Find results with:

Add another field

Search by date

to

Searching collections:

Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection

Add or remove collections

Home Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection Home of Ann Forst, White Slave Ring trial

Reference URL

Share

To link to this object, paste this link in email, IM or document

To embed this object, paste this HTML in website

Home of Ann Forst, White Slave Ring trial

View Description

Download

small (250x250 max)

medium (500x500 max)

large ( > 500x500)

Full Resolution

Print

Loading content ...

you wish to report:

Your comment:

Your Name:

Submit

Cancel

...

Back to top

Powered by CONTENTdm®

Order Number	00095088
Title	Home of Ann Forst, White Slave Ring trial
Collection ID	Herald Examiner Collection
Location/Accession	HE box 8912
Date	1940
Physical Description	1 photographic print :b&w ;21 x 26 cm.
Notes	Title supplied by cataloger.
Historical Data	On April 22, 1940 a white slave ring operating from Los Angeles, but spanning from El Centro to Seattle, was uncovered when a young woman, an intended victim by the name of Maxine Rayle called LAPD Sheriff, Captain Walter Hunter to say she and another woman were being held captive and gave an address where they could be found. When police raided the location, they arrested two men and one woman on suspicion of pandering - they were identified as: 43-year-old Charles W. "Monty" Montgomery, leader of the operation; 21-year-old Bristol Barrett, in charge of finding, wooing, and luring the young women; and 33-year-old Ann Forst, aka Anne Forrester "The Black Widow", an asserted key figure in booking girls and placing them in disorderly and ill-reputed houses. It was discovered that Ann Forst ran multiple houses of prostitution, promising girls net incomes of $300-$400 a month. Evidence indicated that approximately 200 women made up Forst's white slave ring. Montgomery and Barrett were charged; though it is not known how much time they served. Also indicted were Tim Tullis, an accomplice of the slave ring; Dolly Dupree, operator of one of the houses in San Bernardino; and Serena Peine, who served one year for pandering. Ann Forst (birth name Almerdell [sic] Forrester) was booked on pandering charges and spent 3 or 4 years of a 1 to 10 year sentence at the women's prison in Tehachapi. She moved up north upon her release and then to Arizona and Nevada, where she ran highway motels with her husband. Forst died in obscurity in 1998.
Description	This 10-acre lot home belonging to Ann Forst was located on the southeast corner of Devonshire Street and Tampa Avenue in Northridge. The fenced in property boasted of 9 rooms: 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, 2 real fireplaces, and a spacious living room. Built at a cost of $35,000, it was electrically equipped and air-conditioned. In order to pay for her legal expenses, Forst put it up for sale in November 1940 asking $25,000 cash. She had to lower the price to $21,000 in January 1941, and was eventually sold to theatrical agent, Marco Wolfe. The property was sub-divided in the 1960s. Photograph dated August 6, 1940.
Subject	Dwellings--California--Northridge (Los Angeles). Northridge (Los Angeles, Calif.). Los Angeles Evening Herald and Express photographs. Herald-Examiner Collection photographs.
Format	Photographic prints
Reproduction Information	Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html for additional information.
Sub-Collection Name	Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection