April 2, 2024 • 36 mins
Just as the truck stops see success, a powerful force threatens the whole operation. Rodney discovers an unusual cluster of arrest records, and their mysterious dismissals. Connie instructs Buckeye in the art of seduction with a group of men from out of town.
Written and hosted by Lindsay Byron - goodtimesbadgirls.com
Music and sound design by Guy Kelly - guykelly.com
CAST:
Prosecutor - Ben Bowlin
Newscaster - Lauren Vogelbaum
Sergeant Bradley - Dylan Fagan
SOURCES:
All courtroom scenes are pulled from the transcripts of The United States VS Joseph Whitehead, Landon Wayne Holley, and Aubrey Henderson trial trial. These transcripts are located in the National Archives in Philadelphia.
The first hand accounts from Frankie Jones come from an interview I conducted with him in Danville, Virginia, in June 2022.
The first-hand accounts from Rodney Smith come from an interview I conducted with him on January 26th, 2022.
The courtroom scene characterizing Wayne Holley as Hookergate’s primary liaison comes from US Prosecuting Attorney Robert Stubb’s closing arguments on Dec 20, 1977.
The reportage describing Holley’s bribery of the truck stop operators is from the 1977 Grand Jury report indicting Whitehead, Holley, Henderson, Boyd, Dowdy, and Barker (“The Big Six”) on Federal RICO charges.
The courtroom description of the terms of truck stop lounge entry–”all you have to do is want to fuck”--occurred during US Prosecuting Attorney Robert Amidon’s direct examination of Sergeant Charles L. Bradley on Dec 5th, 1977.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
They all needed protection from cops and from conviction. Where
did they go? Joe Motley Whitehead. I could have gone
in the whole house visit if I could have got
the girls. But the first thing I would have done
was sit down with Joe and ask him what his
cut would be, because if you didn't, when you got caught,
(00:23):
I'm going to put you in jail as long as
I can. I mean, nobody's gonna do anything about it.
Why Dan, but why aren't you sitting in grating Alabst
to Lynchburg Roono asking me these questions? Because Joe Motley
Whitehead wasn't down.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
When you're in DC, the story finds you. But when
you're in Pennsylvania County, well you find the story. Picture it.
The mid seventies, in the heart of the South, Rodney
entered the County Clerk's office. Fluorescent lights, institutionally neutral walls,
(01:02):
the aroma of pine salt in the air. His weekly
trip sometimes mundane, but more often than not, lately intriguing.
You see those ladies at the county Clerk's office. They
didn't miss a thing, and if a warrant was looking
(01:23):
funny or a case disposition didn't quite make sense. Those
ladies at the county Clerk's office, well they would let
Rodney know.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
So I'm in Chatham, which is the county seat. I
went every week and looked at court records to see
you arrest warrants and so forth.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Great sorcery stories.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
And one of the corks came up to me and
very quietly handed me a stack of papers instead. You know,
mister smithlo look at these.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
As he thumbed through the file cabinet collection of this
week's arrests, Rodney noticed a troubling pattern.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
And you start seeing all these rests people for prostitution,
you know, going back up you know, a period of time.
And then there was this disraid and they had an
undercover officer went in to a truck stop and his
mistake was, if you want to call him, then he
gave the pimp cash money for sex and he actually
(02:33):
had sex with this woman. Well that pretty much nubifies
in court. You got a problem with that question becomes
quite as you do that. And number two, nothing is
really done.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
To all those people who were arrested.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Virtually nothing. So that, plus the fact you're talking about
a place in the Bible Belt. This type of behavior.
It's so out of the blue is to almost be incomprehensible.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
So it attracts a lot of.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Attention, same people, same game, over and over. The crimes egregious,
the punishment low. Why Rodney couldn't help but notice that
the buck stopped with one man, a man who called
(03:24):
himself the head law dog of Pennsylvania County Commonwealth Attorney
Joseph Whitehead. When he first embarked upon this career as
a journalist, Rodney believed that people were mostly good, mostly honest.
(03:45):
What he'd seen in Washington had changed all that. He
pulled his notebook from the inside pocket of his jacket,
the pages dog eared with use, and wrote, called Joe
in DC, the story came to you, But in Pennsylvania County, well,
(04:11):
you had to find the story. And Rodney had just
found one hell of a tale. Truck shot brothels run
by a web of x cons, a commonwealth attorney wasted
on whiskey and power protection exchanged for cash flex a
(04:34):
brash local reporter exposing it all. This is hookergate, criminals
and libertines in the South, And I am your hosts.
Doctor Lindsey Byron, author, historian and lifelong wayward woman. This
forgotten scandal happened in my hometown. Join me as I
(04:55):
use crumbling news clippings, interviews, and dramatic reenact is to
bring to life for the first time in nearly fifty years,
this wild ride of hedonistic corruption. Episode three, Cash and Flesh.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
Now. What was the purpose of the enterprise and how
did it work? The purpose was to carry on unlawful
prostitution activities very profitable. Although these operations were in four
different counties in Virginia and two other states, the four
major operators lived in and around Danville, Virginia, and thus
(05:38):
the four operations in Pennsylvania County, that is the Hillcrest
Janet Heads from the fifty eight They formed the core
this whole enterprise.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
Now to protect the base of operations, at least three
of these operators were approached by defendant Holly and told
they would have to pay off the commonwealths at tournament,
Defendant I had the ultimate tie in his Holly. He
ties it in everyone because he was the bag.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Man, and you wouldn't believe who came in, Aubrey told
the boys gathered around the booth at the Edgewood Diner
Harold Wayne looked up. Could it be the pop belly bastard?
(06:30):
Wiping the grease from his hands a few booths away,
smiled again at Harold Wayne from across the diner, The
grin red as malicious. H w D looked to Herbert
and Aubrey, searching their faces for recognition. Did they too
recognize this grinniness? Sob had the visitations happened to them
(06:54):
as well? Had the hillcrest Or the twenty nine been BC?
Since opening up Ed's truck stopped, HWD had seen a
few questionable characters haunting his establishment, writing circles around the
parking lot, bumming around the lobby, but never getting properly
(07:15):
acquainted with any of the girls. He would put additional
locks on the doors. Harold Wayne now vowed in his heart, Hell,
maybe he'd install a security system buttons that light up
as a warning in each girl's room. The four men
had done well for themselves in these early weeks and
(07:37):
months of truck stop pimping, but one must admit there
were certain risks. Well, are you gonna tell us who
came by? HWD? Asked Joseph Whitehead. Aubrey Ann's at last,
(08:04):
I knew what. Tommy groaned, and Harold Wayne clenched his fists.
Not a man at that table was ready for the
operations to get busted up, with everyone just catching their
stride and business running had a nice clip. Y'all, do
know who that is? Aubrey asked. Of course I know
(08:27):
who he is, replied Tommy. The bastards prosecuted me before. Then.
You know that mister Whitehead can be a powerful enemy
when it comes to the law. He's where it ends.
But let me tell you this man is not for friendship.
(08:48):
Aubrey lit a cigarette, mostly with the girls. Herbert Boyd
twiddled his fingers in his lap. He didn't think Whitehead
was all too friendly. You boys have been coasting long enough.
(09:09):
Whitehead's buddy had informed Herbert when he visited the Hillcrest,
you're gonna have to start paying off. I don't trust him,
said Harold Wayne. He glanced again at the man across
the diner, who unabashedly stared back. That man gave a
(09:33):
little nod with his head, as if he'd felt himself invoked. Well,
spit out what we need to know, Tommy said to Aubrey.
That fella over there in a corner boot. That portly
gentleman with a smile and a plaid blazer. That fella,
(09:54):
y'all see him, Aubrey said, pointing to the gentleman who'd
been persecuting Harold Wayne with his eye. He's been staring
at me a whole down time I've been here. Harold
Wayne said, Well, I know him. Aubrey continued. That man
is called Wayne Holly. He owns a car dealership here
(10:15):
in Danville, and he continued, I don't think that's all
he deals in, okay, because what I'm trying to tell you,
boys is he dropped Joe Whitehead off of my place
last night. Wayne Holly finished paying his bill and strode
(10:35):
straight towards the table of men. He looked around the cohort.
I'm each man individually, and then silently he turned and
(10:56):
left out the door. What the hell was that about,
asked Harold Wayne. That's what I want to know, said Tommy.
Hwd looked at his walk. Robin would be getting off
her morning shift in fifteen minutes. He bid his fellows
(11:18):
farewell and rose to go meet her, his mind uneasy
from the conversation. He didn't want no trouble, but at
the same time, he didn't want to stop what he
was doing either. These worries occupied his mind as he
strode across the parking lot, head down, eyes on his feet.
(11:38):
Harold Wayne Wayne Holly called out from inside a Cadilliac.
He rolled down his window and gestured, come here. Harold
Wayne approached the vehicle. Come on, brother, come set with
(11:58):
me here for just a minute. I'm a busy man.
Harold Wayne said, Hey, I just want to talk to
you about some mutually beneficial propositions. Holly smiled and leaned over,
opening the passenger door, big and heavy. It swung open
(12:25):
with a groan, and so Harold Wayne, against his better judgment,
against his pride, and against his fear, got in. Now. Listen,
Wayne told him, I see you doing good business. A
(12:47):
lot of men enjoy the services of this kind of business,
and hell, I ain't above them. It is the world's
oldest industry, ain't it. Get to where you're going? Friend?
Where I'm going? Friend? Is this you are going to
(13:11):
have to pay? You and your friends y'all are going
to have to pay to keep this little Shindi going.
But you already knew that. I don't know to which
operation you refer, Sir, Harold Wayne replied, I'm simply an intermediary,
(13:40):
an intermediary between who Well, I'm just a simple man.
But my friend, you see, he ain't so simple, my friend,
you see, he can help your business protected. And who
(14:03):
exactly is your friend, Harold Wayne asked, Oh, Wayne replied,
I think you know him.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Joe's a cocky Democrat, Powell. When you got any common
weals attorney, you know you got your bootleg from Joe.
He had all his buddies. You paid Joe, you get
it taken care of.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Well. Lifelong conservative Frankie Jones might not think too much
of the Democratic Party in general. Some things can't be disputed,
and among those are certain individuals involvement with shall we say,
a reputation damaging enterprises, indeed illegal enterprises. And perhaps involvement
(15:05):
isn't strong enough a word to describe Whitehead's role in
Hooker Gate. Perhaps boss, beneficiary, protector might be more accurate.
Power We'll do that to a man, push him to
(15:25):
the edges of exhaustion and frustration, leave him hungry for escape,
exempt him from all rules, steal from him the novelty excitement.
Nothing feels like anything anymore. When everything's available, power giveth
and power taketh away. Among the things power giveth is freedom,
(15:50):
freedom to do whatever the hell you want. Among the
things power taketh morality, ethics. We find excuses for the
selfish things we desire.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
I just say that's where he can't hit. I guess
you'd say privilege, old old time privilege plus Democratic party power.
He was the man to go see, and he was
in the middle of it.
Speaker 6 (16:21):
He was.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
If you got caught prostitution, he threw it out. Never
nowhow if I'm en chatam and married and I get
caught with a prostitute, Joe Friday, it's gonna be my
best friend, Joe. You got to get me out of
this damn thing. Yeah, you give me now. I never
wear to pardon two thousand dollars. It's all taken care of.
(16:44):
And that's where it worked. No copy.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Whitehead would throw out a friend's prostitution case, Sherrie would.
Whitehead was a man too, after all, with means that is,
frustrated marriage did not meet. However, he could not meet
those needs on his own. A man like him couldn't
(17:09):
just be seen anywhere with anyone lucky for Joe. He
had a loyal pile to help facilitate his pleasures.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Wayne Holly was a big one in it. Wayne on
the store up at the end of the road here
when we were fifteen sixteen, Wayne, our selves bell at
the back doors. We'd come out here. That one, well,
good old country boy. But he was a big shot
tooth picking his mouth, buying costs, trade and selling. He
(17:42):
got any little because Wayne wanted to be a big shot.
But he was just a country boy. Wayne was a
bag man. He went and got the money and he
took it. And when all hill broke loose and he
was invited to Daddy. Like Wayne, Wayne was. He was old,
okay guy. He'd just got into small than he did.
Speaker 6 (18:11):
In addition to making monetary payments for protection, Dowdy also
had to provide women for Whitehead. While Dowdy was operating
Ed's truck stop, Wayne Howlly called and told Dowdy to
bring a girl out to Holly's trailer at Carriage Hill
Trailer Park on the Mount Cross Road for Joseph Motley Whitehead.
Holly and Whitehead would also come out to the fifty
eight truck stop and were serviced by the girls Dowdy
(18:34):
would have to lock the doors and close up as
long as they were there. The investigation revealed that Holly
and Whitehead never paid the girls for sexual favors, and
Whitehead bragged about being the Commonwealth Attorney.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Yellow. Harold Wayne leaned against the bar and the lamp
lit fifty eight truck stop at four am on a
Tuesday night. Four. I guess by now you'd call it
a Wednesday morning, A slow Wednesday morning. He'd sent two
of his ladies home an hour earlier, and only Robin remained.
(19:36):
She lounged on the couch, smoking a Salem Slim and
eavesdropping on his phone call. Well, brother, said the voice
on the other end of the line. I'm sorry to
call you at this late hour, but you know it's time.
(19:59):
In the background, Harold Wayne could hear revelry laughter, a
glass being knocked over, the sounds of a mess being made.
Time for what he asks, Time to call in that
agreement that we made, what we talked about the other day.
(20:20):
I'm sure you remember tell him I wanted a brunette.
A man hollered from the background, A brunette with big kitty.
Why now you said I had three weeks to come
up with that money. Well, this isn't about the money,
(20:41):
he actually, this is about the other. Yes, of course,
what can I do you for the sooner you can
get a girl out here to carriage, you'll trailer part
the better. Eleven minutes later, with Robin in the front seat,
(21:13):
Harold Wayne drove from the street lights of Danville to
the rural outskirts on Mount Crossroad. This gig had to
be done right. This was a gig that couldn't be
fucked up. Harold Wayne knew Robin had a tendency to
smart mouth from time to time. He loved that about her.
But with this particular gentleman, this particular gentleman was important.
(21:38):
Not one could be smart mouth. As Harold Wayne drove
deeper into the country, Robin adjusted her expectations of what
a date with an important man would look like. She
thought she might find herself at a mansion on this call.
Not here, loose chickens roamed and homes came on wheels often,
(22:05):
Robin thought, the most powerful men make playgrounds out of
trailer parks. Now, Honeybee, twice as nice as you want
to be, and then you'll be almost as nice as
you need to be, Harold Wayne laughed as they pulled
into the lot of the Carriage Hill Trailer Park. He
tried to play casual, but Robin could sense his nerves.
(22:31):
It took a tough broad to succeed in this world.
Funny thing about being a tough broad. It meant pretending
to be a sweet wine a lot of times. Robin
knew how this game worked. Indeed, she was going to
work this game all the way to the top. From
(22:52):
the very first night she had spoken with Harold Wayne,
Robin knew he was special, not cold and hateful like
the other men she'd worked for. Harold Wayne was smart, driven, ambitious,
and wild about her. His enthusiasm and that thick mustache
(23:16):
and that swagger made him absolutely, irresistibly delicious. So when
he first paid her attention, she let her walls down
just a little. In the weeks to follow, the walls
kept falling. You engage in small talk, but the eyes
(23:40):
do all the talking. The lightning strikes between your bodies.
It's a chemical thing, an animal thing, this love. Quickly
they fell into a friendship of minds, and soon after
that they fell also into bed. What will Phillis say?
(24:05):
She had asked him, still sweaty. After their first physical encounter,
Phyllis spent her time at the truck stop, organizing the
books and making calls and looking at Harold Wayne wistfully.
I'll handle Phyllis, he promised. Handling things was something that
(24:29):
Robin was no stranger to. She'd been handling things since
she was a little girl. You know, a lot of
the goals that worked with her at the fifty eight
were the same way independent hard. You'd heard about work
like this when you were a child, in whispers from
your aunts, your mother, in the gossip about the teenage
(24:51):
girl who went to live on a farm for a
year and came back sad. They made it seem like
something harsher sharp for darker. The adults who'd warned you
in veiled stories about bad girls and their pitiful face.
But somehow you were out here doing just what they
(25:14):
warned against, and it barely hurt it all. You were bad, sure,
but you weren't sad. As Robin strode from the car
towards the trailer, she could hear laughter inside the chimes
of clinking glasses. And although the men in that trailer
(25:38):
might control most all of Pennsylvania County. Robin was about
to walk in that double wide and control both of them.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
A middle aged man.
Speaker 7 (26:01):
Came over and asked us what we wanted when we
all were soft drinks. He started asking us some questions
about where we were from and so on. I told
him that we were building houses in South Hill, and
passing through behind him, I could see into another room
with a jukebox and a pinball machine and a sign
over it that said lounge members only. I asked the man,
(26:22):
what does it take to become a member and be
able to get into this lounge? He replied, all you
have to do is want to fuck, fuck, fuck, fucking fuck.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
It takes them a little while to get used to
the ida, the veteran explained to the neophyte as together
they smoked cigarettes at the bar. Connie was a wild child,
bespeckled and freckled and wearing a crochet top. Although she
was young in years an experience, she was mature. They
(27:00):
might not agree right away, she explained, leaning back against
the wood paneled wall lighting a Virginia slim. Don't be deterred, No,
it's the first step to yes for a new girl
like Buckeye a woman like Connie was good to find
(27:22):
in a place like this. Buckeye listened to Connie's instructions,
eyes wide and mouth shut. It might take him a
while to warm up. Connie continued, But once they get
the notion planted in their mind, well seems to me
that they can't quite get it out. It's like, not
(27:45):
only do they get used to the idea, they get
obsessed with the idea. Can't blame them, Buckeye replied, I mean,
she just shirt at Connie's body toe to head. She
wasn't wrong. Connie was beautiful. They both were teenagers, grown
(28:11):
up fast, long hair parted down the middle in the
fashion of the times. One blonde, one brunette, one thin,
one thick. Tommy liked to keep a variety of women
on the roster, something for every man. Connie pointed in
the direction of the four men who had recently entered
(28:33):
the lounge and nudged Buckeye. Watch him learn, she said,
But just do one thing for me. Okay, okay. When
I wink at you, Connie said, pull out your titties.
(28:58):
With that, he strode over to the men. You boys
looking for somebody prettier than Roy to talk to, she asked,
gesturing to the doorman who let them in. She smiled
at the cadre of blue collars, each wearing work clothes overalls,
shirts with name patches, hands dotted with grease. She draped
(29:22):
herself over the back of the booth, pressing her breasts
into one of the men's shoulders. He shifted in his
seat and grinned. Kat got your tongue, She asked, Do
you boys want to party or are you just here
to drink Sodi pop? She pointed to the round of
(29:42):
cheer wines on the table. Well, I don't know, the
biggest of the men piped up, what do you mean
by party? Connie's smile looked up to catch the eyes
of the new girl by the bar. The men followed
her gaze with their own, with all eyes on buckeye.
(30:07):
Now Connie winked and the trick was complete. That ought
to clear up any confusion. She told the men, I personally,
I would personally like to know more about these parties.
(30:29):
One of the fellas squeaked. His buddies laughed at him,
but not without a glint of envy in their eyes.
Why don't you follow me down this hallway? And we
can talk more about it now. Look, ma'am, I don't
know about any hallways. You're scared, not scared, just broke.
(30:57):
The men looked sheepishly around it each other. What do
you fellas do anyway, Connie asked. We're builders, The leader
of the men said, on a job from South Hill.
We was working on some construction projects in the locality
(31:18):
and just thought we'd stop on in for for aesoda.
Connie finished, Well, why don't you come back after you've
been paid for your construction project in the locality, and
then we can talk about what you really came here for.
(31:39):
She looked up winked. From across the room, Buckeye pulled
out her titties again. Hey, let me see your room.
Connie smiled at Buckeye and then at the man taking
him by the hand down the hallway. Together, they passed
(32:04):
door after door. Peeking in into one that was open,
he spied a small room with a calendar on the
wall and a single twin bed in the corner. Next
to the bed was a table with a lamp and
a notebook well used. He'd loved to know what was
(32:24):
in that notebook. Yeah, that was just the kind of
information he'd be interested in. There are more rooms back here,
Connie said, as they passed a bathroom with an open door.
A solitary light bulb hung from the ceiling, flickering. A
douchebag draped over the shower rod, and for a moment,
(32:48):
the man experienced a moral quandary. Yes, this was work,
I mean, he was technically on the job, but he
was a married man. Connie the man into a bedroom
and sat down on the bed and pulled him close
to her, her face level with his belly button. She
(33:08):
looked up to him and said, if you weren't so
tight fisted, we could have some fun. Well that sounds
pretty nice, but I sure would hate to get caught
here in case of a raid. You don't have to
worry about that. Just about all the police are ound
(33:32):
here in on it. And another thing, we have a
light right here that would flash in case there was
a raid. She pointed to a small red light above
the doorway. Okay, then he replied, Now I told you
I was broken. I am broke, but I'm gonna get
(33:52):
paid next week and I'll come back, but only if
you will be here. I'll be here. In that case,
he said, I'll be back, Thanks for listening. My name
is Lindsay Byron, but most people know me as lux Atl.
(34:17):
Learn more about my work tits Out, Globe Trotting and
mansions worldwide at Good Times, Badgirls dot Com. Follow me
on the Gram and TikTok at lux Underscore Atl, on
YouTube at Luxatl, and on substock, where I blog weekly
(34:38):
at Tumultuous True Stories by Lindsaybyron. If you'd like to
hear more about my own experience slang in companionship across
the South, read my memoir Too Pretty to Be Good
by Lindsay Byron. Find it on Amazon, Barnesandnoble dot com
and anywhere books are sold online. Hey, if you'd like
(34:58):
to continue to listen to me tell stories, check out
my first podcast, strip Cast True Stories from a Stripper
with a PhD. Listen on Spotify and iTunes. Follow this
podcast on the Gram at hooker Gate. Underscore podcast. Theme
music and sound design by my long term partner in
(35:21):
artistic crime, Guy Kelly. You the illist GK. Check out
his work at Guy Kelly dot com. While this podcast
is based upon real events, certain elements have been fictionalized
for dramatic effect. I cannot know for certain what exactly
was said behind closed doors, so I combine my research
(35:44):
and imagination to dramatize scenes described most often under oath
in court, and occasionally secondhand via journalistic or personal accounts.
Find citations in this show notes. The pitch for this
podcast won the twenty twenty one Next Great Podcast competition
(36:04):
hosted by Tongle and iHeartRadio, which is why I'm here
now producing this joint my gratitude for the opportunity. Hooker
Gate is a production of iHeartMedia. Moose Moose, This, fucking this,
this fucking dog is against hooker Gate
They all needed protection from cops and from conviction. Where
did they go? Joe Motley Whitehead. I could have gone
in the whole house visit if I could have got
the girls. But the first thing I would have done
was sit down with Joe and ask him what his
cut would be, because if you didn't, when you got caught,
(00:23):
I'm going to put you in jail as long as
I can. I mean, nobody's gonna do anything about it.
Why Dan, but why aren't you sitting in grating Alabst
to Lynchburg Roono asking me these questions? Because Joe Motley
Whitehead wasn't down.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
When you're in DC, the story finds you. But when
you're in Pennsylvania County, well you find the story. Picture it.
The mid seventies, in the heart of the South, Rodney
entered the County Clerk's office. Fluorescent lights, institutionally neutral walls,
(01:02):
the aroma of pine salt in the air. His weekly
trip sometimes mundane, but more often than not, lately intriguing.
You see those ladies at the county Clerk's office. They
didn't miss a thing, and if a warrant was looking
(01:23):
funny or a case disposition didn't quite make sense. Those
ladies at the county Clerk's office, well they would let
Rodney know.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
So I'm in Chatham, which is the county seat. I
went every week and looked at court records to see
you arrest warrants and so forth.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Great sorcery stories.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
And one of the corks came up to me and
very quietly handed me a stack of papers instead. You know,
mister smithlo look at these.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
As he thumbed through the file cabinet collection of this
week's arrests, Rodney noticed a troubling pattern.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
And you start seeing all these rests people for prostitution,
you know, going back up you know, a period of time.
And then there was this disraid and they had an
undercover officer went in to a truck stop and his
mistake was, if you want to call him, then he
gave the pimp cash money for sex and he actually
(02:33):
had sex with this woman. Well that pretty much nubifies
in court. You got a problem with that question becomes
quite as you do that. And number two, nothing is
really done.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
To all those people who were arrested.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Virtually nothing. So that, plus the fact you're talking about
a place in the Bible Belt. This type of behavior.
It's so out of the blue is to almost be incomprehensible.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
So it attracts a lot of.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Attention, same people, same game, over and over. The crimes egregious,
the punishment low. Why Rodney couldn't help but notice that
the buck stopped with one man, a man who called
(03:24):
himself the head law dog of Pennsylvania County Commonwealth Attorney
Joseph Whitehead. When he first embarked upon this career as
a journalist, Rodney believed that people were mostly good, mostly honest.
(03:45):
What he'd seen in Washington had changed all that. He
pulled his notebook from the inside pocket of his jacket,
the pages dog eared with use, and wrote, called Joe
in DC, the story came to you, But in Pennsylvania County, well,
(04:11):
you had to find the story. And Rodney had just
found one hell of a tale. Truck shot brothels run
by a web of x cons, a commonwealth attorney wasted
on whiskey and power protection exchanged for cash flex a
(04:34):
brash local reporter exposing it all. This is hookergate, criminals
and libertines in the South, And I am your hosts.
Doctor Lindsey Byron, author, historian and lifelong wayward woman. This
forgotten scandal happened in my hometown. Join me as I
(04:55):
use crumbling news clippings, interviews, and dramatic reenact is to
bring to life for the first time in nearly fifty years,
this wild ride of hedonistic corruption. Episode three, Cash and Flesh.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
Now. What was the purpose of the enterprise and how
did it work? The purpose was to carry on unlawful
prostitution activities very profitable. Although these operations were in four
different counties in Virginia and two other states, the four
major operators lived in and around Danville, Virginia, and thus
(05:38):
the four operations in Pennsylvania County, that is the Hillcrest
Janet Heads from the fifty eight They formed the core
this whole enterprise.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
Now to protect the base of operations, at least three
of these operators were approached by defendant Holly and told
they would have to pay off the commonwealths at tournament,
Defendant I had the ultimate tie in his Holly. He
ties it in everyone because he was the bag.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Man, and you wouldn't believe who came in, Aubrey told
the boys gathered around the booth at the Edgewood Diner
Harold Wayne looked up. Could it be the pop belly bastard?
(06:30):
Wiping the grease from his hands a few booths away,
smiled again at Harold Wayne from across the diner, The
grin red as malicious. H w D looked to Herbert
and Aubrey, searching their faces for recognition. Did they too
recognize this grinniness? Sob had the visitations happened to them
(06:54):
as well? Had the hillcrest Or the twenty nine been BC?
Since opening up Ed's truck stopped, HWD had seen a
few questionable characters haunting his establishment, writing circles around the
parking lot, bumming around the lobby, but never getting properly
(07:15):
acquainted with any of the girls. He would put additional
locks on the doors. Harold Wayne now vowed in his heart, Hell,
maybe he'd install a security system buttons that light up
as a warning in each girl's room. The four men
had done well for themselves in these early weeks and
(07:37):
months of truck stop pimping, but one must admit there
were certain risks. Well, are you gonna tell us who
came by? HWD? Asked Joseph Whitehead. Aubrey Ann's at last,
(08:04):
I knew what. Tommy groaned, and Harold Wayne clenched his fists.
Not a man at that table was ready for the
operations to get busted up, with everyone just catching their
stride and business running had a nice clip. Y'all, do
know who that is? Aubrey asked. Of course I know
(08:27):
who he is, replied Tommy. The bastards prosecuted me before. Then.
You know that mister Whitehead can be a powerful enemy
when it comes to the law. He's where it ends.
But let me tell you this man is not for friendship.
(08:48):
Aubrey lit a cigarette, mostly with the girls. Herbert Boyd
twiddled his fingers in his lap. He didn't think Whitehead
was all too friendly. You boys have been coasting long enough.
(09:09):
Whitehead's buddy had informed Herbert when he visited the Hillcrest,
you're gonna have to start paying off. I don't trust him,
said Harold Wayne. He glanced again at the man across
the diner, who unabashedly stared back. That man gave a
(09:33):
little nod with his head, as if he'd felt himself invoked. Well,
spit out what we need to know, Tommy said to Aubrey.
That fella over there in a corner boot. That portly
gentleman with a smile and a plaid blazer. That fella,
(09:54):
y'all see him, Aubrey said, pointing to the gentleman who'd
been persecuting Harold Wayne with his eye. He's been staring
at me a whole down time I've been here. Harold
Wayne said, Well, I know him. Aubrey continued. That man
is called Wayne Holly. He owns a car dealership here
(10:15):
in Danville, and he continued, I don't think that's all
he deals in, okay, because what I'm trying to tell you,
boys is he dropped Joe Whitehead off of my place
last night. Wayne Holly finished paying his bill and strode
(10:35):
straight towards the table of men. He looked around the cohort.
I'm each man individually, and then silently he turned and
(10:56):
left out the door. What the hell was that about,
asked Harold Wayne. That's what I want to know, said Tommy.
Hwd looked at his walk. Robin would be getting off
her morning shift in fifteen minutes. He bid his fellows
(11:18):
farewell and rose to go meet her, his mind uneasy
from the conversation. He didn't want no trouble, but at
the same time, he didn't want to stop what he
was doing either. These worries occupied his mind as he
strode across the parking lot, head down, eyes on his feet.
(11:38):
Harold Wayne Wayne Holly called out from inside a Cadilliac.
He rolled down his window and gestured, come here. Harold
Wayne approached the vehicle. Come on, brother, come set with
(11:58):
me here for just a minute. I'm a busy man.
Harold Wayne said, Hey, I just want to talk to
you about some mutually beneficial propositions. Holly smiled and leaned over,
opening the passenger door, big and heavy. It swung open
(12:25):
with a groan, and so Harold Wayne, against his better judgment,
against his pride, and against his fear, got in. Now. Listen,
Wayne told him, I see you doing good business. A
(12:47):
lot of men enjoy the services of this kind of business,
and hell, I ain't above them. It is the world's
oldest industry, ain't it. Get to where you're going? Friend?
Where I'm going? Friend? Is this you are going to
(13:11):
have to pay? You and your friends y'all are going
to have to pay to keep this little Shindi going.
But you already knew that. I don't know to which
operation you refer, Sir, Harold Wayne replied, I'm simply an intermediary,
(13:40):
an intermediary between who Well, I'm just a simple man.
But my friend, you see, he ain't so simple, my friend,
you see, he can help your business protected. And who
(14:03):
exactly is your friend, Harold Wayne asked, Oh, Wayne replied,
I think you know him.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Joe's a cocky Democrat, Powell. When you got any common
weals attorney, you know you got your bootleg from Joe.
He had all his buddies. You paid Joe, you get
it taken care of.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Well. Lifelong conservative Frankie Jones might not think too much
of the Democratic Party in general. Some things can't be disputed,
and among those are certain individuals involvement with shall we say,
a reputation damaging enterprises, indeed illegal enterprises. And perhaps involvement
(15:05):
isn't strong enough a word to describe Whitehead's role in
Hooker Gate. Perhaps boss, beneficiary, protector might be more accurate.
Power We'll do that to a man, push him to
(15:25):
the edges of exhaustion and frustration, leave him hungry for escape,
exempt him from all rules, steal from him the novelty excitement.
Nothing feels like anything anymore. When everything's available, power giveth
and power taketh away. Among the things power giveth is freedom,
(15:50):
freedom to do whatever the hell you want. Among the
things power taketh morality, ethics. We find excuses for the
selfish things we desire.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
I just say that's where he can't hit. I guess
you'd say privilege, old old time privilege plus Democratic party power.
He was the man to go see, and he was
in the middle of it.
Speaker 6 (16:21):
He was.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
If you got caught prostitution, he threw it out. Never
nowhow if I'm en chatam and married and I get
caught with a prostitute, Joe Friday, it's gonna be my
best friend, Joe. You got to get me out of
this damn thing. Yeah, you give me now. I never
wear to pardon two thousand dollars. It's all taken care of.
(16:44):
And that's where it worked. No copy.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Whitehead would throw out a friend's prostitution case, Sherrie would.
Whitehead was a man too, after all, with means that is,
frustrated marriage did not meet. However, he could not meet
those needs on his own. A man like him couldn't
(17:09):
just be seen anywhere with anyone lucky for Joe. He
had a loyal pile to help facilitate his pleasures.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Wayne Holly was a big one in it. Wayne on
the store up at the end of the road here
when we were fifteen sixteen, Wayne, our selves bell at
the back doors. We'd come out here. That one, well,
good old country boy. But he was a big shot
tooth picking his mouth, buying costs, trade and selling. He
(17:42):
got any little because Wayne wanted to be a big shot.
But he was just a country boy. Wayne was a
bag man. He went and got the money and he
took it. And when all hill broke loose and he
was invited to Daddy. Like Wayne, Wayne was. He was old,
okay guy. He'd just got into small than he did.
Speaker 6 (18:11):
In addition to making monetary payments for protection, Dowdy also
had to provide women for Whitehead. While Dowdy was operating
Ed's truck stop, Wayne Howlly called and told Dowdy to
bring a girl out to Holly's trailer at Carriage Hill
Trailer Park on the Mount Cross Road for Joseph Motley Whitehead.
Holly and Whitehead would also come out to the fifty
eight truck stop and were serviced by the girls Dowdy
(18:34):
would have to lock the doors and close up as
long as they were there. The investigation revealed that Holly
and Whitehead never paid the girls for sexual favors, and
Whitehead bragged about being the Commonwealth Attorney.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Yellow. Harold Wayne leaned against the bar and the lamp
lit fifty eight truck stop at four am on a
Tuesday night. Four. I guess by now you'd call it
a Wednesday morning, A slow Wednesday morning. He'd sent two
of his ladies home an hour earlier, and only Robin remained.
(19:36):
She lounged on the couch, smoking a Salem Slim and
eavesdropping on his phone call. Well, brother, said the voice
on the other end of the line. I'm sorry to
call you at this late hour, but you know it's time.
(19:59):
In the background, Harold Wayne could hear revelry laughter, a
glass being knocked over, the sounds of a mess being made.
Time for what he asks, Time to call in that
agreement that we made, what we talked about the other day.
(20:20):
I'm sure you remember tell him I wanted a brunette.
A man hollered from the background, A brunette with big kitty.
Why now you said I had three weeks to come
up with that money. Well, this isn't about the money,
(20:41):
he actually, this is about the other. Yes, of course,
what can I do you for the sooner you can
get a girl out here to carriage, you'll trailer part
the better. Eleven minutes later, with Robin in the front seat,
(21:13):
Harold Wayne drove from the street lights of Danville to
the rural outskirts on Mount Crossroad. This gig had to
be done right. This was a gig that couldn't be
fucked up. Harold Wayne knew Robin had a tendency to
smart mouth from time to time. He loved that about her.
But with this particular gentleman, this particular gentleman was important.
(21:38):
Not one could be smart mouth. As Harold Wayne drove
deeper into the country, Robin adjusted her expectations of what
a date with an important man would look like. She
thought she might find herself at a mansion on this call.
Not here, loose chickens roamed and homes came on wheels often,
(22:05):
Robin thought, the most powerful men make playgrounds out of
trailer parks. Now, Honeybee, twice as nice as you want
to be, and then you'll be almost as nice as
you need to be, Harold Wayne laughed as they pulled
into the lot of the Carriage Hill Trailer Park. He
tried to play casual, but Robin could sense his nerves.
(22:31):
It took a tough broad to succeed in this world.
Funny thing about being a tough broad. It meant pretending
to be a sweet wine a lot of times. Robin
knew how this game worked. Indeed, she was going to
work this game all the way to the top. From
(22:52):
the very first night she had spoken with Harold Wayne,
Robin knew he was special, not cold and hateful like
the other men she'd worked for. Harold Wayne was smart, driven, ambitious,
and wild about her. His enthusiasm and that thick mustache
(23:16):
and that swagger made him absolutely, irresistibly delicious. So when
he first paid her attention, she let her walls down
just a little. In the weeks to follow, the walls
kept falling. You engage in small talk, but the eyes
(23:40):
do all the talking. The lightning strikes between your bodies.
It's a chemical thing, an animal thing, this love. Quickly
they fell into a friendship of minds, and soon after
that they fell also into bed. What will Phillis say?
(24:05):
She had asked him, still sweaty. After their first physical encounter,
Phyllis spent her time at the truck stop, organizing the
books and making calls and looking at Harold Wayne wistfully.
I'll handle Phyllis, he promised. Handling things was something that
(24:29):
Robin was no stranger to. She'd been handling things since
she was a little girl. You know, a lot of
the goals that worked with her at the fifty eight
were the same way independent hard. You'd heard about work
like this when you were a child, in whispers from
your aunts, your mother, in the gossip about the teenage
(24:51):
girl who went to live on a farm for a
year and came back sad. They made it seem like
something harsher sharp for darker. The adults who'd warned you
in veiled stories about bad girls and their pitiful face.
But somehow you were out here doing just what they
(25:14):
warned against, and it barely hurt it all. You were bad, sure,
but you weren't sad. As Robin strode from the car
towards the trailer, she could hear laughter inside the chimes
of clinking glasses. And although the men in that trailer
(25:38):
might control most all of Pennsylvania County. Robin was about
to walk in that double wide and control both of them.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
A middle aged man.
Speaker 7 (26:01):
Came over and asked us what we wanted when we
all were soft drinks. He started asking us some questions
about where we were from and so on. I told
him that we were building houses in South Hill, and
passing through behind him, I could see into another room
with a jukebox and a pinball machine and a sign
over it that said lounge members only. I asked the man,
(26:22):
what does it take to become a member and be
able to get into this lounge? He replied, all you
have to do is want to fuck, fuck, fuck, fucking fuck.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
It takes them a little while to get used to
the ida, the veteran explained to the neophyte as together
they smoked cigarettes at the bar. Connie was a wild child,
bespeckled and freckled and wearing a crochet top. Although she
was young in years an experience, she was mature. They
(27:00):
might not agree right away, she explained, leaning back against
the wood paneled wall lighting a Virginia slim. Don't be deterred, No,
it's the first step to yes for a new girl
like Buckeye a woman like Connie was good to find
(27:22):
in a place like this. Buckeye listened to Connie's instructions,
eyes wide and mouth shut. It might take him a
while to warm up. Connie continued, But once they get
the notion planted in their mind, well seems to me
that they can't quite get it out. It's like, not
(27:45):
only do they get used to the idea, they get
obsessed with the idea. Can't blame them, Buckeye replied, I mean,
she just shirt at Connie's body toe to head. She
wasn't wrong. Connie was beautiful. They both were teenagers, grown
(28:11):
up fast, long hair parted down the middle in the
fashion of the times. One blonde, one brunette, one thin,
one thick. Tommy liked to keep a variety of women
on the roster, something for every man. Connie pointed in
the direction of the four men who had recently entered
(28:33):
the lounge and nudged Buckeye. Watch him learn, she said,
But just do one thing for me. Okay, okay. When
I wink at you, Connie said, pull out your titties.
(28:58):
With that, he strode over to the men. You boys
looking for somebody prettier than Roy to talk to, she asked,
gesturing to the doorman who let them in. She smiled
at the cadre of blue collars, each wearing work clothes overalls,
shirts with name patches, hands dotted with grease. She draped
(29:22):
herself over the back of the booth, pressing her breasts
into one of the men's shoulders. He shifted in his
seat and grinned. Kat got your tongue, She asked, Do
you boys want to party or are you just here
to drink Sodi pop? She pointed to the round of
(29:42):
cheer wines on the table. Well, I don't know, the
biggest of the men piped up, what do you mean
by party? Connie's smile looked up to catch the eyes
of the new girl by the bar. The men followed
her gaze with their own, with all eyes on buckeye.
(30:07):
Now Connie winked and the trick was complete. That ought
to clear up any confusion. She told the men, I personally,
I would personally like to know more about these parties.
(30:29):
One of the fellas squeaked. His buddies laughed at him,
but not without a glint of envy in their eyes.
Why don't you follow me down this hallway? And we
can talk more about it now. Look, ma'am, I don't
know about any hallways. You're scared, not scared, just broke.
(30:57):
The men looked sheepishly around it each other. What do
you fellas do anyway, Connie asked. We're builders, The leader
of the men said, on a job from South Hill.
We was working on some construction projects in the locality
(31:18):
and just thought we'd stop on in for for aesoda.
Connie finished, Well, why don't you come back after you've
been paid for your construction project in the locality, and
then we can talk about what you really came here for.
(31:39):
She looked up winked. From across the room, Buckeye pulled
out her titties again. Hey, let me see your room.
Connie smiled at Buckeye and then at the man taking
him by the hand down the hallway. Together, they passed
(32:04):
door after door. Peeking in into one that was open,
he spied a small room with a calendar on the
wall and a single twin bed in the corner. Next
to the bed was a table with a lamp and
a notebook well used. He'd loved to know what was
(32:24):
in that notebook. Yeah, that was just the kind of
information he'd be interested in. There are more rooms back here,
Connie said, as they passed a bathroom with an open door.
A solitary light bulb hung from the ceiling, flickering. A
douchebag draped over the shower rod, and for a moment,
(32:48):
the man experienced a moral quandary. Yes, this was work,
I mean, he was technically on the job, but he
was a married man. Connie the man into a bedroom
and sat down on the bed and pulled him close
to her, her face level with his belly button. She
(33:08):
looked up to him and said, if you weren't so
tight fisted, we could have some fun. Well that sounds
pretty nice, but I sure would hate to get caught
here in case of a raid. You don't have to
worry about that. Just about all the police are ound
(33:32):
here in on it. And another thing, we have a
light right here that would flash in case there was
a raid. She pointed to a small red light above
the doorway. Okay, then he replied, Now I told you
I was broken. I am broke, but I'm gonna get
(33:52):
paid next week and I'll come back, but only if
you will be here. I'll be here. In that case,
he said, I'll be back, Thanks for listening. My name
is Lindsay Byron, but most people know me as lux Atl.
(34:17):
Learn more about my work tits Out, Globe Trotting and
mansions worldwide at Good Times, Badgirls dot Com. Follow me
on the Gram and TikTok at lux Underscore Atl, on
YouTube at Luxatl, and on substock, where I blog weekly
(34:38):
at Tumultuous True Stories by Lindsaybyron. If you'd like to
hear more about my own experience slang in companionship across
the South, read my memoir Too Pretty to Be Good
by Lindsay Byron. Find it on Amazon, Barnesandnoble dot com
and anywhere books are sold online. Hey, if you'd like
(34:58):
to continue to listen to me tell stories, check out
my first podcast, strip Cast True Stories from a Stripper
with a PhD. Listen on Spotify and iTunes. Follow this
podcast on the Gram at hooker Gate. Underscore podcast. Theme
music and sound design by my long term partner in
(35:21):
artistic crime, Guy Kelly. You the illist GK. Check out
his work at Guy Kelly dot com. While this podcast
is based upon real events, certain elements have been fictionalized
for dramatic effect. I cannot know for certain what exactly
was said behind closed doors, so I combine my research
(35:44):
and imagination to dramatize scenes described most often under oath
in court, and occasionally secondhand via journalistic or personal accounts.
Find citations in this show notes. The pitch for this
podcast won the twenty twenty one Next Great Podcast competition
(36:04):
hosted by Tongle and iHeartRadio, which is why I'm here
now producing this joint my gratitude for the opportunity. Hooker
Gate is a production of iHeartMedia. Moose Moose, This, fucking this,
this fucking dog is against hooker Gate
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