Cross the threshold of taking someone s money to putting their lives in danger. made him a bad guy, a real bad guy. made him a truly evil man. he is bilking old ladies of their money? he is bilking women dying of cancer of their life savings, he is bilking women who are dying of alcoholism of every last cent so they end up on welfare. if that isn t evil, i don t know what is. like helen brach, this woman invested her life savings in richard bailey s horses. as it turned out bailey sold those horses a number of times to a number of different people. it was a swindle from the get-go. linda holmwood was destitute. when her money ran out so did bailey s affections. he took everything from her.
On a cold february day in 1977, candy heiress helen brach disappeared from a life of wealth and privilege without a trace. though her body has never been found, helen was officially declared dead in 1984. her former companion, richard bailey, is in prison for conspiring to kill her. the investigation into her death uncovered a network of dangerous men linked to richard bailey. helen brach loved animals. though she left most of her money to help dogs she also loved horses and according to the feds, horses were helen brach s downfall. when richard bailey sold helen brach some bum horses he was leading her into a very dangerous world. a world that lurked below the surface of chicago s elite horse set, a world of sinister and violent men, men with just as much reason as richard bailey to want helen brach dead. the horse mafia. what s going on in those
Did you think this is someone i can take? this woman has a lot of money. i can make a pretty good penny out of her. if i thought like that i would have did everything within about six months. no. i didn t think like that whatsoever with helen. how long did you relationship with helen go on? approximately four years. she was a great lady and personal friend. mr. bailey, what do you think happened to helen brach? i tell you, i wouldn t really know. i wouldn t really know. the big flaw in the u.s. attorney s case is they didn t prove solicitation to commit murder. a judge bought it and richard is in prison. bailey admitted to duping women, his attorneys argued it is a long leap from fraud to conspiracy to murder. they relied on two witnesses,
Offered him $5,000 to kill helen brach, an offer he says he rejected. a claim that landed bailey in jail. i would never trust plemmos as far as i could throw him. years later, his health deteriorating, plemmons had another story to tell, one if believed could finally answer the question what really happened to helen brach. late in 2004, joe plemmons reached out to federal authorities, tired of running from what he says is the truth and with the understanding that the new information could not be used against him, plemmons recounted a shocking new version of events. he didn t want to go to his grave with this on his chest. chicago tribune recorder david heinzman tracked him down in 2005 shortly after plemmons talked with authorities. we flew out to pennsylvania to meet joe in a little tavern and he pulled up in his big white pickup and was very
i said, helen, i m concerned about him. he has sort of a reputation. i warned her, i said, be a little careful. but the sting was already on. coming up, helen brach falls prey to her new suitor. [ male announcer ] feeling like a shadow of your former self? c mon, michael! get in the game! [ male announcer ] don t have the hops for hoops with your buddies? lost your appetite for romance? and your mood is on its way down. you might not just be getting older. you might have a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. millions of men, forty-five or older, may have low t. so talk to your doctor about low t. hey, michael! [ male announcer ] and step out of the shadows. hi! how are you? [ male announcer ] learn more at isitlowt.com. [ laughs ] hey! that s why i recommend crest pro-health clinical gum protection. it helps eliminate plaque at the gum line,