Post by darkstar on Mar 1, 2006 14:35:32 GMT
Miami Herald
Posted on Wed, Mar. 01, 2006
Whereabouts Of Court Papers From Trial Remain A Mystery
Whereabouts of court papers from trial remain a mysteryFor years, a Miami-Dade court official searched for missing court papers related to Jim Morrison's 1969 criminal case, but to this day the disappeared documents remain a mystery.
BY LUISA YANEZ
Twenty years after Jim Morrison's 1971 death, a Miami-Dade court records clerk made a disturbing discovery:
Forty-two pieces of paper from the singer's criminal file -- including his signed bail bonds and his arrest record -- were missing. The documents had been pilfered, but exactly when and by whom remains a mystery to this day.
The theft came to light in 1991 when Sotheby's in New York announced an upcoming auction. Among the rock collectibles on sale: one of Morrison's Miami-Dade bail bonds.
Who gave Sotheby's the stamped original? Were other Morrison documents being auctioned?
Enter Gordon Winslow, the clerk's historian and archivist. Winslow made it a personal crusade to recover the documents. He reported the Sotheby's sale to local police, but the auction house's attorneys maintained that it did not have a stolen item -- and thus could sell it. Someone paid $15,900 for the bail bond.
Winslow began his own sleuthing. A strong lead pointed him to Danny Sugerman, a Door's insider who co-wrote two Morrison books, No One Here Gets Out Alive (1980) and The Doors: The Illustrated History (1983). Sugerman was the last person to check out Morrison's court file before the records vanished, the probe showed.His signature is the last on the Morrison file's sign-out sheet prior to the discovery of the theft. Records cannot be removed from the reading room.
''He is the prime suspect,'' said Winslow, who sent Sugerman a certified letter in 1992 demanding the item back. Sugerman didn't respond. He died last year. A spokesman for Sugerman said he did not know of such documents.
William Siddons, the Doors former manager, said Sugerman took valuable Morrison documents from his garage. ''He ripped me off too,'' said Siddons, who said he owns Morrison's copy of one of the bail bonds. ''Someone offered me $5,000 for it. I said no.'' Today, Winslow holds little hope of recovering the Morrison documents. ''They're gone, sold to private collectors,'' said Winslow, now retired.
Today, anyone viewing the remaining three boxes of Morrison trial files -- permanently stored at a records center in West Miami-Dade -- does it under the watchful eye of a clerk.
Miami Herald researcher Paul Hodges contributed to this report.
www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13986086.htm
Posted on Wed, Mar. 01, 2006
Whereabouts Of Court Papers From Trial Remain A Mystery
Whereabouts of court papers from trial remain a mysteryFor years, a Miami-Dade court official searched for missing court papers related to Jim Morrison's 1969 criminal case, but to this day the disappeared documents remain a mystery.
BY LUISA YANEZ
Twenty years after Jim Morrison's 1971 death, a Miami-Dade court records clerk made a disturbing discovery:
Forty-two pieces of paper from the singer's criminal file -- including his signed bail bonds and his arrest record -- were missing. The documents had been pilfered, but exactly when and by whom remains a mystery to this day.
The theft came to light in 1991 when Sotheby's in New York announced an upcoming auction. Among the rock collectibles on sale: one of Morrison's Miami-Dade bail bonds.
Who gave Sotheby's the stamped original? Were other Morrison documents being auctioned?
Enter Gordon Winslow, the clerk's historian and archivist. Winslow made it a personal crusade to recover the documents. He reported the Sotheby's sale to local police, but the auction house's attorneys maintained that it did not have a stolen item -- and thus could sell it. Someone paid $15,900 for the bail bond.
Winslow began his own sleuthing. A strong lead pointed him to Danny Sugerman, a Door's insider who co-wrote two Morrison books, No One Here Gets Out Alive (1980) and The Doors: The Illustrated History (1983). Sugerman was the last person to check out Morrison's court file before the records vanished, the probe showed.His signature is the last on the Morrison file's sign-out sheet prior to the discovery of the theft. Records cannot be removed from the reading room.
''He is the prime suspect,'' said Winslow, who sent Sugerman a certified letter in 1992 demanding the item back. Sugerman didn't respond. He died last year. A spokesman for Sugerman said he did not know of such documents.
William Siddons, the Doors former manager, said Sugerman took valuable Morrison documents from his garage. ''He ripped me off too,'' said Siddons, who said he owns Morrison's copy of one of the bail bonds. ''Someone offered me $5,000 for it. I said no.'' Today, Winslow holds little hope of recovering the Morrison documents. ''They're gone, sold to private collectors,'' said Winslow, now retired.
Today, anyone viewing the remaining three boxes of Morrison trial files -- permanently stored at a records center in West Miami-Dade -- does it under the watchful eye of a clerk.
Miami Herald researcher Paul Hodges contributed to this report.
www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13986086.htm
