Photograph was edited for publication purposes and is torn in the lower left and upper right corners. In May, 1931, Leo P. Bergin, head of the Los Angeles Soap Company, died of heart problems after having been involved in gambling with several known gangsters. The same gangsters, members of an association of cleaners and dyers in Los Angeles, including Eddie Rollins and his brother Patrick, then resorted to intimidation, threats and extortion against Bergin's widow to pay his debts. Later in the year, the association felt that White-Way Cleaners was not paying its dues. On December 14, 1931, a night watchman was killed at the White-Way Cleaners. Eight years later, six men were convicted, including the Rollins brothers. Photograph caption dated May 30, 1931 reads "L.A. leader who will be buried Monday."
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm. Photographic prints
Bergin, Leo P Bergin, Leo P.--Death and burial Crime--California--Los Angeles Men--California--Los Angeles Los Angeles Evening Herald and Express photographs Herald-Examiner Collection photographs
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