The
Weinberger Kinapping
It
was -- at least for residents of Long Island, New
York -- the "crime of the century" when
one-month-old Peter Weinberger was kidnapped from
his suburban home on July 4, 1956. Certainly the
fallout from the incident reached national proportions.
This child was not from a well-to-do family, like
the Lindberghs. This child came from a middle class
family in suburbia -- where people weren't afraid
of being targeted by extortionists. The Weinberger
kidnapping struck fear in the hearts of average
Americans. People started locking their doors.
Almost overnight,
an entire country lost its sense of security.
The
Weinberger case also resulted in new legislation
-- signed by President Eisenhower -- that reduced
the FBI's waiting period in kidnapping cases from
7 days to 24 hours.*
It
all started...
On that particular July 4th in 1956, Betty Weinberger wrapped her month-old
son Peter in a receiving blanket and placed him in his carriage on the patio
of their home in Westbury, NY. She then went inside for a few minutes while
he slept.
When
Mrs. Weinberger came back to check on her son, all
she found was an empty carriage and a ransom note.
In the note, the kidnapper apologized for his actions
but said he needed money and asked for $2,000. He
promised the baby would be returned "safe and
happy" the following day if his demand was met.
Despite the kidnapper's threat to kill the baby at
the "first wrong move," she called the
Nassau County Police Department.
Parents
ask for media blackout
After the kidnapping, Morris Weinberger requested that the newspapers hold
off printing the story of his son's kidnapping. All but one newspaper granted
Mr. Weinberger's request -- the kidnapping made the front page of the New
York Daily News. By the following day, news reporters swarmed the drop-off
area where the kidnapper requested the money be left. Police left the phony
ransom package at the spot, but the kidnapper never showed up.
The
second attempt to collect
On July 10th, six days after the kidnapping, the kidnapper called the Weinberger
home -- two separate times -- with additional instructions on where to take
the money. He didn't show up at either location. At the second drop site, police
searched a blue cloth bag found alongside a curb. Inside the bag was a handwritten
note -- apparently from the kidnapper -- telling the parents where to find
the baby "if everything goes smooth."
The
note was examined by experts who agreed that the
original ransom note and the second note were written
by the same person.
The
FBI gets down to work
On July 11th, after the required seven-day waiting period, the FBI entered
the case. Its first step was to establish a temporary headquarters for its
employees from the NY Office -- agent and support -- in Mineola, Long Island.
The temporary headquarters -- which operated 24 hours a day -- was under the
personal direction of the Special Agent in Charge of the NY Office.
The
only evidence officials had -- up until then -- were
the ransom notes. Handwriting experts from the FBI
Laboratory in Washington, DC, traveled to New York
and gave Special Agents a crash course in handwriting
analysis. These newly trained investigators began
the task of examining the huge volume of handwriting
specimens maintained by the New York State Motor
Vehicle Bureau, federal and state probation offices,
schools, aircraft plants, and various municipalities.
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Click
on the images below to view in a larger
size.
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First
Ransom Note
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Known
Handwriting of
Angelo John La Marca
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After
examining and eliminating almost two million samples,
the search ended on August 22, 1956. An agent at
the U.S. Probation Office in Brooklyn noted a similarity
between the ransom notes and writing in the probation
file of one Angelo LaMarca. LaMarca had been arrested
by the Treasury Department for bootlegging.
As
investigators soon learned, LaMarca was a taxi dispatcher
and truck driver who lived with his wife and two
children in Plainview, NY. He lived in a house he
couldn't afford, had many unpaid bills, and was being
threatened by a loan shark. On July 4, 1956, he had
found himself driving around Westbury, seven miles
away, trying to figure out how to get the money he
needed.
When
he happened on the Weinberger house, Mrs. Weinberger
was leaving her son in the baby carriage to go into
her house. On impulse, LaMarca scribbled a ransom
note in his truck, snatched Peter, and drove off.
The
arrest, and a tragic discovery
On August 23, 1956, LaMarca was arrested at his home by FBI Agents and Nassau
County police. Although he first denied any involvement in the kidnapping of
Peter Weinberger, he confessed when confronted with the handwriting comparisons.
LaMarca
told investigators he went to the first drop site
the day after the kidnapping - with the baby in the
car -- but he was scared away by all of the press
and police in the area. He drove away, abandoned
the baby alive in some heavy brush just off a highway
exit, and went home.
A
search of the area by FBI Agents and Nassau County
Police ensued. An FBI Agent spotted a diaper pin
-- then the decomposed remains of Peter Weinberger.
The heart-rending search was over.
In
the end
Since LaMarca had crossed no state lines, he had not violated the federal kidnapping
statute -- and so he was turned over to Nassau County authorities for state
prosecution. In late 1956, he was tried and convicted by a jury on kidnapping
and murder charges. The jury returned its verdict without a recommendation
of leniency. On December 14, 1956, he was sentenced to death.
After
a number of legal appeals -- including one to the
Supreme Court -- Angelo LaMarca was executed at Sing
Sing Prison on August 7, 1958.
*Last
October, the "Protection of Children from
Sexual Predators Act of 1998" was signed into
law. A provision of that law gave federal officials
the authority to enter a kidnapping investigation
before the 24-hour waiting period ended.
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