Who is/was your town's most notorious resident???

[greatauntoftriplets]

Mine is actually in the next town over and is dead. It was Tony (Big Tuna) Accardo, once head of the Chicago mob.

Anthony Joseph Accardo, aka "Joe Batters" and "Big Tuna" (born Antonino Leonardo Accardo), (April 28, 1906 - May 22, 1992) was the boss of the Chicago Outfit from about 1945 until shortly before he died of natural causes. By keeping a low profile and allowing flashier figures such as Sam Giancana to attract attention, Accardo intermittently ran the Chicago outfit for much longer than Al Capone, yet remained virtually unknown to the general public. Paul Ricca once said that Accardo, "had more brains before breakfast than Capone had all day."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Accardo

[datasuspect]

1. as far as chicago goes

this guy was pretty notorious. and chilling.

Holmes had repeatedly changed builders during the initial construction of the Castle, to ensure that no one truly understood the design of the house he had created, who might then report it to the police. In addition, according to law at that time, by firing workers every two weeks, he didn't have to pay them. Once dead, the victims' bodies went by a secret chute to the basement, where they were either meticulously dissected, stripped of flesh, articulated--crafted into a skeleton model--and then sold to medical schools; or cremated and placed in lime pits for destruction. Holmes had two giant furnaces as well as pits of acid, bottles of various poisons, and even a rack to create a race of "giants." Because of the connections he gained through medical school, he was able to sell skeletons and organs with little difficulty.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._H.H._Holmes

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. Several people have recommended that book to me....

I really should read it. With lots of lights turned on.

[Redstone]

2. Katharine Hepburn. But I'm still at a loss to understand why, because

from all accounts she was an arrogant and pushy old bitch every time she came into town to shop.

Redstone

[fudge stripe cookays]

3. She said "notorious", not nicest. n/t

[Redstone]

12. So it counts, yes?

Barging into the little Main Street grocery store, bitching at any kids who might be there with Mom, and charging behind to counter to dictate her horder to the owners; hardly the 'classy'kind og moniker she's left behind.

You have to live in a place like this to understand that.

Redstone

[fudge stripe cookays]

16. Sounds like my kinda gal.

"bitching at the kids" anyway. I can't stand her movies, but respected her for doing her own thing when women were expected to kowtow to whatever men wanted.

[Redstone]

17. No, this didn't have anything to do with women kowtowing to men. It had to

to do with people who had a ton of money and some fame being able to push the "townies" out of their way.

Not the same thing at all.

Redstone

[fudge stripe cookays]

19. I never said her going to town had anything to do with her kowtowing.

I said I admired her for that reason.

I don't have any opinion on how she treated the townies. That was her business.

[Kutjara]

4. Are you kidding? I live in LA.

Everyone here is a freakshow. Take your pick.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

5. Rockaway, NJ has Joey Sacco, the village idiot.

He even mysteriously appeared at one of my aunt's parties once and inexplicably tried to hug me.

[rug]

7. Tom Quick

http://www.noelpaulstookey.com/04-16.html

[NC_Nurse]

8. James Taylor?

He's from Chapel Hill...I don't know if I'd call him notorius. He has a bridge named after him. :)

[YellowRubberDuckie]

9. The most obvious choice would be Sam Walton.

He was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma forever ago. But i'll throw a curveball at you. We had a guy graduate from high school in Kingfisher who turned out to be a cult leader. And OMG, I just found a link about him. LOL
http://www.tkb.org/KeyLeader.jsp?memID=5601
I read too much. He was in a book I read called Satanic Murder. No, I'm not a freak. Just hungry for knowledge.
Duckie

[RevolutionaryActs]

10. Me!

:rofl:

[Oeditpus Rex]

11. Patrick Breen

A member of the Donner Party.

http://www.utahcrossroads.org/DonnerParty/Breen.htm

The editor who hired me at the newspaper here is a direct descendant. :scared:

[KamaAina]

13. Duane "Dog" Chapman

yup, the Bush**-lovin' dispenser of vigilante justice (?) lives right here on the island, in a posh beachfront community east of town.

Historically, one could go with Thalia Massie, whose Susan Smith-like fingering of a person of color as a criminal ignited a firestorm that may have delayed Hawai'i statehood by a generation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massie_Trial

Given that the police had no information tying Ida to Thalia in any way, it might seem odd that they would pick him out of the blue as a scapegoat. This was due entirely to race. At the time the Hawaiian population consisted primarily of extremely rich US businessmen, US Navy personnel, and a huge number of working poor, mostly Japanese. Racism was a fact of life, notably for the Hawaiians who were often called "niggers". Racial tensions were already high due to the Navy's disquiet about white Navy wives dancing with the locals.

When the story broke the next day, no one was concerned about the truth. Rear Admiral Yates Stirling, Jr., Commandant of the US Navy's 14th Naval District (which included the islands), suggested that he simply collect up several Navy men, hunt down the group, and "string them up". In stories printed as the case developed, the local newspapers referred to the men as "thugs", "degenerates" and "fiends", while Thalia was described as "a white woman of refinement and culture".

As the case developed, cracks in the story immediately appeared. In order to have assaulted Thalia—an event so far unproven to have even occurred—it would have been extremely difficult to have then been involved in the near accident, across town. Witnesses soon came forward that reported seeing Thalia followed by a white man only minutes before the alleged assault took place. This information was never reported in the trial that was to follow, nor was the fact that the police planted information. The police themselves were split on the case—many of the detectives were locals who saw the case was a sham and when they were denied access in the courtroom, they started to talk directly to the press.

[LeftyMom]

14. Dorothea Puente, elderly female serial murderer

She used to come into my Mom's bar when I was a kid. I don't remember ever meeting her, but Mom knew her and some of her boarders who later turned up missing. Mom has rose bushes grown from transplants out of Dorothea's yard. :scared:

http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/women/puente/4.html

[Initech]

15. That's an easy one - Richard Nixon

Yup, Mr. Enemies List himself!

[Taverner]

18. John Madden

But in the past it was Eugene O'Neill

[BrotherBuzz]

20. R. Crumb

[elocs]

21. Ed Gein

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Gein


Edward Theodore Gein (August 27, 1906 – July 26, 1984), was one of the most notorious murderers in U.S. history. The particularly bizarre and morbid nature of his crimes shocked the world, even though it may never be known if he committed more than two murders. Besides the death of his brother in 1944 under mysterious circumstances, six people disappeared from the Wisconsin towns of La Crosse and Plainfield between 1947 and 1957. Gein was conclusively linked to only two, though it is suspected there were more.

[fudge stripe cookays]

22. Darlie Routier...

http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/women/routier/1.html

[FILAM23]

23. Funny you mentioned Capone

My little hometown in Michigan has never had a notorious resident.
However Al Capone used to come visit and stay at cottages at the local lake.

[Caoimhe]

24. River Phoenix was born here

actually out on a rural farm in a small rundown rental house. They didn't stick around long. He was born at home too, so no hospital records.

[riderinthestorm]

25. Billy Dunkle

At least when I was growing up in Glen Ellyn, IL. A shell shocked war veteran, he would roam the town talking to himself.

All of us kids would avoid him like the plague although frankly, he never took any notice of us. Someone kept him clean, his clothes were pressed but his PTSD was so severe he couldn't even begin to socialize. He would just walk around town, sit on the various benches placed artfully around the lovely flower gardens, or go to the local donut shop and just stare....

Too sad!

Otherwise, an assortment of CEOs, major lawyers, the editor of the Chicago Tribune and other shitty Republicans lived in my town - none of whom are even worthy of note....

Billy Dunkle however is fixed in my mind as the most notorious resident. I would like to say his horrifying state of mind influenced my compassionate side and enlightened me on war's terrible toll (even without the Vietnam War's actual casualty count).

[sendero]

26. Lee Harvery Oswald..

... lived as a child about 10 years before me in a house 4 houses down from where I lived, in Ft. Worth. Attended the same elementary school :)

Of course, he was born in New Orleans, and lived many different places before he alledgedly carried out his dastardly deed.

[Karenca]

27. Joel Steinberg and Hedda Nussbaum lived on my block when Mr. Steinberg

murdered their adopted daughter, Lisa.

Kathy Boudin--A townhouse one block from me was blown up by the Weathermen, who accidentally ignited their basement bomb factory.

Notorious womanizer, Stanford White.

[dannofoot]

28. Baby Doll Cowan...but some think Richard Pryor

"Baby Doll" was busted, for like the fortieth time, for prostitution when she was...wait for it...90 years old! She was even invited as guest of the "Tonight Show" with Johnny.

Nevertheless, lots of folks here still feel that Richard was somehow far more notorious.

[Fuzz]

29. Morton Downy Jr

Lived in Wallingford, CT for a time, as did I.

[PVnRT]

30. Eugene Debs, since he was OMG SOCIALIST!!!

n/t

[graywarrior]

31. Mr. Graywarrior

[Hosnon]

32. James Brown, though technically born across the river. nt

[XemaSab]

33. Depends on which town

Oakland: Mark Hamill, Russ Mayer, Sonny Barger, Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Billie Joe Armstrong, MC Hammer, Tupac Shakur, 2 Short, Rod McKuen

Mill Valley: Huey Lewis, Sammy Hagar, Jerry Garcia, Dana Carvey

Sacramento: Dorothea Puente, Richard Chase, Squeaky Fromme, Anthony Kennedy, Herb Caen, Rush Limbaugh, Ronald Reagan (as governor), Arnold (as governor), Jerry Brown (as governor), Molly Ringwald, Rodney King

I'm skipping LA.

Arcata: the dude who created Spongebob went to school there, Wayne Adam Ford; Bret Harte lived in Eureka

Redding: Merle Haggard

Oakhurst: Uh... SierraOnline and the game King's Quest, Cary Stayner lived nearby, John C Fremont lived nearby, John Muir lived nearby, in the same county as the Chowchilla school bus kidnapping... uh... it's a boring place? :shrug:

Santa Barbara: Shitloads of famous people live or have lived here, but I'll pick Oprah for notoriety. Also Jack Johnson, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Dishwalla. Ty Warner also lives here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Barbara%2C_California



So that's that. :shrug:

[femmocrat]

34. Richard Mellon Scaife lives around here somewhere.

Of course the exact location is a secret!

[TOhioLiberal]

35. Tom Noe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Noe What a douche.

[Ptah]

36. Montana Nessie:

This is about 110 miles from where I grew up:


Montana Nessie: Legend of the Flathead Lake Monster
By Michelle McGovern

http://www.montana.com/territories/aboutmt/history.php3?uid=94&morestories=1


In 1889, Western Montana's Flathead Lake was home to steamers and passenger ships
plying the waterways and it was also that year that the lake officially became home to one
of the most mysterious legends that can still raise the hair on the back of your neck.

One of the steamers on the lake that day in the late 1880's was the U.S. Grant,
skippered by Capt. James C. Kerr. While piloting the craft, Kerr noticed what appeared to be
a whale-like object in front of his rig. Thinking it to be an approaching boat he kept an eye on it.
But he soon realized this was not a man made vessel.

This thing in front of him was big, maybe 20 feet, and it was alive. Passengers onboard became
frightened by the large object swimming nearby in the water and one gun-toting man
pulled out his rifle and shot at it. He missed his mark and the creature dove down
into the murky waters of the Flathead. Thus, the legendary birth of the Flathead Lake Monster.
Sightings of super-sized fish or unexplainable creatures continue today.

So much so, that in 1990, a file was opened by Montana's Fish Wildlife and Parks Department.
Flathead Lake Biologist Laney Hanzel was in charge of keeping track of incoming reports.
"I've talked to ten or twelve people that have seen it. They were reputable,
not on drugs or drinking," Hanzel said. During his 20-plus years working on Flathead Lake
Hanzel said he never saw "the monster" but admits that he did find unexplainable large holes
in nets he had set around the lake while studying habitat.

[ContraBass Black]

37. Lorena Bobbit or William Morva,

Depending on the time of year.

[madrchsod]

38. you know who-------

ronny reagan..... oh yes and hedda hopper

[greatauntoftriplets]

40. Hedda Hopper was from out there????

and, yes, :scared:

[reyd reid reed]

39. Well...there was Doc Holliday

And then there was Lon Chaney. White Sox pitcher, Brandon (i think) McCarthy. Goose Gossage. Couple of others but I'd have to look 'em up and, well, I don't feel like it right now.

:hi:

[NoPasaran]

41. George W. Bush

Austin, TX

[martymar64]

47. I agree but . . .

for current residents, I vote for Leslie. But not in a bad notorious way. More in a friendly weirdo kind of way.

[Elidor]

42. Byron Low Tax Looper

Who made national news a few years ago when he murdered his democratic opponent for public office shortly before the election.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Looper

[dolo amber]

43. Jeffrey Dahmer or Bob Uecker

Take your pick. :shrug:

[jane_pippin]

48. Liberace was from here too

but I don't know if he counts as notorious.

[flamingyouth]

44. Probably Ted Bundy.

[Downtown Hound]

45. Deep Throat

Yes. I hail from Santa Rosa, CA, where Deep Throat was finally unmasked after so many years.

[HEyHEY]

46. Hmmm.. Robert Pickton or Cllfford Olson

Both those sick mother fuckers lived in my area. As did the guy who had Abby Drover locked up in a dungeon under his house for six months.

[aaronbees]

49. Ross Perot

:o :D

[blonndee]

50. PUKE: Toby Keith.

I can't wait to get out of this town.

At least my home town in NM (as much as it sucks, too) has something kind of respectable: Home of the Norman Petty studios (where Buddy Holly recorded songs) and famous for the Clovis man. Woo-HOO!

[Reverend_Smitty]

51. Sam Alito and Antonin Scalia

I apologize to America that the city of Trenton NJ produced two guys that have the potential to fuck up this country for a long time

[amitten]

52. Leslie the transvestite.

You can see him on any given day downtown dressed scantily, often in a thong, often sporting long fake nails and various animal prints. Everybody knows him and he's practically an Austin landmark.

He runs for mayor every year, but...never wins.:shrug:

[ceile]

69. Second for Leslie!

I wish I had a pic of him to post so that people can fully appreciate the wonder that is "Leslie".

[leftofthedial]

53. you mean besides me?

[greendog]

54. We've got "Prussian Blue" and John Stokes

Neo-Nazi Band: Prussian Blue


Hate Radio Jock: John Stokes

[Robeson]

55. Andrew Jackson...

...at least I know a lot of Cherokee Indians who feel that way.

[REP]

56. Bob Berdella (Serial Killer); Thomas "Boss Tom" Pendergast

Kansas City leads the nation in per capita serial killings, but Berdella is the most notorious, as gay killers are relatively rare (and therefore, get the most publicity).

Pendergast was second only to Tammany Hall in Democratic Machine politics.

[tjwmason]

57. Benjamin Disraeli

Who was made Earl of Beaconsfield. The title was previously offered to Edmund Burke, who also lived here, but he declined due to his malaise at the death of his son. Also G.K. Chesterton.

[mainegreen]

58. Local Billionaire(?) Bob Bahre. Lives at the top of my home towns hill.

He gave away single size small tootsie rolls at halloween. His new house has an underground batcave with imported stone from china. He also arguably has the best antique auto collection in the world. He'd haul it out once a year and all us kids would get to go and climb all over his cars. The man has 2 tuckermobiles! And the only surviving real chiti-chiti-bang-bang (this car has an aircraft engine in it!). http://www.j-a-n-e.org/events/tours/bahre_collection_jul05/cars/bahre_cars.html">Some of his cars photos.
Everyone in town loves to gossip about him. Overall, though he's a nice guy. I may be biased though, as his daughter babysat me as a kid sometimes.

[kwassa]

59. Alan Keyes

super conservative in a very liberal area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Keyes

Dr. Alan Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is an American politician, diplomat, and social conservative activist. He is a member of the Republican Party, a talk radio host and a frequent candidate for public office.

He served in the U.S. Foreign Service, was appointed Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and then became U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations under President Ronald Reagan.

Keyes ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Presidency in 1996 and 2000 and for the U.S. Senate in 1988, 1992 and 2004.

He lives with his family in Montgomery County, Maryland.

[Burma Jones]

60. I'll vote for Little Danny Snyder, Redskins Owner

Locally, if you are at all familiar with Robin Ficker - HE would be our county's weaseliest weasel....

Ben Stein's from around here too, but he's no big deal.....

[av8rdave]

61. Lucille Ball

[KurtNYC]

62. Rudy 'Marilyn Monroe' Giuliani or Donald 'Orange Head-rug' Trump

[Poll_Blind]

63. Kip Kinkle. Shot up Thurston High School about 10 years ago. n/t

PB

[Ishoutandscream2]

64. Congressman Ralph Hall, Republican Texas

Bushbot to the core.

[scarlet_owl]

65. The leather hot pants guy.

He walks around town in the summer in nothing but a pair of leather hot pants. He has been spotted in the winter wearing a matador outfit and a chain mail hood. I'm not sure if he is "notorious", but everyone in town seems to know who you're talking about when you say "leather hot pants guy".

[XNASA]

66. You.

:evilgrin:

[MissMillie]

67. Clara Barton

founder of the American Red Cross

[Jokerman]

68. Brett Kimberlin

AKA "The Speedway Bomber"
AKA "Dan Quayle's pot connection"

[Crabby Appleton]

70. current town - Charlie Manson

but I've lived in NYC, Dallas, Berkeley, Boston area, & Orlando (and some others) so I could compile quite a list.

[malmapus]

71. Doc Holliday ran a dental practice in my hometown (Fayetteville, GA)

Building is still there (least last time I was in town), old brick structure with part of Hwy 54 running by it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Holliday

[RedStateShame]

72. Larry Mahoney

aka the Carroll County Bus Accident drunk driver.

[Arugula Latte]

73. Probably Tonya Harding

Although, I think she actually might be more of a Gresham (suburb) girl than a Portland girl.

[jmowreader]

74. James Burmeister

James Burmeister is the skinhead who decided he wanted to "earn a spiderweb tattoo" (in the racist skinhead society, a spiderweb tattoo on your elbow means you killed a black person--oh, the citizens of this fair city got an education in skinhead thought!) so went downtown and killed two black people on a street corner.

He got either life without parole or the death sentence. No word as to whether he got his tattoo.

[skygazer]

75. The one that's actually somewhat know was Jubilee Jim Fisk

Who was assiciated with Jay Gould and the so-called Robber Barons of the late 19th century. He was killed by a jealous husband in NYC and brought back home to Vermont to be buried. Headline news in its day.

Since then, there have been quite a few locally notorious people - common thugs for the most part but some of them quite vicious. When I was growing up in the economically depressed 70's, there were several families that were known for their lack of any redeeming qualities. Murderers, rapists, thieves, bullies and brutes. Everyone knew who they were but there never seemed to be enough evidence against them to stick. Since it's a small town, you rubbed uneasy shoulders with them and did your best to avoid any trouble. Most of them are either dead or in jail now.

Strange times...

[azmouse]

76. Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano

http://www.janabommersbach.com/pm-fea-may03.htm

Excerpt:
When Salvatore Gravano ratted-out his fellow mobsters and moved to Phoenix - courtesy of the Witness Protection Program - he was given a second chance. He didn't take it. Instead, he started one of the biggest drug rings in the country and got busted. Not by the FBI, which was clueless, but by the Phoenix Police Department. Good for them. Not so good for Sammy.