Handwritten letter from extortionist to Mae West, 1935

Description: Related to Los Angeles Times article, October 8, 1935, Officers Capture Mae West Death Threat Suspect, Six Others Questioned in $1000 Plot After Seizure of Studio Bus Boy as He Assertedly Picks Up Decoy. Suspected as the author of a series of sinister notes to Mae West, motion-picture actress, threatening death or disfiguration by acid unless she paid $1000, George Janios, 38-year-old bus boy at a Western-avenue studio, last night was in the custody of investigators …
Janios was released from custody two days later.
Photograph of handwritten note, attached to board with tacks
Text reads: We seen your sign it looked like a trap. You put that money next to the fire plug over the wall in the bushes tonite and leave it there in a tin can a small can of your own if anyone stops the man who come's for it this town will be too hot to hold you as he will not know who we are and we dont joke we seen Timothy without you last nite at the fights remenber pleasure man in New York. We knew you then you sent one guy up the river for publicity. So dont try it again. Acid Burns
Caption: Text from nitrate negative sleeve: 2475, NBox6, Oct 22 1935, Extortion Letters sent to Mae West, 10-10-35

Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections
Local identifier: uclamss_1429_0038
ARK: ark:/21198/zz002d97bn
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Rights Country: US
Funding Note: Access to this collection is generously supported by Arcadia funds.
License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .