Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel murdered by newsman Rube Allyn simply because he was of German heritage it was WWI on Siesta Key Basis for a Movie

Sarasota mayor Harry Lee Higel was murdered by newsman Rube Allyn during a pistol whipping on Friday morn Jan 7th, 1921 at the north end of Siesta Key Fl. Sarasota private investigator Bill Warner's results of a year long investigation into the unsolved pistol whipping murder of Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel. Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel murdered by newsman Rube Allyn simply because he was of German heritage, it was WWI on Siesta Key. WWI 1914 to 1918: It was a time when German immigrants and their children born in the USA were America’s undesirables. Americans of German descent and German culture, like Harry Higel and his family, in the United States were very much under attack. Because Germany was one of America’s main adversaries in WWI, many Anglo-Americans began to fear that German Americans were still loyal to the Kaiser, or German emperor. Harry Higel's adversary Rube Allyn, in Sarasota and on Siesta Key, hated and despised Germans, his words. Rube Allyn lived on the north end of Gulfmead Dr Siesta Key Fl with his large family. Suddenly in 1914, German Americans became “hyphenated Americans” who suspiciously practiced their own traditions instead of “assimilating” into Anglo-American culture. As President Woodrow Wilson once admonished: “Any man who carries a hyphen about with him, carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic when he gets ready.” In Rube Allyn's booze soaked brain, President Wilson had made it "open season on Germans".

Throughout the U.S., during 1914 to 1918 individuals (like Rube Allyn), groups, and politicians took actions, larger and small, that were aimed at ridding itself of German culture and German influence in the country. Case in point Rube Allyn burning down Harry Higel's German themed HigelHurst Hotel on Siesta Key in March of 1917. The climate became so hostile that by 1918, South Dakota prohibited the use of German over the telephone, and in public assemblies of three or more persons. With the US entry into World War I after Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare, German nationals were automatically classified as "enemy aliens." Two of the four main World War I-era internment camps for "Germans"  were located in Hot Springs, N.C. and Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. 

The War Prison Camp of Fort Oglethorpe for Germans during WWI consisted of a huge, somewhat hilly plot of land approximately a mile square. The entire area was surrounded by two barbed-wire fences, about ten feet high." Tripod watch towers were located outside the barbed wire perimeter. Each tower was equipped with a search light, telephone and machine-gun.Fort Oglethorpe was a military facility used to hold German prisoners of war from 1917 to 1920. Not only did it hold war prisoners, it also held civilian German immigrants and wealthy German-Americans who the American government believed carried too much influence. Fort Oglethorpe also held German businessmen, journalists, academics, and artists who likely had no connection with the war effort of their native country. Several committed suicide while incarcerated at Fort Oglethorpe. Some of the prisoners performed hard labor on the roads and in the quarry.
Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer wrote during WWI that "All German aliens interned by the government are regarded as enemies, and their property is treated accordingly." President Woodrow Wilson issued two sets of regulations on April 6, 1917, and November 16, 1917, imposing restrictions on German-born male residents of the United States over the age of 14. The rules were written to include natives of Germany who had become citizens of countries other than the U.S.; all were classified as aliens. Some 250,000 people in that category were required to register at their local post office, to carry their registration card at all times, and to report any change of address or employment. The same regulations and registration requirements were imposed on German females on April 18, 1918. Some 6,300 such aliens were arrested. Thousands were interrogated and investigated. A total of 2,048 (0.8%) were incarcerated for the remainder of the war in two camps, Fort Douglas, Utah, for those west of the Mississippi, and Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, for those east of the Mississippi. 

The cases of these German aliens, whether being considered for internment or under internment, were managed by the Enemy Alien Registration Section of the Department of Justice. From December 1917 this section was headed by J. Edgar Hoover, then not yet 23 years old. Back story on mayor Harry Higel's Higelhurst Hotel arson on Siesta Key was Harry Higel's link to Germany and even the Hotel name 'Hurst' links to a region in Germany. Higelhurst Hotel was torched on March 30th, 1917, three days later On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson went before a joint session of Congress to request a declaration of war against Germany which was granted, Rube Allyn was ecstatic. Rube Allyn was a war hawk and hated Germans. Rube wanted to join the Army in his 50's to go and kill Germans in France in 1917 but he was too old at 52 to join.

Plenty of friction between mayor Harry Higel and newspaper editor Rube Allyn from 1913 to 1921, both ran for Mayor of Sarasota 3 times, Harry Higel won all three times. Harry Higel was of direct German heritage, murdered on January 7th 1921, case remains unsolved 100 years later. In July 1921 City of Sarasota breaks away from Manatee County and becomes Sarasota County mostly due to ineffective investigation oh Higel murder and possible tainted Manatee County Grand Jury that freed the oh so guilty Rube Allyn. Manatee County Grand Jury was a "Kangaroo Court" at least two members of the Grand Jury were personal friends and/or newspaper associates of Rube Allyn.

The Higel story pivots around WWI and America's induction in April 1917 to fight the Germans in France and it's effect in Florida. Rube Allyn hated Harry Higel who was of German heritage. In the years leading up to and during World War I, the US experienced a wave of anti-German sentiment, fueled by super-patriotism (Rube Allyn) and xenophobia, that resulted in open hostility toward all things German. Rube Allyn's friend, idol and mentor Elbert Hubbard and his wife were on the RMS Lusitania passenger ship that was torpedoed by a German U-Boat killing 1,195 including 128 Americans on May 7, 1915. As a result of U-boat attacks on U.S. shipping to Europe, the U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Germany on February 4, 1917. The disaster set off a chain of events that led to the U.S. entering World War I in 1917. Rube Allyn was devastated by his friend Elbert Hubbard's murder by the Germans.

On Feb 20th 1918 Rube Allyn gleefully told a Senate Congressional Committee investigation of the US Naval shipyard at Hog Island where he was working, that he threw two Jews off the moving trolley into the cobblestone street on his way to work just because they were Jews and in his way. Rube Allyn was arrested for Attempted Murder and what would be additional charges today for a "HATE CRIME", outside Philadelphia PA. The charges were dropped later after the victims disappeared when Hog Island fired all the Russian Jews. Rube Allyn hated and despisd all the German speaking Russian Jews at Hog Island shipyard, his words. Russia, at the time, controlled now-independent countries like Poland, Ukraine, Latvia and Lithuania. The Russian Jews who came from the slums of Philadelphia and New York City were not equal to Rube Allyn and the other Irish and Italian workers, so claimed Rube. Between 1915 to 1920, 480,000 Russian Jews made up the largest foreign-born group in New York City while in 1920 Philadelphia, a city of more than 1,823,000 residents, 400,744 were foreign-born Russian Jews. Fifty years earlier the Irish were the largest group of immigrants in Philadelphia and New York City.

"Gun Buried on Siesta Key": 1920's Era Colt Revolver Found Buried on Siesta Key Verified by Sarasota County Sheriff Cold Case Detective as Possible Link to Murder of Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel. Get real here, nobody buries a perfectly fine, loaded gun with a broken grip on Siesta Key unless it was used in the bludgeoning murder of former Sarasota Mayor Harry Higel on Friday January 7tth, 1921. The Colt revolver went into the muck and mud of salt water wetland on Siesta Key in 1921 looking real shiny and pretty as seen in the top photo and came out of the ground 100 years later a rusty mess. But 6 live bullets remained in the cylinder of the Colt revolver, I have it on my desk.

I have not indicated the exact address off of Higel Ave on Siesta Key where the broken Colt revolver was found as the homeowner had his house up for sale and I did not want to create undo attention to the address. The Sarasota County Sheriff report indicates that Harry Higel was found unconscious in the middle of the road of Siesta Dr and Higel Ave, (where I have claimed all along the exact location of the crime scene).
A). The Sarasota County Sheriff report revealed today indicates the firearm that I tuned in on Nov 26th 2019, is in fact a 1900's era Colt revolver produced between 1907 and 1922, as I have claimed in numerous reports.
B). The Sarasota County Sheriff report indicates that back in 1921 investigators were unable to determine the instrument used to injure Higel.
C). The Sarasota County Sheriff report indicates injuries to Higel were from a solid object and above the neck (as in a pistol whipping).
D). The Sarasota County Sheriff report indicates the weapon used to kill Higel was never located.
E). The Sarasota County Sheriff report indicates that rumors had it, the weapon used to kill Higel was buried somewhere on Siesta Key.
F). The Sarasota County Sheriff report indicates that to this date, no weapon has ever been found, aside from this Colt revolver.
G). The Sarasota County Sheriff report indicates that the location of the Colt revolver was approximately one (1) block of Higel's location.
H). On 3/24/2020 The Sarasota County Sheriff report further states by writer: "I retrieved the weapon from Property and inspected it's parts. Upon review and through my own independent research, I believe, as reported by (Bill) Warner, these parts are to a Colt revolver produced in the early 1900's".

The mark of the weapon was clearly shown with multiple holes in the skull of Harry Higel made by the pointed end of the weapon (Colt Revolver). Rube Allyn murdered Harry Higel in cold blood on Siesta Key 100 years ago on Friday Jan 7th, 1921, I have no doubt. The murder weapon has been located, a loaded Colt revolver was found buried off of Higel Ave near the Givens Street bridge with 6 live bullets on Siesta Key Fl back in November 2019, it had one broken grip. Nobody buries a loaded gun unless it was used in a crime.

The Herald Tribune Newspaper in Sarasota did an article about the Higel murder, "100 years later, the murder of popular Sarasota mayor Harry Higel remains unsolved", by Billy Cox, Jan 7th, 2021. The Herald Tribune pointed out that "on March 9, 1921, Rube Allyn was released after a grand jury deliberated for 10 minutes. Sarasota private investigator Bill Warner claims on his website the jury was filled with Allyn’s “newspaper pals and drinking buddies.” Bill Warner says Higel’s injuries are consistent with a pistol-whipping; in fact, he says rusted fragments of a .32 caliber pocket Colt revolver – manufactured between 1907 and 1922 – were recovered near a Givens Street canal in November 2019. He says the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the make and the approximate time range of its manufacture. “You’d never throw away a revolver like that with six live bullets in it unless you’d committed a crime,” Bill Warner says. Like I said this story looks like a script for a block buster movie. see https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2021/01/07/sarasota-mayor-harry-higels-murder-remains-unsolved-100-years-later/6564394002/

MANATEE COUNTY GRAND JURY TANKS ON RUBE ALLYN MURDER CASE: Rube Allyn was arrested for murder of Harry Higel after Coroners Jury examines the evidence and Mr Higel's body on Jan 7th, 1921. At least 4 witnesses corroborated on the fact that Rube Allyn was near the murder scene on foot before 8:00 am. Rube Allyn was sent to County jail in Bradenton and spent 61 days there awaiting the Manatee County Grand Jury to Convene on Wednesday March 9, no bail was allowed. Grand juries have more of an advisory role to the prosecutor. They help to determine if there is enough probable cause in a case for an indictment for criminal charges. Grand juries do not determine guilt. They only ascertain if there enough evidence for a trial and a conviction. If you’ve ever sat on a grand jury, this may not be a surprise. The grand jury’s job according to prosecutors is simply to decide whether there is reason enough to bring an indictment, this includes any circumstantial evidence and witness statements. Jurors generally agree there is enough to indict. As the saying goes, "most grand juries will indict a ham sandwich". Yet in the case of Rube Allyn the Grand Jury deliberated for only 10 minutes after 6 1/2 hours of evidence put before them including witness statements and failed to indict with NO TRUE BILL.

If a Movie was ever cast for the Unsolved Murder of Harry Higel on Siesta Key Fl, Leonardo DiCaprio would be a shoe in for the tall, erratic, hard drinking Irish newsman Rube Allyn character. Rube Allyn's alibi was that he was back at home the morning of the Higel murder by 8:00 am on Friday Jan 7 as confirmed by his wife Rose and could not have done it as Higel was killed sometime between 8:10 am and 8:30 am. Interestingly Rose Allyn did not show up Wednesday morn March 9th to be questioned by the Grand Jury, she sent a statement instead. Appears Rose Allyn was too busy getting Rube's 'Florida Fisherman Magazine' ready for press over in Tampa, what the hell? In 1921 a felony conviction for Murder in Florida meant the death penalty and the execution method was hanging. In 1923 a bill was passed in Florida and placed all executions under State control instead of County and changed the method from hanging to electrocution. It appears to me that this Manatee County Grand Jury was nothing more than a "Kangaroo Court", a court held by a legitimate judicial authority which intentionally disregards the court's legal or ethical obligations and evidence. According to the Tampa Tribune on March 9th, 1921 the Manatee County Grand Jury was made up of 19 men; M. C. Davis, George N. Brown, J. A. Howse, J. A. Henry, T. B. Gallup, C. A. Rowlett, C. F. Edwards, Carl Hendrix, Guy Jones, C. L. Davis, W. O. Edwards, H. T. Glazier, Iron Ross, E. P. Lloyd, H. D. Horney, E. J. Bright, James G. Foster and Frank Kennedy. J. A. Howse was chosen Foreman. The murder case of Harry Higel by supposed suspect Rube Allyn was not carried forth to trial due to a tainted Manatee County Grand Jury as claimed by (Harry Higel's brother) George Higel who said: "One of the members of the Manatee Grand Jury investigating the murder of Harry Higel and the suspect Rube Allyn was a fellow newspaper man and personal friend of Rube Allyn".

For a fictional quasi historical book telling the story about the murder of Harry Higel based on a 100 year old .32 caliber Colt Police Positive Pocket revolver just like the one I described in all my articles and actually found on Siesta Key, see Tony Dunbar's The Story of the Sarasota Celery Fields & Other Mysteries, Blind Pass Publications" https://blindpasspublications.com/Books/index#celery The FBI or “Bureau of Investigation” should have been contacted by the remaining Higel brothers in Sarasota to investigate the very obvious rigged Manatee County Grand Jury that allowed newsman Rube Allyn to get away with murder on Siesta Key Fl in Jan 1921.

Leonardo Dicaprio and Martin Scorsese block buster new movie 'Killers of the Flower Moon' takes place in the same time period as the unsolved murder of Sarasota mayor Harry Higel, the 1920's. Martin Scorsese's attempts an epic Western and ends up with a violent, riveting crime story. “Killers of the Flower Moon,” starring Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, tells the real story of the brazen murders of Indigenous people of Osage County, Okla in the 1920s to rave reviews. In the 1920s, members of the Osage Native American tribe of Osage County, Oklahoma, are murdered after oil is found on their land, and the FBI decides to investigate. Killers of the Flower Moon is a New kind of Scorsese masterpiece. The Osage Indians lack political and social power—or more accurately, the freedom to exercise that power, since many holders of underground mineral rights, including Mollie and her family, require white “guardians” to access their own money. Partly as a result of this legal setup, marriages between Osage women and white men in the territory are not uncommon. Two of Mollie’s sisters already have white husbands, so it’s no family scandal when Mollie marries her hired driver, Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), newly arrived in town, 1917, after military service in World War I. Late in the film, an officer from the United States’ newly formed “Bureau of Investigation” (FBI) shows up at the Burkharts’ door to ask questions about the unsolved murders in Osage country, and what has for two-plus hours been a love story embedded in a portrait of organized crime suddenly morphs into a heart-pounding courtroom drama, as the weak-willed Ernest flails between his fear of his powerful uncle and his real, if twisted, loyalty to his broken, bereaved, but still trusting wife.

Bill Warner Private Investigator Sarasota 941-926-1926 - Cheaters and Child Custody Cases at http://www.wbipi.com/