The Great Speedway Heist (Almost)

Between 1906 and 1911, the country was hit by a series of intentional explosions in an effort to intimidate construction companies into having a closed-shop where only union labor was used. As with many things, it started off small with an explosion in the northeast against a steel contractor. When that succeeded, another explosion occurred, and then another explosion and another at a quickening pace.
 
The linchpin in the bombing campaign was John J. McNamara, the Secretary/Treasurer of the International Bridge and Structural Ironworkers Union based in Indianapolis.  In a desire to pressure construction companies to use union labor, he decided strong arming tactics would be the key to the union’s success. Before a targeted company was bombed, management would be visited by a union representative and "encouraged" to employ union labor.  In all, there were over 100 explosions across the county.
 
McNamara had two problems to solve in executing his campaign of fear. The first was manpower—he would not be directly involved. The solution was simple, his brother, James, and an ironworker from Chicago, Ortie McManigal. They would proceed using coded messages and fictitious names. The second was financing of the campaign of terror. McNamara convinced his board to give him the discretion to use up to $1000 per month which was set aside without any accountability. Historically, the union would give an accounting to its members on a regular basis but this stopped after the bombing campaign began.
 
While his brother and McManigal crisscrossed the country carrying out bombing initiatives, John McNamara’s slush fund was running short of funds and he was afraid that if he fully disclosed the extent what he was doing, the union’s board of directors would end it. So, he devised other sources of funding. He knew of a man who regularly deposited $3,000 in a local bank. McNamara felt it would be easy to ambush the man and take his money. But, $3,000 was a drop in a bucket compared to what he needed to carry out his plans including a bombing campaign in Detroit aimed at five simultaneous explosions.  Rather, he needed a much greater supply of funding. And that is when he had a brilliant idea.
 
The Indianapolis 500 was rapidly approaching, and he believed that they would take in $150,000 to $175,000 in cash receipts. Since the race was going to be run on a holiday, the banks would be closed. He believed the Speedway would be an easy mark and that a gang of seven or eight strong armed men could easily overpower the Speedway crew. When McManigal reminded him that the money would be well-guarded, his indifference to human life was “We may have to kill a couple of fellows, but what’s the difference?”
 
The plot was never carried out as he was arrested in April 1911 for his part in the bombing of the Los Angeles Times on October 1, 1910 in which 20 were killed and over 100 injured. Since he wasn’t directly involved in the dynamiting, he was convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to 15 years in prison. His brother, who had carried out the bombing, was sentenced to life in prison. McManigal, who was not involved in the Times bombing, played a significant role in stopping the campaign of terror when he turned state’s witness.
 
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