Detective's Divorce Case Reveals Scandalous Secrets
A former Spokane police detective is caught in a bitter divorce suit after a suspicious photograph is discovered in his watch.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Four years ago, Otto Bringgold, then a well known city detective, was discharged from the police court in Spokane in disgrace. What led up to his undoing was the arrest of a notorious bunko man named Wells. During the course of a trial, Wells charged Bringgold with accepting money from him for allowing his swindling operations to go on unmolested. Now Bringgold's wife is suing him for divorce and it promises to be one of the most sensational proceedings ever aired in the local courts. The trouble in a heretofore tranquil home started, so Mrs. Bringgold alleges, when she found the picture of pretty Grace Murphy in Otto's watch case. Mrs. Bringgold demanded an explanation, but got none. The proceedings contain the names of numerous other women. The proceedings are being fiercely denied by the ex-detective, and Mrs. Bringgold says she fears for her life.
“The trouble in a heretofore tranquil home started, so Mrs. Bringgold alleges, when she found the picture of pretty Grace Murphy in Otto's watch case.”
The intersection of professional corruption and domestic scandal has always been tabloid fodder. This story serves as a reminder that personal failings have often defined the public's perception of law enforcement figures throughout history.
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