Post #599621 by TikiTomD on Thu, Jul 28, 2011 9:04 AM

Howlinowl: NASA will be launching a planetary spacecraft next week from the Cape on one of our rockets. For the immediate future, our manned spaceflight program consists of sending NASA Astronauts on airplane rides to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for launching to the International Space Station on Soyuz spacecraft. As our Russian colleagues have declared, it’s the “Age of the Soyuz.” At this point in time, I’m compelled by the facts to agree with them. Let’s wish our Commercial Crew Development contractors every success, and pray that they get it right while not wasting any time. Now, back to topic...

The fortunes of the Hi-Hat Club underwent a dramatic change when a young, out-of-town gangster shot a Daytona Beach city police detective to death on January 13, 1945. Two employees of the Hi-Hat Club were in the car with the killer, but got out and fled on foot, with one subsequently reporting the murder to police. Thus began a real-life noir mystery regarding the motivations, actions and fate of Charlie Reese...

Photo of Detective Harry Raines

The Palm Beach Post January 15, 1945

Daytona Beach Morning Journal January 16, 1945

Wilbur Paul Patterson (aka Pat Harris) was captured by FBI agents in Omaha, Nebraska on January 30, 1945. He was already a wanted, career criminal with a half-dozen aliases. His crimes included kidnapping, rape and multiple robberies in different states. He was wanted for rape and robbery in Belleville, Illinois and armed robbery in Detroit. According to police records, he was on bond from a robbery charge in West Palm Beach at the time of the slaying.

The Miami News February 11, 1945

Strange happenings followed concerning Charlie Reese...

Daytona Beach Morning Journal February 13, 1945

On March 5, 1945, Charlie Reese was found dead in his home from a gunshot to the head. His death was ultimately ruled a suicide, but many believed it was a murder cast to look like suicide...

The Miami News March 6, 1945

Testimony revealed that Charlie Reese and other Hi-Hat Club employees aided Patterson’s getaway, but it wasn’t clear from the news reports how much Reese knew of the crime at the time...

Daytona Beach Morning Journal March 22, 1945

St. Petersburg Times March 23, 1945

Patterson was convicted by a jury and sentenced to die in the electric chair. He was executed on March 17, 1947. In the first article that follows, doubts of some about how Charlie Reese died are recapped...

Daytona Beach Morning Journal March 11, 1947

Sarasota Herald-Tribune March 17, 1947

Charlie’s teenage daughter, Betty Jean Reese, eventually filed a lawsuit denying the validity of her father’s will...

Daytona Beach Morning Journal October 18, 1947

With the estate, including the Hi-Hat Club, back into probate, it’s time for a break...

-Tom

[ Edited by: TikiTomD 2011-07-28 14:16 ]