Writer Needs help

[cdillon]

Sir:

This note is a long shot. I'm a freelance writer working on a book that touches on a famous federal case from the mid-to-late 1940s: the Hesse Crown Jewel theft, and I'm looking for someone who might be familiar with the part of the story that took place in Chicago. It's old news now but at the time, it was an international sensation.

During the U.S. Army's investigation, one of the thieves, Col. Jack W. Durant, said that his attempts to sell the stolen jewels in the U.S. included a deal with what he described as an underworld figure in Chicago. Durant, under pressure, said he would try to get them back. He recovered some, but the largest ones weren't among them. The Army apparently didn't pursue things beyond that point; it proved Durant had help steal the jewels, and he was court-martialed. U.S. Customs in Chicago was involved in the effort, but I've been unable as yet to find any record of a subsequent investigation.

I'm trying to find out whether the Chicago Police may have gotten involved. Yes, I'm contacting the department to see if there are records. Whether there are or not, I thought someone in the RCPA might be able to help. I realize that someone with first-hand knowledge of Chicago crime in the mid-1940s would be close to 100 years old. That's probably a stretch - although I found a source in Manhattan, on a different aspect of the story, who was 92 and was still pretty darn sharp. But there might be a slightly younger former detective or two who might be able to help. Institutional knowledge, and all that. If nothing else, they might point me in the right direction. Does this ring a bell with anyone? Did Customs ever reach out to the CPD for investigative help? Were there bad guys back then who specialized in stolen jewels, or high-level fences who worked with the mob? Does anyone remember the story? Perhaps someone who's not active with the RCPA?

I'm looking for anything that might be pertinent - a name, an organization. Something.

If you're not familiar with the story, here's a good link that includes details on the Chicago link (a couple of pages are cut off, but the Chicago portion is in the last three and is readable):


Thanks for taking the time to read this. Any help you might provide will be greatly appreciated.

Best,

Bill McMichael
New Castle DE 19720
302-668-6459
http://muckrack.com/billmcmichael