Michael Francke /// Part 1 /// 247 | Forensic Files

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grab a beer let's talk some true crime [Music] oh [Music] in February of 1980 all hell and I do
mean hell broke loose at 1:00 a.m. on February 2nd inmates at a Maximum Security Prison
just south of Santa Fe jumped three prison guards during a routine dorm count by 2:05 a.m. the inmates had
complete control of the prison two prison gangs the chos the Aryan Brotherhood they had their own
agendas after the Takeover the call was to immediately seek revenge against the snitches housed in cellblock
4 as Dawn broke a group of inmates later nicknamed the execution Squad broke into
cell block 4 the riers could not open the cell doors however they managed to find blow
torture that were used to renovate the overcrowded prison in Block 5 Unfortunately they were able to use the
blowtorches to open each cell in Block four one at a time when opened the victims were pulled from their cells to
be tortured dismembered hanged or burned alive inmates killed inmates with piping
work tools and homemade Shanks some of the inmates in the time of chaos and crisis showed they were of
good character some of the correction officers held captive were protected by inmates at inmates instruction two
officers removed their uniforms and put on Prison clothes to disguise themselves
and avoid being attacked these two officers were later escorted out of the prison protected by
inmates however other inmates showed their true colors given the opport opportunity and reminded us all why they
were locked up in the first place as two very unfortunate officers were so brutally beaten and raped that they had
to be carried out of the prison on stretchers seven officers were severely injured the riot only lasted about 36
hours but in the end the official death toll was 33 people all of them inmates 12 of the
victims had been housed in the protective custody unit most of the 33 were brutally murdered some died from a
drug overdose more than 200 inmates were treated for injuries later there would be several books about this prison riot
and its causes an aftermath and to give you a better idea of the Total Carnage one book is titled the hate Factory and
the other the devil's butcher shop the 1980 New Mex Mexico State Penitentiary Riot was the most violent prison riot in
American history then state official Michael Frankie was brought in to completely revamp the troubled and
broken New Mexico prison system Frankie investigated and exposed the corruption that was leading to severe problems and
was officially recognized for his achievements by political leaders such as former US President Jimmy Carter
he served as a judge for 3 years and in 1983 became the director of the New Mexico Department of
Corrections in May of 1987 Oregon governor Neil goldshmid hired Michael Frankie to fill the corresponding
position in Oregon Frankie was hired to address problems in the Oregon State's Department of Corrections after coming
to Oregan Frankie learned many unfavorable things about what was happening behind Prison Walls the
corruption was rampant and included murder prostitution drugs and even stealing cattle as it turns out prison
guards in the80s were taking inmate crews out and stealing cattle from local farms and ranches and then making money
by supplying Stakes to local restaurants it was exposed during the 1980s that officials at the Oregon
Department of Corrections were enlisting the help of convicted murderers inside the prison and rewarding them by
providing them weekend passes at least one of these weekend passes for a convicted murderer led to
another murder simply put Michael Frankie was hired to clean up a giant mess Frankie told his family he was
going to blow the lid off of corruption in the Oregon prison system and implicate several top government
officials however that did not happen because he was murdered before he could do so Michael Frankie was a good man an
ethical man that stood up for what was right and fought corruption and the corrupted this is his
[Music] story [Music] Michael Frankie was a native of Kansas City Missouri he was born October 2nd
1946 and after graduating high school he attended New Mexico's Highland University on a football scholarship he
would graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a combined major of political science economics German and French then
he attended the University of Virginia law school and he graduated with a law degree in 1971 is and was subsequently
admitted to the Virginia bar for the next three years he served as a Judge Advocate General in the United States
Navy at Long Beach Naval Station now in 1975 he was admitted to the bar in New Mexico and worked as an Assistant
Attorney General and counsel to the State Department of Corrections he served in this capacity until 1980 when
he became a judge for the first district court in Santa Fe he served as a judge for 3 years and then in 1983 became the
director of the New Mexico Department of Corrections and we heard in the trailer
there Captain what state the they were in as far as the Department of Correction goes for New Mexico state the
the problems there were bad that Riot that we described probably and most likely was
was caused by severe overcrowding within that prison system that particular prison had almost double the amount of
inmates that it was built to house some of them sleeping without beds and then we also have brutality from both sides
of the cell block door from the inmates and from some of the correction officers
as well in May of 1987 Oregon governor Neil gold Schmidt hired Michael Frankie to fill the corresponding position in
Oregon Frankie was hired to address problems in the Oregon State's Department of Corrections the main
purpose however for his hiring was to oversee the largest prison expansion in Oregon State history it was necessary to
expand due to severe overcrowding in these prisons as well now we already spoke of the checkered history of the
Oregon prison system and Michael Frankie was the man tasked with removing the corruption of the Oregon State
Department of Corrections but he took heavy criticism when he first came in by legislators for the cost of overruns and
delays in the state's prison construction program these same legislators were also growing
increasingly frustrated about the rising inmate population so the Oregon system was experiencing severe overcrowding
with up to 5,000 inmates crammed into prisons originally designed for 2,800 people still it's believed by many that
he figured out who was doing what and was ready to report it to his superiors Frankie told his family that he was
going to blow the lid off of corruption in the Oregon prison system and implicate several top government
officials now this leads us to January 17th 1989 so we know a little bit about Michael Frankie's background but what we
didn't say is that Michael was a hardworking dedicated and determined individual and he was expected the he
expected the same out of those who worked for him Michael was known to work late many if not most work days he often
worked into the evening on Tuesday January 17th 1989 Michael Frankie held a regular
meeting this was with the five division heads and other top staff members on his
staff on this Tuesday the meeting lasted until 6:00 p.m. Michael Frankie talked with some Personnel after and was seen
by several people inside what is the Dome building what is called the Dome building there were several floors of
offices in this building and Michael Frankie's office is on the ground level reports from Witnesses indicate that
that Mr Frankie left the dome building shortly after 6:30 p.m. other reports indicate that it was closer to 6:45 p.m.
but just to be clear no reports read that Mr Frankie left his office after 6:45 p.m. two senior staff leaving the
Dome building approximately 40 minutes later discovered Michael Frankie's car parked in its designated spot outside
the front entryway with the drive driver's door open Frankie's white Pontiac bonnaville was one of only a few
cars left in the parking lot at the corrections headquarters at this time of night the two staffers observed no
noticeable damage to the vehicle and no obvious signs of forced entry on the vehicle were observed the staffers
closed and locked the car door and returned to the Dome building where they made numerous phone calls to other
senior staffers to determine Frankie's whereabouts all to no avail security was notified at the nearby Communication
Center and the staffers left the dome building at approximately 8:05 p.m. two other senior staffers Richard Peterson
head of Institutions and David Coy head of planning and budget arrived at approximately 8:35 p.m. and conducted
what they described as a meticulous search of the Dome building but found nothing a miss there was thought that
maybe someone had picked Michael Frankie up and maybe they had went to dinner this was discussed by several of the
persons looking for him so the senior staff members went home for the night after they failed to locate Mr Frankie
and assume that he was at a private dinner engagement police were not notified at this time around 12:30 a.m.
January 18th the night Watchman on duty Steven R o was told to be especially observant as he made his rounds of the
Dome building now as he came to a dimly lit porch at the side of the building Rabino spotted a large man sprawled on
the porch he was surrounded by blood stains and a panel of glass at the porch doorway was smashed the night Watchman
had discovered Michael Frankie's body police secured the area the inspectors quickly noticed some of Michael
Frankie's belongings may be missing this was his briefcase there was also broken
glass on and near his body now it's believed that Michael Frankie as he was being murdered he had tried to unlock
the door to get back into the doc office the Department of Corrections office but
could not unlock the doors and in his final moments of Life Frankie broke a glass panel from the door attempting to
get in ins side or at the very least call for help some have said that all of Frankie's documents from his yearlong
investigation were later shredded at the Department of Corrections within hours of his body being found this is
according to quote inside sources now these inside sources are not listed just to be clear here the
newspapers that very same day covered the story the information that they released was this Michael Frankie was
found stabbed to death just outside the office building in which he worked he died of a stab wound to the heart with
massive bleeding the medical examiner said it was quote a definite homicide but there were no suspects so now we
have a judge that was brought in to clean up this prison system and he is murdered yeah and later the Michael
Frankie murder investigation was described as the largest of its kind in Oregon history at that time the number
of investigators fluctuated between 6 and 30 full-time investigators the media coverage was
intense to say the least and then Governor Neil goldmit he was really according to the papers putting the
police department under intense pressure to make an arrest and bring closure to the case of course given the nature of
Frankie's work the possibility that the murder was a hit was immediately considered right despite interviews with
thousands of people including several convicts and a reward fund exceeding $20,000 the investigators assigned to
the case were not catching any big breaks early on in the investigation what we do know was this due to
eyewitness accounts the police were convinced that the killer was a dark-haired man with a light colored
coat who was seen running from the scene but that man's identity was unknown there were some problems with the
investigation one being that the time of death was not known so the window for the time of death is simply 6:30 p.m.
which is approximately the last time that Mr Frankie was seen right and just after 12:30 a.m. when his body was found
we well he's found by security right correct so do they not have any security cameras in this facility they did not
and the thing here is Captain we can't even at the very least narrow that down any because when his body was found the
body temperature was never taken nor recorded I'm sorry which would have shortened that window for us so all we
can say is that sometime between the last time he was seen alive and the time that he was found dead near this door
that's when he was killed another question keypad entries or is it strictly just it's it's a key 1989 and
this so we need to be clear here this this is a little bit difficult you say well if there were several people
looking for this individual why was he not located well there's a couple problems with this okay so it's January
1 is a problem because by the time he would have left work that day it was already dark so they're at a
disadvantage looking for someone especially outside um where he would later be found and this the door that he
died in front of was it was like a side door and I believe it was on the second floor so let's say he was
attacked his car door was found open so there's some thought that he he was attacked at that car right and then
managed to try to seek help and he made it to that door before he expired so but
he say the door that he was found on was the second floor yes so I don't know if
this would have been the most the the nearest door for him I'm guessing that's where he would go toh um so let's say
it's the nearest door he would have had to run from his vehicle after being attacked and then go up the stairs and
try to get into that door and then unfortunately he passed away there before help could arrive or the attack
continued that the the attacker followed him up there and and and killed him in front of the door so no keypads and no
security video footage of this correct and you bringing up the keypad is interesting because there was at
least I off the top of my head captain I think only one article that I found regarding the case and the crime scene
there was an article that stated many articles on on the cas no I meant stating the following um that the locks
to the doors were changed that day now I don't know that I believe that I don't I
I have no reason to discredit it I have no proof that it didn't happen that day but what I will say is
this there and it this will be obvious by the end of this episode there's a lot of questions around this murder and
there's a lot of thoughts about who committed this crime and I think that the idea of the locks being changed that
day adds to the Mystique of it or to the the confusion right of the whole crime scene the problem I have with that
statement though Captain is that Michael Frankie was the boss he was the he was the the number one dude in this building
there were as I said there were several floors of offices inside this building of the Oregon Department of Corrections
building right he was the man in there if the door locks were changed that day if there's one person that you make sure
has that key when the doors are changed when the locks are changed it's the balls it's that guy it's that guy and
the other thing too to to paint the picture of the scene or to get an idea of what when we try to think of what
could have happened to this man Bob Ross please keep in mind Michael Frankie remember we said he went he he went to
college on a football scholarship mhm this was not a tiny man this was this dude was 6'3 225 pounds and he wasn't
the kicker I have no idea what position he played I'm just saying he could have went played football and he could have
been the kicker well he could have been but changes things a little bit but what
we we know he was not small he was 6' 3 225 to 230 lb yeah this is a big guy get
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mies cheers Captain we have a big break in the case because on April 8th 1990 so
this is nearly 18 months after Frankie's death mhm the police arrested Frank Gable who was at the time 30 years old
he's arrested for the murder of Michael Frankie so who is he uh well so Frank Gable his name did not surface as a
suspect I guess until about 8 months after the crime when the murder investigation was at what they were
calling at the time a standstill two people initially pointed the finger Gable one was Michael kierin
the other tipster was Janine Vera Gable Frank Gable's wife so the police at this
time believe that Michael Frankie was murdered in a an attempted robbery the police interrogated known drug dealers
and Street criminals looking to figure out if somebody had heard something you know they want to find out the word on
the streets right one of them claimed that he witnessed the murder and then identified the killer as a drug dealer
named Frank Gable according to this witness Gable was in the act of breaking into Michael's car Michael Frankie's car
when Michael came out of the office building around 700 p.m. Gable then stabbed Frankie very badly wounding him
it is believed at this time that Gable stole Michael Frankie's briefcase and fled the scene Michael Frankie then
staggered up a set of stairs to a side entrance to the building building attempting to get in could not and then
broke the glass pane on the door in a desperate desperate attempt to get back into his office now after getting this
tip that led police to drug dealer Frank Gable Frank was already in jail for beating his wife when he was arraigned
for killing Oregon prison director Michael Frankie the charges go ahead so Frankie's attacked January of
89 when is the suspect arrested for beating his wife uh that I don't know and I'm going to be honest with you
Captain I don't know a ton about this Frank Gable um it it wasn't until April of 1990 that he is charged with
Frankie's murder but we do know that he became on he got onto police radar about
eight months after the murder I don't know if that means he was locked up around that same time one of my thoughts
is that it could very well be the case because one of the witnesses is his wife who he has already been charged with uh
assaulting and he's in jail for that assault right so one good thing is hey we got a suspect that we really like and
he's not going to be hard to find because we know where he is he's sitting in a jail somewhere but with his wife
being one of the supposed eyewitnesses or people willing to point the finger at this Frank
I can't believe that if that was going on in their relationship that she was going to tell the police about it before
he's arrested for hitting her now the charges for Frank Gable would be six counts of aggravated murder and one
count of intentional murder for allegedly fatally stabbing Michael Frankie aggravated murder is a capital
crime in organ and the prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty if Gable is convicted
now investigators never found a weapon or other physical evidence tying Gable to the crime and Gable well he never
confessed to the crime either in fact in a jailhouse interview after his court appearance Gable said he was innocent
saying quote don't let me get railroaded he told KO i n television I just ask that they not stop looking there's a
killer out there somewhere the indictment offers a series of possible motives for the murder including that
Gable killed Frankie during a theft or robbery or that the slaying was related to Frankie's work as a prison's
Chief the trial at trial the prosecutor said that Frankie caught Gable breaking into his car and in a panic Gable
stabbed him now again no physical evidence was produced even at trial however the prosec ution was allowed to
introduce as evidence a knife that was purchased by investigators which matched Frankie's wounds Gable's ex-wife
testified that she had gave Gable a similar knife at some point in their relationship all right that seems like
there's some holes no pun intended in this is that the worst evidence you've ever heard yeah I mean again
have some proof have some evidence I mean if she had a receipt of a knife that she bought prior then okay but
right but we don't so and and how many stab wounds do we have his autopsy is difficult so the way that this the way
that it reads is that he was stabbed directly in the heart the problem with what was released to the public is that
we don't know if that stab came from the back or the front right there was not a
ton of information released publicly regarding his autopsy they do state that there were some defensive wounds on the
victim there was also some sign of blunt force trauma however this sounds terrible um the blunt force trauma they
don't believe was part of the attack they actually believe that his his body uh that blunt force trauma to the body
occurred when he he was most likely slumped up against the door and the wall and the corner as he was trying to get
into that door that office door to to get help right and then at some point he fell onto the concrete and they believe
that that blunt force trauma to the body occurred at that time and not during the
course of the attack so I'm going to ask an obvious question and I'm hoping for an obvious answer okay you're putting me
on the spot count so he he's breaking into a car he's breaking into the vehicle that's what they think happened
that's what the prosecution is stating so we have fingerprints um no we don't and again remember the troubling thing
here too is we have the eyewitnesses the the people that closed the car door that
found the car door open Frankie's car door open they stated that they didn't see any damage to the car any sign of a
scuffle any obvious signs that that somebody broke into the vehicle right you know it almost looks like to me with
given that description it more likely sounds to me that Frankie opened up his own car door and then was attacked and
the car door just happened to be left open possibly or the way that the prosecution Paints the picture is that
Frank Gable's in mid breaking and the I would have to guess Frank Gables already
got the door open by the time that Frankie discovers him and says hey buddy what are you doing with my car yeah what
you doing now you got a 6'3 large man and getting ready to come down upon you for breaking into his car yeah breathe
heavy into your ear well and I I think we don't well let's go but but Frank Gable could have just been checking CS
to see if they're unlocked and then he goes oh this car is unlocked I open up the door right when I open up the door
Frankie sees me sees me yeah so that could have happened too that's a possibility but again guess whose hands
on that door unless you're telling me that that he wasar weing gloves or whatever the the individual that was
spotted is believed to have been wearing gloves that that there was a man remember we have the eyewitness account
of a dark-haired man in a light colored coat running from the scene the problem with that is this person is spotted
running from the area of the vehicle not necessarily running from a murder scene
you know it's not like anybody says I saw a murder or a man attacked and then this description of this guy ran away
from the area no there's just a dude that's spotted in the area now that guy from every from every statement I could
find sounds like the guy was wearing gloves so well and it could just be a guy that you know randomly was leaving
work and decided you know what I really need to get in better shape I'm going to
start right now running well and look it's January don't people wear gloves in January I mean I do
get with it people put on some gloves hey don't you wear don't you wear gloves I also wear socks in January too hey at
the trial the state produced several witnesses this is going to be the troubling thing for Mr Frank Gable these
Witnesses all of whom were criminal Associates of gable and claim that Gable confessed the crime to them after the
fact the testimonies were from the following first we have a woman named jod swaringen She's a local teen runaway
who testified before a grand jury that she had witnessed the murder police reports indicate that she had identified
Frank Gable as the perpetrator of that murder then we have Cappy AKA shorty Harden he Cappy shorty if your first
name is Cappy do you need a nickname unless you're incredibly short then he's then he's shorty what if he's like 3 fo
s then you're shorty yeah he testified at trial that he was Park near the Dome building with the young woman we just
discussed Jody swaringen when he saw short he was yeah he saw Frank Gable according to Cappy or shorty whatever
you want to call him he saw Frank Gable stab Michael Frankie then we have Mike kierin we also have Dan Walsh and Kevin
Walker all three separately testified that Gable confessed to them that he had killed Frankie so these are so why are
these guys in the area why is is this guy parked um I don't know if they were parked in the car and fooling around or
if they were leaving the area so this building is actually near um a very large hospital uhhuh um so almost across
the street from the parking lot where we believe Michael Frankie was attacked would be a very large parking lot um for
a state hospital so they very likely could have been in the State Hospital parking lot right but I I want to know
why they were there it seemed to me that they're just finding people that know Frank Gable and just going hey just say
you're there oh no I apolog I think I I think the way that I describe that is weird I don't believe that Jody
Swearingen and this Shorty Harden actually knew who Frank Gable was okay um they were able to say hey the person
we saw attack Michael Frankie was this man they were able to identify him the people that knew Frank Gable were that
Michael KS Dan Walsh Kevin Walker these were known associates of Gables who at one point he confessed
according to them that he had killed Michael Frankie then we have Janine Vera remember the married to Gable at the
time of Frankie's murder right she testified that Gable was not home on the night of the murder and that she didn't
know where he was she also testified that Gable said at some point quote I stuck the guy she says what guy he says
quote the guy at the hospital Gable answered now that's an interesting statement here Captain because one thing
I had wondered about when the prosecution gave their theory of the events and of the murder and how it
occurred and the motive right was that this guy's breaking into a car well if I'm a criminal if I'm a thief you
probably are I'm not choosing a vehicle that's in the parking lot of the Department of Corrections the head you
know the headquarters for the Department of Corrections unless you don't know unless you think it's a hospital right
and that's what's interesting about what she says when she testifies that Gable referred to him as the guy at the
hospital the other thing that's interesting there too is that that also implies that Frank Gable did not know
the man that he attacked he didn't know him by name MH now the verdict that little bit of evidence
those people testifying that's all the evidence they had all he say all circumstantial and you know we had last
week's case of Scott Peterson where people got a little upset and said how can you convict on circumstantial
evidence uh there was a what I would refer to as a mountain of circumstantial evidence against Scott Peterson against
Frank Gable here however that's it that's a mole hill of circumstantial evidence well I still like the way that
Nancy Grace talks about it is the idea that you go into work and it's sunny and it's beautiful out then you go out for
lunch and there's puddles everywhere and your car's wet and there's all this circumstantial evidence that lets you
know that it probably rained right and and so that's how you get to that conclusion yeah there there's not a
mountain of evidence here the difficult things one is your your two eyewitnesses
are criminals then these so-called Associates that you confess to well it's believed and I'm going to say allegedly
because I can't say um that I have hardcore evidence of this or saw lots of reports stating the same but
allegedly I would guess five out of the six people that testified that he was guilty or six out of six would have been
probably drug users at the time um and I can say that because look Frank G was a
he was a known drug dealer and so his associates are either going to be other dealers or users most likely okay and
they've also been referred to publicly in newspaper articles as just that as drug users as far as jod swear engine
and Cappy Harden go um AKA shorty I believe similar that they were uh drug users at the time again I don't think
they had any knowledge of Frank Gable prior to seeing the person that they described as Frank Gable stabbing
Michael Frankie so what's interesting is with Frank Gable as you wonder why would
he break into somebody's car I mean if he's a drug dealer then why why are you breaking into somebody's car that's
that's kind of a lower level crime so you're probably making money off the drugs what why would you break into a
car but if the car is you think is at a hospital or you breaking into it cuz you
think this person is a doctor doctor and there's something that you can get out of this you could get some prescription
pills or or something like that mhm well that's an interesting thing that you bring up here and one thought is that
okay so Frank Gable was considered quote unquote a career Criminal by this point
in his life this is somebody that has been had trouble with the law it wasn't his first run in with the law he was a
known drug dealer he was a guy that was going to make his living off of committing crimes can you imagine that
though I mean you and I have both been in positions where we're at a job that we're not we're not in love with mhm but
it pays okay and the benefits are all right so it starts becoming hey maybe I can turn this into a career can you
imagine the guy that's selling a little bit of dope here a little bit of dope there breaking into cars starts thinking
I don't I don't have many options I this is going to be my career well the other
thing though too is I don't know that it's about options I think a lot of times with these individuals it's about
they don't give a [ __ ] about two weeks from now two months from now two years from now right they're living in the
moment and it's how can I get some money for today maybe tonight maybe tomorrow is the furthest they can think ahead so
let's talk about the car though Captain so neither Frankie's car phone nor his stereo were tampered with we do know
that from the police reports yeah the car phone yeah interesting well remember back then
I'm guessing it's one of those Motorola deals that has like the it has a little station with it it looks almost like a
tiny briefcase yeah and it and some people would keep it in their glove box or kind of there in the center between
the two front seats so it' be very obvious now what makes that interesting though too is if I am a criminal looking
for something expensive and I see that City sitting on the passenger seat or in the front portion of the vehicle I'm
going to go man I'd like to steal that car phone right so well the question here is now is this car owned by Frankie
or is this given to him by the state I believe that he owns the vehicle and the only thing I have to go off of is that
it's referred to as Frankie's car phone and his stereo we're not tampered with well because sometimes I mean head heads
of detectives will get a detective vehicle for example and they might have their radio in there but also have uh
emergency cell phone M service so that's kind of why I was wondering and then that also makes me wonder if it was
owned by the state then how many people have access to to Keys the other thing that we should call into question is the
body so Michael Frankie's watch wallet and cash were still on him when he was found after he he was dead what kind of
Watch was it how how would I know what kind of I don't know what kind of watch it is um and regard well I think if
you're trying to if you're the defense for example right mhm and you say hey he's he's wearing a he's wearing a
baller watch he's wearing a tomx he's wearing a Rolex is timx a baller TX is not a
baller watch that's that's what makes it a joke those are the people that are balling in uh fifth grade right but what
I'm saying is I that does make a difference and you'd think that the defense would have brought this up to
say hey if if he was breaking into the car cuz he wanted to get money or whatever he was looking for then
wouldn't he take this watch I mean if it's a if it's a crap watch you're not going to take it I mean it might have
been a little calculator watch we don't know because it's not reported but again
these items would suggest that the money was not the priority of the Killer is what a lot of people
would point out again my problem with Frank with Frank Gable's motive is if he is a drug dealer one why would you be
Breo breaking into cars that seems like a a downward move in your career you're selling drugs you're making money you're
balling out of control you're wearing timx you got five time X on your left arm so why are you breaking into the car
but again he thought it was the the hospital so you're breaking into into a car because you think it's a doctor's
car so you're trying to break in to get drugs or or Prescription Pad or whatever
it is possibly possibly I don't know that I would say that Frank Gable was above breaking into cars um again I
believe this is an individual that's a career criminal uh he's any he's a those types of individuals look for
opportunity and when opportunity presents itself they seize the moment and steal whatever it is that they can
Captain they did not need Nancy Grace sitting on the sidelines cheerleading for the prosecution here because the
verdict that would come down Gable was found guilty and received life in prison with no chance of parole
all right so an open and shut case right yep easy easy I'll see you next week done one parter great one parter all
right well not so fast as the there are major doubts in this case there were TV and newspapers that came forward in
February of 1991 um and this started prior to Gable's conviction the Michael Frankie
story was featured on an episode of the TV program Unsolved Mysteries the killing sparked widespread speculation
that Frankie was murdered because he was about to expose corruption in his Department one of Frank Brothers he was
also hired for though yes it's believed that he was hired for that was part of the reason that he was hired one of
Frankie's Brothers said that the prison's uh Chief told him shortly before his death that he had discovered
organized crime elements in the prison's system the case also became somewhat of
a Battleground between the three leading Portland newspapers a leading advocate for the wrongful conviction conspiracy
theory was local journalist Phil Stanford Stanford wrote extensively on the case and wrote a screenplay for a
film based on the Frankie murder called without evidence this was released in 1995 featuring Angelina Jolie in one of
her first major roles now she played the person that we already mentioned jod Swearingen then even after the
conviction persons close to the case started calling into question many interesting aspects of the case and the
murder scene we already discussed the car we already discussed the body but one thing that
they would keep going back to is the timing of the murder because we have Frankie's brother who says that shortly
before his murder he told him he was going after an organized criminal element within the prison system
Frankie's employees told police he had received threats shortly before he was murdered and on several occasions sent
security guards to his home now we have Chuck sides a former State lawmaker who played basketball with
Michael Frankie that later said that shortly before Frankie's murder that Frankie started carrying a pistol in his
gym bag for self-defense because he was taking steps to disrupt drug trafficking
inside the prisons M that's quite interesting Captain for several reasons because we have the prosecution that
state that the main motive for for the murder of Michael Frankie was that he disrupted a car thief right and was
killed as a reactionary thing during the course of that robbery right and here we have we
have a lawmaker we have people that he worked with that are saying that there obviously was something in Michael
Frankie's life that he believed that he was in danger he's sending police officers to his home from time to time
he's actively carrying a gun in his gym bag right these would point to signs that this man believed that he was going
to be part of a premeditated attack on his life and not necessarily a situation where he surprises a car thief yeah so
then the question becomes did he just interrupt a a simple car Breakin or was his
investigation such on the right track that it was leading him down the wrong path with the wrong
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Michael Francke /// Part 1 /// 247

Part 1 of 2

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Michael Francke was a good man. He was hired in 1987 as the Director of Oregon state’s Department of Corrections. Michael was brought in to oversee the largest prison expansion in the state’s history. The Oregon prisons were very badly overcrowded. Many believe that Michael discovered something unsavory. This could have been corruption in the Oregon Department of Corrections, or an organized criminal element in the prison system. People believe this because Michael was telling them this. Before he could reveal the evil that lurked beneath the surface someone attacked and killed Michael Francke. Beer of the Week - Doublecross by Crux Fermentation Project Garage Grade - 4 out of 5 bottle caps

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Brief Summary

The episode discusses the 1980 prison riot and Michael Frankie's murder investigation, raising doubts about the conviction of Frank Gable.

Key points

The Most Violent Prison Riot. In February 1980, a prison riot led to 33 inmate deaths in just 36 hours.
Michael Frankie's Murder. Michael Frankie, tasked with cleaning up corruption, was murdered before he could act.
Largest Investigation in Oregon History. The investigation into Michael Frankie's murder became the largest of its kind in Oregon.
Arrest of Frank Gable. Nearly 18 months after the murder, Frank Gable is arrested for Michael Frankie's murder.
Witness Testimonies. Multiple witnesses claim Frank Gable confessed to the murder, raising questions about credibility.
Circumstantial Evidence. The case against Gable relies heavily on circumstantial evidence, leading to doubts about his guilt.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

The riot lasted about 36 hours, but the official death toll was 33 people.

Summarizing the aftermath of the prison riot.

6:23WatchNov 16, 2023

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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