Copyright held by The John Cooke Fraud Report. Reprint rights are granted with attribution to The John Cooke Fraud Report with a link to this website.
It wasn’t quite the Tommyknockers, but too close for comfort to the laid back town of Clearwater.
James Hootman was an insurance agent. One of his customers was 89-year old Deuward M. Tune of Dunedin. Tune’s remains were discovered, on Hootman’s property, in a number of cement filled buckets. The dead man had been cut up with an electric saw and the murder might have had something to do with the fact Hootman had been accused by Tune of pilfering money from his Banker’s Life and Casualty account.
Pinellas Sheriff’s detectives interviewed Robert Ott, Hootman’s former roommate. Ott said his fake identity in the name of Daniel O’Toole was the handiwork of Hootman – as were similar false identities for at least four other people. In a later raid of Hootman’s home, blank birth certificates, notary stamps, an inkpad and a typewriter were discovered. Ott had used the O’Toole identification to open a bank account – with a draft from Banker’s Life and Casualty. In all, six banks were similarly involved.
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Gently Down the Stream.
Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily
Big Bucks are Just a Dream….
© Copyright 1996 Alikim Media