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Spontoon Island Ministry of the Interior
Constabulary Services Office of the Chief Constable 23 July 1934 CONFIDENTIAL To: Det./Sgt. Orrin Brush Re: Inspector Franklin Stagg - Background Further to my memorandum to you of 20 July, the following is to brief you on your superior officer, who is due in 25 July via Royal Hawaiian Airways. (Please refer to said memorandum regarding arrival and quartering arrangements.) General Facts: Name: Franklin Junius Stagg Date of Birth: March 4, 1885 Place of Birth: Branford, New Haven Nationality: ex-New Haven (see below) Height: 6' 2" (without antlers), 6' 9 1/2" (with antlers) Weight: Approximately 175 pounds Hide Colour: Brownish-grey in general, white front, silver near nose Distinguishing Marks: (1) Fractured right rear hoof, which requires use of cane; (2) 13-point rack. Occupation: Criminal Investigator (official) Particulars: Mr. Stagg was born into a family that had been prominent in the affairs of New Haven since its founding as a colony in 1637, and in particular during the Independence War fought in 1773-1782. While the principal source of the family's wealth had been its publishing house, which published New Haven's oldest and largest paper, The New Haven Evening Mail, the family had broad interests, both economically and politically. Mr. Stagg's grandfather had been New Haven's ambassador to France in the 1860s, and his father had served three terms as New Haven's Lieutenant Governor. Mr. Stagg's elder brothers were engaged in running the family business enterprises, as well as serving in the legislature. Mr. Stagg was privately tutored for a number of years, before entering the prestigious Collegiate School in Saye-Brooke in 1899. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in 1902, specializing in history and criminology, and earned an L.LB from the Collegiate School's Law Department, with high honours, in 1905. From there, he earned a posting in the Criminal Investigation Branch of the New Haven State Police. Over the next 25 years, except for a four-year period during the Great War, in which he served on the Northwestern European Front with the New Haven Flying Corps as its chief of intelligence, Mr. Stagg was engaged in high-profile investigations of a variety of crimes, most notably violent crimes. Please refer to the attached extracts, supplied to us by the United States Criminal Research Bureau, regarding the cases of the Gashouse Murders (1909), the Bridgeport Strangler (1911), and the Wharf Ring (1924), all of which were solved, in the main, by Mr. Stagg's efforts. Mr. Stagg was a contributing editor to The Journal of Criminology, and was the author of a number of monographs on forensic investigative procedure, in association with colleagues at New Haven Hospital. He lectured many times at the Collegiate School, and at universities throughout the United States, and was highly regarded for his professionalism. The highlight of his career may have been his penetration of the Red Fist, an underground organization dedicated to the violent overthrow of New Haven's government. In 1928, New Haven Governor Nutella was mortally wounded in a bomb attack; in seven months, Mr. Stagg assembled the evidence that was sufficient to arrest, try and convict the ringleaders, who were sentenced to death. For his work, Mr. Stagg was promoted from the Chief of the NHCIB to the Chief of the State Police itself. The onset of the Great Depression, and the collapse of New HavenÕs industrial economy, triggered a series of violent riots, orchestrated mostly by the members of the Red Fist at liberty. The leaders of the Red Fist were freed from prison in a daring jailbreak, and with their organization, the government of New Haven was toppled in a coup d'etat on 1 November 1931. The Stagg family had chosen to stay in New Haven to tough it out, and this decision proved costly. As a prominent part of the old regime, the family's assets were confiscated, and, as far as it can be determined, nearly all of the family was hunted down and arrested. Mr. Stagg and his brothers were subject to physical and mental duress during a brief, but harsh period of time in prison (it is here that Mr. Stagg's right rear hoof was fractured by his interrogators, an injury that apparently did not heal). They were subsequently the star defendants in the first of the "New Haven Show Trials" in the spring of 1932. Mr. Stagg courageously refused to admit any wrongdoing in his treatment of the defendants in the Red Fist Trial, and in spite of a spirited defence, was sentenced to death with his co-defendants on 6 June 1932 (see extracts from the archives). However, a freak automobile accident that occurred while he was in transit to the death house afforded him a chance to escape on 11 June 1932. Mr. Stagg successfully crossed the border into the United States sometime in July of 1932. In pique, the Revolutionary Council of New Haven publicly executed Mr. Stagg's wife and two of his three doe-fawns, having first stripped Mr. Stagg, in absentia, of his citizenship, and any property he had remaining. As far as is known, the rest of the Stagg family (including the other doe-fawn) was executed, either in public or in the cellars of the secret police, over the next year. Mr. Stagg was granted temporary asylum in September, 1932 (see attached copy of the ruling of the United States Department of Law, Immigration Division), but was detained in Dannemora Federal Penitentiary in New York, for security reasons. His application for permanent asylum was complicated by insistent demands by New Haven for his extradition for alleged "crimes against humanity," and the moves by the United States to normalize relations with New Haven revolutionary government. On 2 August 1933, Mr. Stagg's application for permanent asylum was rejected by the USDOL as "not being in the interests of the United States," and this ruling was upheld and made final by the United States Supreme Court on 28 February 1934. Mr. Stagg was granted an Stateless Refugee Passport (No. 87234-34) on 20 March 1934 by the League of Nations Office of Refugee Affairs. An investigation by this Ministry conducted between September 1933 and February 1934 concluded that there was no basis for the charges brought against Mr. Stagg, and, in light of the passage of the Constabulary Improvements Act of 1933 by the Althing, Mr. Stagg was offered a posting with this Ministry by telegram on 26 March 1934, which offer was accepted 2 April 1934. Personality: Interviews conducted during the Ministry's investigation, both with Mr.Stagg and such of his colleagues as escaped the Revolution, ring the changes on the same set of themes: Mr. Stagg has a reputation for a thoughtful, contemplative nature, mixed with a great deal of dogged curiosity, and an affinity for running down the smallest details personally. Subordinates from his war service noted his level of coolness in extreme situations, an observation buttressed by Mr. Stagg's numerous citations for war service (see extracts). He also has a reputation for a thorough knowledge of legal practice, which enabled him to present evidence effectively in a courtroom setting. Personal interviews with Mr. Stagg conducted in early 1934 did note that he seemed reserved and strained, perhaps naturally given the harsh experiences of the previous few years. It was the judgment of the Minister that the level of activity Mr. Stagg was likely to encounter in the Islands, plus the complete change of scenery, would likely prove beneficial, and, in any event, no handicap to his position. I cannot impress upon you enough that the Minister wants this appointment to be a success, and that he wants you to learn as much as possible from Mr. Stagg. You are to show him the utmost loyalty, and the high level of professionalism that the Constabulary stands for. /s/ A. Abel Pickering, Chief Constable
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