Prime Crime: Solved Murders - The Murder of Don Mellett Pt. 2

Episode Date: May 10, 2023

When his family realized that the Canton police would not conduct an honest investigation into the murder of journalist Don Mellett, they hired a PI named Ora Slater to look into the case. He quickly narrowed his suspect list down to three people. But finding eyewitnesses willing to cooperate proved to be an even bigger task. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Due to the nature of this episode, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of gun violence and murder. Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen. A note before we begin, though today's story is true, certain moments have been fictionalized and dramatized by actors. In August of 1926, private investigator Oro Slater paced around his hotel room in Twin Rocks, Pennsylvania. He was this close to catching Pat McDermott, the second suspect in Don Millett's murder.

Slater was told Pat would be arriving at any moment. But something didn't sit right with Slater. Pat McDermott's own brothers were turning him in, and the P.I. was all alone in the hotel room. It was beginning to dawn on him that he may have just walked into a trap. Slater felt for the gun in his waistband. He didn't want to use it. He didn't plan on using it. But if he had to, he would.

Welcome to Solved Murder's True Crime Mysteries, a Spotify original from Parcast. I'm your host, Carter Roy. And I'm your host, Wendy McKenzie. Every Wednesday, we step into the world of true crime's most fascinating murder cases and tell the tale of how real-life detectives closed the case. You can find episodes of Solved Murder, and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free exclusively on Spotify. This is our final episode on Don Mellet.

Last week, we covered the corrupt police investigation into Don's murder and how private investigator or a Slater took over the case. Today, we'll follow the end of Slater's investigation, including the multiple arrests made from his findings and explore lingering questions about what exactly happened on Don Nell. Melot's last night alive. We have all that and more coming up. Stay with us. In July of 1926, just days after journalist Don Mellet was shot and killed by an unknown

assailant, P.I. ORA Slater had already narrowed in on his suspects. At the top of Slater's list was Ben Rudner, a notorious bootleggar in Canton. Slater had already identified two men Rudner likely hired to kill Don Mellet. Their names were Pat McDermott and Louis Mazur. Slater believed that McDermott, Rudner, and Mazer were all guilty, but he needed more proof. He also had a second theory to consider, one that muddied the waters. As confident as Slater was about his suspects,

he had a nagging sense that there was a bigger story here, one that perhaps involved the authorities. As editor of the Canton Daily News, Don Mellet had led a crusade against the city's corrupt police force. And after he was killed, the murder investigation led by police chief Serranus Lingle had been haphazard at best and at worst outright sabotage. Many Canton citizens and reporters suspected that Chief Langel himself was somehow involved in Don's murder.

It was a serious accusation, and Langel had no choice but to make a public statement about it. Let me make this very clear. I did not kill Don Mellet. I am not a murderer. But just claiming he wasn't involved wasn't enough to quell suspicion. Everyone knew Langell had dropped the ball on the investigation. He'd never even visited the crime scene.

And his inaction had consequences. On July 24th, eight days after Don's murder, Mayor Stanford Swartz suspended Lengel for a month. Unsurprisingly, Lengel was not happy about this. Swartz, you can't be serious. That's mayor, Swartz. And I am serious. You have no control over your department.

You're mishandling this case. It's been over a week. You've got no leads, no... That's not true. We've interviewed over 20 known criminals. Who have all walked out of the interrogation room. These things take time. You're suspended, Langell.

That's final. Swartz and stated Earl Hexamer, the city safety director as acting chief of police. Hexamer was already working closely with Ores Slater. So now with Lengel out of the way, the two men regrouped to review what they knew so far. So, Chief Hexamer, tell me what do you think of Rudner? He doesn't seem like the trigger man, just the money. But what's his motive? Did Don report something about him?

No, but he was going to. Don supposedly figured out that Rudner was involved in the Paul Kitsig murder. My God, that was a huge case. Exactly. If it's true and Don was about to expose him, Rudner would have done anything to keep that from getting out. So what about the other two, Louis Mazer and Pat McDermott? If Rudner's the money, they've got to be the hired guns. That's my theory.

All right, so what's our next step? We find McDermott. Pat McDermott was from Cleveland, which was about 60 miles away from Canton. So Slater put in a call to his contacts at the Cleveland Police. Officers there managed to follow a trail of leads to a boarding house where McDermott had been staying under a fake name. But by the time they arrived, he was gone. However, the detectives were able to trace a long-distance phone call, made from the boarding house to none other than Ben Rudner.

It was a small piece of evidence, but it was more proof that the two men were connected. With that evidence under their belts, Slater and Hexamer shifted their focus to the third man involved in their theory. Rudner's associate, Louis Mazur. The investigators approached Mazur's girlfriend, a madam of a local bravel named Doll Carey. But Doll had no interest in talking to them. she said that Mazur's business was his own, and she didn't want to get wrapped up in any of it. But before the two men left empty-handed,

a woman named Thelma Harris spoke with him. Thelma worked in Doll's brothel, and she had a bit of a grudge against Mazur. Earlier that year, Mazur had ratted on her during a police raid, but now was her chance to get even. I know Louis Mazur real well. He lives here at Doll's House, where we all work. And the night you're talking about, the night the newspaper man was shot,

he was here then too. Hmm, you're positive about that. Swear on my life. I remember because he had a cop with him. I see. Do you remember which officer it was, or what he looked like? I sure do. His name was Stritenberger. Detective Stratenberger? That's the one. Thelma, what time did you see him there? In the evening. He and Louis were whispering in the back kitchen for a bit. Then they left around 6.30. Lewis came back about half an hour later to grab his gun. Then he left again. Did you see Lewis later that night? No, I didn't see him again until the next day, around 7 in the morning, and he wasn't alone. Strytonberger was with him. No, Ben Rudner. Do you remember anything else? Yes, a couple days later, I think it was the 19th. The detective came back and picked up Lewis's gun, but I don't know what he did.

with it. You've been extremely helpful. Thank you. Thelma not only confirmed Slater's suspicions about police corruption, she'd given them a lead. Detective Stridenberger was extremely loyal to former chief of police Langell. If he was linked to Don's murder, the odds were, so was Langell. But Slater and Hexamer still needed to speak to Lewis Mazur. Before long, they tracked him down, but Mazur was as tight-lipped as his girlfriend. He refused to talk. Slater and Hexamer were at a loss until Slater got an unexpected visitor. Lewis Mazur's attorney, Norman Clark, showed up at Slater's hotel. Apparently, he had information about his client's criminal activity he wanted to share. You see, he's a bootleger.

He and his partner have been smuggling alcohol across state lines to Detroit. Why are you telling me this. Because he keeps threatening me. I told him I wouldn't rat, but I don't think he believes me anyway. Look, I need you to know I'm not involved. Involved in what? Look, he told me if Melik keeps things up, he will be bumped off. I don't know for sure, but it seems like Mazur's part of all this, and I want nothing to do with it. Slater was suspicious of the lawyer's to betray his client. But if Clark was telling the truth, Slater could directly link Mazar to Don Mellett's murder. The PI knew he needed to act fast. It was time to make some arrests. Coming up, Slater suspects start turning on each other.

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And now, back to our story. On August 16th, 1926, one month after Don Mellett's murder, authorities tracked Lewis Mazur down in Cleveland, Ohio, and arrested him for bootlegging. It wasn't a murder charge, but this way, Mazur couldn't flee like Pat McDermott had. And now that he had Mazur in his grasp, or a Slater could bring in his best informant, Steve Kastchoke. If you remember from last week, Castchoke was recruited by McDermott to carry out a job, but when Castchoke learned it was a hit job on Don Mellet,

he backed out. But not before he met Ben Rudner and Louis Mazer. Now all Slater needed was Casschoke to positively ID Mazer, If he did, they had a case. Slater led Caschoke into the district attorney's office where Mazur was being interrogated and asked him if Mazur was the man he'd met that day. Castchoke slowly nodded in confirmation. That was enough to convince Slater and the DA that they had enough to nail Mazur.

The next day, when they charged him with Don's murder, Mazer broke down in tears. I'm innocent, I swear. My friends know I'm innocent. All right, who are your friends? I'll go talk to them. I can't. I can't tell you that. Well, then it's the workhouse for you.

With one man officially charged, Slater was feeling pretty pleased, but it was too early to congratulate himself. There were still two suspects to go. And Pat McDermott had practically vanished. Fortunately for Slater, a journalist approached him on behalf of the McDermott family. They wanted to talk. So Slater set up a meeting back in Canton. That evening, two of McDermott's brothers and two of his brothers-in-law showed up at Slater's hotel.

The eldest brother Bernard spoke for the group. Look, if you can convince us that Pat was involved and you promise he'll get a square deal, we'll turn them in if we find him. We're still not sure where he is. Why would you do that? This whole situation is causing a lot of grief. We just want it over with.

Let our family get back to normal. All right, you want proof Pat was involved? Then I need you to talk to someone. Slater called up Steve Cashchoke and had him speak to Pat McDermott's brothers. Casschoke repeated his story about McDermott recruiting him for the hit job, and it seemed like enough to convince them of Pat's guilt. But after they left that night, Slater didn't hear from them for another month. Whenever he checked in, they said they still hadn't heard from McDermott.

But then, on October 23rd, Slater got a call in the middle of the night. Bernard wanted him to come all the way to Twin Rocks, Pennsylvania, more than 150 miles away. Apparently, McDermott was hiding out near there. It was a long way to travel, but this was his shot. So Slater raced to Pennsylvania. Sure enough, when he got there, Bernard had a plan. He arranged for Slater to stay in a nearby hotel that his family owned. He'd bring McDermott there in the morning.

By this point, Slater was feeling uneasy. Could he trust McDermott's brothers to actually turn Pat in? Or did they just lure the PI to a faraway hotel that their family owned to rough him up or worse? Slater didn't usually carry a gun, but this time he was glad he did. That night, the PI didn't sleep well. He didn't know who'd walk into his hotel room next. But the following morning, when he opened the door and saw Pat McDermott, Slater felt a flood of relief.

McDermott was less happy to see him. McDermott knew who ORA Slater was. As soon as he saw him, he also knew his friend. family had turned on him. McDermott tried to run, but his brother blocked his path. You double-crossed me. Pat, we thought it was best. This way, you'll get a square deal.

Son, why don't you just sit down and chat with us? I don't have anything to say to you. Slater tried to get McDermott talking, but he was too stubborn. He wouldn't say a word until he had a guarantee that they dropped the murder charge against him. but Slater couldn't promise anything, not until they heard what McDermott had to say. McDermott agreed to return to Canton with them, but he refused to say anything the whole way back from Pennsylvania.

Even once they locked him up in a jail cell, he still refused to speak. Not even the possibility of a death penalty was enough to get him talking. Slater was frustrated, but he wasn't giving up. They had two suspects, in custody. Now it was time to grab their third. Soon, Ben Rudner was charged with hiring McDermott and Mazur to kill Don Mellet, and authorities quickly scooped him up too. All three suspects were now

behind bars, awaiting trial, and yet Slater knew it was far from over. There was still the looming question of police corruption. But now it wasn't if the police were involved in Don's murder, but how? Enter Detective Floyd Stridenberger, the man who Thelma Harris saw with Lewis Mazur the night of Dawn's murder. And apparently Mazur's alibi. When questioned, Lewis Mazur told detectives that he was innocent and that he'd been with Stridenberger that night. But according to Mazur, they weren't at the brothel. They were at Stritenberger's house.

As word got out that Mazer and Strittenberger were connected, everyone wanted to talk to the detective, but somehow a reporter got to him first. Lewis Mazur says he was with you the night of Don Mellett's murder. That's right. My wife and I ran into him while we were out driving around. It was a little before midnight. Now, we're hardly friends.

I actually arrested him three years ago. But it so happens he owns a dog from the same litter as my pop, and mine was sick. So I figured, hey, maybe he could take a look. Maybe he knew some tricks to help her. So you drove him back to your place? He took his own car. We got back around midnight.

He took a look at my dog, and we talked for about 45 minutes after. So he left around 12.45 a.m. Correct. So he couldn't have committed the murder, because that happened 15 minutes earlier. I swear, Mazur's, innocent. I'll do everything I can to clear his name. You can go ahead and quote me on that. The reporter did, in fact, quote the detective, and likely as a result of that, the acting chief

Hexamer fired Streitenberger on the grounds that he was way too close to this case. Around the same time, former Chief Lengel was brought before the Civil Service Commission and questioned about his potential involvement in Don Mellett's assassination. But all of this was just a slap on the wrist. At that point, neither Langel nor Stridenberger had been formally charged with anything. The focus was still on the three criminals currently awaiting trial. But when the case headed to the courtroom, the former police officers soon came under even further scrutiny.

Coming up, bombshell testimony. changes the course of the entire case. Now back to the story. In December of 1926, five months after Don Millett's murder, Pat McDermott went to trial. He was the first suspect in the assassination plot to get his day in court. Steve Castchoke was a key witness for the prosecution.

He testified that McDermott had driven him past Don Millett's house and revealed they were going to beat up the newspaper editor. But that car ride took place five days before the murder. Technically, Cass Choke couldn't place McDermott at the scene of the crime, nor could anyone else for that matter. However, the prosecution had planned for this. Because they had indicted McDermott with Lewis Mazur and Ben Rudner, some testimony could be given that concerned them as a group,

rather than just McDermott. And in that way, it could cast blame across all three. three of them. That's when Thelma Harris took the stand and told the courtroom about seeing Mazur with Stritenberger at the madam's house, then seeing Mazur with Rudner the next morning. It wasn't a shock to anyone that Mazur and Rudner, two known bootleggers, had been seen together. What was more surprising was that Stritenberger, a police detective, had been with Lewis Mazur at

a brothel. And as the trial continued, things, only became more suspect. Soon, Streitenberger himself took the stand, and so did former police chief Langel. Not for the prosecution, but for the defense. Both men testified on Pat McDermott's behalf. For the citizens of Canton, it was outrageous. Two officers were coming to the aid of an indicted murderer.

When it finally came time for McDermott to testify, he told almost the exact same story as Castchoke, but in his version, it was Casschoke who'd recruited him for the job. Castichoke was the one who said he wanted to beat up an editor, but I said no. I didn't want to be a part of it. I even tried to warn Mellet. You spoke to Don Mellet? No, but I tried. If you remember from last week, days before Don's murder, an anonymous person had called him with a warning. No one could prove if the caller had been Pat McDermott or if it was just a coincidence. But either way, his attempt to cast blame elsewhere didn't work. After only 45 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Pat McDermott guilty of first-degree murder. The judge gave him a life sentence,

which Don Mellett's newspaper The Daily News declared a just verdict. Over a month later on February 7th, It was Ben Rudner's turn in the courtroom. Rudner denied being with Lewis Mazur the morning after the murder and swore he didn't even know who Don Mellet was prior to the murder. But despite an airtight alibi, Rudner's trial didn't go much better than McDermott's. The jury convicted him of only second-degree murder for ordering the hit on Don Mellet, but he was also given a life sentence. It seemed Lewis Mazer,

would face the same fate, but soon things took a stark turn. During the trials, it became clear that Detective Strytenberger's elaborate alibi about how he'd been with Mazur that night discussing his sick dog, likely wasn't true. And without it, both he and Louis Mazur were under fire. Strytonberger was arrested soon after that. After his arrest, everyone in Canton was asking the same question. Why was Why would an officer lie to protect a criminal? Of course, Stringberger denied any wrongdoing. He doubted he'd even end up in the courtroom.

There was simply no case against him. The prosecution begged to differ. Two months later, he went to trial. And who was the star witness for the state? Louis Mazur, the very guy Stridenberger had tried to protect. Mazur was still under indictment himself. and it seemed that prosecution had gotten him to flip. When I testified before, I lied to protect myself.

Why tell the truth now? The guilt is killing me. Okay, let's start from the beginning. Tell us what happened. Well, back in March when Chief Langell had his civil service trial, I ran into Detective Stringer in the hall. He was angry. He told me someone ought to beat that guy, Mel it up, and run him out of town.

he's causing a lot of trouble for the chief. Did the two of you make any plans that day? No, but then a few months later in July, Redner introduced me to two fellows. It was McDermott and Castchoke. He told me that they'd slug a guy for $200 in case I had any use for him. Okay, and then what did you do with that information? I passed it along to Stritenberger, and he told me to bring them to meet him.

That's when I picked them up and drove them by Mellet's house. But then Castchoke backed out, so it was just me and McDermott, and I guess I got wrapped up in the whole thing. So, you were just going to beat up, Don Mellet. Scare him a little bit. I thought that was the plan, but then Stridenberger told me to pass along a message to McDermott.

He said, tell him to croak him. Mazur's testimony gripped the courtroom. He explained how he'd gotten his gun, drove with Detective Stridenberger to pick up Pat McDermott, then dropped McDermott off outside Don Millett's house. McDermott waited there while Mazer and Stridenberger drove around until finally they heard a siren and Strittenberger figured McDermott had done the deed. Ultimately, the jury believed Mazer's version of events.

They convicted Stridenberger of first-degree murder and gave him a life sentence. Mazer, however, got off easy. Instead of going to trial, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and got five to 20 years. He was the only man involved who didn't get locked up for the rest of his life. But the hearings weren't entirely over yet. That June, one final indictment was handed down. This time, it was for former Chief of Police, Lengel. And when he went to trial, Stridenberger testified against him.

After seeing how Mazur's sentence was reduced, the once loyal detective likely hoped to lighten his own punishment by informing on his old boss. It was Langel who wanted Mellet beat up. In fact, he knew Pat McDermott from when they both lived in Pennsylvania. That's how we all got connected. So you were working with Lengel this whole time? I wouldn't have gotten mixed up in this whole thing if I'd known it was going to be a murder. I thought we were just giving Mellet a good scare. But it did become a murder.

murder, and you denied any involvement. You're only speaking up now that you've been convicted. I've got nothing left to lose. At the time, I was just looking out for myself. Langel told me if I kept my mouth shut, he'd do anything for me. Of course, when it came time to question Langel, he denied everything Stritenberger said. He claimed he had no ill will toward Don Mellet. That was blatantly false. Everyone in town knew there'd been no love. lost between Mellett and Lengel, and that included the jury. They convicted Lengel of first-degree murder too, and like his fellow co-conspirators, he got a life sentence.

But if Langell was responsible for ordering the hit, then that brought into question Ben Rudner's role in the whole scheme. After all, he was the one originally convicted of hiring Mellet's assassins. And yet, Rudner's sentence. was never overturned. He remained in prison, and nearly two years later, Langell was actually acquitted. It was a baffling turn of events.

Four separate trials occurred in this case, and four convictions came out of them, and yet no murder weapon was ever found. No one ever proved who actually fired the shot that killed Don Mellet. And while there were clear ties between these four men and the murder victim, exactly how they all intersect is still a mystery to this day.

But based on all the analysis done over the years, here's our best guess as to how all the pieces fit together. Weeks leading up to July 16, 1926, two scenarios may have occurred. In the first, bootlegger Ben Rudner caught wind that Don Mellet was poking around in his past. Specifically, Don had learned that Rudner was rest. responsible for ordering a hit on a police informant a few years prior.

Rudner couldn't sit by while this damaging information sat on Don's desk. Even if the newspaper editor didn't publish the scoop, Rudner didn't like the idea of anyone having leverage over him. So he called up an ex-con he knew named Pat McDermott. McDermott was willing to do just about anything for the right price. and when he ran into an old friend named Steve Castchoke, McDermott thought he'd be helping out his buddy by offering him a job. All they had to do was rough a guy up a little bit.

But then Casschoke backed out and he was replaced by Lewis Mazur, and the plot to scare Don escalated into an outright hit. In the second scenario, former Chief of Police, Seranus Langel, was the one who Don angered. Don had campaigned against Langel, who he believed was corrupt and ineffective at his job. Thanks to Don, Langel had been suspended by the mayor and he was furious. That was when Langel told his trusted officer Stritenberger that he wanted revenge on Dawn. And when Strittenberger learned from Lewis Mazur that there were two guys willing to rough someone up for a little bit of dough,

he figured he'd make the connection. Either way, on the night of July 16, 16th, 1926, some combination of Pat McDermott, Lewis Mazer, and Detective Floyd Streitenberger likely hid outside of Don Millett's house, waiting for him to come home. They watched as Don and his wife returned with their friends, the veils, then the men snuck around the side of the house as Don went to move his car into the garage, and then they fired. Several shots rang through the night, and a bullet hit Don Millet in the ahead. He died almost instantly. Don Mellett was an outsider, a newcomer to Canton who dedicated

himself to exposing crime and corruption in his adopted city in order to make it a better place. But that quest made him a lot of enemies, so many that to this day, it's still not clear who ordered his murder. Either way, criminals had taken his life, and then corrupt cops had tried to prevent his community from getting justice. If things had gone differently, no one may have ever been held responsible. Don Mellett's murder would be just one more unpunished crime in Canton, Ohio. But just like Dawn, the tenacity of an outsider, private investigator, O'A Slater, brought it all to light, proving that although Don had been murdered, his legacy was still very much alive.

Thanks again for tuning into Solved Murders. We'll be back next Wednesday with a new episode. For more information on Don Mellett, we found Murder of a Journalist by Thomas Crowell, extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. Solved Murder's True Crime Mysteries is a Spotify original from Parcast. Our supervising sound designer is Russell Nash, with Nick Johnson as our head of production

and Spencer Howard as our post-production supervisor. Quality control by Lisa Marie Gallegos. Stacey Nemick is our supervising editor, and Derek Jennings is our writing lead. This episode of Solve Murders was written by Alex Burns, edited by Sarah Batchelor and Alex Garland, fact-checked by Catherine Barner, researched by Mickey Taylor, produced by by Joshua Kern and sound design by Brian Golub. It stars Cameron Nekad, Charlie Wes, Tommy Arseniega, Joe Hernandez, Blath Walsh Lager, and Rebecca Thomas.

Our hosts are Wendy McKenzie and me, Carter Roy. How far would one man go to achieve influence and power? And would that ruthless quest ultimately result in his demise? This week on conspiracy theories, Catch our two-part episode on the life, career, and death of disgraced media mogul, Robert Maxwell. Listen free only on Spotify.