Screams From the Courthouse Basement: The Monaghan Affair - Softcover

Swimmer, Wolford; Peterson, Beverly

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0970847904 ISBN 13: 9780970847904

Publisher: P. S. Campus Publishing, 2001

Synopsis

Screams from the Courthouse Basement: The Monaghan Affair tells the true crime story of the 1936 murder of Frank Monaghan, Sr., in the basement of the Fayette County Courthouse in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. This local history book places the crime in the context of regional and national politics and discusses the local political scandals attendant upon the crime. The book includes thirty-seven photographs and illustrations of people and places relevant to the case. It gives a balanced assessment of the various conspiracy theories that have been developed in order to explain why Mr. Monaghan was murdered and why twelve prominent citizens and public officials--the District Attorney, state and local police officers, the coroner, undertakers, and physicians--were indicted for murder or conspiracy to conceal true facts. The book discusses the once common but now illegal police interrogation practice known as "the third degree," and it scrutinizes the role of the press in keeping the scandal in the news. George W. Maxey, a Justice on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, presided over some of the trials. The prosecutor was Charles J. Margiotti, who was later a candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, and the defense attorney was John Duggan, a famous lawyer whose clients included the railroad as well as organized crime figures.

About this title

About the Author

Wolford Swimmer is a retired industrialist and long-time resident of Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He earned his B. S. at Penn State University in 1949 and his M. S. at West Virginia University in 1951. He was honored as Citizen of the Year by the Greater Uniontown Chamber of Commerce.

Beverly Peterson is an Assistant Professor of English and American Studies at Penn State University, Fayette Campus. She earned her B.A. and M. A. in English and her PhD in American Studies at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

Edition details

• Publisher: P. S. Campus Publishing
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0970847904
• ISBN 13: 9780970847904
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144