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Silas Carter Jayne (July 3, 1907 - July 13, 1987) was a Chicago-based stable owner who, following his death, was implicated in one of the most notorious crimes in the city's history, the 1955 Peterson-Schuessler murders of three young boys. Jayne is also suspected of involvement in the murders of several other people, including his own maternal half-brother George.〔Alaspa, Bryan W., Silas Jayne: Chicago’s Suburban Gangster〕 ==Background== Silas Jayne was born on July 3, 1907. His father was a farmer in Cuba Township, in Lake County, Illinois.〔 Jayne was the eldest of three brothers in a family of eleven children born to Arthur and Katherine Jayne. His half-brother, George Jayne, was fathered by George William Spunner in 1923. At the age of 17, Jayne was convicted of rape and served one year in a state reformatory. In the 1950s, Jayne and two of his brothers worked at the Green Tree Stables in the village of Norridge, and at the Elston Riding Academy in Chicago. They had found success in horse trading and, by the 1930s, they had secured ownership of a ranch near Woodstock, Illinois. They transported feral horses from the Western United States to the rail yards at Woodstock. Jayne had acquired a reputation for bullying behavior, but was described as a savvy businessman who was discerning in matters concerning horses. Jayne, who was ineligible for the military draft due to his rape conviction, traded in horse meat during World War II. He used his profits to enter the high-end show horse business, and his stable was patronized by the Chicago elite. He sold virtually worthless horses to prosperous men with daughters in their early teenage years, claiming that the horses were of the top quality needed if the daughters were to become champion riders. Jayne was a heavy drinker with an overbearing and rough-spoken manner. Parents nevertheless allowed their daughters to spend extended periods of time at his stables unchaperoned. Jayne boasted to his associates of having molested many of these under-age girls. When fathers complained about the poor quality of horses they had bought from him, he would tell them that their daughters had become notorious among his employees for their promiscuity. Though the accusation may have been groundless, scandal-wary fathers rarely pressed the point.〔 It was suspected that allegations against Jayne were not investigated because he had friendly relations with police officers. He was not part of the Chicago Outfit, but his Idle Hour Stables (8600 West Higgins Road, Park Ridge, Illinois)〔 were patronized by "Mad Sam" DeStefano and other prominent gangsters. It was said that the gangsters "played cowboy" there, riding around on horses and firing guns into the air.〔''To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia'', Rick Porrello - 2001〕 Jayne died of leukemia in 1987 at the age of 80.〔(Chicago Tribune July 14, 1987 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Silas Jayne」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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