Photo of Moundsville
Penitentiary provided by Debbie Frye
Click on the below article link to obtain the
background information to this blog post:
Debbie Frye shared
more, “Growing up we only knew of two of our father’s crimes; the 1960
counterfeiting operation involving twenty-eight men and an ex-Cleveland cop and
the 1967 armed robbery and kidnapping of a prominent West Virginia
realtor. We became researchers at the Library of Congress and
accumulated over one hundred newspaper articles detailing his life of
crime. We conducted countless interviews with judges, lawyers, wardens,
prisoners, accomplices, victims, friends and relatives. We even spent the
night in the Moundsville, WV prison we visited him at when we were
children. The prison is now closed but open to the public for tours.
We found that he was
imprisoned a total of 9,277 days of his life. In addition to the two
crimes that we knew about, we learned that the first crime he was arrested for
was when he was just 17. He assumed the identity of a local business man
and cashed forged checks; for this sentence he was sent to a reform school for
boys.
We also found that our
father joined a bandit gang which terrorized Pittsburgh. Police duped
them the Wheelchair Gang because it
was headed by a Fagin bound to a wheelchair.
After holding up a dice
game in the 1940s and while being held in the Ohio County, WV jail, our father
masterminded a sensational escape with five other inmates. When finally
apprehended in Los Angeles on Hollywood Boulevard, newspaper reports indicate
he was living better than a Hollywood playboy.
In the process of
trying to help the adoptee, we befriended our father’s 1967 armed
robbery/kidnap victim. Once we found him we wanted to meet him and
apologize for our father’s actions, and to show him that we turned out okay,
despite our father’s criminal ways. He is now 92 years old and
encouraged us to write a book. He is eager for the story to become a
movie before he passes.”
Do you wonder how these ladies found their way
through such an investigation?
She explained, “We
always thought that we would keep our childhood a secret. Turns out that
the adoptee was not our sibling but merely a conduit to our past. If it
was not for her, we would have never researched our father’s past and come to
find closure. Re-tracing our father’s path in life has been a fascinating
experience. We now have a better understanding of the man he
was, not just the father we knew. Along the way, we learned
it’s not where you come from it’s where go in life.
Our father found irony
in the fact that my sister and I were both employed by the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA); he felt as if he got one over on the government. He really
did not play a big part in my employment background investigation because I
only lived with him for two years when I was a baby before he went back to
prison. He was not a big influence in my life but my mother always
encouraged all of us to get to know him. Because of the nature of our
work with the CIA, gathering intelligence was second nature to us. We
used many resources available to us to thoroughly and completely uncover our
father’s past.”
Debbie has learned to let go, “Now, I truly have a better understanding of
the man he was, especially after learning he was abandoned by his own mother as
a toddler along with his sister.
When I was a child, I
think I forgave him as soon as he was released from prison and was back in my
life (at age 12). As an adult, I let go of all the hurt, but still felt
ashamed. I avoided conversations about my father at all
costs. I thought if I were to admit that my father was a criminal,
someone might think lesser of me. I was just holding onto the feelings
that I had as a child. Now that I am openly admitting his criminal past,
I have even let go of the shame.
I am grateful for my
life experiences as I continue on my life journey. I try to avoid and
eliminate relationships that require too much energy. There is no need
for negativity; by changing the way you think, you can change your life.
I am hopeful that by sharing our story we can help others overcome their own
childhood adversity.”
Her thoughts about life, “Our lifetime experiences shape us, especially our childhood ones.
When I was a child there were no resources available to us to help us deal with
having an incarcerated parent. I found a great organization that I donate
to and volunteer for locally called Opportunities, Alternatives and Resources
(OAR). Since the family also serves the sentence with their
incarcerated loved one, it is important for the family to be supported; they
are often the forgotten victims. OAR has many programs available to
mentor the incarcerated as well as support the families of the incarcerated.
As my mother’s primary
caregiver, her situation and rapid mental decline forced me to place her in a
nursing home earlier this year. It has been very difficult to see a woman
who was so strong and independent her whole life suddenly become dependent,
scared, anxious and maniacal at times. I visit her on a daily basis so she
knows I am still there for her, but because of the changes in her brain
function, she has stopped walking and does not follow verbal commands.
She has good days and bad days; some days she still loves me but other days,
not so much. A family friend once told me, ‘Just hope when you are old
and in need, there is someone there that loves you as much as you love your
mother!’
Because I work from
home, I am fortunate enough to have four Labrador Retrievers as my
co-workers. Our work breaks consist of playing Frisbee and ball.
They were all rescues but it’s true, they rescued me. Each one has a
personality of their own and the ability to love unconditionally. Someday
I will have a dog farm and house rescues that will be trained to become emotional
support companions.”
Debbie and her sister captured this investigative
journey.
Her closing words, “This
journey was unlike no other two sisters could share. We uncovered the sad
beginning of a boy abandoned in his youth, left on the porch of relatives along
with his sister and a basket of damp laundry. It was said that he
was a boy that had more brains and guts than he knew what to do with! He
grew up to become a notorious opportunist whose crimes netted more money than
many legendary outlaws. He once told us, ‘I could tell you stories that
could sell a book.’ Unfortunately, we never asked him to elaborate.
