Wilbur McCaulley was born 1936ish
June 20, 1966, escaped from Jackson State Prison in Waterloo, Michigan
Peter Merschdorf started the Rutt Tavern (7127 West National Avenue) in early 1968 with a man named Kusch. Later, he met Arthur Bryan at the Interns and they struck up a friendship. In mid-summer, Bryan wanted to buy into the Rutt along with his friend John Morn. Merschdorf already knew Morn, but did not know he knew Bryan until this time. It was determined these men would each contribute $8,000 which would be used to help build a pizza parlor called Nero’s at 8533 West Greenfield Avenue, West Allis. Their attorney for the incorporation was Joseph Balistrieri.
June 1968, McCaulley began to stock up on guns, purchased by his wife (under a false name) from Casanova’s in Milwaukee.
On September 28, there was a fire at the Rutt, and the damage was extensive, so they have decided to focus on the pizza parlor. Merschdorf did not think Bryan was a gambler, as he only knew him to go to Las Vegas on one occasion. He knew Morn was a gambler, but had not placed bets with him and there was no gambling at the Rutt.
October 3, Wilbur McCaulley and William Carey robbed a Houghton Lake, Michigan bank of $37,000 and got away with the help of McCaulley’s wife..
October 23, around 4:00pm, McCaulley robbed the Cadillac State Bank at Marion, Michigan of $15,900 and got away in a car that had been stolen in Detroit. McCaulley left the bank employees locked in the vault. The stolen car was abandoned and he hopped into his own car, driven by wife Diane.
On the drive to Milwaukee that same evening, McCaulley tells his wife he may have to “get rid of” John Sandoval, who she knew as John Garcia. Sandoval knows too much about the bank robberies, and knows McCaulley’s real name. On the drive they stop at a restaurant in upper Michigan and McCaulley called William Carey, telling him, too, that Sandoval must be killed.
That evening, 10:07pm, William Carey rents a car from Mitchell Airport under his true name. With him at the time of rental was John Sandoval. They drive to the Sheraton-Shroeder Hotel and rent room 1802. Here, Carey uses the alias of William Green from Detroit.
October 24, 12:30am, McCaulley arrives home at 9907 West Beloit Road in Milwaukee – he unpacks the car and his wife puts the children to bed. Around 1:00am, Carey calls McCaulley and says that he already shot Sandoval . McCaulley says, “Man, couldn’t you have waited?” which his wife hears. Carey says he tore his pants, so McCaulley grabs a pair and two handguns, and leaves the house. This is the last time Diane ever sees him.
By 3:00am, Carey and Sandoval arrive at the McCaulley house and wake up Diane. Sandoval is bleeding and tells Diane he killed her husband with a pipe. They ransack the place, taking thousands of dollars, guns, explosives and some marijuana. They hand Diane $4,850 and tell her to keep her mouth shut. Sandoval insisted to her that McCaulley did not love her or the kids and one day she would be glad he was dead. The two men leave, and drop the rental car off at O’Hare in Chicago at 5:50am, where they fly to Detroit.
At 6:15am, off duty Kenosha deputy Roger Zeihen finds a brown suitcase in the ditch at the corner of I-94 and County C. Opening it up, he finds guns, explosives and marijuana. He turns it over to the FBI.
At 1:10pm on October 24, 1968, McCaulley was found by maid Mamie Dodson on the 18th floor of the Sheraton Schroeder Hotel, beaten to death. Fifteen officers arrive and close off the scene. His only identification was a tattoo on his left forearm of a panther head. He was soon discovered to be Arthur G. Bryan. Days later, it was found that “Bryan” was really Wilbur Joseph McCaulley, who was living in Milwaukee under the false name. He had a $240/month apartment he shared with his wife and four kids.
A few days after his murder, police speculated that McCaulley was connected to the June 15, 1967 bank robbery at the Kettle Moraine bank in Eagle. $15,000 was taken by a man and woman. He was also suspected of involvement in a $50,000 robbery at Laona State Bank in July 1967 and a holdup at Milwaukee’s Bank of Commerce only a week prior to his death.
October 27, police learned that McCaulley’s hangout in Milwaukee was the Interns bar (5900 West National), where he would chat with co-owners Nick Santoro and Jim Thompson. Sometimes his friend “Bill” from Detroit would be with him, and on one occasion a drunken Bill told the owners he killed a black man in Detroit. (He did not use the term “black man.”)
October 28, The police ran background checks on John Morn and Barbara Morn. John was a known gambler. Barbara had a minor record – breaking and entering as a juvenile, and one arrest for prostitution as an adult.
On November 7, 30-year old William L. Carey was soon picked up for McCaulley’s murder. McCaulley’s wife was also picked up for bank robbery – she was found under the name Diane Bryan. Her real name was Diane Ruth McCorkle. Diane tells authorities the truth of what she knows and identifies the killers as Carey and “John Garcia.”
November 12, Carey was interviewed but refused to sign any statement. He insisted, “I didn’t kill McCaulley – I couldn’t take a life.” Regardless, first degree murder charges were filed.
November 18, 31-year old John T. Sandoval was picked up in Detroit by the FBI after Diane was able to match his photo to the man she knew as John Garcia. He was charged with first degree murder.
April 3, 1969, John Sandoval had his preliminary hearing, defended by Francis Croak, and was bound over for trial after Diane McCaulley testified that Sandoval told her he hit her husband with a pipe (actually the barrel of a sawed-off shotgun). Sandoval and Carey stopped at her house after the beating and Sandoval still had blood on his shirt. They told her there was a fight over how to split the $15,900 loot from Marion. Sandoval appealed and the Wisconsin Supreme Court dismissed the charges, saying the warrant had insufficient information.
May 12, 1969, authorities swear out a new warrant and arrest Sandoval again. The new preliminary hearing was June 11, and he was again bound over for trial.
September 1969, Milwaukee tried to charge and extradite William Carey by sending for him in Detroit, but he had already been transferred to prison in Atlanta.
February 1970, Sandoval was convicted of manslaughter, with the help of William Carey, who testified to how they had been bank robbery partners and Sandoval fought over money with McCaulley. Carey did help Sandoval, though, by saying the fatal beating came only after McCaulley threatened Sandoval with a pistol. The following month, Sandoval was sentenced to eight years in prison, This was stayed and he was put on five years of probation for the crime. He was also turned over to federal authorities because he had been out on probation for a 10-year bank robbery sentence and had 7 years left to serve.
One week after Sandoval’s conviction, charges against Carey were dismissed by Judge Hugh O’Connell when prosecutor Theodore Hodan claimed he could not prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. O’Connell dropped the charges, but made a point of saying Carey and Sandoval were “two of the most practiced and callous liars ever to occupy the witness stand in the county.” Regardless, Carey was returned to federal prison in Atlanta to serve 45 years he had been out on parole for. The dropping of charges is surprising to me. While it’s possible the case would be hard to prove, I wonder if perhaps it was simply easier to close the case with Sandoval’s conviction. Assuming Carey served his full sentence, he would not go on trial for murder until decades later… at that point, it likely WOULD be hard to prove a case, because few witnesses would be left.