Title supplied by cataloger. View 3: Photograph shows a display of seven pistols, apparently impounded by the police and taken into evidence in the double-homicide case of newspaper reporter, Herbert E. Spencer and Los Angeles politician, Charles H. Crawford. It is likely that one of the weapons pictured fired the fatal bullets, which were coated with a "luballoy" composition, the base of which was copper. Three of these weapons: a .32- caliber automatic, a .38-caliber revolver, and a 45-caliber revolver belonged to Charles Crawford. Charles H. Crawford (1879-1931), nicknamed "The Gray Wolf" and "Good Time", Charlie was a kingpin politician and key player in what was known as the "City Hall Gang" or "The System", a low-profile but all-powerful syndicate that ran the gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging rackets in Los Angeles. By mid-1930s, Crawford's empire had begun to crumble and had had too many close brushes with the law. He sought legitimacy by opening an insurance and real estate office in Hollywood and also funded a periodical magazine called "Critic of Critics", operated by newspaperman Herbert E. Spencer. It was at this office building, that on May 20, 1931 both men were fatally shot. David H. Clark, known to the press as "Debonair Dave" or "Handsome Dave", a former deputy District Attorney and candidate for Municipal Judge, turned himself in to the police and admitted that he had shot Crawford and Spencer. At his trial, Clark testified that both killings were in self-defense. Eleven of the 12 jurors disagreed, and voted to acquit Clark. Interesting note: In 1936, Charles Crawford's widow hired Juan Carlos Rodriguez to design the historic "Crossroads of the World", and had it built on the site where her husband was shot.
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