Category: Public Safety

SCHMITT, JACOB W. (29 Jan. 1829-16 Dec. 1893) pioneer in urban police work, was born in Mannheim, Baden, Germany, the son of Joseph Schmitt. He grew up in Germany and came to the United States after the 1848 revolution.

The SHEPPARD MURDER CASE (1954-66) assumed legal importance when Dr. Samuel Sheppard's 1954 conviction for the murder of his wife was set aside by the U.S. Supreme Court on the grounds that the defendant was not sufficiently insulated from the excessive publicity surrounding the case, and thus was denied a fair trial in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

SINITO, THOMAS J. (18 Sep. 1938-21 Dec. 1997) was a Cleveland mobster who once was accused of plotting to kill Mayor Dennis J. Kucinich. He was born in Cleveland to Lena (Longo) and Frank Sinito, who ran Sinito Brothers fruit market on Woodland Ave.

The SLY-FANNER MURDER CASE occupies a significant place in the annals of Cleveland-area police work, testimony to the importance of persistence. The crime occurred 31 Dec. 1920. On that day Wilfred C. Sly and George K. Fanner, principals in the Sly-Fanner Manufacturing Co., were gunned down in cold blood during a robbery. Sly and Fanner had gone to the bank to collect the cash for that afternoon's payroll.

The ST. CLAIR SAVINGS AND LOAN HOLDUP (12 Apr. 1957) was the first bank robbery in history filmed by a hidden camera. The savings & loan, located at 6235 St. Clair Ave., had been robbed twice during the previous 18 months, and as a result it was chosen by Thos. Story, superintendent of Cleveland police communications, to have a hidden camera installed on a trial basis. It was put in place on Thurs., 11 Apr.

STREET LIGHTING. In 1846 the Cleveland Gas Light & Coke Co. was organized, spelling the end for oil-fired lamps, which were noted by publications of the time to be in for their "final trimming." However, little real progress was made with gas development until the end of the decade, when the gas manufacturing company acquired new management.

STURMAN, REUBEN (16 Aug. 1924-27 Oct. 1997) controlled a pornography empire that originated in Cleveland and included businesses in Nevada and California.

The THIRD POLICE PRECINCT, better known as the "Roaring Third," was situated in the older neighborhood northeast of PUBLIC SQUARE at the turn of the century. As the commercial and residential activity of the city moved farther out, this inner-city area became the center of the city's gambling, drinking, and prostitution district. By 1900 gambling houses operated along Superior Ave.

The TONG WARS were violent outbreaks between the ON LEONG TONG and the Hip Sing Tong Chinese societies, first occurring in 1911 when the latter organization was formed. On 20 Nov. 1911, Woo Dip, of the On Leong Tong, was shot by Leing Young of the Hip Sing Tong, witnesses said, allegedly for refusing to pay the Hip Sing Tong $2 in protection money.

The TORSO MURDERS, committed between Sept. 1935 and Aug. 1938, were believed to be serial killings. Most of the bodies were discovered in or near the KINGSBURY RUN area—a creek bed that ran from E. 90th St. and Kinsman Rd. SE to the CUYAHOGA RIVER.

The U.S. CUSTOMS SERVICE, CLEVELAND DISTRICT OFFICE, is responsible for enforcing customs and tariff laws and collecting import revenues for the Midwest region. The District Office, located at 55 Erieview Plaza, services Ohio and parts of Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia, as well as 200 mi. of Lake Erie Shoreline. In 1986 the Cleveland office had a staff of approx.

WALLACE, GEORGE ALEXANDER LEROY (22 Feb. 1848-3 Aug. 1940), CLEVELAND FIRE DEPT. member 62 years, and chief from 1901-31, was born in Erie, Pa. to Geo. A. and Margaret Hendrickson Wallace, came to Cleveland with his family in 1854, and at 14 left school to work as a railroad brakeman.

WATER SYSTEM. The production, purification, and distribution of potable water constitutes a "hidden system" in the infrastructure of the modern city. Until faucets run dry, or reservoirs are exhausted, citizens tend to remain unaware of the nature and condition of the complex technological, social, and political attributes of the water system.

WATERWORKS TUNNEL DISASTERS occurred 6 times during the construction of water intake tunnels for Cleveland's water system, killing a total of 58 men between 1898-1916. Tunnels into Lake Erie were needed because by 1876 the increased sewage flow from the rapidly growing city had transformed its water supply into a health hazard.

The WESTSIDE TORNADO OF 1953 hit the westside neighborhoods of Cleveland on June 8,1953.