Culprit caught in Cape classifieds caper

As crime stories go, this one has it all: secret messages passed via classified ads, a shootout with police, a getaway that eluded roadblocks and bystanders mistakenly arrested before the real culprit was discovered.

It was the summer of 1930 and Harry E. Brown, 35, was getting desperate. Unable to find work, he hatched a plan to send extortion letters to three leading men in Cape Girardeau.

Using a rented typewriter late at night so his family was unaware, Brown composed threatening letters to Harry Himmelberger, Dr. O.L. Seabaugh and George Meyer. The letters demanded $2,500 in exchange for 10 years of protection from "The Organized Underworld of America." The recipients were asked to place classified ads in the Southeast Missourian to signal their acceptance of the demand.

Himmelberger and Meyer showed their letters to Sheriff Nat Snider, who advised them to play along. They placed ads saying "Yes" and "I Will" on June 25 and 26. Next they received letters ordering them to drive toward Fredericktown starting at 11 p.m. June 27 and look for a green light. That was the signal to stop and deposit the money in a box.

The sheriff arranged for a posse of lawmen from several counties to pretend to be the victims and approach the drop site in two heavily-armed cars. When they encountered the green light in rural Madison County on Highway 61 (now Highway 72), they placed bundles of fake cash into the box.

Brown, hiding nearby, grabbed the money and headed to his getaway car, hidden on a side road. When he was on the verge of being discovered, he sped away toward Marquand, somehow managing to avoid the dragnet.

The Poplar Bluff (Missouri) Republican newspaper reported police had engaged the "bandits" in a shootout and pumped one automobile "full of lead from submachine guns." Another car was stopped and several revolvers and gunpowder were found. The occupants were arrested, but it later became apparent that they weren't connected with this particular crime.

In the weeks after, rumors started flying about failed kidnapping attempts, leading to speculation the "bandits" were trying to make good on their threats. A total of $3,000 in reward money was raised for information that solved the crime.

Brown, still desperate for income, concocted a plot to claim the reward money. He recruited a young man, Percy Ledbetter, to confess to participating in the extortion scheme. They would then split the reward pot. Police immediately became suspicious of holes in Ledbetter's story, and they turned their attention to Brown.

After being grilled all night by Sheriff Snider and others, Brown broke down and confessed to the entire plot. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.

When he was transported to the state penitentiary, the newspaper reported this was "probably the final chapter in the most sensational story in Cape Girardeau in many years."

Brown was released after five years thanks to a commutation by the governor. Ledbetter avoided facing any charges.