Hartman Gambling Case

The surviving Hartman daughters admitted their mother had collected the insurance money, totaling $4700 on all three family members, but they had no idea how she spent it. Police said the Hartman home was heavily mortgaged, but the money had not been spent to pay down the loan. Daughter Nettie, who also lived with her mother, was apparently the next target. Nettie reported receiving several boxes of candy from an anonymous sender who was later revealed to be her mother. Could this too have been poisoned? Nettie had felt ill after eating some of the candy and thrown it away, however, no trace of the candy remained for testing. Investigations also revealed there was also the possibility Mrs. Hartman was responsible for the death of an elderly woman whom she cared for.

Bozeman (1900-7/19/1932) buried Sunnyside Cemetery. Gambling, drinking, and money laundering were taking place off the Southern California coast during Prohibition. Soon another chapter would be added to the gambling ships’ activity log---murder. On July 19, 1932, Charles M. Bozeman, a 32-year-old card dealer, was killed on the gambling ship Rose Isle. Bozeman had been shot twice---once through the arm and the second time below the heart. Was it revenge, or a case of too much alcohol? W. E. Conner, a deck hand, said he heard shots about 2 a.m. that Tuesday morning. He and chief engineer Robert Millett rushed to open the cabin door. They found bus boy Virgil Roach sprawled on a bunk in the cabin, evidently drunk, with Bozeman on the floor and another man, James O’Keefe also highly intoxicated, exiting the cabin. Dan O’Conner, a former St. Louis policeman and a bouncer on the ship, told officers that when he investigated he thought Bozeman had passed out from too much drink and he dragged him to the deck for fresh air. When he discovered that Bozeman had been shot, O’Conner left him on the deck to summon medical aid from shore, unaware that W. E. Conner and Robert Millett had already done