It was called “The Shoebox Scandal.”
Remember? Maybe not.
A helluva story more than 50 years ago, it would morph into a political Pandora’s Box of trouble on steroids in 1970’s Springfield and live on in Illinois political lore for decades.
And the long tawdry saga could soon see its final chapter.
But first, a refresher.
It began with the death of Illinois Secretary of State Paul Powell, a colorful old school downstate pol known for cutting deals that benefited southern Illinois — and himself.
Powell, 68, died Oct. 10, 1970, while visiting Minnesota’s Mayo clinic for a heart ailment with his secretary-girlfriend, Marge Hensey.
Back in Illinois, “shoeboxes” and attache cases stuffed with $100 bills were found locked in the closet of a Springfield hotel room where the once powerful Powell lived.
Almost immediately came rumors of political kickbacks and skimmed cash from Powell’s decades as state House speaker and later secretary of state.
After hatching one of his deals with Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley or other pols, Powell famously liked to say, “I can smell the meat a-cookin’!”
Well, the “Shoebox scandal” left Illinois’ political world sizzling — and reporters sniffing out other smells.
It ignited a press firestorm -- and a search for the genesis of the $820,000 in bills eventually found hidden away by Powell in shoeboxes, strongboxes and briefcases at his suite at the St. Nicholas Hotel and in his office’s cabinets, nooks and crannies.
Almost comically, Powell had also left behind a mysterious envelope that contained only 49 cents and a special annual request for Christmas flowers to be delivered to a Johnson County home for shut-ins — accompanied by strict orders who was NOT to be awarded the job. A Republican.
I covered segments of the “Shoebox Scandal” in 1970-71, and a recent news report signaling what could be the last chapter of the Powell story brought back memories.
Powell had set up a $250,000 trust to fund maintenance of his country home, which he wanted to serve as a museum and shrine to him in downstate Vienna (pronounced VIE-enna). But that trust is now nearly depleted, and the home will likely be sold.
The home, where Powell was known to sip Scotch on his sofa while serving up orders via phone to his huge patronage army, is maintained by the Johnson County Historical Society, which is also housed there.
The Associated Press report cited diminishing attendance as Powell’s history was disappearing and many have forgotten the famous scandal.
Not so for Sneed.
I was a young Chicago Tribune newspaper reporter, and the Paul Powell “Shoebox Scandal” became my first out-of-town assignment.
Powell’s estate had included racetrack stocks worth big bucks that he left to two women. The largest bequest went to Hensey, his personal secretary and private companion, and a smaller one was left to a former personal secretary, Lucy Koval. Powell also left Hensey his 1969 Buick.
My assignment: Interview Marge Hensey.
It was a make-or-break assignment for a new reporter.
Unfortunately, Hensey’s response to my knock at the door of her Springfield home was more break than make.
Sporting hair rollers, Hensey opened the door and then slammed it in my face.
It was over. I had lost the biggest assignment yet in my young career
But it was the advice of the talented “hard news” photographer working with me, Dave Nystrom, that saved the day, giving me a ticket to ride the story home.
Back then, we always traveled with photographers, their cars outfitted with noisy police radios. And some of the photogs still wore fedoras!
The seasoned Nystrom’s advice?
1. Ditch the gloom.
2. Find one of Powell’s previous secretaries.
3. Make an early morning “surprise” phone call.
4. Ask the former secretary about Kensey and for advice on what to ask her.
Let’s say the Nystrom formula worked. The two women were NOT the best of friends. It snagged Sneed a front-page byline back in Chicago.
As for Powell, who had never earned more than a $30,000 a year in salary, he left an estate upwards of nearly $5 million when it finally was settled in 1978. The politico who always wore a diamond racetrack stickpin was flush with racetrack stocks.
A federal probe of Powell’s suspected skimming and kickback scenario was concluded years later. He was long dead. It was over.
The wily old pol -- who liked to say “My friends always eat at the first table” -- seems to have gotten the last laugh.
And Hensey received her inheritance almost a decade after his death.
As far as I know, she never gave an interview. No matter how hard Sneed kept trying.
Sneedlings …
Congrats to Eric Sedler, co-founder and managing partner of the communications company Avoq, who once partnered with ASGK communications founder David Axelrod, on his appointment as interim director of World Business Chicago
Saturday birthdays; Billy Zane; 58; Edward James Olmos, 77; … Sunday birthdays; Chelsea Handler, 49; Rashida Jones, 48.
