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 An old-time newspaperman once told me that Jimmie Tarantino (pictured at left)
had offered the edition of Hollywood Nightlife magazine containing the
damning criminal record of Freddie Francisco, then the most powerful
columnist in Northern California, to Bill Wren, editor of the Examiner,
for $10,000, while a truck idled outside in the street, loaded with the
entire press run. Wren declined. Freddie's past became a national
story, and he had to leave the paper in disgrace. Freddie would return,
as Bob Patterson, to the paper a couple decades later, creating new
adventures for his editors and readers.
Freddie Francisco - Embezzler—Thief!!
BY JIMMIE TARANTINO
Friday, January 21, 1949
This is the story of Freddie Francisco, featured columnist
for the San Francisco Examiner, a faithful employee of William Randolph
Hearst Columnist Francisco is also a personal friend of Louis B. Mayer
andseveral other motion picture bigwigs who attempted use of Francisco's
column and connections to harm the Hollywood Nite Life magazine and this column.
This
column has told you many times that because of our anti-dope campaign
various means and persons have been influenced to react against me.
Fortunately, to date, this column has been able to nip these events in
the bud. At this time, this columnist is taking time to expose a few
columnists who have been turned against me.
At a later date, I
will reveal the lives of two different female columnists and their
"backgrounds." Data for this expose is being brought in at regular
intervals. These moves are being made to teach other columnists not to
attempt twarthing me if they don't choose to join me in my campaigns.
This columnist does not mind if other columnists refuse to side with
me, but I DO NOT CARE TO TRIP OVER BIG FEET.
About the party of the first part, the idol of the Hearst Syndicate
Freddie Francisco, this columnist would like to point out that he has
operated, for the past 46 years, under eight different aliases. In San
Francisco and other parts of the country he is known as Bob Patterson
to his intimate friends, and Freddie Francisco to citizens of S. F. To
the F.B.I. and various other police agencies throughout the country, he
is known as Rober t Lawson Preston-Robert Kendrick Lee-Robert
Lennon-Michael 0'Connor-Lloyd Patterson-Nils Larsen and B.H.W. Carlton.
This so-called respectable San Francisco Examiner columnist, who
considers himself the Cholly Knickerbocker of California, is one of the
most disgraceful characters in the history of American journalism
Freddie Francisco is a drudge on the citizenry of San Francisco, and
it's about time the Churches, Parent-Teacher's Associations and other
Civic organizations did something about his influence on the S. F.
people
via the S. F. Examiner.
NOW LET'S ANALYZE THE CRIMINAL CAREER OF A PROMINENT JOURNALIST.
JANUARY 3. 1925, AS B. M. H. CARLTON, IN TUCSON, ARIZ., HE WAS ARRESTED FOR PASSING BUM CHECKS.
APRIL 18, 1927, HE WAS ARRESTED ON A CHARGE OF EMBEZZLEMENT. THAT CASE HAD A MYSTERIOUS ENDING.
SEVERAL MONTHS LATER. THE SAME YEAR, HE WAS ARRESTED ON A FELONY CHARGE, WHILE POSING AS MICHAEL O'CONNOR, IN OMAHA, NEBR.
JANUARY 25. 1928, FREDDIE FRANCISCO WAS TAKEN IN CUSTODY IN CHICAGO, ILL., FOR PETTY THEFT.
NOVEMBER 26, 1928, AS ROBERT PRESTON IN NEW YORK CITY, ARRESTED ON CHARGE OF ROBBERY.
DECEMBER 22. 1928, FREDDIE FRANCISCO, ALIAS ROBERT LAWSON PRESTON, WAS
RECEIVED AS A PRISONER AT THE ELMIRA, N.Y., STATE PRISON FROM THE NEW
YORK CITY POLICE, ON A GRAND LARCENY THEFT CHARGE.
FOUR YEARS LATER, APRIL 1, 1932, AS NILS LARSEN, THE SAN FRANCISCO
EXAMINER COLUMIST WAS RECEIVED AS A PRISONER AT SING SING, N. Y., FROM
THE N. Y. CITY POLICE, THIS TIME FOR FORGERY WITH A THREE-YEAR SENTENCE
JUNE 15, 335, FREDDIE FRANCISCO WAS WANTED BY THE NEW ORLEANS POLICE
DEPARTMENT ON A CHARGE 0F SHOOTING AT SOMEONE WITH ATTEMPT TO MURDER.
THE FOLLOWING YEAR, JULY 10, 1936, FREDDIE FRANCISCO, THE "GENTLEMAN
COLUMNIST" OF THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER AND A WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST
PET, WAS RECEIVED AS A PRISONER AT THE U. S. PENITENTIARY ON McNEIL
ISLAND, WASH., CHARGED WITH ESCAPE AND OBTAINING MONEY UNDER FALSE
PRETENSES FROM SHANGHAI, CHINA.
LESS THAN A YEAR LATER, THE U. S. BOARD OF PAROLE ISSUED A WARRANT FOR
HIS ARREST BASED UPON HIS LEAVING THE LIMITS WITHOUT PERMISSION AND
LOSS OF CONTACT WITH THE U. S. PROBATION OFFICER. THIS WAS ON MAY 5,
1937.
ON AUGUST 17, 1937, THIS "LOOSE" BRAIN, FREDDIE, FOR WHOM THE POLICE
WERE ALWAYS READY, UNDER THE ALIAS OF ROBERT LENNON, WAS WANTED ON A
BUM CHECK CHARGE BY SAN DIEGO POLICE.
ON DECEMBER 14, 1938, THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, WASHINGTON,
D.C., WANTED HIM, UNDER THE ALIAS OF LLOYD PATTERSON, ON A FEDERAL
OFFENSE.
APRIL 26, 1939, AS ROBERT KENDRICK LEE, FREDDIE WAS WANTED FOR GRAND
THEFT (AUTO) AND THOSE BUM CHECKS AGAIN, IN SAN RAFAEL, CALIF.
TWO MONTHS LATER, JUNE 13, 1939, THIS HABITUAL PRISON CELL RESIDENT,
FREDDIE, ALONG WITH HIS WIFE (SHE'S BEEN IN THE ACT) WAS WANTED BY THE
SACRAMENTO (CALIF.) POLICE, ON A CHARGE OF BURGLARY AND GRAND THEFT.
ONE MONTH LATER, "CONSISTENT FREDDIE," AMERICAN FAKER, WAS WANTED BY
THE SAN FRANCISCO CHECK DETAIL. IMAGINE HOW FLEETFOOTED WAS OUR
FREDDIE. ON SEPTEMBER 20, 1939, HE WAS WANTED BY THE OFFICE OF THE
DENVER (COLO.) DISTRICT ATTORNEY.
ON MARCH 8, OUR LADDIE FREDDIE FRANCISCO DECIDED TO BASK IN THE SUN IN
SAN JUAN, PUERTO, RICO, TO REMOVE HIS PRISON PALLOR. BUT HIS CONSISTENT
PSYCHOPATHIC MIND REMAINED WITH HIM. WITH POLICE SIRENS STILL IN HIS
EARS, AND THE INK HARDLY DRY ON HIS FINGER TIPS FROM PREVIOUS BOOKINGS,
"OUR HERO" FREDDIE DECIDED TO STEAL FROM THE U. S. GOVERNMENT.
AFTER ACCOMPLISHING HIS MISSION, HE FLED FROM THE ISLAND BACK TO THE
STATES. HE WAS ARRESTED IN PHILADELPHIA, PA., ON THIS FEDERAL CHARGE OF
STEALING U. S. PROPERTY. FOR THIS HE WAS SENTENCED TO SERVE FIVE YEARS
ON A FIRST COUNT OF INDICTMENT, AND SENTENCED TO SERVE EIGHT YEARS
ON A SECOND COUNT. THE JUDGE RULED THAT THE SECOND COUNT WOULD BE
SUSPENDED QN THE CONDITION THAT THE DEFENDANT, FREDDIE FRANCISCO, SERVE
FIVE YEARS PROBATION AT THE TERMINATION OF A FIVE-YEAR SENTENCE ON THE
FIRST COUNT.
DARLING FREDDIE, NOW MEEK AND MUTE, WAS RELEASED FROM THE U. S.
PENITENTIARY OF ATLANTA. GA., AUGUST 24, 1945, FIVE YEARS LATER. WITH
THIS RELEASE WENT A FIVE-YEAR PROBATION TERM. WHICH MEANS THAT FREDDIE
FRANCISCO. FEATURED COLUMNIST OF THE WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST, SAN
FRANCISCO EXAMINER, IS STILL ON PAROLE FROM A FEDERAL PRISON.
A FEW YEARS AGO, THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER HIRED
PRESTON-PATTERSON-O'CONNOR-LARSEN-CARLTON-LENNON-LEE-BLAIR-AND KEENE TO
WRITE A COLUMN.
BUT THEY'RE ONLY PAYING ONE MAN, FREDDIE FRANCISCO, FOR THE JOB. THE S.
F. NEWSPAPER GUILD SHOULD INVESTIGATE THIS SKULDUDDERY. WHAT ARE THE
OTHER EIGHT "GHOSTS" DOING?
THIS FRIEND OF SEVERAL HOLLYWOOD MOVIE EXECUTIVES IS NOW TAKING OUT HIS
VENGEANCE ON SAN FRANCISCO SOCIETY FOR THE TIME HE SERVED. TO FREDDIE,
THE PEOPLE OF SAN FRANCISCO ARE ON PROBATION. THIS IS THE TYPE OF MAN
THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER PERMITS TO INFLUENCE A GOOD PORTION OF THE
YOUNGER CROWD AND THEIR DAILY READERS.
DOES WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST KNOW ABOUT THIS MULTI-COUNT CRIMINAL?
ARE EDITORS BILL WREN AND CLARENCE LINDNER AWARE OF THE BACKGROUND OF THIS UNSCRUPULOUS EMPLOYEE?
WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS JOURNALISTIC "SCOURGE"?
WILL CHURCH LEADERS AND PROMINENT CIVIC-MINDED CITIZENS TURN A DEAF EAR
TO THIS MAN'S INFLUENCE OVER SAN FRANCISCO READERS IN THEIR DAILY LIFE?
What will the members of the San Francisco Examiner staff do
about working alongside this "high" society columnist?
Are Police Inspectors and detectives of San Francisco keeping an
eye on this most serious type of psychopathic thinking?
Do the San Francisco police realize that this man, who never tried to
"walk the straight and narrow," lives in a luxurious apartment at <a xhref="http://tinyurl.com/zhck4"
target="blank">850 Powell St.</a>, Apt. 409, employing a negro
butler? Not bad for a columnist who earns not more than $150 per week.
Do S. F. citizens know that Freddie just spent thousands of dollars
redecorating his suite, and that he just returned from a plane trip
with his wife and female companion, from a Mexico City vacation? Do the
citizens know that this man breathing fresh air on probation from
Atlanta, Ga., drives a green, 1948 Buick convertible, installed with a
two-way police radio, and adorned with a siren, and red spot- light?
Isn't it against the law for a man on parole to have police privileges?
Or has Freddie Francisco worked a "deal"? It can't be democracy.
This convict, Freddie, still on parole from a Federal prison, also uses
his column to threaten people who fail to bend to his wishes. It is a
common sight in San Francisco that when Freddie walks into a restau-
rant or club, any number of people make a quick exit. Are his editors
aware of THAT popularity? I hope they're not looking to build
circulation with always "Ready for Cash Freddie."
I know people in S. F. who whisper about his "shakedown" price, $750
and UP. Because of the powerful weapon his column renders, many
politicians hold a small fear of him. Freddie even tries to control
numerous business and political factions. Because of his attitude, most
S. F. reporters and office-holders practically pray that Hearst will
remove him from his job.
Freddie, who constantly uses his column for personal gains, reveals journalism at its lowest ebb.
For the information of S. F. police, I understand that Freddie has several bad checks floating around the town RIGHT NOW!
Not too long ago, a blonde entertainer, well known in S.F., arrived at
a club to perform at a charity affair. She and Freddie became involved
in a controversy, with the result that he beat her brutally outside the
club. He "beat" this with one of his connections. His present wife,
Kay, daughter of wealthy parents, has been disowned because of her
recent marriage to dear red die. Kay is Freddie's second wife. She is
21, Freddie is 46, with a scar over a corner of his right eye.
One of Freddie's bad habits is to ridicule entertainers, nightclub and
restaurant owners who are not receptive to his suggestions and whims.
I neglected to tell you that Freddie enjoyed a trip to Hawaii just a
year ago, traveling first class with reservations at the expensive
which existed for many years in chartered clubs. I understand he has
decided to pick on a man called Elmer "Bones" Remmer, proprietor of the
Menlo Club. This club had been in operation for many, many years.
Remmer, its operator, is a man without a police record. I've been
informed that Remmer is a politician of sorts.
Freddie Francisco decided to write some nasty remarks about Remmer
which was responsible for Remmer getting involved in some kind of
trouble. This resulted in the Menlo Club being shuttered. This should
really provoke laughter. A columnist with a bad criminal record picking
on a man with a clean record. Why did Freddie select Remmer for the
lambasting?
Well S. F. readers of the Examiner's columnist Freddie Francisco. there
is your honest, hardfighting American citizen, the man who almost
concluded a deal in an attempt to ruin me.
Freddie's vacation from Mexico City is over. He returned to your fair
city a week ago. Unquestionably, San Francisco enjoyed a breath of
fresh air during Freddie's absence. Now Freddie returns to work Monday,
January 24th, to pick up his "big stick" and line his coffers.
Before Freddie begins to wield that "big stick" again, which has harmed
so many innocent people, investigation from within his own newspaper
should start immediately. Mr. Hearst and his Editors can possibly plead
innocent to their ignorance on Mr. Francisco's behalf, but if they
continue to remain aloof after this evidence is brought to the surface,
then they too are guilty of suppressing the truth and slan- dering
their readers with lies about the Hearst papers being an "Amer-ican
Paper for American People."
YOU HAVE JUST READ ONE OF THE MOST REVEALING AND APPARENTLY FANTASTIC STORIES IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN JOURNALISM.
Goodnight, Freddie. And about those people who live in glass houses . . . . . . . ! CRASH!
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