The Greenlease Kidnapping

Bad Cop/Bad Cop

On Tuesday morning, Sandy O'Day woke up to find Hall holding 100 $10 bills. He explained he would give her the money if she would agree to fly to California and mail a letter addressed to Bernard Patton, his St. Joe lawyer. He apparently believed this would send the authorities on a wild goose chase. O'Day gladly took the cash and was out the door as soon as Hager arrived.

A breathless O'Day told Hager that she had peeked into lover boy's footlocker and found it full of cash. Hager drove O'Day to buy clothes for her trip. But instead of flying to California, she decided to travel to St. Joe to look into Patton and his client, "Steve Strand." She, too, smelled an easy mark.

Hager spent Tuesday ferrying Hall on errands, with plenty of tavern breaks. Hall bought more new clothes, then picked up a couple of garbage cans as part of an abortive plan to bury part of the ransom money. He decided to move out of the Coral Court, and Hager found him a place that afternoon at the Townhouse Hotel, 5613 Pershing Avenue.

What Hall didn't know is that his personal valet, Johnny Hager, had dropped a dime on him. Hager phoned his boss at Ace Cab Co., a mob confederate named Joe Costello, and whispered that he had "an angel" who was "throwing $20 bills around like confetti" and carrying around a fortune.

Costello called a dirty cop, St. Louis Police Lt. Louis Shoulders, an old cab-driving pal from years before. Shoulders was a shakedown artist who had two or three questionable fatal shootings in his record. He figured Costello's mark was likely an embezzler or robber. Shoulders and Costello had played this game before — squeeze a bad guy for 50 percent, and everyone goes home with something in their pocket and a smile on their face.

At 7:30 Tuesday night, Hager rendezvoused with Costello, Shoulders and his driver, Officer Elmer Dolan, near Hall's hotel. They followed Hager back to the room, and Shoulders and Dolan barged in behind the cabby as Costello waited around the corner.

Dolan and Shoulders arrested Hall, drove him to a district police station, booked him and placed him in a holding pen. The cops then disappeared for 80 minutes. When they returned they carried in the foot locker and suitcase. It contained $288,000. More than half the ransom money was missing, and Hall had spent no more than $5,000.

Carl Hall & Bonnie Heady in custody

Shoulders went into the holding cell and questioned Hall about the source of the cash. Forty-five minutes later, Shoulders walked into the office where Dolan sat "guarding" the evidence. He told Dolan they had arrested Bobby Greenlease's kidnapper. Dolan nearly wet himself.