The Mystery of the Vanishing Cash

November 29, 1947
Los Angeles

Bertha Bremley, 5809 Blackstone, Bellflower, is baffled. It was less than two blocks from the clothing shop at 529 S. Broadway to the bank, she remembers nothing unusual happening during her walk, and yet when she arrived she no longer was holding the money bag containing $1000 in checks and $2155 cash which she intended to deposit.

That is one smooth pickpocket! Downtown strollers beware.

Kim Cooper

Kim Cooper is the creator of 1947project, the crime-a-day time travel blog that spawned Esotouric’s popular crime bus tours, including The Real Black Dahlia. She is the author of The Kept Girl, the acclaimed historical mystery starring the young Raymond Chandler and the real-life Philip Marlowe, and of The Raymond Chandler Map of Los Angeles. With husband Richard Schave, Kim curates the Salons and forensic science seminars of LAVA- The Los Angeles Visionaries Association. When the third generation Angeleno isn’t combing old newspapers for forgotten scandals, she is a passionate advocate for historic preservation of signage, vernacular architecture and writer’s homes. Kim was for many years the editrix of Scram, a journal of unpopular culture. Her books include Fall in Love For Life, Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth, Lost in the Grooves and an oral history of Neutral Milk Hotel.

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Kim Cooper

Kim Cooper is the creator of 1947project, the crime-a-day time travel blog that spawned Esotouric’s popular crime bus tours, including The Real Black Dahlia. She is the author of The Kept Girl, the acclaimed historical mystery starring the young Raymond Chandler and the real-life Philip Marlowe, and of The Raymond Chandler Map of Los Angeles. With husband Richard Schave, Kim curates the Salons and forensic science seminars of LAVA- The Los Angeles Visionaries Association. When the third generation Angeleno isn’t combing old newspapers for forgotten scandals, she is a passionate advocate for historic preservation of signage, vernacular architecture and writer’s homes. Kim was for many years the editrix of Scram, a journal of unpopular culture. Her books include Fall in Love For Life, Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth, Lost in the Grooves and an oral history of Neutral Milk Hotel.

One thought on “The Mystery of the Vanishing Cash”

  1. They were a quiet young couple in their 20s, so quiet that their neighbors in Valley of the Moon, near Santa Rosa, rarely saw them. David Warren worked around their ranch and his wife taught at Sonoma Valley High School.

    David and his wife were newlyweds, having taken out a wedding certificate in June and gotten married that month in San Francisco.

    But although they lived modest lives, David failed to register for the draft and came to the attention of the FBI. When agents arrested him, they discovered the real story.

    Marieta Cook, 26, and Thelma Walter, 28, told officials they fell in love while they were roommates at the University of California in 1940. “I’ve wanted to be a man ever since I was 5 years old,â€Â Marieta said. The women were held under an 1872 law against impersonating another person and making false affidavits to marry.

    Unfortunately, The Times never followed the United Press story on this case, so there’s no telling what became of Marieta and Thelma. A Google search turns up nothing. If they were alive today, they would be in their 80s. I would love to know what became of them.

    Quote of the day: “Prefrontal lobotomy, a delicate brain operation, is recommended by two prominent neurosurgeons to relieve emotional tension from those patients who have ‘only pain and death to look forward to.’ â€Â
    Drs. Walter Freeman and James W. Watts, “who have performed more than 400 such operations, usually for certain psychoses that have resisted all other forms of treatment.â€Â

    https://www.lmharnisch.com

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