Infamous Ohioans

Pick up a copy of this Weekender (Feb. 19-20) newspaper that includes a special section containing profiles of Famous Ohioans. Jeffrey Dahmer Serial killer Public domain image VITALS Born: May 21, 1960, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Died: Nov. 28, 1994, in Portage, Wisconsin Age at death: 34 Quote "The killing was a means to an end." • Jeffrey Dahmer would grow up to be one of the most well-known serial killers of all time but he came from humble beginnings, growing up in Bath, Ohio. • Born in Milwaukee, Dahmer was born to Lionel and Joyce Dahmer, who both have said their son was a normal child. • At four years old, Dahmer began expressing an interest in dead animals. He and his father were removing animal bones from underneath their home, and Dahmer was struck with the sound of bones hitting the bottom of a metal bucket. • Believing he was growing his son's interest in science, Lionel showed Dahmer how to bleach and preserve animal bones. Dahmer started collecting dead animals, being interested in the way bones fit together. • Dahmer attended Revere High School in Bath Township and was seen as a bit of an outcast, but he enjoyed pulling pranks. At 14, Dahmer started drinking, often bringing alcohol to school. • In June of 1978, both of Dahmer's parents, who were divorcing, had moved out of the family home, leaving him there alone. Dahmer was 18 years old and had just graduated from high school. While driving, Dahmer picked up a hitchhiker, Steven Mark Hicks, who was 18 years old and going to a rock concert. Dahmer told Hicks he would take him to the concert after having a couple of beers at his house. After hanging out for a few hours, Hicks was ready to leave. Dahmer committed his first murder, bludgeoning and strangling Hicks to death. Dahmer would go on to dissect Hick's body, bury it, unearth his body and dissolve his remains in acid. Dahmer smashed the remaining bones with a sledgehammer and disposed of them in the woods behind his home. It would be nearly 10 years before Dahmer killed again. • Dahmer would go on to kill 17 men in all, committing the rest of his murders in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His fascination devolved to consuming and living amongst the remains of his victims until he was caught in 1991. • He was sentenced to life in prison in February 1992 and was killed by another inmate on Nov. 28, 1994. -- Charles Manson Cult leader Public domain image VITALS Birthdate: Nov. 12, 1934 Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio Died: Nov. 19, 2017, in Bakersfield, California Age at death: 83 years old Quote: "Just because you're convicted in a courtroom doesn't mean you're guilty of something." Important facts • Charles Manson is a notorious cult leader, known for his followers committing slayings in the summer of 1969 in California. • Manson was born on Nov. 12, 1934, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to his 16-year-old mother, Kathleen Maddox. For a few weeks, after he was born, Manson remained unnamed, known as 'No Name Maddox.' She settled on Charles Miles Maddox. His last name came later from William Eugene Manson, who Maddox had started dating the same year. The couple later divorced in 1937. • Manson's mother was an alcoholic and was convicted for robbing a gas station and sent to five years in prison. He went to live with his aunt and uncle in West Virginia until Maddox was paroled. Maddox and Manson began moving often. • By age nine, Manson was in and out of juvenile detention centers, mainly by his running away. While in reformatories, he was caught raping other boys and was transferred to a maximum-security facility in Chillicothe, Ohio. • Manson was sent to a federal reformatory, the Chillicothe Correctional Institution in September 1952, where he stayed until 1954 when he was 21 years old. • Manson married Rosalie Jean Willis in 1955. Mason convinced the pregnant Willis to join him in moving to Los Angeles, ending his time in Ohio. He stole a vehicle to drive them out west, which he was caught for. Manson's eldest son, Charles Manson Jr., was born in 1956 while he was in prison for taking a vehicle across state lines while under probation. The couple divorced in 1958. • After being released from prison in 1967, Manson went to Berkeley, California, where he met Mary Brunner. He convinced Brunner to open her home to 18 other women, where they all started using drugs, the very beginning of The Manson Family. • Manson would go on to convince his cult members of an impending race war that they had to start. In July 1969, the cult committed its first murder, a music teacher and Ph.D. student, Gary Allen Hinman, writing 'political piggy' on the wall. • From Aug. 8-10, 1969, multiple members of the cult would murder pregnant actress Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowki and Steven Parent followed by supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary. • Manson was found guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit murder for seven people, along with his followers. -- Daniel "Danny" Greene, "The Irishman" Mobster VITALS Born: Nov. 14, 1933, in Cleveland, Ohio Died: Oct. 6, 1977, in Lyndhurst, Ohio Buried in Calvary Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio • Daniel "Danny" John Patrick Greene was a notorious mobster known as the "Irishman." • Greene's mother died shortly after he was born and his father was an alcoholic. His father left him at an orphanage, where he grew up. • In the 1960s, Greene started working on the Cleveland docks as a longshoreman. He headed the longshoreman's union in Cleveland and was elected president of the Local 1317 International Longshoremen's Association. • In 1964, Greene was found embezzling union funds and was fined $10,000 and could no longer participate in unions. • After, Greene found a place for himself acting as an enforcer for Cleveland mobs. • Greene gained notoriety when his relationship with Jewish mobster Alex "Shondor" Birns went south and Birns attempted to kill Greene with a car bomb. Birns was killed by a car bomb weeks later. • The city was known as Bomb City, USA, at the time, with over 30 car bombs going off in Cleveland in 1976. Greene is believed to be responsible for many. • Greene formed his own crime family, The Celtic Club, and operated gambling houses around Cleveland. • Multiple attempts were made on Greene's life, all of which failed until a car bomb killed him in October 1977. • Due to his murder, federal investigators were able to secure convictions against organized crime in the area. -- Aladena James "Jimmy" Fratianno, "Jimmy the Weasel" Mobster Public domain image VITALS Born: Nov. 14, 1913, in Naples, Italy Died: June 30, 1993, in Oklahoma City Age at death: 79 Quote: "When the boss tells you to do something, you do it. You don't do it, they kill you. I wouldn't kill an innocent person, no way. They tell me to kill an innocent — I tell them to go to hell." • Born in Naples, Italy, Aladena "Jimmy" Fratianno was brought to the United States as a baby where his family settled in Cleveland, Ohio. • Fratianno started his criminal career early, stealing fruit from stands. By 14 years old, Fratianno started working gambling games. He continued to move up in organized crime and was recognized by other families as a man they could go to for killings. • He was sent to prison for armed robbery and following his release, he made his way to Los Angeles, California, in 1945 and worked as a soldier for the Los Angeles crime family. He also became involved in Las Vegas, where he lived for a time. • Fratianno was a made man and was considered the acting boss of the L.A. family by the late 1970s. Many of those Fratianno came up with were now dead, and a contract was out for his murder. • He made the fateful decision to become an informant and testify to the federal government against the family. • Fratianno's testimony for the FBI put five major crime bosses in prison. In return for his testimony, Fratianno pleaded guilty to murder charges and received a five-year prison sentence. He served 21 months of the sentence. • Fratianno also helped two authors write books detailing his life of crime. • Fratianno became a member of the witness protection program, which he was later revoked from. He continued to live in hiding until he died in a condo in Oklahoma City his lawyer purchased for him.