Public Enemies_ America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI - Bryan Burrough [112]
The ransom payment was uppermost in Adolph Bremer’s mind Saturday afternoon when he paid a visit to Minnesota governor Floyd Olson. That morning’s note directed the family to place four blue NRA eagle stickers in Walter Magee’s office windows when the ransom was ready to be paid. Bremer was candid with Olson about his finances, and the governor suggested displaying half a sticker, as a message to the kidnappers that the family sought to negotiate the ransom amount. Late that afternoon Magee posted the half-stickers.
The next day, Sunday, the FBI’s second-in-command, Pop Nathan, met with Adolph Bremer and his financial advisers, a pair of New York bankers. Bremer asked Nathan whether he felt the kidnappers would accept only $50,000, which one of the bankers declared was an “outside figure.” Nathan, who still knew nothing of the notes delivered by Dr. Nippert, said negotiations hadn’t led to reduced ransoms in other cases. He emphasized that the Bureau would remain in the background until the ransom was paid, but that once Bremer was released, it would expect the family’s full cooperation.
Monday morning another letter arrived at the Bremer mansion. It had been left outside the office of a local coal company executive.
If you can wait O.K. with us. Your people shot a lot of curves trying to get somebody killed then the copper’s will be heroes but Eddie will be the marteer. The copper’s think that’s great but Eddie don’t.
Were done taking the draws and you can go fuck yourself now. From now on you make the contact. Better not try it till you pull off every coppers, newspaper and radio station. From now on you get the silent treatment until you rech us someway yourself. Better not wait too long.
The note left Adolph Bremer confused. Contact the kidnappers? How? He was incensed at the St. Paul police. Too many details were leaking to the newspapers, which angered his son’s captors, and he suspected someone in the department. He decided it was time to come clean with the FBI. He sent for Pop Nathan. When Nathan arrived at the mansion at three, Bremer took him into his mahogany-paneled library and briefed him on the notes from the kidnappers. Bremer handed all the notes to Nathan, who wrapped them in cellophane, took them to the Bureau’s downtown office, and air-mailed them to Washington.
A half hour later, Nathan was handed a copy of the afternoon St. Paul Daily News; he was stunned to see that the lead article contained full details of the ransom notes. Nathan phoned the police chief, Dahill, and told him to meet him at his hotel room. Somewhere there was a leak, and a bad one, Nathan said. Dahill said he had no doubt who it was: Detective Tom Brown. And then Dahill went one step further. “It is my belief,” he told Nathan, “that Tom Brown ‘cased’ both the Hamm and the Bremer kidnappings.”6
At the safe house outside Chicago, tensions were rising. Unlike the stoic William Hamm, Ed Bremer was a complainer: he was cold, his head hurt, his knee hurt. It made Karpis tired. All day Bremer sat in front of a boarded window, the taped goggles over his eyes. The Hamm job had lasted four days, and Karpis couldn’t fathom why things were dragging on. At one point he asked Bremer.
“Well, I’d have to know how much money you’re asking for first,” Bremer said.
“I ain’t having anything to do with that,” Karpis said. “It shouldn’t be too much trouble getting the money, don’t you think?”
“It depends on how much.”
“Goddamn, your family’s the richest