Jesse James is dead. . .

[WillyJ]

Well, okay. . that's pretty obvious. . LOL!!

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned here before; but I watched a very interesting show on the History Channel night before last about this. . .

The official story as reported by the press at the time was that the infamous outlaw Jesse James was shot in the back and killed by Bob Ford as he adjusted a picture at his home in St. Joseph , Missouri in 1882. .

Almost immediately there were rumors the whole thing was a ruse- James' mother buried his body on their farm near Kearney, Mo. and the "unofficial" story was that it was actually the body of another outlaw James himself had killed in a ruse to get the law off his back, and he had escaped to Mexico where he lived out his life in relative peace and quiet. In fact, many years later there was a man in Texas who went by the name of "J. Frank Dalton" and who claimed he was Jesse James, and his story was believed by many, including his decendents. . .

The story was believable enough that a couple years ago a group of scientists got together and exhumed the body buried in Kearney in an attempt to match the DNA to direct decendants of James' mother and clear up the matter once and for all. . (I recall reading about all this in the paper when is was going on, but had missed the results.)

It's a pretty fascinating story of what they went through to finally come to their conclusions, but the bottom line is that they used DNA from some teeth found in the burial site to confirm that the body was indeed that of Jesse James, and the forensic evidence pretty much backs up the original press accounts of what happened. . .

Anyway, I just thought it was a very interesting show all the way around, and if anyone is interested in this subject, I'd highly recommend catching it..

 

[browneyes]

I thought you were talking about his great great grandfather's cousin. The motorcycle guy (West Coast Choppers).

 

[JerseyJanice]

I haven't seen this show yet, Willy. Thanks for the heads up; it sounds fascinating.

I caught pieces of a show about Bonnie and Clyde last night on the History Channel--very interesting. Also, there was a program on the other night about the World Trade Center--how engineers are studying its design now to determine why it collasped.

In case you can't guess, I love the History Channel.

 

[Blondie]

The History Channel has some very good and informative programs!

Now what I want to know is...where is Jimmy Hoffa?

 

[nativetxn]

I love the History Channel. I'll have to catch this program.

 

[Ricola]

Next time consider adding "SPOILER ALERT" to your subject line!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

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Interesting, Willy. I like the History Channel, but don't watch it much... this is a program I would have liked to have seen.

 

[charlie,nj]

Thanks Willy…interesting…I also remember reading about it a few years ago.

Hey browneyes I think A&E did a piece on the chopper JJ…very interesting guy.

 

[WillyJ]

LOL Ric!!!

Janice, the History Channel is one of my favorites too; when it first started I referred to it as the Hitler Channel because all they seemed to show were WWII/Nazi programs, but they really have improved the diversity of their programming. . and I've seen the "Bonnie and Clyde" show before too, and I agree; it's very well done . . (By the way, if you ever get out to Las Vegas, take the 30 minute drive down to "Whiskey Pete's Casino" on the California/Nevada state line- they have the actual car on display there Bonnie and Clyde were in when they met their end; pretty erie thing to see. . . )

Blondie, I doubt the truth about Hoffa will every be known, but from what I've read, the most likely scenario is that he ticked off Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano (the mob's main man in the union rackets back in the 60's and 70's) by threatening to take back the leadership of the Teamsters from Tony Pro's man Frank Fitzsimmons. Hoffa had already been nailed by the feds once, and it was felt he would bring unneeded scrutiny to the mob's union activities if he was made Teamster President again. .

Hoffa ignored the warnings to back off on his campaign, so they used Hoffa's adopted son Chuckie O' Brian to set him up- he met Hoffa in parking lot of the "Red Fox Inn" in Detroit, took him to a farmhouse about 25 miles from there for a supposed meeting, and he was ambushed and killed by Jimmy Coonan and John Sullivan of the infamous "Westies" Irish gang from Hell's Kitchen, along with mob hitman Donald Frankos. Hoffa was then cut-up, froze, and eventually put into a steel drum which was sank in the Gulf of Mexico. . .

There are of course numerous other theories and rumors, (including the one that Hoffa is buried in the concrete under the endzone of Giant's stadium in Jersey, but I think the FBI has said certain "facts" about that story don't add-up) but as far as I know this particular one was never disproved, and police dogs did trace the scent of Hoffa to Chuckie O'Brians car, and a hair found in it matched Hoffa's DNA.

Coonan and Sullivan were associated with Gambino family capo Roy Demeo, the single most prolific murderer in mafia history, and a butcher by trade who invented and perfected the infamous "disappearing act" on victim's bodies and was contracted out by several mob families for that sort of "work", which adds more credence to the story. (Demeo killed approximately 200 people, and eventually became a little too blood-thirsty even for the mob- -reportedly even John Gotti was afraid of him- - so he was finally dispatched himself and wound up dead in the trunk of his own car. . . )

I've also read that the FBI announced it would either charge someone in Hoffa's killing or officially call the case "closed and unsolvable" by the end of 2003; so maybe there will be some new info on the case eventually after all. .

 

[Blondie]

So much for the rumors that Jimmy is managing the local Cracker Barrell!

 

[JulesMom]

I have seen a show about that--very interesting

DS & I watched a show about how President Zachary Taylor died. They exhumed his body a few years ago.

 

[WillyJ]

No Blondie, that would be Elvis. . . ROTF!!!!!

 

[JerseyJanice]

Do you guys ever watch "Haunted History"?

Such a great episode I saw recently--there's a haunted house in Oyster Bay, Long Island from the Revolutionary War. A young lady living there fell in love with a British soldier who was occupying the home. She wound up having to turn against him and was so broken-hearted afterward, that she hung herself there.

Fascinating stuff.

 

[Marla Hellwig]

I too like watching the History Channel - thanks Willy

 

[WillyJ]

Hey Julesmom, I remember that there was some speculation that Taylor had been poisoned (by his wife maybe? I can't remember the specifics). . were they able to find anything conclusive out?

You're welcome Marla. . .