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Gangland Wire

Murder in McHenry – Paul Scharff – Part 2

Gangland Wire

Gary Jenkins: Mafia Detective

Society & Culture, Documentary, True Crime, History

4.6644 Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2016

⏱️ 32 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In Part 2, our special guest, Paul Scharff tells about his first contact with the McHenry County Sheriff’s Investigator. Paul learns they have never looked at Larry “Lurch” Neumann. When Paul first contacts the Sheriff’s investigator, they try to discourage him by intimating he may learn information about his father that he does not want to hear. They had put this off as a killing by a jealous lover of the bar maid killed at the same time. He talks to Frank Culotta and finds out that Neumann is a real psychopath that killed for money as well as fun. Culotta tells him the story of how Neumann got a phone call from his ex-wife and was very angry when he hung up. Cuoltta asked him about the call and Nuemann said this bar owner in Chicago had thrown his wife out of the bar. Neumann said he had to go back and kill the guy because this was disrespectful to him.  Culotta and Neumann were part of a burglary gang headed up by Chicago Outfit member, Tony Spilotro. Culotta knew the boss, Spilotro, would not approve of a revenge killing. This is the kind of unnecessary murder that can bring heat on the Outfit. Culotta sends a guy back to Chicago with Neumann on his next trip home in an attempt to prevent this killing. For unknown reasons, Neumann was still able to kill Ron Scharff and get back to Las Vegas. Frank Culotta, Larry Neumann and other members of Spilotro’s Hole in the Wall Gang were set up by the Las Vegas F.B.I. and the Las Vegas Metro Intelligence Unit on July 4, 1981. Spilotro’s gang was dubbed the Hole in the Wall Gang because they cut usually cut a hole in the wall or roof of jewelry store to steal diamond and gold jewelry. They used this entry method to escape the usual window and door burglary alarms. Only one month, almost to the day, after Neumann killed Ron Scharff, F.B.I., Agents Emment Michaels and Dennis Arnoldy along with Metro Police Intelligence Commander Kent Clifford and his squad waited for the Hole in the Wall gang. On July 4, 1981, the officers watched as the gang cut a hole in the roof of Bertha’s Gifts at 896 East Sahara, Las Vegas. Once the gang was inside, they surrounded the building and arrested everyone. This was the end of this gang. The gang members posted bail and Spilotro ordered him to kill Frank Culotta and another gang member. Culotta learned of this plot and entered the Witness Protection program. His testimony would help put Neumann in prison for life on another unrelated killing. Culotta would testify against Spilotro in both Las Vegas and Chicago. He was not convicted on either case, but the Chicago judge hearing that case would be convicted of bribery charges a few years later.

Transcript

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0:00.0

If you're going to be in the house, what are you going to stop?

0:05.0

What do you do?

0:07.0

If you like what do you're going to hear what do you hear?

0:10.0

If you like what to hear, go to J. and I think we can set it up again.

0:26.8

If you like what to hear, go to ganglandwire.com.

0:30.1

We need you to put a hit out on our donation button.

0:34.6

Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com slash gangland wire.

0:41.5

Follow true crime storyteller Gary Jenkins on Twitter at Jenks Law by the DVD gangland wire or download the Kansas City mob tour app and now here's Gary Jenkins.

0:48.9

Good evening folks. We're back here in the beautiful studios of the big dumb fun show, Studio 4 in the ice house right here in Midtown Kansas City. We're back here in the beautiful studios of the Big Dumb Fun Show, Studio 4 in the Ice House right here in Midtown, Kansas City.

0:58.0

We're on the second segment of a at least two part, maybe three.

1:02.5

We'll see how this goes.

1:04.3

Interview with Paul Scharf, author of Murder in McKinry.

1:09.0

Aaron, this is a compelling story, isn't it?

1:11.8

It is.

1:13.4

It was hard to kind of put it down for a second when we were at the end of the last episode

1:18.0

with Paul on the phone.

1:19.8

We were talking with him.

1:20.6

He's in, what did you say, Fort Worth?

1:23.6

That's correct.

1:24.9

And it was kind enough to be with us here tonight and to talk about his book and his

1:29.6

experiences about what's really his life.

1:33.8

Yeah, this is definitely your life, isn't it, Paul?

...

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