that time. They went 50 or 60 miles, and close to midnight arrived at a farmhouse, where Factor was put to bed in a room on the second floor. Costner guarded him 10 or 12 days. Banghart and Touhy were there three or four times. Schafer, Kator, and Connors also came. In the presence of Banghart and Touhy, Factor wrote his wife that she should try to borrow up to $200,000, the price of his release. The men holding him were to get in touch with Dr. Soloway or Herman Garfield, with instructions how to deliver the money. Factor gave them his ring, his watch charm, and wrist watch as tokens to be delivered as proof that he was being held by those who were seeking ransom. After considerable negotiation, $70,000 was paid, and Factor agreed to pay $50,000 more for his release. Costner was to call him within two weeks. Factor was freed that night at La Grange. The next day Banghart gave Costner $2,400 in $20 bills and told him that was his share of the Factor money. According to the previous arrangement, Costner called Factor at two or three places on different occasions demanding the additional payment. Factor claimed it was difficult to get the money, and this conversation was reported back. On August 14, Factor agreed to pay $15,000 that afternoon at a place near the New York Golf Club, on the West Side, but did not do so. After three or four days Costner went to Tennessee and Banghart followed later. Then they went to Baltimore and lived there for a while. Costner was arrested on charges of robbery. Factor, learning of the arrest, went to Baltimore with a police officer. To the authorities in Baltimore Costner denied knowing anything of the kidnapping of Factor, but on being returned to Chicago he admitted his guilt and testified that the prosecuting attorney told him he would get some consideration for his testimony.

Walter Henrichsen testified that he rented the Glenview house at Touhy's direction. Prior to June 30 he was a guard in Touhy's yard at a salary of $40 a week. He did not go to work on July 1 or 2, and did not see Touhy from June 30 to July 4. He first met Costner the latter part of June, and saw him once or twice in July with Banghart in Wagner's basement, near Touhy's home. He also testified to several meetings of Touhy and his associates and armed trips at night with them. On July 5 and 6, at Touhy's direction, he picked Silvers up at the Dells and took him to the Commercial Club,...