00:00:04
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Next on Unsolved Mysteries--
00:00:07
a successful
business man is found
00:00:09
dead in the Arizona desert.
00:00:12
The mysterious markings
on this $2 bill
00:00:15
may be a clue to his
killer's identity.
00:00:18
[gunshot]
00:00:19
When explorers unseal
an Egyptian tomb,
00:00:23
they suffer disease
and destruction.
00:00:25
Some say it's the mummy's curse.
00:00:30
The FBI arrest 13 members of
a violent gang in Queens, New
00:00:34
York, but the leader gets away.
00:00:38
A series of blazes leaves
two firefighters dead.
00:00:42
Some say it's the work
of the same arsonist.
00:00:48
You might have
that one vital clue
00:00:50
to help solve one of our cases.
00:00:53
I'm Dennis Farina, and
this is Unsolved Mysteries.
00:00:56
Join us.
00:00:57
[theme music playing]
00:01:34
Tucson, Arizona-- it's a
typical spring morning.
00:01:39
Escrow company owner Chuck
Morgan leaves home as usual.
00:01:43
Later that day, he disappears.
00:01:49
Morgan is a potential
witness in a state
00:01:52
land fraud case involving a
known organized crime boss.
00:01:57
After being gone for three
days, he stumbles back home
00:02:02
at 2:00 in the morning.
00:02:03
RUTH MORGAN: I was in bed,
and the dog started barking.
00:02:07
And I got up, and there was a
thump against the back door.
00:02:11
I went to the door and opened
it, and there was Chuck.
00:02:15
Chuck!
[groans]
00:02:16
What happened?
00:02:18
RUTH MORGAN: And he
was missing a shoe.
00:02:20
He had one plastic
handcuff around one ankle.
00:02:24
And his hand still had them on.
00:02:27
[groans]
00:02:29
He kept motioning to his throat,
because he hadn't said a word.
00:02:32
Can you talk?
00:02:34
Can you write?
00:02:35
RUTH MORGAN: And he
shook his head, yes.
00:02:36
So I went and got
a tablet and a pen.
00:02:44
He wrote that his
throat had been painted
00:02:46
with a hallucinogenic drug
and that the drug could
00:02:50
drive him irrevocably insane
or destroy his nervous system
00:02:54
and kill him.
00:02:55
I'm going to call the police!
00:02:56
RUTH MORGAN: And I
wanted to call a doctor,
00:02:57
and I wanted to call the police.
00:02:59
And he was adamant.
00:03:03
And then he wrote out that
that would be signing a death
00:03:06
warrant for the entire family.
00:03:09
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Over the next week,
00:03:10
Ruth nurses her
husband back to health.
00:03:13
Before his voice
returns, he begins
00:03:16
to hint that he has a
secret identity as an agent
00:03:20
for the federal government.
00:03:22
RUTH MORGAN: He
wrote, "They took
00:03:24
my treasury identification."
00:03:26
And that's the first
I'd heard of it.
00:03:28
What treasury ID?
00:03:30
RUTH MORGAN: He wouldn't
talk to me about it.
00:03:32
Wrote-- he had been
working for them
00:03:34
for about two or three years.
00:03:37
And that was it.
00:03:40
Was Chuck Morgan actually
a treasury agent secretly
00:03:44
fighting organized crime?
00:03:46
And who was it
that kidnapped him?
00:03:48
As it turned out,
Chuck would not
00:03:50
live long enough to explain.
00:03:53
In the 1970s, the
mafia established
00:03:56
Arizona as a narcotics
pipeline and a haven
00:04:00
for money laundering.
00:04:01
More than 500 racketeers
set up shop here.
00:04:06
What made Arizona attractive
to crime syndicates
00:04:09
was a state law
which allowed anyone
00:04:11
to buy up land through
numbered blind trust accounts.
00:04:16
This meant that they
could launder money,
00:04:18
and it could not be traced.
00:04:21
Chuck Morgan had done real
estate escrow work for at least
00:04:24
one mafia family, and possibly
helped with the purchase
00:04:28
of gold bullion and platinum--
00:04:31
a more convenient
way to launder money.
00:04:35
DON DEVEREUX: He
was around the edges
00:04:37
of a couple of fairly
large organized crime
00:04:39
groups in Arizona at that time.
00:04:42
It is very easy to
get in over your head.
00:04:46
And I suspect that
over the years,
00:04:48
Mr. Morgan was in that
kind of a situation.
00:04:52
He was doing perhaps
upwards of a billion--
00:04:54
with a B-- escrow work,
and bullion and platinum--
00:04:58
transactions that
only existed on paper.
00:05:00
Charles Morgan?
00:05:03
DON DEVEREUX: He was
a straight businessman
00:05:05
who probably got a little
too close to the plane.
00:05:09
Chuck mentioned to
me once that there
00:05:13
was money laundering going on--
00:05:16
that nothing that he
himself was involved in.
00:05:20
He told me the less the girls
and I knew the better off
00:05:23
we would be.
00:05:25
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
After his kidnapping,
00:05:26
Chuck took no chances.
00:05:29
He wore a bulletproof
vest, and made
00:05:31
sure that he was the only
one who drove his daughters
00:05:34
to and from school.
00:05:39
But two months after
his disappearance, Chuck
00:05:42
vanished again.
00:05:48
Nine days after her
husband disappeared,
00:05:51
Ruth Morgan received a
mysterious phone call.
00:05:55
The woman gave her a
reference from the Bible.
00:05:59
RUTH MORGAN: This
woman said, Ruthie?
00:06:01
I said, yes.
00:06:03
She said, Chuck is all right--
00:06:04
Ecclesiastes 12, 1 through 8.
00:06:08
And then she hung up.
00:06:11
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): The passage
00:06:12
reads in part, "Men are
afraid of high places
00:06:16
and of terrors on the road.
00:06:19
Remember him before the
silver cord is broken
00:06:22
and the golden bowl is crushed.
00:06:24
Then the dust will return
to the earth as it was,
00:06:27
and the spirit will return
to God who gave it."
00:06:33
Two days later, Chuck's
body was discovered.
00:06:37
He was wearing his
bulletproof vest
00:06:39
and had died from a single
bullet fired at close range
00:06:43
in the back of his head.
00:06:45
The bullet came from
his own 357 Magnum,
00:06:48
which was lying beside him.
00:06:51
The investigators also
found a piece of paper
00:06:54
with directions
to the murder site
00:06:56
written in Chuck's handwriting.
00:06:58
And they found a pair of
sunglasses, which definitely
00:07:02
did not belong to Chuck.
00:07:06
They made one
additional discovery.
00:07:08
Chuck had clipped a $2
bill inside his underwear.
00:07:13
Written on the bill were
seven Spanish names beginning
00:07:17
with the letters A through G.
Above them was the notation
00:07:22
Ecclesiastes 12 with
the verses 1 through 8
00:07:27
marked by arrows drawn on
the bill's serial number.
00:07:31
This was the same Bible verse
the mysterious female caller
00:07:35
had given to Chuck's wife.
00:07:37
On the back of the bill, the
signers of the Declaration
00:07:41
of Independence were
numbered 1 through 7,
00:07:44
and there was a
roughly drawn map.
00:07:48
DON DEVEREUX: The map
is of some roads that
00:07:50
do exist between Tuscon
and the Mexican border,
00:07:53
going out a place
called Robles Junction
00:07:55
and then going south through
a little town called Sasabe.
00:07:59
It's an area that very likely
would be involved in smuggling.
00:08:04
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Despite the unusual evidence,
00:08:06
many in the Sheriff's department
believe that Chuck's death
00:08:10
was a suicide.
00:08:11
They claimed that
he had shot himself
00:08:14
in the back of the head.
00:08:15
RUTH MORGAN: There
is no way Chuck
00:08:17
would have committed suicide.
00:08:19
And if he had even
contemplated suicide,
00:08:23
he would have left a letter
for his girls and for me.
00:08:28
DON DEVEREUX: I've
never seen, in all
00:08:29
my years as a journalist,
a fellow take himself out
00:08:33
in the desert wearing
a bulletproof vest
00:08:34
and shoot himself in
the back of the head.
00:08:36
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Two days
00:08:37
after Chuck's death, a
woman called the Pima
00:08:40
County Sheriff's Department.
00:08:42
She said that Chuck had come
to meet her at a local motel
00:08:46
just before he died.
00:08:48
The woman called
herself Green Eyes,
00:08:51
and she said that she
was the same person
00:08:54
who had called Chuck's wife
quoting the Bible passage.
00:08:58
Green Eyes said
that in the motel,
00:09:00
Chuck showed her a
briefcase containing
00:09:02
thousands of dollars in cash.
00:09:05
He told her that the money
would buy him out of a contract
00:09:09
that the mob had
put on his life.
00:09:12
--over $60,000.
00:09:19
DON DEVEREUX: In a very perverse
sense, remotely possible,
00:09:21
Mr. Morgan paid
for his own murder.
00:09:25
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): The theory
00:09:26
goes that organized
crime put the word out
00:09:29
that they wanted Chuck dead.
00:09:31
The hit man then told Chuck,
who came up with the money
00:09:35
to buy off the hit man. man.
00:09:37
But when the two of
them met in the desert,
00:09:40
the hit man killed Chuck
anyway and took the cash.
00:09:45
DON DEVEREUX: There is a great
likelihood that Mr. Morgan was
00:09:47
in fact doing something
with the government,
00:09:50
and I think somebody
blew his cover.
00:09:53
And I think he got killed.
- We had a deal here.
00:09:54
Go over there and kneel down!
00:09:55
$60,000.
00:09:57
DON DEVEREUX: I think this
was a guy who was extremely
00:09:58
naive about a lot of things--
00:10:00
[gunshot]
00:10:01
--the sort of associations
he suddenly found himself
00:10:04
in, and maybe was even asked
to put himself in by people
00:10:08
in the US government.
00:10:11
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
After her husband's death,
00:10:13
Ruth Morgan was
visited by two men
00:10:16
claiming to be from the FBI.
00:10:18
We're special
agents with the FBI.
00:10:21
RUTH MORGAN: They
opened and closed
00:10:22
their identification very fast.
00:10:25
They said they wanted to come
in and look through the house.
00:10:29
They never said what
they were looking for.
00:10:32
To this day, I don't even know
what they were looking for.
00:10:35
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): The men
00:10:36
tore the house apart,
looking for something
00:10:39
that they never found.
00:10:41
Ruth was so upset that she
didn't write down their names.
00:10:45
No one knows for sure if the
men really were from the FBI.
00:10:49
Don Devereux contacted
the Bureau to get more
00:10:52
information on the Morgan case.
00:10:55
DON DEVEREUX: When I made a
Freedom of Information Act
00:10:57
request to the FBI, they never
heard of it despite the fact
00:11:01
that they obviously opened an
investigation, despite the fact
00:11:03
the FBI interviewed
Mr. Morgan's attorney.
00:11:06
They were all over this thing
like a blanket for a while.
00:11:08
But now they've never
heard of the guy.
00:11:10
He never existed-- no
card, no file-- nothing.
00:11:15
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
If Chuck Morgan was doing
00:11:17
undercover work
for the government,
00:11:19
could the clues he wrote
down on the $2 bill
00:11:22
be an attempt to pass
coded messages to the FBI?
00:11:26
DON DEVEREUX: I think the
$2 bill provides the basis
00:11:30
for some kind of a code there.
00:11:31
What seems to be missing,
however, is the document
00:11:34
the $2 bill would unlock.
00:11:37
If he was quietly providing
assistance to the US government
00:11:41
and monitoring the
activities of one
00:11:42
or more major organized crime
families, he wasn't a villain.
00:11:46
He was a good guy.
00:11:48
And they need to know that.
00:11:50
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
For Ruth Morgan,
00:11:52
only one thing is certain.
00:11:56
RUTH MORGAN: He was murdered.
00:11:57
Somebody held a gun to
his head and killed him.
00:12:01
[gunshot]
00:12:02
I may never know why, and I
probably will never know who.
00:12:07
But I know somebody did it.
00:12:10
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
If you have any information
00:12:12
about the death of Chuck Morgan,
please log on to our website
00:12:16
at unsolved.com.
00:12:23
Next-- fire
investigators believe
00:12:26
a serial arsonist
is behind a number
00:12:29
of unsolved blazes in Seattle.
00:12:43
Seattle, Washington--
on a September night--
00:12:46
[sirens]
00:12:47
--20 engine companies
respond to a 4 alarm fire
00:12:50
at the vacant Blackstock
Lumber Warehouse.
00:12:54
The blaze appears to
be isolated in just
00:12:56
one wing of the building.
00:12:59
But in a matter of minutes,
it becomes one of the largest
00:13:02
fires in Seattle history.
00:13:07
Matt Johnson and
Bill Meredith are
00:13:09
two of the first
firefighters to get inside.
00:13:13
Is Jack up here?
00:13:15
BILL MEREDITH: We
decided to explore
00:13:17
what appeared to be a second
story mezzanine type of area.
00:13:21
While I was up there, there was
a tremendous release of heat
00:13:26
from somewhere.
00:13:28
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): The
roof has exploded into a 5,000
00:13:32
degree wall of flame.
00:13:34
I'm out of air!
00:13:35
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Two stories
00:13:36
below, Matt and Bill are
overwhelmed by a blast of heat
00:13:39
so strong, they're
almost baked alive.
00:13:43
Go on, Bill!
00:13:44
Get me through.
00:13:45
[coughs]
00:13:46
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): The lack
00:13:48
of oxygen and tremendous heat
leaves Matt unable to move.
00:13:51
Bill goes for help, but becomes
disoriented within the blaze.
00:13:56
BILL MEREDITH: I've
been hot before,
00:13:57
but I never experienced that.
00:13:59
I've had my ears blistered,
but this was something else.
00:14:02
It was like being
x-rayed with heat.
00:14:05
It was absolutely stunning.
00:14:08
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Bill manages
00:14:09
to find his way to safety.
00:14:11
However, Matt Johnson is
found dead in the rubble.
00:14:16
He was 32 years old,
married, and the father
00:14:19
of a 15-month-old son.
00:14:24
To Seattle fire
investigator, Dennis Fowler,
00:14:28
the blaze seemed similar to
others set by an arsonist
00:14:31
that he had been
tracking for years.
00:14:35
DENNIS FOWLER: On
a scale of 1 to 10,
00:14:36
he's a 10 as far as his
skills and his abilities
00:14:41
go to bring a building down.
00:14:43
You can't put them out.
00:14:45
And the reason you
can't is because they
00:14:47
generate so much heat and
energy that a hose of water--
00:14:52
it simply cannot overcome it.
00:14:55
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Dennis first suspected
00:14:57
the work of the arsonist when
Seattle's 40,000 square foot
00:15:01
Carpet Exchange Warehouse
burned to the ground
00:15:04
in just 19 minutes.
00:15:07
The heat was so intense, that
it literally boiled concrete
00:15:12
and vaporized steel beams.
00:15:14
The firefighters
themselves said
00:15:16
that it was hotter than they
had ever experienced before.
00:15:20
And this is guys wearing
state-of-the-art firefighting--
00:15:23
the protective clothing--
and they're still outside.
00:15:24
And they've got hose lines, and
they can't get near the fire.
00:15:29
After this fire, Dennis Fowler
and the Seattle Fire Department
00:15:32
analyzed dozens of others across
the United States and Canada.
00:15:37
They found at least 20 fires
which looked like the work
00:15:40
of the same person.
00:15:42
They call them the
King of Arsonists.
00:15:46
It was believed that the
arsonist used a special kind
00:15:49
of fuel which left no residue.
00:15:52
And generated
temperatures between 5,000
00:15:55
and 7,000 degrees--
00:15:57
three times hotter
than a normal fire.
00:16:03
Here you can see some
silicas which have boiled up
00:16:05
out of the concrete from
the high temperatures
00:16:06
that we have with the thermite.
00:16:08
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
After a year of research,
00:16:09
the Seattle Fire
Department set a test fire
00:16:12
at an empty shopping center.
00:16:15
The entire complex was
destroyed in just a few minutes.
00:16:22
RICHARD GELHAUSEN:
The Puyallup test fire
00:16:23
allowed us to narrow the
field of potential accelerants
00:16:27
down tremendously.
00:16:28
Although it did not exactly
duplicate what the arsonist was
00:16:32
able to do, it reproduced
close enough for us
00:16:35
to know that this
was the type of fuel
00:16:37
that the arsonist is using.
00:16:38
And this is what we
were looking for.
00:16:41
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): The fuel
00:16:42
was a mixture of several
common ingredients,
00:16:45
but only someone with
very specific knowledge
00:16:48
would know how to put
these ingredients together.
00:16:53
The ceiling heights and--
00:16:55
and those rafters.
00:16:56
DENNIS FOWLER: He knows the
fuel and how much he needs
00:16:58
to use to take a building down.
00:17:01
Overall square footage--
00:17:02
DENNIS FOWLER: He may
not be an engineer,
00:17:04
but he certainly knows a lot
about building construction.
00:17:09
This person probably has no
contact at all with the people
00:17:12
who are going to
burn the building
00:17:13
or who actually are going
to have the building burned.
00:17:18
Once the fuel is delivered,
anybody can light it.
00:17:22
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
The Blackstock
00:17:23
Lumber fire was
the only one where
00:17:25
eye witnesses were present.
00:17:28
EYEWITNESS: I read about
the Blackstock Lumber fire
00:17:30
in the paper, and I realized
that I had been in the vicinity
00:17:34
of the fire approximately
15 to 20 minutes
00:17:38
before the alarm was called in.
00:17:40
I was driving along
the road Blackstock
00:17:43
Lumber Yard is located on.
00:17:45
I noticed a vehicle,
probably a 1970s
00:17:48
vintage, early 80s, Mercedes
coming out of a parking lot.
00:17:54
And it just seemed out of
place at the time and out of
00:17:56
character for the neighborhood.
00:17:58
That area is a industrial area,
and at that time of night,
00:18:01
everything is closed down.
00:18:04
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Another eyewitness
00:18:06
said that she saw a
suspicious-looking man
00:18:08
after the Blackstock
fire was already burning.
00:18:13
WILLIAM SMITH: He
paid absolutely
00:18:14
no attention to this fire--
00:18:16
basically just going
about his business.
00:18:18
And she found that
to be unbelievable.
00:18:22
It would appear that the fellow
was possibly somebody that
00:18:26
actually ignited the
fire, waited for a crowd
00:18:29
to gather so they could
blend in, and make
00:18:31
a casual exit from the area.
00:18:34
RICHARD GELHAUSEN: There
hasn't been a single one
00:18:35
of these fires where we
haven't had a large number
00:18:37
of firefighters
who have suffered
00:18:39
anything from minor injuries
to extensive injuries.
00:18:42
And in one of the Seattle fires,
we had a firefighter who died.
00:18:49
That's a murder.
00:18:50
And that's why it's
important to me.
00:18:56
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Update--
00:18:58
six years after the
Blackstock Lumber blaze,
00:19:02
the Seattle fire department
reexamined the case.
00:19:06
According to reports, they
determined that it was
00:19:09
not the work of an arsonist.
00:19:12
The fires seemed to
have been an accident,
00:19:15
probably started by transients.
00:19:18
However, some in the
Seattle fire department
00:19:20
still believe the Blackstock
fire was no accident.
00:19:27
Coming up-- the tomb
of King Tutankhamen--
00:19:31
storehouse of ancient
Egyptian treasures,
00:19:35
and the beginning of
a real mummy's curse.
00:19:50
Egypt-- home to the pyramids,
the great snakes, and giant
00:19:56
statues of long dead pharaohs--
00:19:59
buried deep in the
Valley of the Kings
00:20:01
are the tombs of
Egypt's ancient rulers.
00:20:05
Their mummified bodies were
surrounded by treasures meant
00:20:08
to travel with them to
the afterlife where they
00:20:11
would live on for eternity.
00:20:15
By the early 1900s, nearly every
tomb in the Valley of the Kings
00:20:19
had been picked clean by both
archaeologists and thieves.
00:20:23
But Howard Carter, a
British Egyptologist,
00:20:27
was sure that there was one
more undiscovered tomb--
00:20:31
that of a little known
pharaoh named Tutankhamen.
00:20:35
Carter was determined
to find it.
00:20:39
Howard Carter had no idea that
the discovery of King Tut's
00:20:42
final resting
place would unleash
00:20:45
one of the most sensational
legends of the 20th century--
00:20:49
the legend of the mummy's curse.
00:20:53
By the fall of
1922, Howard Carter
00:20:56
had been searching for King
Tut's tomb for five years.
00:21:00
His financial backer
was George Herbert,
00:21:04
the fifth Earl of Carnarvon.
00:21:06
He had already spent
the modern equivalent
00:21:09
of a half a million dollars,
and was about to give up.
00:21:13
Carter begged him to
give it one last chance.
00:21:17
On November 26, 1922, Howard
Carter, Lord Carnarvon,
00:21:23
and his daughter,
Lady Evelyn Herbert,
00:21:26
descended the stone staircase
and faced the sealed tomb.
00:21:31
No one knew what, if
anything, might be inside.
00:21:36
THOMAS HOVING:
The first thing is
00:21:38
this unbelievable feeling
of smelling, and feeling,
00:21:40
and a whoosh!
00:21:42
Out comes this air.
Of what?
00:21:44
How many thousands
of years, right?
00:21:48
And then he puts up this light.
00:21:51
My God, marvelous!
00:21:53
Well, let me have a look.
Move over.
00:21:56
Move over.
- Here.
00:21:57
THOMAS HOVING: Who could
possibly describe what he sees,
00:21:59
you know, this helter skelter
gold, gold, gold, gold, gold.
00:22:03
Fantastic!
00:22:06
THOMAS HOVING: And then,
of course, they go in.
00:22:09
They're suddenly
in a place where
00:22:11
the last person who
had been in there
00:22:12
was 3,600 whatever
years before, right?
00:22:16
And spooky things went on.
00:22:17
They began to feel--
00:22:18
I mean, they were no
different than thieves.
00:22:21
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): They had
00:22:22
found King Tut's tomb and
his most prized possessions--
00:22:27
the toys that he played
with as a baby, the throne
00:22:30
that he had ruled
from as a King,
00:22:33
and the golden jars that
held his heart and lungs.
00:22:38
Wooden chip.
00:22:39
The Egyptians literally believed
you could take it with you.
00:22:42
Since the next the
world was going
00:22:43
to be a continuation
of this world,
00:22:45
you would want your possessions.
00:22:46
You would want a bed.
00:22:47
You would want your utensils.
00:22:50
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
It was the most complete
00:22:52
Egyptian tomb ever
found, and it caused
00:22:55
a sensation around the world.
00:22:58
Carter and Carnarvon
became global celebrities.
00:23:02
And then, the discovery
took a dark turn.
00:23:06
In the days after
the tomb was opened,
00:23:09
a cobra, the royal
symbol of the pharaohs,
00:23:13
attacked and killed
Howard Carter's pet bird.
00:23:17
To some, the meaning was clear.
00:23:19
The King's serpent had taken
vengeance on the man who had
00:23:23
desecrated Tutankhamen's grave.
00:23:27
Locals said that before winter
was over, someone would die.
00:23:34
That someone was Lord Carnarvon.
00:23:37
Five months after the
opening of the tomb,
00:23:40
Carnarvon and died of
blood poisoning in Cairo.
00:23:44
According to legend,
at the very moment
00:23:46
Carnarvon died, his dog howled
in anguish and then fell dead--
00:23:52
in England.
00:23:53
[thunder]
00:23:56
Back in Cairo, a power failure
plunged the city into darkness.
00:24:01
Then a newspaper reported on a
curse written in hieroglyphics,
00:24:07
in King Tut's tomb.
00:24:10
"They who enter the
sacred tomb shall swift
00:24:13
be visited by wings of death."
00:24:17
DR. ZAHI HAWASS:
I discovered here,
00:24:18
at Giza, a tomb
with the first curse
00:24:21
inscription ever happened.
00:24:23
And listen to what the man
is saying in this tomb.
00:24:25
"If anyone will
disturb my tomb, he
00:24:28
will be eaten by a crocodile,
lion and the hippo."
00:24:34
His wife, left the
same inscription,
00:24:37
and she added more--
00:24:38
"and the scorpions, and
the snakes will eat you."
00:24:42
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Fear of the mummy's
00:24:44
curse created a panic.
00:24:47
Hundreds of tourists who had
bought Egyptian artifacts
00:24:50
as souvenirs shipped
them back, including,
00:24:53
in one case, a mummy's arm.
00:24:56
The United States
Congress even considered
00:24:59
passing a law banning
Egyptian artifacts
00:25:02
from American museums.
00:25:04
But Howard Carter
would not be stopped.
00:25:08
He cleared everything
out of the tomb,
00:25:10
even the King's mummified body.
00:25:14
Tut's wrappings were removed,
and his bones exposed.
00:25:21
Some say King Tut continued
to take his revenge.
00:25:25
Over the next 20 years,
the mummy's curse
00:25:28
was blamed for more
than 20 deaths,
00:25:31
including Howard Carter's.
00:25:34
But most Egyptologists
aren't buying it.
00:25:37
This whole curse
thing is total bunkum.
00:25:40
Lord Carnarvon gets
this infection.
00:25:42
He goes to the hospital.
00:25:44
He dies.
00:25:45
All the lights go out in Cairo.
00:25:47
Now today, in your
modern hotels,
00:25:49
is a candle in every bathroom.
00:25:51
The lights go out in Cairo, all
the time-- sporadically, right?
00:25:55
And the fact that the
dog howls at the moment,
00:25:58
you know, distant in
England-- of the death--
00:26:00
give me a break.
00:26:02
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Historians
00:26:03
are quick to dismiss the curse.
00:26:05
Scientists agree, but say
there could be a perfectly
00:26:09
natural explanation.
00:26:12
In his diary, Howard Carter
wrote that the tomb walls were
00:26:15
covered with an odd pink film.
00:26:19
It's possible this was
a type of mold or fungus
00:26:23
that gave off
dangerous mycotoxins--
00:26:26
poisons that can be more
deadly than any curse.
00:26:30
Lord Carnarvon was a perfect
target for these mycotoxins.
00:26:36
Not long after the
tomb was opened,
00:26:38
Carnarvon was bitten
by a mosquito.
00:26:42
The bite became
infected, perhaps
00:26:45
by mycotoxins from the tomb.
00:26:48
When he nicked himself
shaving, the infection
00:26:50
became worse, which led to
blood poisoning, and his death.
00:26:55
DR. ZAHI HAWASS: This is
why I advise my assistants
00:26:58
in my excavations--
00:27:00
I tell them, do not shave
while we are excavating.
00:27:04
And this is what
happened, in my opinion,
00:27:06
to most of the cases
that's happened
00:27:08
during the excavations.
00:27:10
And people said, the
curse of the pharaohs.
00:27:14
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Since Carter's discovery,
00:27:16
the treasures of
Tutankhamen have
00:27:18
been exhibited
all over the world
00:27:20
and seen by millions of people.
00:27:24
If ancient Egyptians
wished eternal life
00:27:27
for their pharaohs, in
the case of King Tut,
00:27:30
immortality has been guaranteed.
00:27:37
Next-- one of the missing heirs
to a million dollar estate
00:27:42
is found after 30 years.
00:27:55
Austin, Texas-- on a
previous broadcast,
00:27:58
we profiled the case of Lorene
Roberts, who mysteriously
00:28:02
vanished in 1962 and had no idea
that she was one of the heirs
00:28:08
to a million dollar estate.
00:28:10
Uh, I'll be with you
in just a minute, OK?
00:28:13
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Lorene
00:28:14
was just 16 years old
and working as a waitress
00:28:18
when she fell in love.
00:28:20
Coffee, pie, and how about
I take you for a whirl?
00:28:24
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): She
and the serviceman were married
00:28:26
just 10 days after they met.
00:28:31
Within five years, the couple
had two sons and a daughter,
00:28:35
but their marriage
was falling apart.
00:28:37
When her husband
filed for divorce,
00:28:40
Lorene was left to raise
the children on her own.
00:28:43
I got to go now.
00:28:44
I got to go.
00:28:45
Will you watch after
them for me, OK?
00:28:47
RUBY BOHLS: Lorene tried.
00:28:49
She worked, and she tried
to handle, you know,
00:28:51
her situations.
00:28:53
And she loved her
children very much.
00:28:55
But that was just something
she couldn't handle.
00:28:58
And she was saying she
couldn't handle it.
00:29:00
And she tried to get
help from her husband--
00:29:03
but no help.
00:29:05
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Finally, Lorene
00:29:07
felt that she had no
choice but to give
00:29:09
her children up for adoption.
00:29:12
The decision left her
emotionally shattered.
00:29:16
Eventually, she was admitted
to a state mental facility.
00:29:20
Take care now.
00:29:21
OK, you too.
00:29:22
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Two years later,
00:29:23
while on leave
from the hospital,
00:29:25
Lorene visited her sister Ruby.
00:29:28
After that, no one in the family
ever heard from her again.
00:29:33
30 years later, after
the death of her mother,
00:29:37
Lorene became one of the heirs
to a million dollar estate.
00:29:41
But she couldn't be located,
even with an extensive search
00:29:44
by the executors.
00:29:47
Update-- when this story
aired, Lorene happened
00:29:51
to be watching on our show.
00:29:53
She was living in
Little Rock, Arkansas,
00:29:56
working as a housekeeper
for room and board.
00:30:00
A few days later, Lorene flew
back home to Austin, Texas
00:30:03
for a long overdue
reunion with her family.
00:30:06
[laughter]
00:30:09
Lorene!
00:30:10
Oh!
00:30:12
[crying]
00:30:13
Oh, Lorene!
00:30:15
VIRGINIA TURNE: It
was unbelievable.
00:30:17
I could hardly believe it.
00:30:19
Because I guess
for so long, we had
00:30:22
searched and searched for her,
and we couldn't find a lead.
00:30:28
LORENE HOUTKIN: Yes,
it's nice to be back.
00:30:30
They're real nice.
00:30:32
They've always been.
00:30:33
They're original
people, they said--
00:30:36
that are very darling people.
00:30:39
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
After we filmed this reunion,
00:30:41
Lorene remained in
Austin for three months.
00:30:44
She received her
$105,000 inheritance
00:30:48
and returned to Arkansas.
00:30:54
When he was just a little kid,
the man you're about to meet
00:30:57
wanted to join the
mob in New York City.
00:31:00
To get the attention
of the crime families,
00:31:03
Paul Ragusa felt that he
had to make a statement.
00:31:06
And so he did--
00:31:08
with guns and violence.
00:31:13
On the streets of
Queens, Paul Ragusa
00:31:16
had a reputation as a
brutal mobster who did it
00:31:19
all-- robbery, assault,
racketeering, and arson.
00:31:24
And he got away with
it, because his victims
00:31:27
were afraid to press charges.
00:31:31
Paul Ragusa was the leader, I
think, based on his propensity
00:31:34
to engage in violence.
00:31:36
Ragusa is known as
a fighter, somebody
00:31:37
that is not adverse to using
his hands and to using firearms.
00:31:43
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Ragusa was literally
00:31:44
born into a life of crime.
00:31:48
JERRY CAPECI: His
father, Filippo,
00:31:49
was a major heroin trafficker
who smuggled in many kilos
00:31:53
of heroin from Sicily.
00:31:55
His older sister,
Francesca, was a member
00:31:58
of his father's heroin ring.
00:32:01
Her husband was also
a member of the ring,
00:32:03
and so was another of
Paulie's brother-in-laws.
00:32:07
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Filippo Ragusa was eventually
00:32:09
sent to prison, and his
son Paul set out to become
00:32:13
a major crime boss himself.
00:32:16
He organized the Giannini
Crew, a gang of violent thugs
00:32:20
who had their headquarters
in the heart of Queens
00:32:23
at the cafe, Giannini.
00:32:26
According to police,
Paul Ragusa and his gang
00:32:29
spent countless
hours here sipping
00:32:31
espresso and plotting
crimes they hoped
00:32:34
would put them on the map.
00:32:36
DET.
00:32:38
WILLIAM INGWERSEN: Paul and his
gang were extremely dangerous.
00:32:40
They just didn't have
any regard for life.
00:32:42
If you got in their way,
they were going to shoot you.
00:32:45
JERRY CAPECI: You have to be
Italian to get into the mob,
00:32:48
but you have to earn
your way into it.
00:32:50
You have to show that you're
a tough guy and willing
00:32:52
to do just about
anything that's required
00:32:56
to make money for the family.
00:32:59
These guys, however,
went too far.
00:33:03
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): As
an example, Ragusa and his crew
00:33:06
robbed the same bank in their
own neighborhood three times.
00:33:11
Altogether, their take
was more than $200,000.
00:33:15
In another crime, the gang
targeted two security officers
00:33:19
carrying $20,000 in cash
as they arrived at a bank
00:33:24
to make a night deposit.
00:33:27
Driver got out of the van--
00:33:28
proceeded over to the
night deposit box.
00:33:30
As he walked over to
the night deposit box,
00:33:32
he realizes a van
across the street.
00:33:34
He turned, and at that time,
three suspects exiting the van
00:33:38
approached him, and fired
at him at rapid session.
00:33:40
[gunshots]
00:33:42
He returned fire,
emptying his revolver.
00:33:44
He then fell to the ground
and crawled to safety.
00:33:46
His partner, taking cover behind
a wall, also returned fire.
00:33:51
You could still see some of the
results from that shoot out.
00:33:55
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
The shootout left one security
00:33:57
guard seriously injured.
00:33:59
Police believed the
guards would have
00:34:01
been killed if the Giannini crew
had not run out of ammunition.
00:34:07
LEWIS SCHILIRO: The
main factor that
00:34:08
makes these types of
individuals so dangerous
00:34:11
is one, their youth, and
two, their total disregard
00:34:13
for human life.
00:34:16
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
By early 1996,
00:34:18
a joint investigation by the
FBI and the New York City Police
00:34:22
led to a 32 count
indictment against Ragusa
00:34:26
and 13 members of his gang.
00:34:29
All were arrested
except Paul Ragusa.
00:34:34
JERRY CAPECI: If you
want to be a tough guy,
00:34:35
you have to show you're
not afraid of anything.
00:34:38
But deep down, all of these
guys have some kind of a fear
00:34:42
that they're going to be caught.
00:34:45
It was this knowledge that
Paulie was going to get caught
00:34:49
that forced him to run away.
00:34:55
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Update--
00:34:56
18 months after he disappeared,
Paul Ragusa came out of hiding
00:35:01
and surrendered to the FBI.
00:35:04
He had grown a goatee and
dyed his hair canary yellow.
00:35:09
Ragusa was eventually
convicted of racketeering,
00:35:12
arson, and a weapons charge.
00:35:14
He was sentenced to
19 years in prison.
00:35:21
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Next,
a woman finds her long lost
00:35:24
father working for the circus.
00:35:27
And now, she's searching
for her brother.
00:35:39
28-year-old Lee
Curly Lloyd served
00:35:42
this country as a
member of the army
00:35:44
during the second world war.
00:35:46
He managed to survive,
but his marriage did not.
00:35:51
While Curly was away on duty,
his wife filed for divorce
00:35:55
and placed their son
and two daughters
00:35:57
in a boarding home for children
in Oroville, California.
00:36:02
One day, in 1944,
Curly's wife arrived
00:36:06
at the boarding house with
a man that she would marry
00:36:09
when her divorce was final.
00:36:10
I-- I've come here--
00:36:11
I want to take my children--
00:36:13
just the girls,
though-- not Arthur.
00:36:15
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Peggy Lloyd and her sister
00:36:17
went to live with their
mother and the man who
00:36:19
would become their stepfather.
00:36:20
OK.
00:36:21
Let's go.
00:36:24
Peggy's brother,
Arthur, was left behind.
00:36:29
Peggy grew up being
told that her father
00:36:32
had deserted the family.
00:36:34
When she asked about her
brother, she was ignored.
00:36:37
Peggy began to wonder if
Arthur had ever even existed.
00:36:42
She got her answer on
a summer day in 1948.
00:36:48
I climbed up into the attic.
00:36:49
And I crawled along, kind
of looking at things.
00:36:53
In the back was
a bunch of boxes.
00:36:56
So I was playing in this
particular group of boxes,
00:37:00
and I found this picture.
00:37:03
PEGGIE LLOYD REYNA: When I
looked at the picture, I just--
00:37:05
I knew that it was Arthur.
00:37:07
I couldn't say that
that was a memory.
00:37:08
It was a feeling.
00:37:09
It was like he looked like me.
00:37:11
He was the right age.
00:37:12
It just felt--
00:37:13
I knew that it was Arthur.
00:37:14
Peggy?
00:37:15
Yeah?
00:37:16
What are you doing?
00:37:17
Where have you been?
00:37:20
Look.
00:37:21
It's Arthur, my brother.
00:37:26
PEGGIE LLOYD REYNA: She
took the picture from me,
00:37:28
and I never saw
the picture again.
00:37:29
And I still never got an answer.
00:37:31
But of course, in my
mind, I just knew.
00:37:34
And so I guess that I just
grew up believing that wherever
00:37:38
my father was, Arthur was.
00:37:41
It wasn't until Peggy
was an adult herself
00:37:44
that she raised the subject
again with her mother.
00:37:46
Peggy gave her a
chart of her family
00:37:48
tree as a way to
start a conversation
00:37:51
about Arthur and Curly.
00:37:53
PEGGIE LLOYD REYNA:
I was an adult now,
00:37:54
and she didn't have to be
so afraid of what I did.
00:37:57
And perhaps she would
give me that information
00:37:59
and feel like enough time had
passed that she could do that.
00:38:03
I've forgotten that one.
00:38:06
But you know, mom, I still
don't have any information
00:38:09
about my own father.
00:38:10
Peggy, don't start
with me again, please.
00:38:12
We just want to know
where he was born, mom.
00:38:15
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): In the end,
00:38:16
Peggy's mother revealed
Curly's birth place.
00:38:19
Please, mom.
00:38:20
Lindsay, Oklahoma.
00:38:23
Thanks.
00:38:24
PEGGIE LLOYD REYNA:
The next day,
00:38:25
I called there on the phone,
and I put an ad in their local
00:38:28
weekly newspaper,
asking if anybody knew
00:38:31
his whereabouts or Arthur's.
00:38:34
It was from there that
things began to happen.
00:38:40
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Just
nine days after placing the ad,
00:38:43
Peggy was bringing
in a stack of mail
00:38:45
when a letter caught her eye.
00:38:48
PEGGIE LLOYD REYNA:
And there I saw
00:38:49
this one that said Curly-n-Cue,
Clown Alley, Spokane.
00:38:56
When I saw the
letter from my dad,
00:38:59
it was like I felt
like my heart stopped.
00:39:03
And I opened the
letter, and the letter
00:39:05
said, my beloved daughter, how
thrilled I am to hear from you.
00:39:10
It was like-- it's
indescribable.
00:39:15
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Peggy was surprised to learn
00:39:17
that her father, Curly, had
been a professional clown
00:39:20
with Ringling Brothers
and other circuses.
00:39:24
In 1955, he had even performed
within five miles of Peggy's
00:39:29
home in southern California.
00:39:31
This home video was shot at
Peggy and Curly's reunion.
00:39:36
The event was Peggy's 43rd
birthday, and the first one
00:39:40
that she was able to
celebrate with her father
00:39:42
since she was 3 years old.
00:39:45
PEGGIE LLOYD REYNA: Suddenly,
I had a grandfather, and aunts,
00:39:48
and uncles, and
cousins, and just
00:39:50
this whole world of family.
00:39:53
And they just all acted like
I'd been there my whole life--
00:39:56
like they'd always
been my family.
00:39:58
And it's just a wonderful thing.
00:40:00
[laughter]
00:40:01
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
The only sad note
00:40:03
to the reunion was that
Peggy's brother, Arthur,
00:40:06
was not with the family.
00:40:10
For four years, Arthur had
traveled with the circus,
00:40:14
watching his father
perform in towns
00:40:16
and in cities across America.
00:40:18
Curly had no idea where his
ex-wife and his two daughters
00:40:22
were living.
00:40:23
Hey, Arthur.
00:40:24
How are you doing?
00:40:25
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Curly
had joined the circus when he
00:40:27
was just 9, and believed
that the traveling life would
00:40:30
be good for his young son.
00:40:33
But not everyone agreed.
00:40:36
PEGGIE LLOYD REYNA: The circus
people told him that Arthur
00:40:38
needed to be in school.
00:40:39
Arthur needed a home, stability,
and that the circus life
00:40:44
wasn't a good home for him.
00:40:46
The church can
find him a home.
00:40:48
I appreciate that.
00:40:50
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): When
Arthur was just six years old,
00:40:52
curly left him in the care
of a Catholic children's
00:40:55
organization.
00:40:56
Hey.
00:40:57
I want you to take
care of yourself, OK?
00:41:00
All right?
00:41:01
And this man here, he's
going to take care of you.
00:41:03
Be good.
00:41:04
And remember everything
daddy told you, OK?
00:41:06
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): 15
Years later, Curly received
00:41:09
two letters from his son.
00:41:10
But Arthur did not include
his adopted last name
00:41:14
or his return address.
00:41:16
Both letters were mailed from
Colorado Springs, Colorado.
00:41:22
I tried Colorado Springs.
00:41:24
I didn't find anything there.
00:41:26
I seemed to be at a loss.
00:41:30
I have to find Arthur.
00:41:31
I have to find him to
say, you have a family--
00:41:33
not just myself, but
all of Curly's family--
00:41:37
who love you and want you.
00:41:39
And we want to know you.
00:41:41
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
This is one of only two
00:41:43
known photographs of
Arthur Franklin Lloyd.
00:41:47
When the picture was taken,
Arthur was two years old
00:41:51
and had blond hair.
00:41:52
He has blue eyes, and his
birth date is April 21, 1943.
00:41:59
If you have any information that
can help reunite Peggy Lloyd
00:42:03
Reyna with her brother Arthur,
please log on to our website
00:42:07
at unsolved.com.
00:42:12
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