1. Solving the Casino Bombing
Much of the Harvey Casino extortion plan – particularly the bomb design – was genius. However, Birges was no criminal mastermind, and sloppiness proved his undoing. Among other things, he used his own van to deliver the bomb. An alert clerk at a nearby hotel had jotted down the license plate, and that put investigators on to Birges.
His choice of accomplices was even worse: one of his own sons blabbed to a girlfriend that his father had placed a bomb at Harvey’s. He then broke up with her, and she contacted the FBI after learning of a reward for information about the bombing. When confronted, Birges’ sons snitched on their father and agreed to testify against him. Birges was arrested, convicted, and got life in prison without parole. He died behind bars in 1996.
_________________
Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading
American Heritage Magazine, February/ March 1985 – The Battle of Athens
Bad Fads Museum – Telephone Booth Stuffing
Big Think – Project 100,000: The Vietnam War’s Cruel Experiment on American Soldiers
Caselaw Access Project – Fain v. The Commonwealth, 78 Ky. 183 (1879)
Daily Beast – The Most Useless Veep in American History (It’s Not Mike Pence)
Encyclopedia Britannica – Johnny Torrio
FBI Archives – A Byte Out of History: The Case of the Harvey’s Casino Bomb
Juris Magazine, March 9th, 2016 – Sleeping Killer: An Analysis of Voluntary Acts
New York Times, June 6th, 2008 – Jack Lucas Dies at 80; Earned Medal of Honor at 17
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not – Phone Booth Stuffing: A 1950s Pop Culture Challenge
Salon – McNamara’s “Moron Corps”