March 4, 1931 Chicago Tribune

REVEAL 75 LIVES IMPERILED BY “MURDER BOMB”
Gaming House Crowded, Police Discover.

The revelation that nearly seventy-five persons escaped death on Monday night when a dynamite bomb, the most powerful ever seen in the Chicago area, failed to explode beneath a Blue Island gambling house came as a climax last night to the inquiry into the murder of William Maier, 52 years old, caretaker, who was shot by the bombers.
Instead of a boarded-up deserted structure, as asserted by police, the gaming house at 119th street and Vincennes avenue was thronged with men playing games of chance when the bomb was placed, it was learned. In a political meeting only two doors away, thirty-five men and women were gathered. The lives of all these persons, in addition to passersby and residents in flats at the corner, would have been imperiled by the terrific power of the explosive.

Gangs Defied by Hackett.

Investigators seeking a motive found themselves confronted by a multiplicity of theories, but the one most generally accepted was that the bombing plot was aimed at James Hackett, wealthy gambling chief of Blue Island, the owner of the resort.
Hackett has been known to have defied efforts of criminal syndicates to muscle into his territory. The Joe Saltis gang some time ago and before that the Edward (Spike) O’Donnell gang were told by him to stay out of the profitable Blue Island gambling business, it was reported.
Another puzzling element was the part played by Hilario Rodriguez, 35 years old, a Mexican, who at first was hailed as the hero who snuffed out the bomb when, he said, the bombers hurled him and the explosive down a col chute into the basement of the gambling house. Questioning of witnesses yesterday disproved this version, and Rodriguez contradicted his own story several times.

Story of a Bus Driver.

One witness, William Johnson, of Harvey, a bus driver, said that Rodriguez, who had been lurking about the corner, joined the three bombers when they drove up, and that all four went to the side of the gambling house. Johnson then heard a shot which was followed by four others. Peering toward the scene, Johnson said, he saw a man lying on the sidewalk (later identified as Maier) and Rodriguez running way. The other three men jumped into their sedan and drove off.
Similar testimony was given by two other witnesses, residents in a flat nearby, who said they saw the shooting and heard Maier cry “For God’s sake, don’t kill me!”
Hackett and his partner, Jimmy Blouin, former bowling champion, had been ordered to appear at the inquest yesterday afternoon but neither did so. At Hackett’s $75,000 residence in Blue Island, a man who said he was a constable on guard, declared that Hackett’s whereabouts were unknown.
Hackett and Blouin were on the scene of the crime a few moments after the shooting and Hackett exclaimed to bystanders that the murder was an “outrage for which someone will pay.” He will be subpoenaed to appear at the next session of the inquest on March 13.