As promised, the life and times of Danny DeCarlo and more: http://truthontatelabianca.com/topic/4687-01092012-the-life-of-danny-decarlo-and-more/page__fromsearch__1 Thank you for all your support, and more great shows to come.
You brought up the point that CM was an inept criminal who got caught almost every time he attempted a crime. I don't disagree with you on that but look at what he was able to get away with when he was paroled in '67. Assault, rape, posession of drugs, sex with minors, grand theft auto, vagrancy, etc. all while on parole. How does that work? Did he suddenly figure out how to do it right or what? I remember reading somewhere that LE had an informant planted in the family before the 8/16 raid. Does anyone else remember hearing this because I can't source it and don't want to throw out more rumors and crap. Maybe DeCarlo was this informant, trading info for no jail time on his other pending charges. Just a thought..... FB
My only question is the actual level of Manson's participation in some of the crimes like grand theft auto. Remember, this was the guy who got huckled for possession of a joint that wasn't. I'm thinking Manson was likely being a lot smarter than anyone might imagine and was spending time at Spahn ranch, when others were outing breaking the law for him.
Mike, I believe you zeroed in on an important part of the Wooly Hophead. Prison is, if nothing else, a great criminal university for which the majority of students graduate with a new degree, some with honors. The Wooly Hophead learned, in my opinion, to have his minions commit crimes, from minor to major, on his behalf in which he would benefit. Once he began down this road, he started a criminal conspiracy with the other members of the family. In re having an informant within the group, while the LAPD, as well as other agencies were involved in counter-intelligence with many different groups, it is only speculation that the Wooly Hophead was such a target. During this time period, you had the SDS, the Black Panthers, and many other organizations that were also on the radar. You might even call L.A., and the entire SoCal area, a target rich environment, with limited resources in which to operate.
One thing you often hear Manson say, that I find entirely believeable, is that he was afraid the kids would get him sent back to prison and he didn't want to go back.
By definition DeCarlo was a snitch. The question is when exactly he became one. Having a 14 lb pot bust hanging over your head for 4 years (and various weapons charges) would seem like pretty good police leverage to me. Mike, your points about big, bad Danny being scared of Charlie are also very good ones... not to mention the rest of the Straight Satans feeling the same way... unlikely at best. In my opinion, the only way DeCarlo could have really gotten away with bringing heat down on the club by hanging round Spahn is if he were there on "club business"... and what was Danny's role in the club? That's right, treasurer. Wasn't the joint that Sadie stuck in Charlie's pocket supposedly garnered from a "pot" plant DeCarlo grew? That's from either Sanders or Bugliosi (can't remember which). It always struck me as strange that an experienced pot smuggler like Danny would mistakenly grow a plant that wasn't cannabis. That sorta thing's a common enough mistake though... for a complete newbie... weird. If we apply Occam's razor to the various incongruencies surrounding DeCarlo, the most logical explanation is that he was/is an informant or agent provocateur. This doesn't really require a Tin Foil hat... just a knowledge of standard Law Enforcement (or intelligence community) procedure. As Dill points out though, LA at the time was a very target-rich environment. If DeCarlo was a "snout" (as they say in Britain), I'd imagine he'd have been a fairly generalised one... i.e. gathering info not just on the Family but on a whole range of subterranean cultural assemblies. If on the other hand he was an agent provocateur... well, my TFH just grew uncommonly snug...
Elmer was the pot plants name. I remember that I think from Sanders... My other question is, what brought the Satans to round up Danny on that particular day? The timing of that is weird. For if he did indeed go with them, then he would not have been busted in the Raid. But he and a few stayed on. To get a TFH moment, it could have been the need to save face for something if someone was getting suspicious. (get the word to Danny to get out of there etc.)
Wasn't there something about reclaiming the sword that had been used on Hinman? Weird (again) that they'd take the sword but leave their treasurer and a couple of spare members. To add further weirdness, there's the whole Bryn Lukashevsky controversy over at the Col's site last year. Allegedly, he was arrested in the Spahn ranch raid, was a friend of Dennis Wilson and was also present at the Crowe shooting a few weeks before. This was hotly contested though...
Hinman was murdered on 27 July. The raid at Spahn Ranch took place on 16 August, so the Satans would have come a'callin' for their sword on 15 August. Twenty days? With that kind of passage of time, how important was it they reclaim their sword? Here's a little side thought for everyone to chew on. If (and that word is key, here) they had come to reclaim the sword Manson had carved Hinman's face with, how in the world did they know anything about it? Someone at Spahn would have had to tell them about it, which means someone at Spahn was talking out of turn. And for the record, your thoughts about DeCarlo are entirely possible. DeCarlo was jammed up on multiple counts, long before he arrived at Spahn Ranch. But it's always mystified me he was in the wind after he testified. Being the kind of individual he was, why would he waltz before collecting his share of the reward? I can't go into detail, but Cats and I have talked long and hard about DeCarlo and I'm of the opinion not a lot has changed in his life these last 4 decades. I file him in my leopards cannot change their spots category.
Sorry for the tardy reply. No, I cannot add any details. Cats shares an incredible amount of information on this site. But there is an incredible amount of information she has decided not to share on this site, for multiple reasons. When privileged information is communicated to me, it is done with the understanding I have promised not to breathe a word of it to anyone else. And I will remain faithful to the trust Cats has placed in me. Unlike others who trawl social networking sites to nick images of key players for their own gain, I know of images Cats refuses to publish, simply because details in the background might reveal too much information about a person's location. Someone else asked elsewhere on the forum if key players in the Manson saga are active or have been active here. The answer is yes to both. But those individuals I am aware of have chosen to participate here anonymously. And I do nothing to jeopardize that privacy. I figure if they want others to know who they are, it's up to them to reveal their true identities. Some people need to name-drop to prove something to other people. As for myself, I've nothing to prove to anyone. And I respect every member's privacy the same way. I have shared a lot of private communication with freebird and I know freebird's forename. But I would never share that name on the open forums. Actually, one member had a huge connection to the Manson story and I even addressed that member by their forum username when e-mailing. I was concerned I might slip up and use that member's real name in the wrong place, if I got too familiar with it. And if you notice, I'm not even saying him or her when referring to that mystery member and to freebird. I completely respect matters of personal privacy, so if these people want you to know more information, you will be getting it from them. Remember, there is always a lot going on around here, what with new information being posted, and all. But you're seeing the tip of the iceberg. I just looked and I've sent Cats 8 e-mails about the site, just today. Yesterday, I sent her a total of 23 e-mails. And it's a slow week, because I think we only tallied up about 90 minutes in phone calls over the weekend. And I just sent her e-mail #9 for the day, whilst typing this. I am aware of some new material that is on its way to Cats. Exciting material. I don't know how much of it I will see, or how much will be shared here on the forum, but I do know it's good stuff. There is always a lot of stuff going on, behind the scenes. And there's e-mail #10 away. With two more coming in, even as I sent that one. OK, I guess I better get to work. Sorry there are times I cannot provide more details, but it is always down to privacy issues when I cannot. If someone shares something with me in confidence, it goes no further. With no exceptions. Someone mentioned the recent picture of Frykowski looked like he was resting his head on Tate's stomach, as if listening to the baby. Heck, I had the image open on my desktop and was adding watermarks to it. But I was still waiting on permission to post the image, so it wasn't my place to confirm or deny what Frykowski was doing. Just call me Sgt. Schultz, because I know nothing. NOTHING!
And there you have it. I wish sometimes I didnt have this many morals and could post some stuff, for it is fantastic info, but my word was given and will be given on stuff, and I cannot in good faith, post things. Lets just say, I know where Danny is-and he choses not to answer. Lets just say, I spent a few hours on the phone with a Danny cousin, who really wants to make contact with him again and I passed this info on to the cousin, and let the whole thing go. Danny's sister also is concerned. Whatever happened between them, happened, and I do not call and ask or email and ask etc. -T'aint my affair. Let's just say there is some concern for Larry DeCarlo for the sister got wind that Larry died of an O'D a few years back and I have not been able to confirm this because it appears as if he may have been using a different name. And this is just a blink of things really and say nothing but imagine what I am not saying.
The mind reels baby! No, I certainly respect that you are not able to share all the information you have in yourself Cats! I think you've shared and will share an awful lot in the future. You do what you can do and the rest.....well..we'll just keep working at it!
