Bombings Dade County
Florida
May 30 to Aug 21, 1967
[Reference:
Dade County OCB file #2A-33-9]
Two Bombs Rip Home Of
Underworld Figure
Miami Herald 22 Aug. 1967
By: DAVE NELSON And JON NORDHEIMER
Jewel fancier John Clarence Cook, who once complained to
many cops were
tailing him, survived a predawn bombing attack Monday and
may welcome
back the watchful eye of the law.
Two time-bombs ripped apart a carport while Cook, 37, his
wife and four
children slept inside their $40,000 home at 1240 NE 82 St.
The explosions shattered Cook's car and sleek red
high-powered
speedboat, but all members of the family emerged unhurt from
the rubble
and shattered glass that sprayed the interior of the house
and the lawn.
The attack, the latest in a series of terror tactics to rip
the Miami
underworld, was considered daring since Cook's movements
have been
watched almost constantly for the past few years by local
and federal
lawmen.
Cook's indignation at being tailed reached a high point in
early 1965
shortly after the arrest of his buddies, Beach Boys Jack
(Murphy the
Surf) Murphy and Allan Dale Kuhn, for slipping the fabled
Star of India
sapphire out of a New York museum.
Cook rammed an FBI agent's car to make his point and got 85
days in
jail, one of the few times he's had to cool his heels behind
bars.
To add to the intrigue of Monday's attack, Cook himself is
under
investigation in the July 12 dynamite explosion at Miami
police officer
Gerald E. Saslaw's home.
A week after the Saslaw bombing, Cook's good friend and
fellow diamond
collector, Herman (Hy) Gordon, mystery man go-between in the
Star of
India recovery, was shot behind the ear five blocks from
Cook's home.
Another Cook pal, gambler Frank (Lefty) Rosenthal was
summoned before
the Dade Grand Jury after a rash of early summer bombings of
Miami
Beach bookie establishments.
An FBI agent once remarked that whenever they wanted to
check up on
big-time gangsters visiting Miami all they had to do was
check Cook's
house.
"Nine times out of 10 they show up there. . . it's a regular
underworld convention hall," the agent said.
Hot-tempered Cook, who's been arrested several times on two
continents
on suspicion of jewel thefts but never convicted, seemed
more upset
about the presence of newsmen on his property Monday than
the shambles
created by the bombs.
He ordered the press off.
His new sky-blue Cadillac was wrecked and it looked like
someone had
used a can operator on his Donzi speedboat to pry the deck
from the
hull.
Two white doors were blown off the house and every window in
sight had caved in.
Cook's $12,000, 24-foot cruiser – named after his 101-pound
former
Playboy bunny wife Marianne – was safely moored in the canal
behind the
house.
The explosions rocked the neighborhood about 3:45 a.m. and
broke windows two houses away.
Interestingly, Cook's house is the only one on the block
that does not have a "For Sale" sign decorating the front
yard.
Bombing Box Score
AUG. 21 – John Clarence Cook and family escape when two time
bombs explode in front of 1240 NE 82nd St. home.
JULY 13 – Bomb in auto of William Schantz of North Miami
Beach falls to
detonate. Police believe it was case of mistaken
identity.
JULY 12 – Miami Officer Gerald Saslaw and family unhurt when
dynamite explosion rips front yard.
JUNE 16 – Alfie Mart's all-night newsstand and bookie
hangout on Miami
Beach's Alton Rd. shattered by bomb planted in telephone
booth.
JUNE 3 – Unoccupied auto belonging to wife of bookie Mickey
Zion of North Bay Village bombed.
JUNE 1 – Epicure Market next door to Alfie's bombed.
Police believe it was intended for the newsstand.
JUNE 1 – Gambler Chappie Rand's cleaning store on Motel Row
hit by two phosphorous grenades.
MAY 30 – Bomb tossed on gambler Mickey Zion's bedroom
balcony falls to explode.
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