User:Crtew/Jerry Buckley (journalist)

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Gerald E. "Jerry" Buckley (April 5, 1891 – July 23, 1930) was a Detroit, Michigan radio commentator, who campaigned for the successful recall of Mayor Charles Bowles in the wake of corruption allegations. Buckley was murdered hours after the election ended on the next day, and he became the eleventh victim of gangland killings that was dubbed by Detroit journalists as "Bloody July" in 1930. His murder remains unsolved.

Personal
Gerald E. Buckley was born on April 5, 1891. His brother Paul Buckley was a lawyer and at one time was a prosecuting attorney in Wayne County, Michigan. Prior to becoming a radio commentator, Jerry Buckley had served as an investigator for Henry Ford and as a special investigator for the United States government in the Newberry case.

Between 50,000 and 100,000 people attended Charles Buckley's funeral on July 26, 1930 at St. Gregory's Catholic Church and the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Detroit.

Career
Buckley began his broadcasting career at WMBC, which is now named WDTK in 1928. As a radio broadcaster, he campaigned for old-age pensions and jobs for the unemployed, as well as humanitarian and liberal causes. His efforts prevailed in obtaining hundreds of jobs for unemployed workers. He became a known populist and his audience was called the "common herd". Buckley was the first to raise the issue of recalling Mayor Charles Bowles, and his vocal and populist outreach on behalf of the issue soon gained traction. Buckley criticized gambling and other activities of which the mayor approved. His radio audience in Detroit grew as listeners were drawn to his snide commentaries on city politics and the attacks on Mayor Bowles and his newly appointed staff. Jerry Buckley soon made a name for himself as a crusader for the recall of the mayor and for his populist causes.

The Recall of Mayor Charles Bowles
In the wake of the 1923 mayor election in Detroit, the Klu Klux Klan had high hopes for getting Charles Bowles into office. Although Bowles did not make it onto the ballot, he entered the race as a write in and nearly defeated John W. Smith. Bowles would run against Smith, John C. Lodge, and Joeseph A. Martin twice before he finally won the election in 1929. Bowles campaign for anti-crime soon became contradictory as he fired Police Commissioner Harold Emmons within months of appointing him. While Bowles was away at the Kentucky Derby, Emmons returned from a business trip to find that the gamblers and gangsters had overstepped their boundaries. Emmons soon took action in which infuriated the mayor thus leading to his termination. It was said that Mayor Charles Bowles may not have won over the voters during the election but won over everyone during the recall. On the day of Jerry Buckley's death, the election for the mayor's recall took place and there were just short of 31.000 votes to take him down. No other Detroit mayor had been recalled. Buckley supported the recall and spoke freely about it on his radio show. He then announced the results in a broadcast he did just hours before his death.

Death
On 22 July 1930, Detroit Mayor Charles Bowles was recalled. Jerry Buckley appeared in the early hours of 23 July in the lobby of the LaSalle Hotel, located at the corner of Adelaide Street and Woodward Avenue, to read what the morning newspapers had to report about the previous day's recall election. Buckley was known to frequent the hotel often as he broadcast his radio show from a private studio there. While he was sitting in an arm chair and reading, sometime 1:45 a.m., three men approached him from different directions, two from his front sides and one from behind him, and they murdered him in a barrage of gunfire that struck Buckley's body 11 times.

Buckley's murder brought to 11, the number killed during July 1930. Some of the victims of "Bloody July" include 2 Chicago gangsters (George Collins and William Cannon) ...

As a response to Buckley's murder, Governor Fred Warren Green traveled to Detroit and warned criminal elements that he would call out the militia if the gangland violence that killed 10 others and Buckley did not stop.  The Detroit City Council also met to issue a $5,000 reward. The recalled mayor said the murder was a "terrible thing."

Sides were taken over Buckley's reputation soon after his murder. On one side, Buckley's employer, Michigan Broadcasting Company, issued a statement that Buckley had reported to his superiors that he had received threats over the recall election. And Buckley's brother Paul, a former assistant prosecutor, claimed that the murder was orchestrated as revenge for the campaign against the mayor. On the other side, the police claimed to have an affidavit claiming Buckley was involved in organized crime activities. And the political appointee of the now recalled mayor, Detroit Police Commissioner Thomas C. Wilcox, declared that Buckley was a known extortionist and racketeer and had likely been killed because of his underworld connections.

Investigation & Trial
Although there were several arrests, there were no convictions obtained for the killing. Among the suspected gunmen who went to trial were Ted Pizzino, Joe Bommarito, and Angelo Livechi. Other possible suspected gunmen were Russell Syracuse, Joseph English, and John Mirabella. It can't be said which set of gunmen were the actual murderers. A reward as high as $13,500 was issued to help aid the effort in bringing them to justice.

Impact
The impact of the recall led to Mayor Charles Bowles resignation shortly after the murder of Jerry Buckley. Detroit had become a town of promiscuous gambling and anti-prohibition. Much of this was due to the political leaders who were elected/appointed during this time as they promoted such behavior during their terms. Buckley’s death was not in vain. His murder caused a public outcry that law enforcement could not ignore. The police began closing the gambling dens and cracking down on offenders. Jerry was among a string of murders in a period of two weeks leading up to the recall. Many found it astounding that Buckley was the only "white" person to be murdered considering much of Detroit's population were of foreign descent. After Bowles stepped down, he ran again for the Mayor spot the next year but lost which eventually silenced his political career.

Reactions
The public was deeply saddened by the martyr's abrupt death. Over 50,000 people braved a thunderstorm on 26 July 1930 for a memorial service at the cemetery. Many of the voters who voted for the recall were regular listeners of Jerry's broadcasts and saw him as a trusted person to gain information from. Although the career of Charles Bowles had extinguished, many still believe that Bowles had an influence on the murder of Jerry although he never fessed up to it. Many blamed it on multiple things but to this day it has remained a mystery.

Bare URL's

 * Extradite Pizzino
 * Book Review
 * Detroit:
 * Associated Press (July 24, 1930):
 * "Bowles Loses But Wins Over Recall Crowd"
 * Time (magazine):
 * Detroit perspectives:
 * Toledo Blade:
 * Detroit's Infamous Purple Gang:
 * Carving Out the Rule of Law:
 * A Newscast for the Masses:
 * American Babel:
 * A Newscast for the Masses:
 * American Babel: