July 5, 2023 • 29 mins
The name on everybody's lips is gonna be...Schustie! The world certainly beat up on Roy Schuster. After the Depression, his divorce (gasp!), and a talent vaudeville no longer wanted to recognize, navigating the US prison system should be a cake walk! Originally broadcast February 3, 2021.
Written by Jordan Katcher, narrated by Schuyler Fastenau, and executive produced by Daniel Jones. Additional voices by Daniel Jones, Allyn Anthony Moriyon, Walker Barnes, Jeremy Staple, Vince Perez, Sophia Sassone, Matt MacNelly, Sheatarra Ervin, Taylor Shurte, Marissa Pistone, Ariel Dale, and Rainee Blake. Cover artwork by Catherine Fastenau. Theme music by Tracy Zales.
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Written by Jordan Katcher, narrated by Schuyler Fastenau, and executive produced by Daniel Jones. Additional voices by Daniel Jones, Allyn Anthony Moriyon, Walker Barnes, Jeremy Staple, Vince Perez, Sophia Sassone, Matt MacNelly, Sheatarra Ervin, Taylor Shurte, Marissa Pistone, Ariel Dale, and Rainee Blake. Cover artwork by Catherine Fastenau. Theme music by Tracy Zales.
Follow us on:
Check out our other shows:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Blame rain coons, flew the coopwith the dough. There's no witnesses.
That's awful. Local News and LittleRock now onto a story that I'm sure
will put the bee in your bonnet. Big News. Out of the Big
Apple police are on the hunt forRoy Schuster, and out of work dancer
known for a grace in the pinesthe Fideville Stages during his heyday, Shoe
(00:23):
says one of the eight million Americanswho are unemployed in shut up. I
need to concentrate. This book isgonna send my daughter to college. I've
gotta finish Colleen. As such,the out of Dance is equal punts an
act of Roy Shuster. This isthe Arkansas State Troop was Brigade. We
(00:48):
know you're in there. We havea warrant for your arrest. Egg of
the motel room with your hands up, or we'll be coming in. Oh
God, no, please, Ididn't mean to killer. It was supposed
to be me, Roy Shuster.Matt with your hands up immediately, I'm
coming out. We'll get back tothat in a bit. The tale of
(01:15):
Roy Schuster is so indicative of theperiod in American history that he resided the
Great depression crippled the nation financially andleft millions depressed destitute, hand without work.
The introduction of sound to movies andthe spectacular sets and costumes on Broadway,
we're starting to spell an end tovaudeville as we approach another depression.
(01:37):
One hundred years later, and watchedthe streaming wars heat up, we felt
like it would be an apt timeto invite you to join us as we
step back and recount the story ofRoyce Schuster, the Alimony Killer. Welcome
to Deadtime Stories. In the nineteentwenties, roy Schuster was touring the nation's
(02:23):
vaudeville stages as a tap dancer andmaking a pretty good living at it.
Roy was making more than two hundreddollars a week, which may not seem
high now, but that would bethe equivalent of just over twenty five hundred
dollars a week adjusted for inflation,considering rent in New York was about sixty
bucks a month. Roy was doingquite well while Tory Milwaukee, Roy then
(02:46):
twenty two years old, met abeautiful young woman, let Royster, and
happened. Great stuff tonight, Roy, Thanks John, see if a cords
and a bit of giggle juice tonight, you know it. Excuse me,
(03:08):
mister Shuster, please call me Roy. All right, I'm Amy, And
what you did out there shoe wasthe bee's knees. You ever teach anybody?
Never really been much for teaching asmuch as doing, But sure I've
taught a few folks here and there. Any chance you could teach me.
(03:28):
I'm an actress, but I figureI can make a break for Broadway if
I can pick up a few movesfrom you how to talk to like you?
Yeah, you'll do all right witha few extra moves. Say,
let's get together tomorrow and we'll seewhat we can do. Sound good?
Sounds keen? Thanks, mister shutI mean Roy. Amy and Roy started
(03:49):
dating shortly after meeting, and evenmore quickly they were engaged and married.
During that time, Amy had becomepregnant with a child that may or may
not have been fathered by Roy.In order to take care of his wife
and child, Roy retired from performingand became an instructor at Ned Weyburn's dancing
school. At the time, Nedwas a hot shot in the dance community.
(04:12):
In addition to being the main choreographerof the Zikefield Follies, one of
the most successful early Broadway shows.This guy literally coined the phrase tap dancing
and personally trained Fred Astaire, Maywest, Groucho Marx, and many more.
Mister Weyburne, I'll just finished cleaningup. Anything else I can do around
here for some extra claims, Roy, you're teaching classes, doing the clean
(04:34):
up, locking the doors at theend of the night. I don't know
what else you could do short ofchewing my food for me. Gee.
All right, mister weyburn if youcan just let me know if anything else
comes up, that would be swell. And if there's any opening in follies,
please keep me in mind. Iwill Roy, good night, go
(04:54):
home, see you tomorrow. Notmister Weyburn, Amy, I'm home.
Where are my favorite gals? Youhear that, Colleen? Apparently where your
pop's favorite gals? Pretty hard totell. With the way he's bringing home
the bacon or lack thereof, takeher. She won't stop crying. Come
(05:19):
here, Colleen, Amy, I'mdoing everything I can. Mister weyburn doesn't
have anything else for me. Healready cut me down from one hundred and
ten dollars to seventy five, andhe said, he can barely afford to
pay me that with everything going on. I asked about follies, but he
didn't say much. He's not gonnaput you in follies. Roy, give
(05:42):
it up, find a real job. When Amy had become pregnant, she
gave up her pursuit of employment inthe entertainment industry to concentrate on raising their
daughter, Colleen. Maybe she wasjealous that Roy was still going after that
dream, and that's why she waspressing so hard for him to do the
same. I need to find areal job. How about that jerk you
(06:02):
go out with on your MIXI escapades? What kind of job does he have?
Your nuts? What you think?I don't know about that. I've
got almos, don't. I'm hothere, I know. In the twenties
and thirties, divorce was more possiblethan it had been in past decades,
(06:25):
but not much less stigmatized. Ifyou wanted to file for divorce, you
had to prove that you were thevictim of cruelty, adultery, or abandonment.
That process was only for the fewwho could afford divorce fees. The
Great Depression saw a large decline inUS annual divorce rates. That's not to
say there weren't other options, likea separation. It's like diet divorce divorce
(06:48):
light, which is the path Royand Amy took. Rhy is that shoe
come on in? H mister Weyburn. What's the good word? Oh Roy?
Not so good. I'm afraid Ican't keep paying you the seventy five
dollars we had agreed on. I'mreally hurt in these days, as I
(07:10):
know you are the most I cangive you. He's eleven dollars a week.
Eleven dollars, mister Weyburn. I'mflat broke. Give me a break.
I've got a kid in legal fees. Boy, I like you,
but there's just nothing else I cando. Gribes. I'm opening up a
dance studio. I'm trying to crawlmy way out of this. I'm sorry,
(07:33):
Roy, Yeah, oh right,thanks, mister Weyburn. Unfortunately for
Roy, things got worse from there. He lost his job at the dance
school, and although Roy and Amymanaged to reconcile after their separation, it
was short lived, as they quicklybecame separated again. This time legally,
(07:58):
it still wasn't quite a divorce.It was a court ordered separation. Roy
struggled with negative thoughts following the courtorder, and eventually attempted suicide. Amy
took immedia action in response to Roy'sattempt on his life. She secured a
court order directing him to pay afixed sum for the support of his family.
(08:18):
Having already had his income slash toeleven dollars per week, Roy found
those payments to be extremely difficult toafford. Amy took given further legal action.
Mister Shuster, my name is IsraelSiegel, and I'm representing miss Amy
Drake Shuster regarding the matter of yourcourt ordered payment. At this current time,
(08:45):
Miss Drake Shuster is not willing totake any payment lower than forty dollars
a week. Amy. You knowI don't have that kind of dough.
You'll ruin me. I'll have toshut the studio I open. I'm doing
everything I can. Ow me yourbone. I'll have you thrown in jails.
What I'll do. Mister Siegel heretold me that if you don't pay
(09:07):
what I'm saying you gotta pay,then you can be locked up. Please,
Amy, don't do this to me. I'm trying to make things work.
I've got the studio open now.I just got into the job as
a salesman. If I got tossedinto the hoosgaul for just today, I'll
lose the studio and the job.Not to mention any day I'm behind bars.
(09:31):
I certainly ain't making money to payyou at this current time. Miss
Drake Shuster is not willing to takeany payment lower than forty dollars a week.
I heard you, mouthpiece. I'mtalking to my wife, Amy.
If you do this to me,I'll kill myself. I swear it right.
(09:52):
I've had my fill of this today. Mean back here tomorrow and we're
gonna settle this once and for all. The next morning, May second,
nineteen thirty one, Roy met withAmy in front of fifty one Chamber Street,
where both of their lawyer's offices werelocated. They visited Roy's lawyer first,
but he wasn't in the office,so the two proceeded into Israel Siegel's
(10:15):
office. Mister Siegel led them toa meeting room. Come in, please
have a seat. Thank you,mister Siegel. I'll stay thanks very well.
We'll get directly to it then,as it seems you're eager to begin,
mister Shuster, Miss Drake Schuster isnot willing to accept any amount of
(10:35):
alimony payment short of the previously agreedforty dollars a week without holding you in
contempt of court. Do you intendto comply with the court ordered payment?
Mister Siegel, Amy, It's notabout if I'm tend to comply. It's
about the fact that I can't.You two got me behind the abow I
(10:58):
am to pay. It's fair,but I'm not sure the three of us
got the same definition of the word. Mister Shuster, this is quite simple.
Do you intend to comply with thecourt ordered payment? Amy? Please?
Let's get back together, make itwork, just you and me like
it used to be, back whenit was good. Times are hard enough.
(11:18):
We don't gotta be alone. Wecould be together. Amy. Please,
do you intend to comply? Wecan it? Will you? Please
give me a chance. Let meexplain the situation. Let me prove to
you I have no money. Ifyou put me in jail Monday, you
will put me out of business,You will destroy my future, you will
(11:39):
make me commit suicide. Mister Shuster, please excuse Miss Drake Shuster and I
for a moment while I speak withmy client in private. Roy pulled a
thirty two caliber revolver from his pocket. The original Dead Time stories will be
(12:11):
back after these brief messages. Welcomeback to our show. Roy's face was
plastered on the front page of newspapers. Radio programs covered the story for all
the wrong reasons. The nation knewhis name, Roy Alimony Slayer Schuster.
(12:33):
Authority searched for Roy for nearly amonth before making their way to a motel
and Little Rock, Arkansas. Y'allshow, he's the guy in the photos.
Sure as you're standing here, signedfor the room under the name Anderson.
Seems nice enough. He do somethingwrong, filled his old lady full
of lead, caught a lawyer inthe arm too. Yikes. Well he's
(12:56):
over in for a second. Doorto the right. Take a step back,
please, Roy Shuster, this isthe Arkansas State Troop was Brigade.
We know you're in there. Wehave a warrant for your arrest. Exit
the motel room with your hands upor we'll be coming in. Oh god,
no, please, I didn't meanthe killer. It was supposed to
(13:18):
be me, Roy Shuster. Comeout with your hands up immediately. I'm
coming out. Kick those hands up. I guess I got the electric chair
for no jewry will listen to mystory. But the killing was accidental.
I went to the door, andI suppose Siegel was trying to dissuade my
(13:39):
wife from coming back to me.I pulled out my gun to hand it
all, but Siegel thought I wasgonna shoot him, and he rushed towards
me. We grappled, and thegun went off several times as we scuffled.
When I regained my sentences, mywife was dead and Siegal was gone.
Save it for the judge Shuster.Roy was brought back to New York
to be tried for murder. MisterIsrael Siegel, can you please share with
(14:05):
the court what you were doing onthe morning of May twenty first, Yes,
sir, I was at my officewhere I was to be met by
missus Amy B. Drake Schuster andher estranged husband, Roy Shuster, per
my representation of his wife in theircourt agreed separation. We were set to
(14:26):
discuss the alimony payments he was tryingto weasel out of. And when mister
Schuster arrived, what was his demeanor? He burst in the door and looked
disheveled, even slightly crazed. Youcould see in his eyes that he was
looking for trouble. What was thepoipos of your meeting? We were meeting
(14:48):
because he had agreed to pay hisdear sweet wife, God rest her soul,
forty dollars a week for alimony paymentof late mister Shusta was unable to
make his payments after losing his employmentas a dance instructor. I understand he
(15:11):
must have been feeling terribly low,given that his only talent in the world
was dancing, and not only washe not able to secure employment by practicing
his trade, he was also unableto secure employment teaching the trade. Such
a shame, a shame. Indeed, what was he requesting in the stead
(15:37):
of his previously agreed payment. Hewas aggressively demanding that the payments be lowered
or delayed. I calmly informed himthat if he was unable to make his
payments, that he'd beheld in contemptof the court, as is the law.
(15:58):
He verbally lashed out at me.His eyes were darting around the room,
looking like a man possessed during thistime. Was he addressing missus Shuster
or only speaking with you in alast ditch attempt to turn things around.
The poor sap made a hopeless pleato his estranged wife, begging for them
(16:22):
to reconcile and get back together.Missus Shuster showed no interest in this course
of action. I then asked misterShuster to excuse Missus Shuster and myself so
that we could confer in the hall. He became enraged, screaming obscenities and
(16:47):
convulsing. He pulled out a gun. What happened next, mister Siegel,
He tactfully aimed the pits still hadMissus Shuster. I hurled myself in the
way and tackled the itchy trigger fingeredfiend to the ground. But in the
(17:08):
ensuing gunplay, Missus Schuster was struckin the head multiple times. God rest
her soul. She was a kind, warm woman who committed no crime.
He purposely shot her in the headand probably intended to do the same to
(17:30):
me. I'm lucky to be herebefore you all, only having sustained a
shoulder wound. That man is adangerous menace to society, and if there's
any hope left in the world,he'll be harshly sentenced. Thank you so
much, mister Siegel. I callRoy Schuster to the stand, mister Roy
(17:56):
Shuster, regarding the murder of yourstrength his wife, Amy Drake Shusta,
and assault with a firearm of misterIsrael Siegel. You've pled not guilty by
reason of temporary insanity. Can youshed some light on this temporary insanity.
I ain't gonna try and tell anyoneI didn't do what I said I did,
(18:18):
but I'm here to say I wasn'tin my right mind on that day
or the day's leading up to it. I put my head in an oven
just weeks before I wanted out.I didn't go there intending to kill or
maim anybody besides myself. I broughtthat gap to end it all. What
changed that shister Sigel wouldn't back down. He was egging Amy on. She
(18:45):
knew I didn't have any money,so did he. They just kept pressing.
I wanted to get Amy back.I want her back now with a
whole other way. When he triedto take her away from me, I
snapped thank you, miss to Shusta. In order to disprove Roy's claims of
temporary insanity, the state called psychiatricexpert witness doctor Periam Liechtenstein, who was
(19:08):
the resident physician at Toombs Prison inNew York and also an attorney between Israel
Land doctor Liechtenstein's testimonies. Roy Schusterwas found guilty of murder in the second
degree after one week on November two, nineteen thirty one. He was sentenced
to a term of twenty five yearsto life. However, that is not
where the story of Roy Schuster ends. Roy was sent to Sing Sing Correctional
(19:33):
Facility, which is a maximum securityprison in oh Sing, New York.
It's one of the oldest prisons inthe country, and the phrase up the
river to describe sending someone to prisonis derived because Sing Sing prisoners were sent
up the Hudson River to their incarceration. Luckily for Roy, the same year
he was incarcerated, a new prisonreform offered sing sing prisoner's permission to partake
(19:55):
in recreation opportunities like baseball, football, vaudeville shows, and concerts, with
tickets sold to the public. Theprison was able to raise money for charities
and families of executed prisoners, orso they said so. Although he never
made it into the zig Field Follies, he was soon the star of the
Sing Sing Follies. Let's hear itagain for Roy Shuster and the rest of
(20:22):
the Sing Sing Mistreats great stuff tonight, Roy, glad you liked it,
because it's the last time I'm performingin a Sing Sing production. What are
you squawking about, Shuster? Iknow the crooked low lives who run this
place are pocketing the ticket money that'ssupposed to be for the needy families.
(20:44):
If I were you, I'd bereal careful bombing your gobs about stuff like
that. Yeah, you can findyourself in trouble quick. Let's get you
back to yourself account blab or mouth, Get up, Shuster. Yeah,
being transferred? Transferred where upstate Clintoncorrection All. You can't just ship me
(21:08):
around with no warning like some auctionblock cattle. We got this piece of
paper from the warden. It sayswe can, so let's go. Roy
was shipped up to Clinton Correctional Facilityin Dnamora, New York, or as
it's affectionately nicknamed New York's Little Siberiabecause of the freezing winter conditions. Once
(21:33):
he arrived, prison life got worsebefore it got better. Roy had reportedly
discovered that the warden end some ofthe prison staff were embezzling money from the
prison budget. Shuster, I hearyou have some interesting theories about the way
I do business around here. Thattrue? Yeah, I know you lot
of skinning money off the top,and I won't rest until your exposed.
(21:59):
I suspect you won't find it veryeasy to rest in any case. Oh
yeah, why's that? God takethis man to the dungeon. At this
point, you may be thinking adungeon. I know this takes place in
the past, but not in theMiddle Ages. But here Roy is.
It's nineteen thirty five, and yes, this man was thrown into a prisons
(22:23):
dungeon. After serving time in theliteral dungeon, Roy became a model prisoner.
He earned his college degree and tutoredothers to do the same. By
nineteen forty one, the New YorkState Board of Education commended him for his
work. If all had continued togo well, he would be up for
parole in seven years. However,corruption seemed to rear its duplicate his head
(22:45):
yet again. Look, the geedtest is no big deal. We've come
at everything. You're gonna need toace it. Just make sure to concentrate
on the math section and you'll besquare. Yeah, I guess it'd be
nice to know I'm gonna pass likesome of the other guys. It's all
(23:06):
about preparation. Yeah, and bankroll, which I don't got. What do
you mean you ain't. No,some of the guys been panted off the
guards for better grades. No,I was unaware. You don't need a
grease any poems. You can dothis on your own. Roy attempted to
uncover this scheme, and the prisonsubjected him to a bocus raged sanity test,
(23:29):
which had him declared this insane.This declaration made him ineligible for his
upcoming parole. Lemon H. Casswell, MD, the physician at Clinton,
who had zero psychiatric qualifications by theway, signed the declaration after one conversation
with Roy. He wrote he wascircumstantial in his conversation, very talkative,
(23:49):
complained bitterly. He was paranoid andsuspicious. This man was reported for writing
letters were gone in cowardly attacks madeagainst him by the poor Sinnel, and
requested that something be done about it. In his letters, he has shown
the paranoid idea that members of thepoisonell are against him. The good doctor
(24:10):
didn't attempt any additional meetings or afurther explanation of diagnosis on the forum.
He also neglected to list whether Roywas violent, dangerous, destructive, excited,
homicidal or suicidal, all of whichare mandatory to note on the form
submitted. Roy was remanded to DanemoraState Hospital for the criminally Insane without being
afforded a hearing or correspondence with anylegal representative. It wasn't until nearly thirty
(24:36):
years later that Roy was afforded theopportunity to present his case regarding corruption and
be reviewed for parole. Mister Shusta, can you share the details of the
examination performed by doctor Caswell to testthe fitness of y sanity? Your honor?
The interview that those docs passed offas a sanity test was given to
(25:00):
me without my concerned warning or knowledgeof its purpose. What sort of questions
were being asked of you? Theyspent most of the time threatening me to
take back what I was saying aboutthe bribery going on in the self study
program. Then after the whole thing, they forced me to sign the twelfth
paid transcript on the meeting, butthey wouldn't let me read it. God
only knows what it said, itsays on your file you received no medication
(25:26):
or treatment regularly. Why is that? One of the head quacks up there
said, my paranoia was so deeplyrooted that they wouldn't respond to therapy.
Do you do any work? Havethey assigned you a job and not?
Now? I did for a whileI was a librarian. But other than
that, I study in my sparetime and things like that. They try
(25:48):
to prepare for an honorable rehabilitation sothat when I was released, I wouldn't
step out cold. I would beable to step into an honorable job.
Race Schuster was denied parole and nofurther investigation into the bribery allegations were deemed
necessary. Roy would be denied parolemultiple times in the coming years. Despite
the following deposition from a psychiatrist workingin the facility, Roy was detained.
(26:12):
Shusta is an individual whose conduct ingeneral is correct, who uses impeccable logic.
He shows no obvious signs of mentalillness, such as deterioration, untidiness,
hallucinatory experience, as bizarre ideas orbizarre behavior. However, the nature
(26:32):
of paranoia, in which an entiredelusional but logical belief is based on a
single false premise, and if oneallows the truth of the false premise,
the patient's behavior no longer appears abnovel. The doctor also attested that although he
believed some foul play might have occurredduring Roy's examination, he could not believe
(26:52):
anyone would commit a man who didnot deserve it. In nineteen seventy five,
Roy Schuster was finely granted parole hewas seventy one. The appeals judge
who ultimately granted him his freedom apologizedfor his treatment and compared his incarceration to
serving in a Soviet gulag and chastiseprison officials for denying him. Quote the
(27:15):
ordinary decency do every human. Royspent the next ten years fighting for prisoners
rights. He died at the ageof eighty one. Though it's clear it
was his gun he brought to thelaw office as that day that killed his
wife and injured mister Siegel, it'sharder to tell if the result was because
of his mental state, whether ornot his allegations of corruption in any of
(27:37):
the instances were accurate. It's plainto see that the justice system used his
sanity against him in multiple ways.From the denial of his temporary insanity defense
to being ineligible for parole because ofhis clinically insane status, Roy Schuster was
tossed around the prison system and leftat the bottom. Like the last bit
of peanut butter, you can't quiteget out of the jar. Alimoni Acrimony
(28:07):
was written by Jordan Catcher, narratedby me Skyler Fastonel, and executive produced
by Daniel Jones. Voice talent wasprovided by Daniel Jones, Alan Anthony,
Morion Walker Barnes, Jeremy Staple,Vince Perez, Sophia Sasone, Matt McNelly,
Shatara, Irvin Taylor, Shirty,Mariissippi Stone, Ariel Dale, and
Rainy Blake. Our theme song waswritten and performed by Tracy Zailes. As
(28:32):
always, thank you for being apart of another episode. If you've enjoyed
what you heard, let us knowby leaving a five star review and rating.
It helps us out so much.You can also check out our merchandise,
ad free episodes and more over atour Patreon, which is patreon dot
com slash og Deadtime. The linkto that and all of our social media
(28:53):
is in the episode description. Theoriginal Deadtime stories. We'll be back in
one week with a lovely new episodefor you to enjoy until then. Stay
safe out there. I don't wantyou to be the next chapter's topic on
the original Dead Time stories.
Blame rain coons, flew the coopwith the dough. There's no witnesses.
That's awful. Local News and LittleRock now onto a story that I'm sure
will put the bee in your bonnet. Big News. Out of the Big
Apple police are on the hunt forRoy Schuster, and out of work dancer
known for a grace in the pinesthe Fideville Stages during his heyday, Shoe
(00:23):
says one of the eight million Americanswho are unemployed in shut up. I
need to concentrate. This book isgonna send my daughter to college. I've
gotta finish Colleen. As such,the out of Dance is equal punts an
act of Roy Shuster. This isthe Arkansas State Troop was Brigade. We
(00:48):
know you're in there. We havea warrant for your arrest. Egg of
the motel room with your hands up, or we'll be coming in. Oh
God, no, please, Ididn't mean to killer. It was supposed
to be me, Roy Shuster.Matt with your hands up immediately, I'm
coming out. We'll get back tothat in a bit. The tale of
(01:15):
Roy Schuster is so indicative of theperiod in American history that he resided the
Great depression crippled the nation financially andleft millions depressed destitute, hand without work.
The introduction of sound to movies andthe spectacular sets and costumes on Broadway,
we're starting to spell an end tovaudeville as we approach another depression.
(01:37):
One hundred years later, and watchedthe streaming wars heat up, we felt
like it would be an apt timeto invite you to join us as we
step back and recount the story ofRoyce Schuster, the Alimony Killer. Welcome
to Deadtime Stories. In the nineteentwenties, roy Schuster was touring the nation's
(02:23):
vaudeville stages as a tap dancer andmaking a pretty good living at it.
Roy was making more than two hundreddollars a week, which may not seem
high now, but that would bethe equivalent of just over twenty five hundred
dollars a week adjusted for inflation,considering rent in New York was about sixty
bucks a month. Roy was doingquite well while Tory Milwaukee, Roy then
(02:46):
twenty two years old, met abeautiful young woman, let Royster, and
happened. Great stuff tonight, Roy, Thanks John, see if a cords
and a bit of giggle juice tonight, you know it. Excuse me,
(03:08):
mister Shuster, please call me Roy. All right, I'm Amy, And
what you did out there shoe wasthe bee's knees. You ever teach anybody?
Never really been much for teaching asmuch as doing, But sure I've
taught a few folks here and there. Any chance you could teach me.
(03:28):
I'm an actress, but I figureI can make a break for Broadway if
I can pick up a few movesfrom you how to talk to like you?
Yeah, you'll do all right witha few extra moves. Say,
let's get together tomorrow and we'll seewhat we can do. Sound good?
Sounds keen? Thanks, mister shutI mean Roy. Amy and Roy started
(03:49):
dating shortly after meeting, and evenmore quickly they were engaged and married.
During that time, Amy had becomepregnant with a child that may or may
not have been fathered by Roy.In order to take care of his wife
and child, Roy retired from performingand became an instructor at Ned Weyburn's dancing
school. At the time, Nedwas a hot shot in the dance community.
(04:12):
In addition to being the main choreographerof the Zikefield Follies, one of
the most successful early Broadway shows.This guy literally coined the phrase tap dancing
and personally trained Fred Astaire, Maywest, Groucho Marx, and many more.
Mister Weyburne, I'll just finished cleaningup. Anything else I can do around
here for some extra claims, Roy, you're teaching classes, doing the clean
(04:34):
up, locking the doors at theend of the night. I don't know
what else you could do short ofchewing my food for me. Gee.
All right, mister weyburn if youcan just let me know if anything else
comes up, that would be swell. And if there's any opening in follies,
please keep me in mind. Iwill Roy, good night, go
(04:54):
home, see you tomorrow. Notmister Weyburn, Amy, I'm home.
Where are my favorite gals? Youhear that, Colleen? Apparently where your
pop's favorite gals? Pretty hard totell. With the way he's bringing home
the bacon or lack thereof, takeher. She won't stop crying. Come
(05:19):
here, Colleen, Amy, I'mdoing everything I can. Mister weyburn doesn't
have anything else for me. Healready cut me down from one hundred and
ten dollars to seventy five, andhe said, he can barely afford to
pay me that with everything going on. I asked about follies, but he
didn't say much. He's not gonnaput you in follies. Roy, give
(05:42):
it up, find a real job. When Amy had become pregnant, she
gave up her pursuit of employment inthe entertainment industry to concentrate on raising their
daughter, Colleen. Maybe she wasjealous that Roy was still going after that
dream, and that's why she waspressing so hard for him to do the
same. I need to find areal job. How about that jerk you
(06:02):
go out with on your MIXI escapades? What kind of job does he have?
Your nuts? What you think?I don't know about that. I've
got almos, don't. I'm hothere, I know. In the twenties
and thirties, divorce was more possiblethan it had been in past decades,
(06:25):
but not much less stigmatized. Ifyou wanted to file for divorce, you
had to prove that you were thevictim of cruelty, adultery, or abandonment.
That process was only for the fewwho could afford divorce fees. The
Great Depression saw a large decline inUS annual divorce rates. That's not to
say there weren't other options, likea separation. It's like diet divorce divorce
(06:48):
light, which is the path Royand Amy took. Rhy is that shoe
come on in? H mister Weyburn. What's the good word? Oh Roy?
Not so good. I'm afraid Ican't keep paying you the seventy five
dollars we had agreed on. I'mreally hurt in these days, as I
(07:10):
know you are the most I cangive you. He's eleven dollars a week.
Eleven dollars, mister Weyburn. I'mflat broke. Give me a break.
I've got a kid in legal fees. Boy, I like you,
but there's just nothing else I cando. Gribes. I'm opening up a
dance studio. I'm trying to crawlmy way out of this. I'm sorry,
(07:33):
Roy, Yeah, oh right,thanks, mister Weyburn. Unfortunately for
Roy, things got worse from there. He lost his job at the dance
school, and although Roy and Amymanaged to reconcile after their separation, it
was short lived, as they quicklybecame separated again. This time legally,
(07:58):
it still wasn't quite a divorce.It was a court ordered separation. Roy
struggled with negative thoughts following the courtorder, and eventually attempted suicide. Amy
took immedia action in response to Roy'sattempt on his life. She secured a
court order directing him to pay afixed sum for the support of his family.
(08:18):
Having already had his income slash toeleven dollars per week, Roy found
those payments to be extremely difficult toafford. Amy took given further legal action.
Mister Shuster, my name is IsraelSiegel, and I'm representing miss Amy
Drake Shuster regarding the matter of yourcourt ordered payment. At this current time,
(08:45):
Miss Drake Shuster is not willing totake any payment lower than forty dollars
a week. Amy. You knowI don't have that kind of dough.
You'll ruin me. I'll have toshut the studio I open. I'm doing
everything I can. Ow me yourbone. I'll have you thrown in jails.
What I'll do. Mister Siegel heretold me that if you don't pay
(09:07):
what I'm saying you gotta pay,then you can be locked up. Please,
Amy, don't do this to me. I'm trying to make things work.
I've got the studio open now.I just got into the job as
a salesman. If I got tossedinto the hoosgaul for just today, I'll
lose the studio and the job.Not to mention any day I'm behind bars.
(09:31):
I certainly ain't making money to payyou at this current time. Miss
Drake Shuster is not willing to takeany payment lower than forty dollars a week.
I heard you, mouthpiece. I'mtalking to my wife, Amy.
If you do this to me,I'll kill myself. I swear it right.
(09:52):
I've had my fill of this today. Mean back here tomorrow and we're
gonna settle this once and for all. The next morning, May second,
nineteen thirty one, Roy met withAmy in front of fifty one Chamber Street,
where both of their lawyer's offices werelocated. They visited Roy's lawyer first,
but he wasn't in the office,so the two proceeded into Israel Siegel's
(10:15):
office. Mister Siegel led them toa meeting room. Come in, please
have a seat. Thank you,mister Siegel. I'll stay thanks very well.
We'll get directly to it then,as it seems you're eager to begin,
mister Shuster, Miss Drake Schuster isnot willing to accept any amount of
(10:35):
alimony payment short of the previously agreedforty dollars a week without holding you in
contempt of court. Do you intendto comply with the court ordered payment?
Mister Siegel, Amy, It's notabout if I'm tend to comply. It's
about the fact that I can't.You two got me behind the abow I
(10:58):
am to pay. It's fair,but I'm not sure the three of us
got the same definition of the word. Mister Shuster, this is quite simple.
Do you intend to comply with thecourt ordered payment? Amy? Please?
Let's get back together, make itwork, just you and me like
it used to be, back whenit was good. Times are hard enough.
(11:18):
We don't gotta be alone. Wecould be together. Amy. Please,
do you intend to comply? Wecan it? Will you? Please
give me a chance. Let meexplain the situation. Let me prove to
you I have no money. Ifyou put me in jail Monday, you
will put me out of business,You will destroy my future, you will
(11:39):
make me commit suicide. Mister Shuster, please excuse Miss Drake Shuster and I
for a moment while I speak withmy client in private. Roy pulled a
thirty two caliber revolver from his pocket. The original Dead Time stories will be
(12:11):
back after these brief messages. Welcomeback to our show. Roy's face was
plastered on the front page of newspapers. Radio programs covered the story for all
the wrong reasons. The nation knewhis name, Roy Alimony Slayer Schuster.
(12:33):
Authority searched for Roy for nearly amonth before making their way to a motel
and Little Rock, Arkansas. Y'allshow, he's the guy in the photos.
Sure as you're standing here, signedfor the room under the name Anderson.
Seems nice enough. He do somethingwrong, filled his old lady full
of lead, caught a lawyer inthe arm too. Yikes. Well he's
(12:56):
over in for a second. Doorto the right. Take a step back,
please, Roy Shuster, this isthe Arkansas State Troop was Brigade.
We know you're in there. Wehave a warrant for your arrest. Exit
the motel room with your hands upor we'll be coming in. Oh god,
no, please, I didn't meanthe killer. It was supposed to
(13:18):
be me, Roy Shuster. Comeout with your hands up immediately. I'm
coming out. Kick those hands up. I guess I got the electric chair
for no jewry will listen to mystory. But the killing was accidental.
I went to the door, andI suppose Siegel was trying to dissuade my
(13:39):
wife from coming back to me.I pulled out my gun to hand it
all, but Siegel thought I wasgonna shoot him, and he rushed towards
me. We grappled, and thegun went off several times as we scuffled.
When I regained my sentences, mywife was dead and Siegal was gone.
Save it for the judge Shuster.Roy was brought back to New York
to be tried for murder. MisterIsrael Siegel, can you please share with
(14:05):
the court what you were doing onthe morning of May twenty first, Yes,
sir, I was at my officewhere I was to be met by
missus Amy B. Drake Schuster andher estranged husband, Roy Shuster, per
my representation of his wife in theircourt agreed separation. We were set to
(14:26):
discuss the alimony payments he was tryingto weasel out of. And when mister
Schuster arrived, what was his demeanor? He burst in the door and looked
disheveled, even slightly crazed. Youcould see in his eyes that he was
looking for trouble. What was thepoipos of your meeting? We were meeting
(14:48):
because he had agreed to pay hisdear sweet wife, God rest her soul,
forty dollars a week for alimony paymentof late mister Shusta was unable to
make his payments after losing his employmentas a dance instructor. I understand he
(15:11):
must have been feeling terribly low,given that his only talent in the world
was dancing, and not only washe not able to secure employment by practicing
his trade, he was also unableto secure employment teaching the trade. Such
a shame, a shame. Indeed, what was he requesting in the stead
(15:37):
of his previously agreed payment. Hewas aggressively demanding that the payments be lowered
or delayed. I calmly informed himthat if he was unable to make his
payments, that he'd beheld in contemptof the court, as is the law.
(15:58):
He verbally lashed out at me.His eyes were darting around the room,
looking like a man possessed during thistime. Was he addressing missus Shuster
or only speaking with you in alast ditch attempt to turn things around.
The poor sap made a hopeless pleato his estranged wife, begging for them
(16:22):
to reconcile and get back together.Missus Shuster showed no interest in this course
of action. I then asked misterShuster to excuse Missus Shuster and myself so
that we could confer in the hall. He became enraged, screaming obscenities and
(16:47):
convulsing. He pulled out a gun. What happened next, mister Siegel,
He tactfully aimed the pits still hadMissus Shuster. I hurled myself in the
way and tackled the itchy trigger fingeredfiend to the ground. But in the
(17:08):
ensuing gunplay, Missus Schuster was struckin the head multiple times. God rest
her soul. She was a kind, warm woman who committed no crime.
He purposely shot her in the headand probably intended to do the same to
(17:30):
me. I'm lucky to be herebefore you all, only having sustained a
shoulder wound. That man is adangerous menace to society, and if there's
any hope left in the world,he'll be harshly sentenced. Thank you so
much, mister Siegel. I callRoy Schuster to the stand, mister Roy
(17:56):
Shuster, regarding the murder of yourstrength his wife, Amy Drake Shusta,
and assault with a firearm of misterIsrael Siegel. You've pled not guilty by
reason of temporary insanity. Can youshed some light on this temporary insanity.
I ain't gonna try and tell anyoneI didn't do what I said I did,
(18:18):
but I'm here to say I wasn'tin my right mind on that day
or the day's leading up to it. I put my head in an oven
just weeks before I wanted out.I didn't go there intending to kill or
maim anybody besides myself. I broughtthat gap to end it all. What
changed that shister Sigel wouldn't back down. He was egging Amy on. She
(18:45):
knew I didn't have any money,so did he. They just kept pressing.
I wanted to get Amy back.I want her back now with a
whole other way. When he triedto take her away from me, I
snapped thank you, miss to Shusta. In order to disprove Roy's claims of
temporary insanity, the state called psychiatricexpert witness doctor Periam Liechtenstein, who was
(19:08):
the resident physician at Toombs Prison inNew York and also an attorney between Israel
Land doctor Liechtenstein's testimonies. Roy Schusterwas found guilty of murder in the second
degree after one week on November two, nineteen thirty one. He was sentenced
to a term of twenty five yearsto life. However, that is not
where the story of Roy Schuster ends. Roy was sent to Sing Sing Correctional
(19:33):
Facility, which is a maximum securityprison in oh Sing, New York.
It's one of the oldest prisons inthe country, and the phrase up the
river to describe sending someone to prisonis derived because Sing Sing prisoners were sent
up the Hudson River to their incarceration. Luckily for Roy, the same year
he was incarcerated, a new prisonreform offered sing sing prisoner's permission to partake
(19:55):
in recreation opportunities like baseball, football, vaudeville shows, and concerts, with
tickets sold to the public. Theprison was able to raise money for charities
and families of executed prisoners, orso they said so. Although he never
made it into the zig Field Follies, he was soon the star of the
Sing Sing Follies. Let's hear itagain for Roy Shuster and the rest of
(20:22):
the Sing Sing Mistreats great stuff tonight, Roy, glad you liked it,
because it's the last time I'm performingin a Sing Sing production. What are
you squawking about, Shuster? Iknow the crooked low lives who run this
place are pocketing the ticket money that'ssupposed to be for the needy families.
(20:44):
If I were you, I'd bereal careful bombing your gobs about stuff like
that. Yeah, you can findyourself in trouble quick. Let's get you
back to yourself account blab or mouth, Get up, Shuster. Yeah,
being transferred? Transferred where upstate Clintoncorrection All. You can't just ship me
(21:08):
around with no warning like some auctionblock cattle. We got this piece of
paper from the warden. It sayswe can, so let's go. Roy
was shipped up to Clinton Correctional Facilityin Dnamora, New York, or as
it's affectionately nicknamed New York's Little Siberiabecause of the freezing winter conditions. Once
(21:33):
he arrived, prison life got worsebefore it got better. Roy had reportedly
discovered that the warden end some ofthe prison staff were embezzling money from the
prison budget. Shuster, I hearyou have some interesting theories about the way
I do business around here. Thattrue? Yeah, I know you lot
of skinning money off the top,and I won't rest until your exposed.
(21:59):
I suspect you won't find it veryeasy to rest in any case. Oh
yeah, why's that? God takethis man to the dungeon. At this
point, you may be thinking adungeon. I know this takes place in
the past, but not in theMiddle Ages. But here Roy is.
It's nineteen thirty five, and yes, this man was thrown into a prisons
(22:23):
dungeon. After serving time in theliteral dungeon, Roy became a model prisoner.
He earned his college degree and tutoredothers to do the same. By
nineteen forty one, the New YorkState Board of Education commended him for his
work. If all had continued togo well, he would be up for
parole in seven years. However,corruption seemed to rear its duplicate his head
(22:45):
yet again. Look, the geedtest is no big deal. We've come
at everything. You're gonna need toace it. Just make sure to concentrate
on the math section and you'll besquare. Yeah, I guess it'd be
nice to know I'm gonna pass likesome of the other guys. It's all
(23:06):
about preparation. Yeah, and bankroll, which I don't got. What do
you mean you ain't. No,some of the guys been panted off the
guards for better grades. No,I was unaware. You don't need a
grease any poems. You can dothis on your own. Roy attempted to
uncover this scheme, and the prisonsubjected him to a bocus raged sanity test,
(23:29):
which had him declared this insane.This declaration made him ineligible for his
upcoming parole. Lemon H. Casswell, MD, the physician at Clinton,
who had zero psychiatric qualifications by theway, signed the declaration after one conversation
with Roy. He wrote he wascircumstantial in his conversation, very talkative,
(23:49):
complained bitterly. He was paranoid andsuspicious. This man was reported for writing
letters were gone in cowardly attacks madeagainst him by the poor Sinnel, and
requested that something be done about it. In his letters, he has shown
the paranoid idea that members of thepoisonell are against him. The good doctor
(24:10):
didn't attempt any additional meetings or afurther explanation of diagnosis on the forum.
He also neglected to list whether Roywas violent, dangerous, destructive, excited,
homicidal or suicidal, all of whichare mandatory to note on the form
submitted. Roy was remanded to DanemoraState Hospital for the criminally Insane without being
afforded a hearing or correspondence with anylegal representative. It wasn't until nearly thirty
(24:36):
years later that Roy was afforded theopportunity to present his case regarding corruption and
be reviewed for parole. Mister Shusta, can you share the details of the
examination performed by doctor Caswell to testthe fitness of y sanity? Your honor?
The interview that those docs passed offas a sanity test was given to
(25:00):
me without my concerned warning or knowledgeof its purpose. What sort of questions
were being asked of you? Theyspent most of the time threatening me to
take back what I was saying aboutthe bribery going on in the self study
program. Then after the whole thing, they forced me to sign the twelfth
paid transcript on the meeting, butthey wouldn't let me read it. God
only knows what it said, itsays on your file you received no medication
(25:26):
or treatment regularly. Why is that? One of the head quacks up there
said, my paranoia was so deeplyrooted that they wouldn't respond to therapy.
Do you do any work? Havethey assigned you a job and not?
Now? I did for a whileI was a librarian. But other than
that, I study in my sparetime and things like that. They try
(25:48):
to prepare for an honorable rehabilitation sothat when I was released, I wouldn't
step out cold. I would beable to step into an honorable job.
Race Schuster was denied parole and nofurther investigation into the bribery allegations were deemed
necessary. Roy would be denied parolemultiple times in the coming years. Despite
the following deposition from a psychiatrist workingin the facility, Roy was detained.
(26:12):
Shusta is an individual whose conduct ingeneral is correct, who uses impeccable logic.
He shows no obvious signs of mentalillness, such as deterioration, untidiness,
hallucinatory experience, as bizarre ideas orbizarre behavior. However, the nature
(26:32):
of paranoia, in which an entiredelusional but logical belief is based on a
single false premise, and if oneallows the truth of the false premise,
the patient's behavior no longer appears abnovel. The doctor also attested that although he
believed some foul play might have occurredduring Roy's examination, he could not believe
(26:52):
anyone would commit a man who didnot deserve it. In nineteen seventy five,
Roy Schuster was finely granted parole hewas seventy one. The appeals judge
who ultimately granted him his freedom apologizedfor his treatment and compared his incarceration to
serving in a Soviet gulag and chastiseprison officials for denying him. Quote the
(27:15):
ordinary decency do every human. Royspent the next ten years fighting for prisoners
rights. He died at the ageof eighty one. Though it's clear it
was his gun he brought to thelaw office as that day that killed his
wife and injured mister Siegel, it'sharder to tell if the result was because
of his mental state, whether ornot his allegations of corruption in any of
(27:37):
the instances were accurate. It's plainto see that the justice system used his
sanity against him in multiple ways.From the denial of his temporary insanity defense
to being ineligible for parole because ofhis clinically insane status, Roy Schuster was
tossed around the prison system and leftat the bottom. Like the last bit
of peanut butter, you can't quiteget out of the jar. Alimoni Acrimony
(28:07):
was written by Jordan Catcher, narratedby me Skyler Fastonel, and executive produced
by Daniel Jones. Voice talent wasprovided by Daniel Jones, Alan Anthony,
Morion Walker Barnes, Jeremy Staple,Vince Perez, Sophia Sasone, Matt McNelly,
Shatara, Irvin Taylor, Shirty,Mariissippi Stone, Ariel Dale, and
Rainy Blake. Our theme song waswritten and performed by Tracy Zailes. As
(28:32):
always, thank you for being apart of another episode. If you've enjoyed
what you heard, let us knowby leaving a five star review and rating.
It helps us out so much.You can also check out our merchandise,
ad free episodes and more over atour Patreon, which is patreon dot
com slash og Deadtime. The linkto that and all of our social media
(28:53):
is in the episode description. Theoriginal Deadtime stories. We'll be back in
one week with a lovely new episodefor you to enjoy until then. Stay
safe out there. I don't wantyou to be the next chapter's topic on
the original Dead Time stories.
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