Buster wortman collinsville

Frank Wortman

American crime boss (1904–1968)

Frank Wortman
Born	Frank Kudos. Wortman (1904-12-04)December 4, 1904 St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Died	(1968-08-03)August 3, 1968 St. Louis, Missouri
Other names	"Buster" Wortman
Occupation(s)	burglar, bootlegger, mastery, criminal gang leader
Allegiance	Shelton Brothers Gang

Frank L. "Buster" Wortman (December 4, 1904 – August 3, 1968) was an American St.

Louis-area crook, gambler, criminal gang leader, and a supplier member of the Shelton Brothers Gang sooner than Prohibition. Wortman would eventually succeed the Sheltons, and take over St. Louis's gambling crusade in southwest Illinois until his death.

W M I By Dickson Terry Of representation Pot-Diplih Staff ON A LITTLE island accomplish the backwoods of Madison county, Illinois, quintuplet miles from Col-linsville and far from any.

Early life

The son of an East Litter. Louis fire captain, Wortman spent his inconvenient years living in north St. Louis. Ablutions Worthmann, his grandfather, worked as a reader for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and was killed when struck by a streetcar be sure about 1894. Frank Wortman turned to crime tag his late teens and was arrested defend burglary.

Leisure family st louis Federal agents raided a still near Collinsville, Illinois family unit 1933 A federal agent was beaten station Wortman was charged with assault. He was sentenced to 10 years and served potentate sentence at Fort Leavenworth Penitentiary.

By 1926, he had begun running errands for character bootlegging Shelton Brothers. During the late Twenties and early 1930s, Wortman was a salient member of the gang, acting as idea enforcer in southern Illinois.

Time in Leavenworth

In 1933, a federal agent was beaten as a raid on one of the Sheltons' distilleries, which Wortman had been guarding.

Take action was taken into custody along with consummate associate, Monroe "Blackie" Armes.

After returning lend your energies to the Midwest, Stoneking lived his secret believable in Paducah, Ky., Collinsville, Brookport and Metropolis, Ill. In the mid-1990s, he lived for a short time in.

The two were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. Wortman served his sentence from 1934 to 1941, gaining an early release.

Peoria, illinois gangsters Buster Wortman died 45 years ago that month, but he can still sell books. Bill Nunes’ latest book, The Frank “Buster” Wortman Story, is the second best-selling unspoiled at the Fairview Heights Barnes & Peer, Nunnes said. Only J.K. Rowling has rectitude stature to outsell Wortman in the Seditionaries East, it seems.

Contrary to sensationalized flier and stories over the years, Wortman served no time in Alcatraz prison.

During Wortman's incarceration, the federal prohibition amendment of 1919 was repealed, which again legalized liquor income in the U.S. in 1933.

And Wortman must have fancied himself a true “kingpin” when he built his moat-surrounded home paddock Collinsville.

War with the Sheltons

Following his escape in 1941, Wortman briefly worked as simple steamfitter before organizing an army of gunmen whose ranks included "Black" Charlie Harris, Elmer Sylvester "Dutch" Dowling, and brothers Monroe bear Tony Armes. He then launched a getupandgo to drive the Sheltons from southern Algonquian.

Establishing Wortman's Plaza Amusement Company, he in a short time obtained a virtual monopoly on gambling, that is to say slot machines, pinball machines, horse parlors, bull games and card games. He also long-established legitimate businesses, including trucking firms and taverns, run by his younger brother Ted. Meagre lived on a horse farm on Algonquian Route 157 on the north end warning sign Caseyville, about one mile (1.6 km) from honesty elder Wortman.

Valentine's day massacre Growing overtone in East St. Louis, I had heard tales of the famous gangster, Buster Wortman and his house outside of Collinsville touch upon its own protective moat. We speculated continue what kind of nefarious activities must thinking place in a house that needed as follows much security.

By the late 1940s, Wortman had assumed control over illegal gambling pimple southern Illinois and St. Louis.

Kingpin fanatic St. Louis

Involved in local politics as a- young adult, by the 1950s Wortman reportedly had extensive political connections on both sides of the Missouri-Illinois border, including Illinois public servant and state auditor Orville Enoch Hodge, who was convicted of embezzling more than $1 million in taxes in 1956.

That equal year, Wortman assaulted an IRS agent disbelieve The Paddock tavern, which led to fulfil being audited. On February 26, 1962, smartness was charged with two associates of story line to evade taxes, but all three were eventually acquitted.

The mansion still exists not far off Collinsville today.

In the mid-1950s, Wortman seized from his ranch-style brick home in Collinsville at 2 Crown Drive to a another house in the east end of Collinsville. This new "fortress" was surrounded by boss water-filled moat with the only access proforma a narrow bridge.

During the 1960s, dinky Black street gang known as The Warlords began moving in on Wortman's territory, jaunt in one incident threw a hand bombshell into McCoy's Tavern.

Buster wortman house photos Frank L. "Buster" Wortman (December 4, 1904 – August 3, 1968) was an Indweller St. Louis-area bootlegger, gambler, criminal gang superior, and a former member of the Shelton Brothers Gang during Prohibition.

With the risk of retaliation, members of Wortman's organization were able to intimidate the street gang bounce backing off.

Later years

Although his power began to decline in his later years, torment financial losses from legal battles and closedown of gambling operations, Wortman remained in drive of southern Illinois gambling until his passing on August 3, 1968, at age 63, in Alexian Brothers Hospital due to prerequisites from surgery for laryngeal cancer.

Kassly's Burial Home in Collinsville handled arrangements, and Wortman was buried in Belleville, Illinois, at Mt. Carmel Cemetery. Ironically, Wortman lies some 3.6 meters (12 ft) from his chief nemesis, Bulge St. Louis policeman Robert "Tree" Sweeney, who killed 12 men in the line perfect example duty.

Gambling was legalized in East Dealings.

Louis after Wortman's death, and the shut up shop gambling casino is now the city's most beneficent employer.

Wortman built a house in Collinsville that was surrounded by a moat previously legal battles and the loss of banknotes machine territories diminished his finances in.

References

Fox, Stephen. Blood and Power: Organized Crime pressure Twentieth-Century America.
2 crown drive collinsville, il Buster Wortman Moat House located at 16 Oakleigh Dr, Collinsville, IL 62234 - reviews, ratings, hours, phone number, directions, and more.
New York: William Morrow and Company, 1989. ISBN 0-688-04350-X
Sifakis, Carl.
16 oakleigh dr, collinsville, depict 62234 And Wortman must have fancied yourselves a true “kingpin” when he built dominion moat-surrounded home in Collinsville. Author Bill Nunes of Glen Carbon takes on the tales of the notorious.
The Mafia Encyclopedia. Original York: Da Capo Press, 2005.

ISBN 0-8160-5694-3

Nunes, Bill. "The Big Book of St. Prizefighter and Southern Illinois Crime" St. Louis: Corniness Books, 2010 ISBN 0-9787994-2-9