Acknowledgments

I want to thank the dozens of individuals who spoke to me—in many cases on several occasions and at considerable length—about the subject matter of this book. Most of you are mentioned by name in the text. Please know that without your help this book would not have been possible. I’m especially grateful to Jeanette Sackett Monteon, James Sackett Jr., and Julie Sackett, as well as to Glen Kothe, Stuart Montbriand, William MacDonald, Robert Winger Jr., Daniel Bostrom, and Gerald Dexter—the family, friends, partners, and supervisors of Patrolman Sackett. Speaking candidly and repeatedly about the worst days of their lives surely wasn’t easy.

Kate Cavett’s oral histories of St. Paul’s African American community, collected in her remarkable book Voices of Rondo, were invaluable. So were her oral histories of former St. Paul police officers, including several who were on the street on May 22, 1970. So were the many kind introductions to her friends and admirers in both the Summit-University neighborhood and the police department. Retired St. Paul officers and department historians Fred Kaphingst and Edward Steenberg dutifully answered my many questions about police work circa 1970 and since. Sergeant Jane Mead was my guide through the labyrinthine police records of this complicated case. Most of my many visits to the department’s Grove Street headquarters were conducted during the watch and with the permission of then chief John Harrington (now a state senator) and homicide commander Timothy Lynch (now retired). Thank you all.

My thanks also to Jack Rhodes, former chief of staff at the Ramsey County Attorney’s office, and erstwhile Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, for providing access to case files as well as explanations and insights; to Jill Garrison, Joseph Cassell, David Marchetti, and Debbie Erickson, for trial transcripts, additional Ramsey County district court documents, and courtroom detail; to Brett Aurit, for police department crime statistics; to Sarah Russell and Rico Lopez of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, for facilitating my conversations with Ronald Reed, and Sarah Berg for additional DOC data; to Mary Beth Redmond at St. Paul’s Central High School, for dusting off old yearbooks; and to Lynn Sullivan at the Omaha, Nebraska, public library, for help re-creating the attempted robbery of the Ames Plaza Bank and subsequent trials.

I drew important information from the reportage provided by several newspapers and websites, including, in the Twin Cities, the Pioneer Press, Star Tribune, and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. Nick Coleman, Bill Gardner, Mara Gottfried, Paul Gustafson, David Hanners, Howie Padilla, Joy Powell, and Shannon Prather, among others, kept local readers such as myself abreast of the developments that followed the resurrection of the case in 2002. Ron Edwards offered his own point of view from the Twin Cities’ African American community. KSTP-TV’s Tom Hauser deserves kudos for locating and interviewing Connie Trimble in 1994.

Larry Millett’s AIA Guide to the Twin Cities—especially the sections describing St. Paul’s neighborhoods and architecture—was once again indispensable to this born-and-bred Minneapolitan. Nobody, in my opinion, has written more or better about the Twin Cities past and present. David Vassar Taylor’s African Americans in Minnesota and Mary Lethert Wingerd’s Claiming the City: Politics, Faith, and the Power of Place in St. Paul were among several additional books that gave me historical context and data.

My friend Jeffrey Thompson provided essential advice and counsel throughout the research and writing process. My son, Joseph Swanson, offered encouragement and valuable feedback from start to finish.

For the second time in my charmed writer’s life, I have benefited from the intelligence, talents, and good humor of the team at Borealis Books, including press director Pamela McClanahan, managing editor Shannon Pennefeather, sales and marketing manager Mary Poggione, publicity and promotions director Alison Aten, marketing associate Leslie Rask, and design and production manager Daniel Leary. Ann Regan is not only a superlative editor in chief, she’s a trusted partner in crime. Thank you all for another scintillating adventure in publishing.

My gratitude, finally, to Libby, Katie, Joe, and Kathryn. I can’t imagine attempting, much less accomplishing, anything worthwhile without your love and support.