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Chapter 19: "I Have to Be Very Careful. The Man's Life Is in Jeopardy"
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| 162 | hauptmann’s ladder “i have to Be Very Careful. The man’s life is in Jeopardy” While the police continued to hammer away at the Fisch story, another piece of evidence fell into place against hauptmann. albert s. osborn, a man considered the foremost authority in the world at that time on handwriting analysis, contacted the police station around 3:30 p.m. and announced he had concluded that Bruno richard hauptmann had written every ransom letter. mr. osborn’s son (also an expert) called within thirty minutes thereafter to announce his agreement with his father. a great deal of controversy has arisen over mr. osborn’s announcement. many authors believe that osborn changed his original opinion only after hearing of the discovery of the pile of ransom money.1 some point out that special agent turrou of the FBi issued a report in which he mentioned a phone call from albert osborn to the police during which he expressed doubt as to whether hauptmann wrote the notes. it is important to note that the phone call mentioned by agent turrou came from albert d. osborn, the son of albert s. osborn. young mr. osborn called the police around four o’clock in the morning expressing reservations about the handwriting samples. The following day, the elder osborn announced his conclusions and an hour later, his son called to say that he now agreed with his father. The turrou report certainly calls into question the opinions of albert d. osborn . There is nothing contained within the report, or any other evidence for that matter, showing that albert s. osborn ever expressed any doubt about his opinions or conclusions. his son may have expressed some doubts, but the elder, more experienced osborn never did. anthony scaduto further attacks albert d. osborn by referencing an error made, not by him, but by his firm in 1971. osborn’s firm opined that howard hughes signed a document when it had actually been forged by a man named Clifford irving.2 The attack offers nothing against albert s. osborn personally. although the opinion of the younger osborn clearly has some credibility problems , there is no reason to discard the testimony and opinion of the senior osborn. While he gave his initial opinion after the finding of the ransom money, there is no proof that mr. osborn was aware of the discovery.| 162 || 19 | “I Have to Be Very Careful. The Man’s Life Is in Jeopardy” | 163 | The entire osborn fiasco paled in comparison to the debacle that followed. By 5:00 p.m., a huge crowd of reporters gathered outside the station. Word had gotten out of hauptmann’s arrest, and the chaotic scramble for pictures, leads, scoops, and information had just begun. The press did not have to wait long because, shortly after 5 p.m., a police car parked in front of the station, and two uniformed officers and a tall man wearing a three-piece suit and black bowler hat stepped from the vehicle. The press recognized Jafsie Condon and rushed toward him, hoping for a comment. They knew he was there for only one reason—to identify a suspect. The officers pushed their way through the crowd to clear a path as dr. Condon strode confidently into the station. as Condon and the police fought past the press, Bruno hauptmann was taken from his interrogators and brought to the office of the deputy commissioner. When he arrived, there were thirteen policemen in a line, all dressed in plain clothes.3 While they were clean and pressed, hauptmann was unshaven, wrinkled, and unkempt. inspector lyons stepped toward hauptmann, saying, “richard, take a position in that line, any position you care to. We are going to bring a man in here to see if he can identify you. you choose your position.”4 hauptmann chose to stand between the third and fourth officer. dr. Condon entered the room and was greeted by inspector lyons. “dr. Condon ,” lyons started, “start at the head of the line, look at all these men and if you can identify the man to whom you passed the money on the night of april 2, 1932, you just go over and put your hand on his shoulder.”5 Condon examined the men. he described the scene in his book: my eyes ran down the line. twelve or more men! and, perhaps eleven of them were broad-shouldered, florid-faced, bull-necked chaps who could not by any...