Trainspotting in the USA? - Be Very Careful in Rail Yards and Remote Tracks.
Unki Arthur
SPOKANE, WASH.
An outlaw gang of hobos might be responsible for as many as 300 murders
across the nation in the last decade, authorities say. Police are
identifying members of the Freight Train Riders of America, thought to
number 2,000, in dozens of homicide investigations. They are turning to
Spokane police officer Bob Grandinetti, a nationally recognized FTRA
expert, to help identify, track and jail the elusive drifters.
To rail riders, the threat is very real. Mere mention of the train gang
evokes fear. At a Spokane railyard recently, Grandinetti approached a
scraggly, middle-aged couple gobbling hotdogs and beer under a bridge.
``Are you FTRA?'' he demanded. They yanked the necks of their shirts
down to reveal skin where FTRA bandannas would hang. Stop messing with
us, they screamed.
Under the same bridge, the body of a fellow drifter - 46-year-old
Horizontal John - turned up last month. Natural causes, the coroner
said. Transients think the gang claimed another victim; Grandinetti
thinks they're probably right. On the average, three transients die
each year along rail lines in Spokane; 70 to 90 died along tracks
nationwide, according to police and the FBI. Few cases involving foul
play are solved.
Rail riders usually don't have permanent addresses. They don't pay taxes
and don't work, making them nearly impossible to track. ``You can kill
a transient and (his body) may not surface for two weeks,'' Quakenbush
said. ``The suspect, by that time, may be 20 states away.'' Long
overlooked by law enforcement, transient murders now get more attention
than ever as recent arrests shine the spotlight on the FTRA.
Spokane resident Hugh Ross, an alleged FTRA enforcer, was picked up July
20 by police in La Crosse, Wis., hours after he and the gang were
featured on America's Most Wanted. Days before, officers had released
him from the LaCrosse County Jail on unrelated drug charges, not
realizing that Ross, under different names, was wanted in connection
with at least two transient killings. ``These guys are basically serial
killers,'' Grandinetti said.
Freight Train Riders of America reportedly traces its roots to a group
of Vietnam veterans who hung out in a Northwestern Montana bar. There,
13 years ago, they forged a bizarre rail-riding brotherhood with
neo-Nazi, ``white power'' overtones, authorities say. A few summers
later, members began to spread out, taking control of the
country's railyards and freight trains, forcing their rituals and
precepts on other hobos. By the late 1980s, FTRA enforcers, such as the
``Goonie Squad,'' named for the sticks they reportedly used to beat
people, filled boxcar-hopping transients with fear. Many fled, but the
gang's ranks swelled.
While little is known about the FTRA, joining appears to be a private,
violent process during which ``prospects'' are beaten, women associated
with the gang are raped and loyalty is tested, Grandinetti said. But
tying a urine-soaked FTRA bandanna around a recruit's neck and securing
it with the honored clasp is a rowdy, public ritual, usually
fueled by alcohol and methamphetamine.
Several years ago, a transient in Spokane tried to rescue a young girl,
about 12 years old, from a predatory FTRA member and convicted sex
offender known as ``Joshua,'' Grandinetti said. The girl wandered by
mistake into a hobo camp Joshua had set up. She escaped unharmed, but
the next morning, friends found the intervening transient dead in his
sleeping bag.
At his office, stacks of records, warrants and tips overwhelm
Grandinetti's desk. The information is shared with FBI agents, district
attorneys and detectives from around the country. Since 1984,
Grandinetti has developed 800 criminal profiles of suspected
FTRA members, including pictures, criminal records and fingerprints.
``All of them are convicted felons,'' he said. ``If I have one without
an FBI number, then I know it's a false name.''
Henning Makholm
On 13 Aug 1997, Unki Arthur wrote:
> An outlaw gang of hobos might be responsible for as many as 300 murders
> across the nation in the last decade, authorities say. Police are
> identifying members of the Freight Train Riders of America, thought to
> number 2,000, in dozens of homicide investigations. They are turning to
> Spokane police officer Bob Grandinetti, a nationally recognized FTRA
> expert, to help identify, track and jail the elusive drifters.
etc.etc.etc.
Excuse me, but what has this got to do in m.t.r.europe, m.t.r.misc,
uk.railway, and aus.rail?
--
Henning Makholm
mak...@diku.dk
http://www.diku.dk/students/makholm
Carl Becker
[newsgroups line trimmed to m.t.r.a. and a.r]
Unki Arthur wrote:
<tale of the FTRA, snipped>
Was this taken out of some publication, and if so, which one?
Thanks.
-Carl
Eric Jackson
Great Post about the FTRA
Unki Arthur <g...@shite.now> said,
>Under the same bridge, the body of a fellow drifter - 46-year-old
>Horizontal John - turned up last month. Natural causes, the coroner
>said. Transients think the gang claimed another victim; Grandinetti
>thinks they're probably right. On the average, three transients die
>each year along rail lines in Spokane; 70 to 90 died along tracks
>nationwide, according to police and the FBI. Few cases involving foul
>play are solved.
One thing that I was not really sure about is if you
are talking about 70 to 90 homocides or 70 to 90
deaths from all causes.
Also I have seen other statistics from opperation
life saver regarding fatalities for rail trespassers
some of which are not tramps but many of which are
just people walking down the tracks with a walkman
and so on.
I have always wanted to know if these homocides are
counted in the statistics on trespasser fatalities.
Also there is an FTRA member in the americas most
wanted list.
Check out http://www.amplifiedintelligence.com/DeadTrainBums.html
I am going to add you post to that page.
Eric
Tim and Rene Irwin
Unki Arthur wrote:
>
> SPOKANE, WASH.
>
> An outlaw gang of hobos might be responsible for as many as 300 murders
> across the nation in the last decade, authorities say. Police are
> identifying members of the Freight Train Riders of America, thought to
I ask the following?
Is there any other identifying marking other than a urine soaked
bandana? Three out of four people in this state wear urine soaked
clothing alraedy. Most are verified taxpaying citizens.
It would help in our round-up if you could give more details
IOWA
(Idiots Out Wandering Aimlessly)
Stuart Thyer
In article <Pine.HPP.3.95.970813...@thor.diku.dk>,
Henning Makholm <mak...@diku.dk> wrote:
> On 13 Aug 1997, Unki Arthur wrote:
>
> > An outlaw gang of hobos might be responsible for as many as 300 murders
> > across the nation in the last decade, authorities say. Police are
> > identifying members of the Freight Train Riders of America, thought to
> > number 2,000, in dozens of homicide investigations. They are turning to
> > Spokane police officer Bob Grandinetti, a nationally recognized FTRA
> > expert, to help identify, track and jail the elusive drifters.
> etc.etc.etc.
>
> Excuse me, but what has this got to do in m.t.r.europe, m.t.r.misc,
> uk.railway, and aus.rail?
>
Nothing really, but it is kind of interesting though. Here in Australia,
you don't tend to hear about train jumpers, although just every so often
you hear a story about a person riding in a half sided wagon along with a
container & the container shifts in transit..........
--
Stuart Thyer Suzuki Gs1000s
Photographer University of Melbourne
DoD No-1724
One time winner of the 'imaginary chocolate frog of discretion'
_____________