{"id":469,"date":"2023-11-25T22:34:18","date_gmt":"2023-11-25T22:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kellywhitelock.com\/?p=469"},"modified":"2023-11-25T22:37:05","modified_gmt":"2023-11-25T22:37:05","slug":"patrolman-patrick-gaffneys-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kellywhitelock.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/25\/patrolman-patrick-gaffneys-murder\/","title":{"rendered":"Patrolman Patrick Gaffney\u2019s Murder"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Dec 19, 1918 \u2013 Lexington Herald<\/strong><\/p>\n

POLICE BATTLE WITH AUTOMOBILE THIEVES<\/strong><\/p>\n

CLEVELAND, Dec. 19.-In a running battle between East Cleveland police and suspected automobile thieves in which seventeen shots were exchanged tonight, Patrolman Patrick J. Gaffney and Police Captain Patrick J. Hendricks were wounded, Gaffney probably fatally. The police believe they wounded the fugitives, who escaped.<\/p>\n

The automobile abandoned by the pair was full of, hams and groceries, believed stolen.<\/p>\n

\"Police[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_column_text]Dec. 27, 1918 \u2013 Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/strong><\/p>\n

AID PATROLMAN\u2019S WIDOW<\/strong><\/p>\n

East Cleveland Citizens to Care for Wife of Thug\u2019s Victim.<\/p>\n

A committee of East Cleveland citizens has been organized to collect funds for the assistance of the widow of Patrolman Patrick J. Gaffney, who was shot by a thug Thursday night.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Gaffney has been left with the care of four young children. Her husband carried no insurance and reserve funds are lacking. C. M Caborn, city manager, conceived the plan of soliciting voluntary assistance.<\/p>\n

The committee includes the following: Chief of Police, E. C. Kraus, R. C. Morris, H. D. Trader, W. G. Dillon, J. P. Arter, R. C. Potter.<\/p>\n

\"Police[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_column_text]Dec. 27, 1918 \u2013 Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/strong>
\nAID PATROLMAN\u2019S WIDOW<\/strong>
\nEast Cleveland Citizens to Care for Wife of Thug\u2019s Victim.<\/p>\n

A committee of East Cleveland citizens has been organized to collect funds for the assistance of the widow of Patrolman Patrick J. Gaffney, who was shot by a thug Thursday night.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Gaffney has been left with the care of four young children. Her husband carried no insurance and reserve funds are lacking. C. M Caborn, city manager, conceived the plan of soliciting voluntary assistance.<\/p>\n

The committee includes the following: Chief of Police, E. C. Kraus, R. C. Morris, H. D. Trader, W. G. Dillon, J. P. Arter, R. C. Potter.<\/p>\n

\"AID[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_column_text]Dec. 28, 1918 \u2013 Knoxville Independent<\/strong>
\nBANDIT\u2019S VICTIM DIES.<\/strong>
\nCleveland, Ohio.\u2013Patrolman Patrick J. Gaffney, who was shot as the result of a running battle with two gunmen several days ago died.<\/p>\n

\"BANDIT\u2019S[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_column_text]Dec. 29, 1918 \u2013 Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/strong>
\nLAUDS SLAIN POLICEMAN<\/strong>
\nPriest, at Funeral, Points to Sacrifice of Patrolman<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHe died in your defense and mine.\u201d was the statement of Rev. William S. Nash, assistant pastor of St. Philomena\u2019s Catholic church, Euclid avenue and Wellesley street, East Cleveland, in his sermon at the funeral of Patrolman Patrick J. Gaffney of the East Cleveland police department yesterday morning.<\/p>\n

Patrolman Gaffney, who was shot ten days ago, died in East Cleveland hospital Christmas morning.<\/p>\n

Solemn requiem mass was said by Father Nash, with Rev. M. J. Casey and Rev. Charles Frey assisting.<\/p>\n

Mr. Gaffney leaves a widow and four young children. A committee of East Cleveland citizens has been named to raise a fund of $5,000 for their support.<\/p>\n

\"LAUDS[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_column_text]March 18, 1919 \u2013 Sandusky Star-Journal<\/strong>
\nGROGAN, GUNMAN, SAYS HE\u2019S GUILTY<\/strong>
\nCleveland Crook Puts His Case Up to Judge When Arraigned. CLEVELAND, March 18. \u2013 John Grogan, gunman, pleaded guilty to homicide\u00a0\u00a0when arraigned in criminal court today on a charge of first degree murder for\u00a0\u00a0the shooting of Patrolman Patrick Gaffney.<\/p>\n

Under the homicide plea it is up to the judge to decide the degree of crime.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Judge Levine will set a date for hearing for witnesses.<\/p>\n

Grogan for years has been mixed up in major crimes in Cleveland and special\u00a0\u00a0state prosecutors believe that his story will link up the chain of evidence against\u00a0\u00a0those responsible for making Cleveland and \u201ceasy town\u201d for crooks.<\/p>\n

\"\"[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”black”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]June 27, 1919 \u2013 The Coshocton Tribune<\/strong>
\nGUNMAN GETS LIFE<\/strong>
\nCLEVELAND, O., June 27. \u2013 John Grogan, notorious gunman, today was sentenced to the Ohio penitentiary for life for the murder of Patrick Gaffney, East Cleveland policeman. Sentence was imposed by Criminal Judge Stevens after Grogan pleaded guilty to second degree<\/p>\n

\"June[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_column_text]November 8, 1920 \u2013\u00a0Sandusky Star-Journal<\/strong>
\nJIGGS LOSTEINER DENIES MURDER<\/strong><\/p>\n

CLEVELAND, Nov. 8. \u2013 Guarded by nearly 100 policemen, detectives and deputy\u00a0\u00a0sheriffs, George \u201cJiggs\u201d Losteiner, 35, wounded Bedford bank bandit, was taken\u00a0\u00a0from the hospital to court here today.\u00a0 He entered a plea of guilty to the robbery\u00a0\u00a0charge, but pleaded not guilty to the charge of slaying Patrolman Patrick Gaffney\u00a0\u00a0here in 1918.\u00a0 Losteiner\u2019s trial on the murder charge was set for November 29.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Police said they had a good case against him.<\/p>\n

\"JIGGS[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_column_text]December 3, 1920 \u2013 Sandusky Star-Journal<\/strong>
\nMURDER TRIAL STARTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

CLEVELAND, Dec. 3 \u2013 Fourteen witnesses will be produced by the state here Monday when the trial of George Losteiner, charged with the murder of Patrolman Patrick J. Gaffney, gets under way. Losteiner was wounded and captured while he and several others tried to escape with $2,500 after holding up the Bedford bank. Gaffney was killed in December of 1918. John Grogan, a pal of the prisoner, is now serving life for the killing. Police charge Losteiner had a hand in the murder.<\/p>\n

\"MURDER[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_column_text]July 22, 1921 \u2013\u00a0LIMA NEWS (OHIO)<\/strong>
\nThe two youths were said to have fired the shots, after an attempted holdup.<\/p>\n

The first man to be sentenced by the trial judge for stated periods of solitary, was Alexander Kish, Seneca-co convict, who was received Feb. 16, 1915, to serve a life sentence, after having been found guilty of first degree murder charges, with recommendation of mercy.<\/p>\n

Kish\u2019s sentence included \u201cthe fifth day of each month, and the four previsions days shall be spent by the prisoner in solitary confinement in a darkened cell.\u201d\u00a0 This later, on the recommendation of Warden P. E. Thomas, was changed to solitary the first day of each month.<\/p>\n

MURDER WOMAN<\/p>\n

Kish brutally murdered an aged woman at Bellevue, and rifled her home, disposing of most of the goods in the town limits.<\/p>\n

The most notorious of the eight men who regularly go into the \u201cC. C.\u201ds\u201d or corrective cells, as they are known, is\u00a0George Loestiner, Cleveland gangster.\u00a0 He spends each Christmas Day in solitary<\/strong>.\u00a0 On Christmas Day, 1920, Patrolman Patrick Gaffney of East Cleveland, died from wounds inflicted by Loestiner.<\/p>\n

\"The[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_column_text]July 27, 1937 \u2013 The News Journal<\/strong>
\nLIFER DIES IN PEN HOSPITAL<\/strong>
\nClevelander Who Led Break 11 Years Ago, Succumbs. COLUMBUS \u2013 (AP) \u2013 George \u201cJiggs\u201d Loestiner, 52, serving a life term for\u00a0\u00a0murdering a Cleveland policeman during a robbery, died today in Ohio penitentiary.<\/p>\n

Loestiner died in the prison hospital.\u00a0 He had been ill about three days, but\u00a0\u00a0physicians had not diagnosed the ailment.<\/p>\n

He was sentenced to prison Dec. 12 1920 for killing Patrolman Patrick J. Gaffney.<\/p>\n

In 1926, six years after entering the penitentiary Loestiner was one of the leaders in a bold escape by 12 convicts through the main entrance, he and the others were\u00a0\u00a0captured within a few hours, however.<\/p>\n

\"LIFER[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Dec 19, 1918 \u2013 Lexington Herald POLICE BATTLE WITH AUTOMOBILE THIEVES CLEVELAND, Dec. 19.-In a running battle between East Cleveland police and suspected automobile thieves in [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kellywhitelock.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Patrick-Gaffneys-Obit.-Card-1.jpg?fit=610%2C364&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9uFA1-7z","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kellywhitelock.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kellywhitelock.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kellywhitelock.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kellywhitelock.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kellywhitelock.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=469"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/kellywhitelock.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":486,"href":"https:\/\/kellywhitelock.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469\/revisions\/486"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kellywhitelock.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kellywhitelock.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kellywhitelock.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kellywhitelock.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}