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** This is an archived, static copy of the Casebook messages boards dating from 1998 to 2003. These threads cannot be replied to here. If you want to participate in our current forums please go to https://forum.casebook.org **

Carrie Brown "Old Shakespeare"

Casebook Message Boards: Ripper Victims: General Discussion: Carrie Brown "Old Shakespeare"
Author: Kris Fenton
Thursday, 03 January 2002 - 01:34 am
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Carrie Brown, known as "Old Shakespeare" was a possible victim mentioned by Phillip Sugden in his Complete History of Jack the Ripper. Here is some more info on her: She was English and claimed to have been an actress in England before coming to New York; She was killed in the old Fourth Ward Hotel at Catherine and Water streets, in which there were secret trapdoors that led into underground passages, the place was the scene of many a murder of sailors who were killed as they slept and their bodies disposed of through the trapdoors; Carrie could recite every female role in Hamlet, Macbeth and The Merchant of Venice, she usually would recite them in return for a bottle of swan gin; Throughout the fourth ward (the ward she was killed in) she was considered an authority on Shakespeare; At the time of the murder, many suspected that Ameer Ben Ali "Frenchy" was framed by Chief Byrnes because Byrnes had publicly challenged the Ripper to come to New York. Many thought the Ripper did come to New York, and Byrnes framed Frenchy in order to cover his own backside. I got this information from Herbert Asbury's "The Gangs of New York" (New York, 1928); "Professional Criminals in America" by Inspector Thomas Byrnes (Info published from 1886-1895); and "Nation-Famous New York Murders" by Alfred Henry Lewis (New York, 1914). I hope this info is useful in some way.

Regards,
Kris Fenton

Author: Christopher T George
Thursday, 03 January 2002 - 11:34 am
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Hi, Kris:

You may not know that there is an important article by Michael Conlon in the December issue of Ripperologist with new information on the murder of Carrie Brown, known as "Old Shakespeare," and on the two Frenchmen suspected in the case, one of whom was Ameer Ben Ali, the man convicted of Brown's murder.

Conlon makes a good case, as you imply, that Ameer Ben Ali was framed and that it was the other man, Arbie La Bruckman, who was both Carrie Brown's murder and the unknown killer known as Jack the Ripper in London's East End. Michael Conlon's earlier article on the Carrie Brown murder, "A Tale of Two Frenchys," is available here on the Casebook, reprinted from Ripperana where it originally appeared.

Best regards

Chris George

Author: Michael Conlon
Thursday, 03 January 2002 - 03:22 pm
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Hi all,

Here's some additional info. I've dug up on Carrie Brown: She was born in Liverpool in 1832 and her unmarried name was Caroline Montgomery.
She came to America with her parents when still a young child and grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y.
It was here that she later met her husband, Captain James Brown, whom she mariied when he was eighteen and she was just seventeen years old.
They moved to Salem, Massachusettes, where they lived in a house on Beckett Street in the maritime end of town.
Carrie was a member of the Central Baptist Church there. Her husband began to prosper as a merchant sea captain and they were considered well-off.
Carrie had three children: two daughters and a son. It is reported that; "Mrs. Brown had been married some ten years when she began to manifest an unfortunate desire for intoxicating liquor. In spite of all that husband and friends could say or do her appettite increased so rapidly that her whole character was changed and debased...In the early years of the war [the American Civil War] Captain Brown took his family to New York, but his home was soon broken up by the habits of his wife, and he was obliged to send his children back to relatives at Salem, who brought them up and educated them."
Her husband served in the navy during the Civil War. Afterwards, he commanded the brig "Elizabeth" when, on the Gold Coast of Africa, he was stricken down with "African fever" and died. We are told "By his will he left his wife a dollar and the balance of his estate to his two daughters [the son had, by this time, died]...his wife went on the stage after leaving him, and there, it is supposed, earned the nickname she was known by,'Shakespeare'. "
She returned to Salem "...and entered the service of a retired sea captain as a domestic. At that time strong hopes were entertained for her redemption from a life of sin, and every influence was brought to bear to restore her to her old happy life. At one time it was thought that she had rallied, but she suddenly fell. She went back to New York, and she was heard from at different times as leading a wild life of dissipation."
History now records that it was here where she met her death at the hands of the man who may have been Jack the Ripper, a man whose name may have been Arbie La Bruckman.

Author: Christopher T George
Thursday, 03 January 2002 - 04:24 pm
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Hi, Michael:

Thank you so much for adding those interesting details on the life of Carrie Brown. I am particularly pleased to hear she is a fellow Liverpudlian. Another Liverpool connection, that can be mentioned when the next UK Ripper convention convenes in Liverpool, proving that Ripper matters are not all "Maybrick" since as you know suspects James Kelly and Francis Tumblety also had Liverpool connections. There may be other people in the case who will come to mind as well, for example, the former Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone was born in Liverpool on prestigious Rodney Street in 1809. A longshot as a suspect, Gladstone did at least give his name to the "Gladstone bag" said to have been carried by some of the men seen with the victims and had a habit, as you know, of walking the streets at night trying to save ladies of the night from sin.

Best regards

Chris George

Author: Michael Conlon
Thursday, 03 January 2002 - 06:35 pm
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Hi Chris'

Thanks for your thanks!
Here's a bit more on the Carrie brown murder that I also recently turned up and has direct bearing on the La Bruckman connection.
As I'm sure you're aware, one element precipitating the re-opening of the Carrie Brown murder case, which subsequently secured the release of Ameer Ben Ali, was a story out of New Jersey from a man who grew suspicious of a recent employee on his farm in regard to this case. A contemporary newspaper states: "...on the morning after the Shakespeare murder he went to his barn, and there was warned by one of his help not to go near the man, as the latter had been out all night and was asleep, having acted exceedingly ugly. Five or ten days afterward, the affiant says, [the man] left his employ, and upon sending a servant girl into the man's room to clean it up, the girl returned bringing with her a key of an East River Hotel room, the place where the murder occurred, the number on the key being the same as that of the room in which the woman was killed. Besides the key, a bloody shirt was found.
The affiant...then goes on to say that the man "Frank" was apparently a sailor, and that he spoke broken English. He was of a sullen disposition, and altogether a dangerous customer to handle."
as I believe I've pointed out in the "Arbie La Bruckman, etc." thread on this website, I had previously discovered that two of La Bruckman's aliases were "John Francis" and "John Frank". This "Frank" sounds just like our boy! Interesting...

Best Regards,
Mike

Author: Jack Baily
Saturday, 05 January 2002 - 11:01 pm
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Mike,

Wouldn't the farmer, who was obviously following the media, have been likely to see press reports about La Bruckman after he was found at the rooming house? Since he was already a contributor to the story, isn't it likely that he would have volunteered that his recent employee was the same person if he had recognized him?

JB

Author: Michael Conlon
Saturday, 05 January 2002 - 11:51 pm
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Jack,

This is one of those odd incidents endemic to this case. This report, which was part of the reason that the Ali conviction was reopened and re-examined, was made in May of 1901. It is indeed strange that a decade after the killing of Carrie Brown this man should alert the authorities to this very relevant information. Frankly, I don't know what to think of it, but it is interesting that his recollection of this employee seems to match La Bruckman. Given the great amount of intervening time, it must be treated with some scepticism. I guess the most interesting thing is that, after ten years, it was not the pretext for the re-examination of this case that mattered, but the swiftness with which the authorities were able to determine that Ameer Ben Ali's initial conviction was unsound.

Best Regards,
Mike

Author: Jack Baily
Sunday, 06 January 2002 - 12:15 pm
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Michael,

A combination of fear and guilt could explain it. I guess I had the chronology wrong. Ten years is not a long time to remember something that made a strong impression on you. I suppose the farmer did not identify La Bruckman from a police photo? (But he appearantly was only briefly interviewed). I wonder if members of the farmers family could add more to this even today. I'm sure if a story like this was in my family, I would certainly know about it~!

How does the chronology play out? Hypothetically, he is both a sailor with a specialty and a farm worker? Hmmm. Does it suggest that he lost his job on the cattle boat at some time? Could he have switched jobs and stayed in New York after November 1888?

Thinking La Bruckman is way better than Sadler,

JB

Author: Jeff Bloomfield
Sunday, 06 January 2002 - 05:12 pm
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For what it is worth, the following about the
"Old Shakespeare Case" was written by Edmund L.
Pearson. It appears in an essay, "Do we execute
innocent people?" that was in an extended edition
of Pearson's first book of crime writings, STUDIES
IN MURDER (New York: Random House - The Modern
Library, 1924, 1933, 1935, 1938), p. 331-332:

"The case of French and Old Shakespeare is a pet with writers whose susceptibilities are easily
touched in behalf of so-called "unfortunate"
convicts. Ameer Ben Ali, an Algerian nicknamed
Frenchy, was convicted in 1891 of the murder of a
dissolute old creature named Carrie Browne, but
better known on the waterfront of New York as
Old Shakespeare. The surroundings and the method
of the murder were so excessively unpleasant as to
lead the newspaper to suggest that Jack the Ripper
had arrived in New York.

Chief Inspector Byrnes was accused of being
over anxious to make a quick arrest in order to
justify his boast that the Ripper could not elude the New York police. Forsome reason, perhaps
doubt of his sanity, the jury found Frenchy guilty
not in the first but in the second degree; he went
to Sing Sing, and was shortly transferred to
Matteawan as one of the criminally insane. His
sentence was commuted about ten years later, he
was returned to Algeria, and Messrs. Borchard and
Lutz [Edwin M. Borchard, Russell Lutz - CONVICTING
THE INNOCENT] now present his case as an instance
of the conviction of the innocent. Of course, it
does not bear at all on the matter of unjust
executions, but it illustrates rather great
readiness to list as innocent a convict whose
status may be said to be doubtful.

Far from convinced as to Frenchy's total
guiltlessness, I ventured to consult upon the
subject Mr. Francis L. Wellman, author of the
celebrated book, THE ART OF CROSS EXAMINATION.
Mr. Wellman, as assistant district attorney, not
only took part in the prosecution of Frenchy but
shared in some of the preliminary police investigation. He agreed that Inspector Byrnes'
boast was unfortunate, but said this had nothing
to do with the main question.

"The police surgeon," said Mr. Wellman, "had
taken certain specimens which we submitted to Dr.
Formand, an analytical chemist in Philadelphia.
His testimony, which was not shaken at the trial,
linked Frenchy so closely to the murdr that there
could be little doubt in anyone's mind."

Doctors Austin Flint and Cyrus Edson of
New York corroborated Dr. Formand. And it was
agreed that Frenchy had easy access to Old Shakespeare: they had occupied neighboring rooms
in a dubious hotel. Mr. Wellman made it plain
that he thought it a coniderable
assumption to include Frenchy in any list of innocents."


The essay itself is an attack on the Borchard and
Lutz book, but Pearson was a no-nonsense supporter
of the death penalty. For us, however, the
observations regarding Frenchy's punishment and
commutation are worth consideration.

Jeff

Author: The Viper
Sunday, 06 January 2002 - 07:49 pm
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Personally, I doubt very much that there is any link between the killing of Carrie Brown and the murders in London of 1888-89. However, the standard of recent contributions to this topic has been very high, showing some interesting and original research. I would like to suggest that some of you 'Statesiders' trawl your local newspapers for coverage of this murder and publish the findings here at the Casebook. That is particularly true of those of you based on the East Coast. In order to prevent duplication and to apply some quality standards, it might be necessary to implement some kind of formal Press Project, of the sort we've been doing here in Britain.

Any volunteers to oversee this operation? (I can advise, if necessary, on the organisation of the project).
Regards,V.

Author: Michael Conlon
Sunday, 06 January 2002 - 08:07 pm
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Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the interesting information.
Although I did not mention it in my recent article, "The Ripper in America", in December's "Ripperologist", I have for some time suspected that Ameer Ben Ali may not be completely uninvolved in Carrie Brown's murder.
It is highly suggestive to me that Ali, who was a known friend (if not relative) of Arbie La Bruckman, should happen to be present in the East River Hotel on the same night that La Bruckman was seen to escort Brown up to her room. I speculate (without hard evidence) that La Bruckman and Ali were both somehow involved in this murder. It is curious, in this regard, that Inspector Byrnes claimed to have information that Ali was in London during the Ripper killings (although anything Byrnes says in this regard must be suspected as self-serving). I am convinced that la Bruckman was similarly in London at this time. Perhaps (just) the notion that the Ripper had an accomplice may not be so far-fetched,
Anyway, from my extensive research, I am all but convinced that the "blood evidence" leading to Ali's room and securing his conviction was planted. This seems also to be the inference from the board of inquiry which overturned Ali's conviction. BUT, even if there was such evidence, I have no doubt that it would have come from La Bruckman trailing it into his good friend's room in some collusionary scenario.
La Bruckman still looks darn good to me as JTR. He is the most likely killer of Carrie Brown, who was murdered in a manner identical to JTR victims. He was a known sadist with anatomical knowledge and skill in butchery. He had for fourteen years been crossing the seas to London as a cattle boat slaughterman. He had been arrested in London on suspicion of being the Whitechapel killer. He was "foreign looking" and matched all of the most reliable descriptions of JTR....I think he looks quite good at this point.

Best Regards,
Mike

Author: Michael Conlon
Sunday, 06 January 2002 - 08:56 pm
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Hello, Viper,

I, too, shared your scepticism concerning the murder of Carrie Brown and its alleged link with the Ripper killings until I went down to the N.Y.City archives and began digging. At first, I could find no record of this, at one time, high profile case in the homicide trials records. After re-examining contemporary news reports about the case, I rechecked the archives and, sure enough, I found the Carrie Brown case listed under one of Ali's aliases. I was able to examine the complete transcripts of the trial, view disturbing postmortem photos, and read the District Attorney's scrap books in which I first uncovered Arbie La Bruckman's name. From there, I found a wealth of newspaper reports about La Bruckman and the case in general. It was front page news for some time.
I think your idea of systematically trolling for info. in contemporaneous news accounts is a good one. I also think, if people are interested enough, that there is much research that can be done on your side of the Atlantic. As I've stated elsewhere, La Bruckman maintained that he received monetary compensation from the British Government following his release. Do records of such compensation exist? His claim of being arrested should be verifiable, although much documentation was lost in the Blitz and due to pilfering. La Bruckman is reported to have been arrested at the end of 1889 or the beginning of 1890 at a "depot" on his way to Hull to catch a ship. Perhaps there are seperate records for the Thames police which would apply to a sailor like La Bruckman?
Anyway, it may prove a rich ground for research. For my part, I continue looking for more on this intriguing suspect here in New York.

All the Best,
Mike

Author: Michael Conlon
Sunday, 06 January 2002 - 09:47 pm
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Hi, Viper,

Systematic "trolling" (as I above suggested) may prove fruitful for "Grimm's Fairytails", but may I suggest that we instead "trawl" for info. on the Ripper.
On my third Martini,
Mike

Author: Michael Conlon
Sunday, 06 January 2002 - 09:56 pm
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"Fairytails"? How about fairytales...Oh, Heck-Ijust give up!

Losing count after the fourth cocktail,
Mike

Author: Michael Conlon
Sunday, 06 January 2002 - 10:16 pm
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Or is that "cocktale"?!


(For the love of God, stop me before I post again!)
Mike

Author: Jack Baily
Sunday, 06 January 2002 - 11:57 pm
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Gee, Mike, I thought I was the only one who spammed my own threads :)

Just visiting from the fabulously-popular "New Assumptions" thread,

JB

Author: Caroline Anne Morris
Monday, 07 January 2002 - 06:33 am
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Fabulous trolls with hairy tails telling cocktales about trawling for saucy sailor Jack?

Well Arbie damned!

Rum rations must be more generous these days.

Cheers.

Love,

Caz

Author: Michael Conlon
Monday, 07 January 2002 - 02:30 pm
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Too generous, Caz!
We need to lock the liquor cabinet after 8 P.M.
Although I do love the image of "systematic trolling"! It could either be well disciplined Christmas caroling or a course for extremely short, ugly people who want to live in logs and under bridges.

Best Regards,
Mike

Author: Bob Dulaney
Monday, 07 January 2002 - 08:12 pm
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Dear Michael,

This is only my second post, so asking your indulgence in advance...

I was very impressed by your article in the December Ripperologist and would love to be able to jump on the La Bruckman bandwagon/cattle boat. One question which concerns me though is the accent. You say that Mary Miniter described a foreigner based on the few words spoken. R. Michael Gordon however, with a vested interest in Klosowski of course, has Mrs. Miniter go on to give her impression that he was German (Alias Jack the Ripper, p. 228). Your night clerk at the Glenmore Hotel describes a man covered in fresh blood who spoke with an accent, while Gordon quotes the same clerk as saying he had a "pronounced German accent." I am curious, how many of the descriptions you uncovered attribute a German accent to Foreigner No. 2, if any?

One question also on the subject of the brass key to Room 31 being found in a man's abandoned room. Edwin Borchard has the man in question working for several weeks at Cranford, New Jersey, absent from Cranford the night of the murder, then disappearing entirely several days later (Convicting the Innocent, pp. 71-72). Is this a complementary description of the same man who worked on the farm that you mentioned? If so, how could it also be La Bruckman, who was found, arrested by the Jersey City police, released, and tracked down by reporters to the same lodging house whose occupants had previously vouched for his presence on the night of the murder? Did Borchard get his facts straight, based on what I believe were the public papers of Governor Odell?

Best regards,
Bob Dulaney

Author: Michael Conlon
Monday, 07 January 2002 - 08:34 pm
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Hi Bob,

Very astute question!

We know that La Bruckman spoke with an accent, but we don't know what his accent sounded like. He was born in Morocco, but as people have already pointed out, La Bruckman does not sound like an Arab name. It is also very interesting that, in one of the reports I found concerning La Bruckman, some people who knew him believed he was Alsatian, of all things! They don't say why they believed this, but it may be that they thought he had a German-like accent. Other reports early on in the Brown murder investigations said that the man had an accent that may have been German, Italian or Greek. So the "German" attribution must be taken with a grain of salt.
As far as the Cranford, New Jersey incident, ten years after the killing, I personally think it must be treated with great scepticism, if only for the length of time involved. Cranford is only about 7 or 8 miles from Jersey City, and La Bruckman was known to bounce from domecile to domecile, sometimes working on board ships, sometimes working in slaughterhouses.However, La Bruckman himself claims that he only arrived back in New York from London on April 10, about two weeks before Brown's killing, so I don't know how that squares with the Cranford story. The fact that this Cranford suspect is a sailor who sounds a lot like La Bruckman was, I thought, worth pointing out, but I never put much stock in that story (niether does Phil Sugden and several other authorities, for that matter).
Those are good questions, though, Bob, and I hope my answers are of help.

Best Regards,
Mike

Author: Michael Conlon
Monday, 07 January 2002 - 09:32 pm
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Oh, and by the way, Bob,

Let's not forget that, following reports from local prostitutes pointing to Ali and La Bruckman as possible suspects, Inspector Byrnes re-interviewed Miniter who "...then recalled the fact that 'Frenchy'[Ali] was in the house that night, and said she recognized the man who came in with the murdered woman as 'Frenchy's' cousin [La Bruckman]. This seems to settle the matter rather definitively.

Best Regards,
Mike

Author: Bob Dulaney
Monday, 07 January 2002 - 10:29 pm
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Hi Mike,

Thank you for addressing my questions so sagaciously! I very much believe/hope that there is a connection between the killing of Carrie Brown and the murders in London of 1888-89, and I hereby switch my allegiance from George Chapman to Arbie La Bruckman (for what it's worth). I'm also one of those East Coast "Statesiders" that The Viper speaks of [DC area], so if that formal Press Project takes off, please let me know. (At the Baltimore Conference in April, perhaps?)

Thanks again,
Bob

Author: Michael Conlon
Monday, 07 January 2002 - 11:07 pm
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Glad to have you aboard, Bob!

Best regards,
Mike

Author: Christopher T George
Tuesday, 08 January 2002 - 01:00 am
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Hi Bob:

Do I need to prepare a bulletin for R. Michael Gordon to let him know you have switched your allegiance from George Chapman to Arbie La Bruckman????

Bob, I join you in endorsing the idea of a U.S. Press Project similar to the one Viper has overseen in England. I am certain there is a goldmine of information in American newspapers on the Whitechapel murders and on U.S. crimes possibly related to the Whitechapel series, waiting to be discovered.

Best regards

Chris George

Author: Michael Conlon
Wednesday, 09 January 2002 - 12:28 am
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As I mentioned in my recent article, during my research into this murder case, I turned up another (supposed) Ripper-like murder of a prostitute in New York not far from the Brown murder site. Inspector Abberline believed that there was more than one Ripper-like killing in New York at this time, and, until now perhaps, was always thought mistaken in this belief. Might this new info. not indicate that Abberline was more up to speed on the events here in the USA than he was previously given credit for?

Mike

Author: Jesse Flowers
Wednesday, 09 January 2002 - 02:45 am
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Michael-

I don't really think this La Bruckman was the Whitechapel murderer, but I like to play devil's advocate. You mention that he was from Morocco; do you happen to know if he was Muslim? If so it would neatly explain the killer's lack of activity during October, which corresponds with Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar.

Besides, who more likely than a Muslim to write, "The Juwes are the men that will not be blamed for nothing" ?

AAA88

Author: graziano
Wednesday, 09 January 2002 - 05:31 am
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During Ramadan you can't eat or making any physical effort (or at least preserving from it) between sunrise and sunset.

As far as I know, no problem between sunset and sunrise.

Bye. Graziano.

Author: Jesse Flowers
Wednesday, 09 January 2002 - 07:51 am
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Graziano-

You're right. After an intensive search of the Koran I can find nothing that specifically prohibits the disembowelling of prostitutes during Ramadan.

My mistake.

AAA88

Author: Michael Conlon
Wednesday, 09 January 2002 - 02:32 pm
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Hi Jesse,

I have found no references to La Bruckman's religion, although his associate-friend-cousin(?) Ameer Ben Ali was Muslim. La Bruckman appears to be his real name (he had several aliases) and it certainly doesn't sound Muslim.
Concerning the Ripper's inactivity in October, however, Jack Bailey of "New Assumptions, New Suspects" fame, has perspicaciously pointed out that there was a hurricane along the East Coast of the United States during October, 1888, and this could well explain the cessation of murders if it prohibited ships such as those that La Bruckman saied on from crossing the Atlantic that month.
As far as the Graffito, I have never, myself, believed it to be connected to the crime, but as a poster named Diana pointed out in the "Arbie La Bruckman, etc," thread on this casebook, We may presume that this Moroccon born man nicknamed "Frenchy" spoke French, which, Diana pointed out, would fit in with the "Juives" theory (a la R.D.Stephenson) of the word "Juwes" in the Graffito as well as your presumption of cultural antipathy between Muslims and Jews.
Thanks for your insight, Jesse!

Mike

Author: Michael Conlon
Wednesday, 20 March 2002 - 06:16 pm
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-Just ran across the following from Herbert Asbury's, The Gangs of New York, first published in 1928. Speaking of the East River Hotel, it states: "The first Jack the Ripper murder in New York is said to have occurred in this house, when an old hag known as Shakespeare was cut to pieces by a half-witted bar fly commonly called Frenchy [Ameer Ben Ali]. Shakespeare always claimed that she had come from an aristocratic family, and that in her youth she had been a celebrated actress in England. She supported her contention by reciting, in return for a bottle of swan gin, every female role in Hamlet, Macbeth and The Merchant of Venice, and throughout the Ward she was regarded as an authority on the drama.
Through the agency of Thomas Byrnes, Chief of Police, Frenchy was released after a few year's imprisonment. He always maintained his innocence, and the belief was widespread that he had been framed, and that Shakespeare had been murdered by the original Jack the Ripper, who was then operating in London. For several years there had been much professional jealousy between Scotland Yard and the New York police, and Chief Byrnes had publicly boasted that the Ripper would have been caught had he committed his crimes in New York. He defied the English criminal to come to the United States, and soon afterward Shakespeare was killed. Many investigators believed that Jack the Ripper had accepted the challenge, and that the police had arrested Frenchy to save their professional honor. In the London killings there were various indications that Jack the Ripper was a seafarer."
Does this "seafarer" theory reflect the beliefs of investigators in 1928? It is reminiscent of the 1950 "Reynolds News" article which stated,"But handed down through the years at Scotland Yard is the unshakeable belief that the Ripper was a sailor..."

Author: Jeff Bloomfield
Sunday, 24 March 2002 - 12:47 pm
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Asbury's books, although still reprinted, are
full of errors and hearsay. I'd use them with
caution.

Besides GANGS OF NEW YORK, Herbert Asbury wrote
GEM OF THE PRAIRIE (about Chicago crime), and
similar books on San Francisco and New Orleans.

Jeff Bloomfield


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