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Chuck Berry 1990
Drug
unit raids Chuck Berry estates, seizes items
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
June 28 / 1990
Jo Mannies / the Post-Dispatch Staff
Authorities said they
seized videotapes, hashish, marijuana, three weapons and $130,000
in a raid Saturday at rock 'n' roll singer Chuck Berry's estate near
Wentzville. The raid was conducted at 5 a.m. by members of St. Charles
County's Multijurisdictional Enforcement Group, said St. Peters Police
Chief Ronald Neubauer, president of the group's oversight board.
The investigation is
continuing, but no charges have been filed against Berry, Neubauer
said Wednesday night. No information was available on the amounts
of the hashish and marijuana reported seized. The raid took place
after a search warrant was issued by Associate Circuit Judge William
T. Lohmar.
Berry's attorney, Wayne
Schoeneberg, said that the affidavit filed by authorities to get the
warrant contained several ludicrous allegations against Berry. He
said the affidavit alleged that ''huge quantities of cocaine'' would
be found at Berry's home. ''Where's the cocaine?'' asked Schoeneberg,
referring to the raid. The document also stated that Berry, 63, had
$36 million in liquid assets, of which $9 million was obtained through
drug sales.
''Where did they come
up with that?'' Schoeneberg said. ''This whole thing is a tragedy
to me.'' Berry is ''a good businessman,'' Schoeneberg said. ''The
affidavit says he has been suspected for some time of transporting
cocaine. Why don't they follow him? He's the easiest man in the world
to follow. He travels with one suitcase and his guitar. He gets on
a plane, does his show, and he comes back.''
Schoeneberg said that
the weapons - two .22-caliber rifles and a shotgun - probably belonged
to Berry's late father. Berry is a convicted felon and barred from
possessing firearms. Schoeneberg said he believed the raid was connected
to a suit filed last December by a former cook at Berry's Southern
Air Restaurant in Wentzville. The cook alleged that Berry had made
videotapes of her and other women as they dressed, undressed and used
the toilet.
Woman
sue Berry, Charge he took bathroom videos
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
June 30 / 1990
By Marianna Riley / the Post-Dispatch Staff
An undetermined number
of women have filed a class-action suit against Chuck Berry, charging
that the rock 'n' roll legend made videotapes of them when they were
undressing and using bathrooms on his property. The suit charges Berry
with invasion of their privacy and intrusion upon their seclusion
and privacy.
The names of the plaintiffs
in the suit, which was filed Wednesday in St. Charles County Circuit
Court, were ordered sealed Thursday by Circuit Judge Lester W. Duggan
Jr. On Friday, Duggan said that judicial ethics prevented him from
explaining his action. ''The record speaks for itself,'' he said.
The suit was filed
by St. Charles lawyer Ronald L. Boggs. In his motion to have the identity
of the plaintiffs kept anonymous, he notes that Berry has been convicted
of three felonies, including armed robbery, and that his clients fear
reprisals. The suit says that the plaintiffs are among some 200 women
who were customers and friends of Berry and visitors at his property
known as ''Berry Park,'' at 691 Buckner Road in Wentzville, and at
his Southern Air restaurant, at 1102 Pitman Avenue in Wentzville.
The restaurant has since closed.
The suit alleges that
Berry used secretly placed cameras to videotape these women as they
undressed, used the toilet, dressing rooms and a bedroom in his home
at Berry Park and the restaurant. It says the plaintiffs now possessed
the tapes he had made. The suit is the latest in a series of allegations
against Berry, whose property near Wentzville was raided Saturday
in a search for cocaine and pornographic material. No cocaine was
found, but several items were seized, including some substances thought
to be marijuana and hashish that are now being analyzed.
In December, Berry
was named in a suit filed by Hosana A. Huck, in which she alleges
that he had made videotapes of women when they used the restroom at
Southern Air. Berry has denied any involvement with drug use or trafficking
and says he neither uses drugs nor drinks. Berry has declined to discuss
the civil suits, on the advice of his attorney, Wayne T. Schoeneberg.
Schoeneberg declined
to comment Friday on the suits' allegations but said he planned to
appeal Duggan's ruling.
''This is the craziest
thing I've ever heard of,'' Schoeneberg said. ''He entertained a motion
by one lawyer to a lawsuit, without any right for Charles Berry to
be heard, for his attorney to be present, without any notice to Charles
Berry or his attorney,'' Schoeneberg said.
''Has Charles Berry
been stripped of all his rights? ''I'm amazed, it seems to be open
season on Charles Berry.''
St.
Charles Berry's lawyer cites polygraph test
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
July 7 / 1990
Chuck Berry's attorney
says that a polygraph test proves that he did not hit anyone in a
barroom brawl June 29 in St. Charles.
The lawyer, Wayne T.
Schoeneberg of St. Charles, and another lawyer, Rex Burlison of St.
Charles County, are being investigated for their role in a fight involving
Vincent J. Huck of Lake Saint Louis. He is the husband of a woman
who is suing Berry, a pioneer in rock 'n' roll. Huck says the two
lawyers hit him.
Schoeneberg said Friday:
''The results of that test are conclusive that I am telling the truth
and that my accusers are lying.''
The test was done by
the University City firm of Wilhelm Meek & Associates. Herbert G.
Wilhelm of that firm confirmed Schoeneberg's account.
Assistant Prosecuting
Attorney John Zimmerman said the polygraph had no effect on the prosecutor's
investigation. ''It means nothing,'' he said.
Prosecutor
Hannah says his office won't talk to the press
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
July 20 / 1990
By Marianna Riley / the Post-Dispatch Staff
St. Charles County
Prosecutor William J. Hannah said Wednesday that neither he nor his
assistants would discuss with the media any criminal case that his
office handles. The policy was announced in a written press release
stating that his office had filed four charges against Chuck Berry.
Dealing with the media
on high-profile cases causes too much disruption in his office, Hannah
said. ''When attorneys are available, they are bombarded by calls
from the media for comments and information, taking time away from
important duties,'' he said.
Even calling press
conferences did not solve the problem, his release said.
Hannah also cited the
problems of George ''Buzz'' Westfall, prosecuting attorney for St.
Louis County. Westfall was recommended for discipline for his comments
about a judge who heard an appeal in the Dennis Bulloch case.
Hannah is a candidate
for the Republican nomination for prosecuting attorney in the primary
election Aug. 7. His opponents are Tim Graham and Larry D. Nesslage.
The winner of that election will face St. Charles County public defender
Tim Braun, a Democrat, in the general election in November.
On Thursday, Graham
said he thought the prosecutor's office had a duty to keep the press
informed.
''The First Amendment
is not being given its due respect when public officials close their
door to the press,'' Graham said.
Braun said he thought
it was the duty of the prosecutor to speak for the office. ''I believe
part of the reason the public elects a prosecutor is because it wants
to hear from him,'' he said.
''Certainly you have
a duty to warn the community of any danger. In a criminal case you
want to disseminate information that would aid in the apprehension
of a dangerous person and allay the fear of the community when a dangerous
person has been arrested.''
Berry,
in tour in Sweden, denies charges against him
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
July 21 / 1990
By Marianna Riley / the St. Charles Post
Rock 'n' roll musician
Chuck Berry, on tour in Sweden on Friday, denied charges filed against
him after a raid on his farm in St. Charles County produced illegal
drugs and videotapes of young people in sexual poses.
And Berry caused a
stir at the airport in Stockholm, Sweden, Thursday night by swinging
a bag at a television photographer, who was knocked to the ground
and hit in the face with his camera.
Berry, 63, refused
to talk with reporters on the scene but did give a statement through
Swedish promoter Finn Johansson. Johansson said Berry denied the allegations
against him. He quoted Berry as saying: ''It must be a sting. Someone
is out to get me.''
St. Charles County
Prosecutor William J. Hannah has refused to discuss the case with
the press.
The charges stem from
a raid on Berry's estate near Wentzville last month, when authorities
went looking for large amounts of cocaine. They found no cocaine but
seized three firearms, bags believed to contain marijuana and hashish,
$122,501 in cash and numerous videotapes, slides and books described
as ''sexual in content.''
The charges against
Berry allege he made movies of three young people under the age of
17, in the nude, ''for the purposes of sexual stimulation or gratification.''
Berry's attorney, Wayne
T. Schoeneberg, said he had been told by people who have seen the
movies that authorities ''have identified three young women.''
Schoeneberg said that
he was not advising Berry to cut his Swedish tour short. He declined
to say when Berry was expected to return to this country.
He said he had made
arrangements with Hannah's office for Berry to be given time to complete
his concert tour. ''I told him our first order of business will be
for him to turn himself in, make bond, and then go on with business
as usual,'' he said.
Berry's first concert
in Sweden was panned in the Swedish press. The show took place in
the small town of Junsele. The
critic in "Expressen" said Berry played and sang out of
tune but with strong showmanship.
The Associated Press contributed information for this story.
Chuck
Berry turns himself in
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
July 31 / 1990
Rock 'n' roll pioneer
Chuck Berry, just back from a concert tour in Sweden, turned himself
in Monday morning at the St. Charles County courthouse. While out
of the country, Berry had been charged with possession of marijuana
and of making movies of youths in the nude.
He has denied the charges.
Wayne T. Schoeneberg, Berry's attorney, said the singer posted a $20,000
property bond.
The charges stemmed
from a raid last month on Berry's estate south of Wentzville by members
of the St. Charles County Multijurisdictional Enforcement Group. Seized
in the raid were three firearms, bags of material thought to be marijuana
and hashish, $122,501 in cash and videotapes, slides and books described
as ''sexual in content.''
No
comment
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
July 27 / 1990
St. Charles County
Prosecuting Attorney William J. Hannah still doesn't have it right.
First he was criticized for holding a news conference about a search
at Chuck Berry's home in Wentzville that turned up little if anything
of what it was supposed to find. Then, stung by negative reviews of
that performance, he decided that he and his assistants won't discuss
their business with the press at all.
Now, he should try
the proper approach: Conduct business in the open and release to the
press and the public all the information it deserves to know. Responding
to reporters' questions doesn't detract from a prosecutor's job; it
is an important part of that job. Citizens who should have respect
for the law won't get it from a prosecutor who hides when the questions
become too embarrassing.
Hannah
hoping buck trend, win re-election
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
August 3 / 1990
By Kim Bell / the St. Charles Post
William J. Hannah is
hoping to do what no prosecuting attorney in St. Charles County has
done since 1972 - win re-election. Four people in the past two decades
have tried to capture back-to-back terms. Only David A. Dalton, in
his re-election bid of 1972, was able to pull it off. Hannah himself
wasn't successful when he ran for a second term in 1982. Democratic
candidate Larry D. Nesslage won the job away from Hannah that year
with 55 percent of the vote. But Hannah's back in the office - wrapped
in his share of controversy - and aims to buck some trends before
the year is out. His current four-year term expires Dec. 31.
Reviews of the incumbent
are decidedly mixed:
One detractor, an area
lawyer, says of Hannah, ''I don't think he's capable of making a competent
decision.''
One supporter, Garrie
Cortelyou, an investigator finishing his eighth year with Hannah's
office, says: ''He doesn't cater to special-interest groups . . .
he's a breath of fresh air.''
On Tuesday, Republican
voters will decide a three-way race for their party's nominee to the
prosecutor's job. The three are: Hannah; Timothy Graham, who lost
to Hannah in the 1986 primary; and Nesslage, who filed this year as
a Republican.
Graham, 35, manages
a staff of six at Hyatt Legal Services in Bridgeton, where about 15
percent of the work is criminal cases. Graham says he can win the
confidence of the County Commission to earn bigger budgets for the
St. Charles County prosecutor's office.
Nesslage, 47, runs
a private practice in St. Charles County and is municipal judge for
Portage des Sioux and Wentzville. Nesslage says he would personally
try more cases than Hannah has - one in four years - and try to see
that cases are prosecuted more swiftly.
The winner of Tuesday's
contest will face the Democrat's choice on Nov. 6. Timothy A. Braun,
a Democrat unopposed in his party's primary, is likely to promote
his experience as a trial attorney; Braun, 43, spent 13 years as the
county's public defender.
Hannah, 52, earns $63,000
a year as county prosecutor. From his office at the old Fischbach
Hotel in downtown St. Charles, Hannah oversees a staff of about 23
people, including 10 lawyers. He administers a budget this year of
$580,000, which includes money for the child-support office. He says
he sets policy and assists lawyers on pending cases. Jury trial experience
is not something Hannah took to the voters in his first campaign.
He said in 1978 his 11 years as an Army officer would make him a good
administrator. Today his critics call him arrogant, unwilling to bend;
others say his Army background makes him a forceful, but respected,
leader.
As prosecutor, Hannah
has tried one murder case. It came in 1988. The defendant, Bruce Morris,
was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife. The
jury convicted Morris of voluntary manslaughter. Would Graham and
Nesslage spend more time in court? Graham says he will be involved
in all cases but, ''Whether I get in the courtrooms remains to be
seen,'' Graham said. Nesslage said, ''I intend to be a working prosecutor.
I intend to be in the office or in the court.''
In his campaign this
year, Hannah points to his abilities as an administrator. He says
he has battled for bigger budgets and survived the loss of at least
14 assistant prosecutors since January 1987. Hannah claims to have
assembled ''the most efficient and effective prosecutor's [office
of this size in Missouri.'' When it comes to Hannah's administrative
skills, some say he deserves praise while others will scoff at his
effectiveness. Kent Fanning, first assistant prosecutor for St. Charles
County, has been in the office since 1976. He said Hannah's strengths
are that he has increased the staff's salaries, increased the number
of lawyers, and expanded the office space. Fanning said salaries for
starting lawyers have risen dramatically since Hannah took over as
prosecutor in 1987. Specifically, Fanning said lawyers starting off
in the office in 1976 earned $17,500 a year. By 1987, the starting
salary had crept up to just $18,000.
Now, the starting salary
is more than $23,000, Fanning said. Yet they still fall far below
the salaries of assistants in St. Louis and St. Louis County. Graham
and Nesslage both say the high turnover - 14 lawyers since 1987 -
is a sign of trouble.
''We've been told they
are leaving because of budget problems, but there is a leadership
gap,'' Graham said. ''That is partially responsible for, or leads
to a budgetary problem.''
A. John DeVouton, a
lawyer who left Hannah's office in 1987 for the St. Louis County prosecutor's
office, said a bigger salary in St. Louis County is not the only reason
he quit. Morale was a factor, he said. Some lawyers had a morale problem
in part because of what they perceived to be inequities in the work
load and salaries, and because Hannah was often absent from the office,
said a lawyer who resigned in May 1988, Elizabeth Shannahan.
Another lawyer who
left for a higher-paying job in Kentucky, Jacquelyn A.J. Rubemeyer,
said she can't complain about Hannah.
''He always gave me
free reign on my cases and always backed me up,'' said Rubemeyer,
who left in April 1989 to work with the U.S. attorney's office crime
and drug task force. ''For me, he was wonderful. Of course, I worked
my butt off for him.''
Fanning said he has
seen a trend in the re-election attempts of his three bosses - Ronald
Boggs, Nesslage, and Hannah.
''They build up enemies,
and the press gets on certain cases'' right before an election, Fanning
said. ''None of these people has ever repeated.''
An average voter may
know Hannah more for the high-profile cases his office is handling.
''He's blamed for things he has no control over,'' Fanning said. ''So
much of this thing is perception about prosecutors, things they have
no control over. Such as this Williams case, which is actually my
case. He [Hannah has little control over this.'' The Williams case
is a first-degree murder case stemming from the death of entertainer
Walter Scott, who disappeared in 1983. Scott's body, with a bullet
hole in his back, was found in 1987.
Scott's wife, Joann
Notheis Williams, and her present husband, James Williams Sr., have
been indicted in the killing. James Williams also is charged with
killing his former wife, Sharon E. Williams, who died about two months
before Scott's disappearance. The case still has not gone to trial,
and Hannah's critics are raising eyebrows, pointing fingers and claiming
that incompetence in the prosecutor's office may have played a role.
Fanning said the case is delayed when defense attorneys continually
seek - and are granted - delays. Asked recently where his support
lies, Hannah replied: ''The average citizen of St. Charles County
is my friend, because we go out and try to enforce the law. Even the
difficult cases, we don't shy away from, including when a rock 'n'
roll legend gets charged with a crime.''
The rock legend is
Chuck Berry, charged in July with possession of marijuana and child-abuse.
Hannah was criticized for waiting nearly a month after he held a press
conference on the raid itself to file charges. He then was criticized
again when he set a new policy that prosecutors no longer would talk
to reporters about criminal cases that his office handles.
In an interview Wednesday,
Hannah said he's not getting a fair shake.
''The news media has
not portrayed [it accurately'' and is ''not even close to being fair,''
Hannah said. The press conference was not initiated by his office,
he said. And an editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is unfair
because it criticized him ''for talking too much, and then [talking)
not enough. . . . It's beating me to death,'' Hannah said.
Graham said he thought
the prosecutor's office has a duty to keep the press informed. ''The
First Amendment is not being given its due respect when the public
officials close their door to the press.'' Nesslage agreed. In a recent
interview, Nesslage said, ''You just can't say, 'I'm not going to
talk to you,' because you're upset. It's a public office. You have
to answer to the public.''
In St. Louis County,
a candidate for prosecutor once urged voters to ''Ask A Cop'' if they
wanted to know more about him. And while some groups have endorsed
candidates in that county's race for prosecutor, a spokesman for a
local police officers associations in St. Charles County said the
group is making no formal endorsement in this primary election.
Most police officers
and police chiefs interviewed by the St. Charles Post were reluctant
to talk publicly about any of the candidates. As one law enforcement
officer put it, ''It's a no-win situation'' to talk before an election.
Hannah has said his office instituted a new policy about two years
ago to open the lines of communication between the prosecutors and
police. The meetings were designed, Hannah said, to clear the air
and to get updates on new policies. One of the police chiefs, John
B. Selby of the Lake Saint Louis Police Department, characterizes
the rapport between Hannah's office and law enforcement officers as
''deteriorating.'' He said the monthly meetings are not working.
''Mr. Hannah started
them but he never shows up,'' Selby said. ''He sends one of his assistants.
The one-on-one contact is lost, so I stopped going.''
Hannah countered by
saying that he attends an average of 10 or 12 meetings a year. Hannah
criticized Selby, whose ''attendance is woefully lacking.'' Hannah
also said it is difficult to make friends as a prosecutor. Selby said
he is most upset that cases his officers handled are being backlogged
longer than when Nesslage was in office. Under Nesslage's term, Selby
said, a police officer who brought a case to the prosecutor's office
could talk to a prosecutor right then about the case.
''My officers never
have a chance to discuss it now,'' Selby said. ''They're instructed
to leave the report and prosecutors will call if they have any questions.''
Hannah said his office has no policy that requires an officer to leave
the report behind. If a prosecutor is available, he or she will go
over the case with the officer, Hannah said. And the chiefs of police
had requested that the prosecutor's office not make the police officers
sit around all day waiting to discuss the case, Hannah said.
Attorney John Zimmerman,
in Hannah's office, said he hopes the office can get to warrants more
quickly in the future by hiring two new lawyers. The lawyers would
be hired with the help of a new federal grant. Another police chief,
Ronald Neubauer of the St. Peters Police Department, said the monthly
meetings have ''a lot of potential.'' Neubauer, who is coming on his
second year as chief, said, ''On those occasions where I've attended
the prosecutor's meetings, there has been a lot discussed. And there
has been movement in some areas.''
For example, Neubauer
said he asked at the meeting if five evidence forms could be combined
into a single form. The department's evidence custodian had wanted
a simpler method. Hannah's office studied the matter and approved
the change.
Chuck
Berry in good times and in bad, singer returns to Wentzwille
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
August 5, 1990.
By Marianna Riley Of the Post-Dispatch Staff
If
I don't get no satisfaction from the judge I'm gonna take it to the
FBI as a personal grudge If they don't give me no consolation I'm
gonna take it to the United Nations I'm gonna see that you'll be back
home in 30 days''
(Chuck Berry, ''30 Days'').
On the last Sunday
in July, Chuck Berry came back home - home from a less-than-successful
European tour to face charges involving drugs and sex. On Monday,
he turned himself in at the St. Charles County Jail, posted a $20,000
bond and ''returned to business as usual,'' says his attorney, Wayne
Schoeneberg. For Berry, ''business as usual'' means making music and
overseeing his holdings near Wentzville, in St. Charles County. County
records show that he owns at least 200 acres near Wentzville. Among
his holdings are his 30-acre compound, called Berry Park, plus the
Southern Air Restaurant (now out of business) and apartments and other
rental property around Wentzville. But real estate is just business.
The Chuck Berry legend lives in his pioneering music, the rock 'n'
roll that defined the sound of the '50s and influenced future generations
of musicians. ''Chuck Berry is to rock 'n' roll what Louis Armstrong
is to jazz,'' Dave Marsh, rock 'n' roll critic and historian, once
wrote.
Berry calls the year
of his birth - 1926 - ''the best year of my life.'' In his autobiography,
written in 1987 Ahe calls himself ''another sunshiny baby boy.'' A
As a small boy with a big name - Charles Edward Anderson Berry - he
invented what would become his show-biz trademark. He was trying to
retrieve a rubber ball that had bounced beneath the kitchen table
at the family home, at 2520 Goode Avenue in north St. Louis. His mother
had company - members of her choir - so young Berry was trying to
be unobtrusive. He bent his knees but kept his back and head straight
as he slipped under the table and scooted forward to pick up the ball.
The choir members applauded with laughter, and his ''act'' became
a family ritual. Years later, in his New York debut, he revived it.
A journalist dubbed it ''the duck walk,'' and the legend was on its
way.
Berry had his first
brush with the law at age 17, when he began a two-year stint in the
Algoa Reformatory for armed robbery. He explains that as an attempt
to pay for a teen-age joy ride. (His time behind bars inspired a later
song, ''Thirty Days.'') Once out, Berry devoted his muscles to carpentry
but his mind to music. He wrote lyrics in language that was inventive
- in fact, invented. For example, in ''Maybelline,'' his first hit,
he has himself ''motorvating'' over the hill. In his book, he coins
the term ''hospitaboo,'' a combination of ''hospitality '' and ''taboo.''
It describes what he experienced on his first tour of the South. ''Maybelline,''
recorded in 1955, was on the pop charts when Berry made that tour.
To his surprise, that song got far more applause from the white side
of his audience than the rhythm-and-bluesey ''Wee Wee Hours.'' After
that, his music became ''anglopinionated,'' as Berry puts it - made
palatable to the white broadcasters.
By age 30, Berry had
hit it big with a string of successes - ''Roll Over Beethoven,'' ''Too
Much Monkey Business,'' ''Brown Eyed Handsome Man,'' ''Havana Moon,''
''Drifting Heart.'' By the standards of pop music, 30 is an advanced
age; teen-agers in Berry's audiences in the late 1950s started to
address him as ''Mr. Berry.'' He didn't mind; he kept abreast by tailoring
his music to the younger set - ''Sweet Little 16'' and ''School Days.''
In April 1957, Berry spent $8,000 for the farmland that would become
Berry Park. The land, three miles south of Wentzville on Buckner Road,
offered ''bluebirds, butterflies and katydids,'' he writes. He envisioned
something like the country club where, as a boy, he helped his father
repair plumbing in the all-white clubhouse. To a small black child,
he later recalled, that country club seemed ''like the Garden of Eden.''
His Berry Park would be an integrated garden, where blacks and whites
could mix harmoniously to fish, hunt, swim, dance, picnic and be entertained.
He wanted to put in rides. He pictured a mini-Disneyland. It didn't
turn out that way.
Berry's many concerts
in the '60s at Berry Park fell victim to such problems of the time
as drugs and rowdiness. Although Berry insists that he uses neither
drugs nor alcohol, many in his audiences did. Eventually, the concerts
disappeared. These days, Berry Park is a tranquil, slightly down-at-the-heels
assortment of buildings that include Berry's brick ranch home. About
the only sign of his original vision are small lakes and a large pool.
Over the years, the grounds have been used by friends of Berry who
have held l get-togethers of various sorts. The grounds are not open
to the public.
Berry's legal problems
are fast becoming part of the legend. The most recent spate started
late in December, when Hosana Huck, a cook at his Southern Air Restaurant,
sued him. She alleged that he had videotaped her with cameras hidden
in the women's restroom. Since then, other women have filed a class-action
suit against Berry, charging that he videotaped them in bathrooms
on his property. In June, federal and county law-enforcement officials
raided his estate. The affidavit they used to get a search warrant
said they were looking for cocaine, drug records and pornographic
material. That raid led to felony charges July 19 from the St. Charles
County prosecutor's office. They accuse Berry of one count of possession
of more than 35 grams of marijuana and three counts of child abuse.
The abuse counts stem from the allegations that he videotaped young
people in the nude, considered a form of child abuse under Missouri
law.
Wentzville makes no
effort to advertise that it is home to Chuck Berry. No signs or arrows
point the way to Berry Park. Not even the Southern Air Restaurant
was ever identified as being owned by the rock star. A brochure published
by the Wentzville Chamber of Commerce does not mention Berry. When
asked about the omission, Mayor Lee Barton Jr., said, ''With all the
trouble he's been in lately, maybe it's a good thing he's not in the
brochure.'' Civic leaders decided recently to make no mention of Berry
in a video tape that is being filmed to promote Wentzville as a community
ripe for commercial and industrial development. City Administrator
Joe McReynolds said a committee that decided the content of the video
had ''split down the middle'' on the issue. ''They finally decided
that Chuck Berry's name had nothing to do with economic development,''
he said. Still, Berry remains popular with many Wentzville residents.
Some - like Clara Fortmann,
who cleans Berry's clothes - were at first reluctant to talk about
him, fearing a negative press. She would say only, ''He's always been
fair with me. He's a good person.'' But as she warned to the topic,
she recalled how she once had pressed his pants while he waited and
she had refused to let him pay her. ''He came over and pecked my cheek,''
she said. ''He gives me good tips and always sends Christmas presents,''
she said. She remembered a basket of fruit that was almost too large
to carry home. ''He cares,'' she said. ''I consider Chuck Berry a
good friend. If I needed anything, he'd give it to me. It makes me
mad to read these things in the paper.'' At the Western Auto, where
Berry has traded for years, owner George Ehll Sr. recalled that about
25 years ago, Berry ''went to bat'' to solve what Ehll referred to
as ''integration problems,'' in western St. Charles County. ''He held
meetings with civic leaders and school officials,'' Ehll said. ''It
was all his doing. He probably did more to solve our problems here
than anybody else. But he never got any thanks for it. ''A lot of
people forget.''
Others in Wentzville
remember such charitable deeds as free Thanksgiving turkeys. ''He's
always polite,'' said a waitress at Crossroads Cafeteria, where Berry
frequently eats. The new charges angered at least one friend. ''He's
been set up,'' said Theresa Yvonne Schmitt, who was Berry's companion
for several years at Berry Park. ''Chuck never used drugs,'' she said.
''The only drugs that were there are those the other stars brought
in. I remember Keith Richards [of the Rolling Stones caused a big
stink once . . .'' Schmitt said she thought St. Charles County wanted
to get rid of Berry for reasons that have more to do with lifestyle
than drugs. ''All he's done,'' she said, ''is be a black man dating
a lot of white girls.''
As open as Berry is
with the people of Wentzville, he has long been a closed book to the
press. So he surprised many people by showing up June 28 at a press
conference called by St. Charles County Prosecutor William J. Hannah.
Hannah had called the press conference to discuss the raid at Berry's
estate. Berry said he was there ''just to listen'' as Hannah recounted
the items police seized. (Despite the affidavit, police found no cocaine.)
But Hannah proved to be just the opening act for the veteran star.
As Hannah vacated his seat, Berry slid into it. To a packed house
of reporters, he said, ''I never used cocaine . . . nobody in my band
does either.'' After the press conference, as an upbeat Berry strode
to a waiting car, he was asked if he had ever considered moving to
a place where he might be more welcome - where his lifestyle would
be tolerated, where he would be left alone. He was adamant. He would
not be driven out of town, he said.
''I was born here.
Thank God, I can stay here.''
$100,000
returned to Berry cash seized in raid
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
September 28 / 1990
By Marianna Riley / the St. Charles Post
Rock 'n' roll legend
Chuck Berry says that ''fighting city hall can be a problem.''
But he has one less
problem since receiving news Wednesday that federal officials had
decided to return more than $100,000 that police seized in a raid
of his estate in June.
Berry says he has been
fighting officialdom ever since that raid, which resulted in his being
charged with one count of possession of marijuana and three counts
of child abuse.
Berry, 63, said he
has put much of his personal life on hold in his effort to fight the
charges. Among other things, he wants more time to spend with his
13 grandchildren, he said.
''I've put in a lot
of time on research. I've got to show that these accusations aren't
true. Words are not enough,'' he said.
Berry said he did not
know if interest would be paid on the confiscated money. He appeared
relieved to know he was getting back the principal and said he was
more worried about other things.
''My greatest loss
is the erroneous publicity,'' he said.
He said he wanted to
clear his name. ''I don't think any of my friends, my colleages or
my associates - or even my enemies - think I'm involved with drugs,''
he said.
In a letter sent Tuesday
to the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Attorney Stephen B. Higgins
of St. Louis wrote that his office is arranging to return the confiscated
money to Berry. Higgins could not be reached for comment. An assistant
U.S. attorney, Daniel E. Meuleman declined to comment on why officials
had decided against seeking forfeiture of the money.
Police raided Berry's
property near Wentzville on June 23. The affidavit supporting the
search warrant for the raid said Berry was trafficking in large amounts
of cocaine. No cocaine was seized in the raid.
But officials did seize
$122,501. Officials said they also took three firearms, marijuana,
hashish, videotapes, slides and books described as ''sexual in content.''
The raid in June was
conducted by members of St. Charles County's Multijurisdictional Enforcement
Group.
After the raid, the
St. Charles County Prosecutor's office charged Berry with one count
of possession of marijuana and three counts of child abuse. The abuse
charges allege that Berry made films of young people under the age
of 17 for the purpose of ''sexual stimulation or gratification.''
Berry said he recently had earned $24,000 of the cash that was seized
in an engagement. The balance, he had withdrawn from a bank shortly
before the raid, he said.
Berry's attorney, Wayne
T. Schoeneberg of St. Charles, said the decision of federal authorities
to return his client's property indicated to him that ''people in
Washington have exercised a little bit of judgment. They looked at
the evidence and concluded that Chuck Berry is not dealing in drugs.
''There never has been
any credible evidence to support that he was and there never will
be,'' Schoeneberg said.
Berry has had other
recent troubles with the law beginning in December, when Hosana Huck,
a former cook in his Southern Air Restaurant in Wentzville, filed
suit against him, alleging that he had violated her privacy.
Huck claimed in her
suit that Berry had taken pictures of her with cameras hidden in the
restroom. Since then, an undetermined number of women have filed a
class-action suit against Berry, charging that he had made videotapes
of them when they were undressing and using the bathrooms on his property
known as ''Berry Park,'' in the 600 block of Buckner Road in Wentzville,
and at the restaurant, in the 1100 block of Pitman Avenue in Wentzville.
The Southern Air Restaurant has since closed.
The names of the plaintiffs
in the class-action suit were sealed by order of Circuit Court Judge
Lester W. Duggan Jr.
No
particular place to show: Berry sues over nude photos
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
October 31 / 1990.
By Tim Poor / the Post-Dispatch Staff
''Johnny B. Bad'' was
how a magazine announced its publication of nude photos of rock 'n'
roller Chuck Berry and several women. Now Berry has filed a suit that
he hopes will leave the magazine's publisher reelin' and rockin'.
The suit originally
was filed in January in San Francisco against Drake Publishers Inc.,
the publisher of High Society, a New York-based sex magazine. It was
refiled Monday in St. Louis Circuit Court. Without Berry's knowledge
or permission, the suit says, the magazine published eight photographs
of Berry posing with unidentified nude women as the cover story for
the January edition.
''SECRET SEX PHOTOS
CHUCK BERRY NUDE! Johnny B. Bad With All of His WOMEN,'' the magazine
announced on its cover, according to the petition.
The suit says that
the photos were stolen from Berry, 63, who had kept them ''in a secure
hiding place,'' and that the magazine bought the photos from Vincent
J. Huck of Lake Saint Louis. Huck is the husband of Hosanna Huck,
a former cook at a restaurant Berry owned.
Hosanna Huck has sued
Berry, claiming he took pictures of her with cameras hidden in the
restroom of the restaurant. Publication of the photos of Berry in
High Society violated Berry's privacy, hurt his career and exposed
him to ridicule, contempt and embarrassment, the suit says. It seeks
unspecified damages from the magazine and from Huck.
Chuck
Berry unburdened by resolution of charges
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
November 23 / 1990.
By Marianna Riley / the Post-Dispatch Staff
''Legendary musician
Chuck Berry celebrated Thanksgiving unburdened by child-abuse charges
that have haunted him since July. On Tuesday, after extensive plea
negotiations, prosecutors dropped the criminal child-abuse charges
and Berry agreed to two years unsupervised probation for a misdemeanor
marijuana charge that was filed in connection with the child abuse
charges.
Berry has been in trouble
with the law off and on throughout his career that began in the mid-1950s
with hits such as ''Maybellene.'' Berry's recent spate of legal problems
started when ''High Society Magazine'' published nude pictures of
Berry and female companions last year. He sued the magazine for $10
million, and not long after he was embroiled in a local lawsuit that
was brought against him by Hosana Huck, a former cook in his Southern
Air Restaurant in Wentzville. Huck claimed that Berry had taken pictures
of her with cameras hidden in the restroom.
Since then, several
other women have filed a class-action suit against Berry, charging
that he made videotapes of them when they were undressing and using
the bathrooms on his property known as ''Berry Park,'' at 691 Buckner
Road in Wentzville and at the restaurant at 1102 Pitman Avenue in
Wentzville. The restaurant has since closed. At a news conference
Wednesday in St. Charles in the office of his lawyer, Wayne Schoeneberg,
Berry said the criminal and civil suits were all related, and suggested
that one person had stolen the tapes and had set him up. He
declined to discuss the civil suits or to mention any names.
Last week, Vincent
J. Huck, the husband of Hosana Huck, filed a libel and slander suit
against Berry in St. Louis Circuit Court. In that suit, Vincent Huck
claims Berry had accused him of stealing the photographs. Huck denied
in his suit that had stolen the tapes.
Richard J. Schwartz,
another of Berry's lawyers, agreed that the incidents were all related.
''It's like a nuclear reaction. Huck sold the pictures and guaranteed
he'd hold 'High Society' harmless. Berry filed suit against the magazine
and within days, Huck's wife sues Berry.'' He said he was disappointed
that Berry would be on probation. ''I think it's terrible he won't
have complete relief from what [St. Charles County prosecutor William
J. Hannah did to him,'' Schwartz said.
Among other things,
the criminal charges cost Berry an appearance on the Johnny Carson
show in August, which is worth about $200,000 to a major name entertainer,
Schwartz said. As part of his negotiations, Berry also will make a
$5,000 contribution to local programs for drug and alcohol education
and rehabilitation.
Berry has also Berry
dropped a suit he filed Nov. 2 against Hannah, in which Berry charged
Hannah with prosecutorial misconduct. All of the criminal charges
against Berry were filed in St. Charles County. The charges - three
for child abuse and one for possession of more than 35 grams of marijuana
- stemmed from a raid on Berry's estate near Wentzville on June 23.
In that raid, the St.
Charles County's Multijurisdictional Enforcement Group seized videotapes,
slides and books described as ''sexual in content.'' Also seized in
the raid were three firearms, the marijuana and $122,501 in cash.
Federal officials returned the money in September.
$William
Hannah's swan song
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
November 26 / 1990
Resolution of the Chuck
Berry case was a fitting swan song for departing St. Charles County
Prosecuting Attorney William Hannah. In June, Mr. Hannah announced
the raid on Mr. Berry's farm near Wentzville with great fanfare, supposedly
after authorities heard that a shipment of cocaine could be found
there. Instead of cocaine, police seized videotapes, slides and books
that led to three charges of child abuse against the rock'n'roll pioneer.
Now those charges have
been dropped, and Mr. Berry has been placed on two years of unsupervised
probation for a misdemeanor marijuana charge. He also agreed to donate
$5,000 to a drug and alcohol treatment program and promised that more
donations will be coming. In return, Mr. Berry dropped a suit in which
he sought $600,000 in damages for what he alleged was prosecutorial
misconduct by Mr. Hannah.
The prosecutor's office
insists that the lengthy plea bargaining in the Berry case did not
include a deal that the suit against Mr. Hannah be dropped in exchange
for the lesser charge against Mr. Berry. But Richard E. Schwartz,
a lawyer for Mr. Berry, dismisses that view, saying that the child
abuse charges against his client ''would never have been dropped if
we hadn't put Hannah's neck on the chopping block.''
Now, Mr. Berry says,
he will be able to resume a career that was stalled while the child
abuse charges hung over him. As for Mr. Hannah, his fate was determined
by disgusted voters who booted him out of office November 6 by a vote
of more than 2-1. The message might be interpreted like this: "Hail,
hail rock'n'roll. Roll over, Bill Hannah."
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