Part 2, page 16

Transcript

The scan is the source; the transcript is machine-generated from it.

[partially illegible/cut off] ...show[ed] say that [Fleming] three of the stolen bills and told part of their story, whereupon Fleming paid him $30,000, and then got the rest of the story in vivid de- tail on tape and film. In this con- cluding installment, Fleming tells what happened after that.

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THE NOON MAIL OF MARCH [24] brought a convivial note from D. B. Coop- er's intermediary, "Seth Thomas," whose real name is William John (Jack) Lewis. "Best wishes on the marriage," he wrote. "Hope you have received 'the gift.' That that rack came around 'The Horn' to 'Bainbridge Island' in Puget Sound' in 1853... I'll keep you posted of any newsworthy stuff."

Lewis was a candid Babbitt, who said he had aligned himself with Cooper just for the money. "I'm strictly a percen- tage man," he said. He was negotiating and acting as planner and arranger for Cooper, who professed to want to lie low rather than risk capture. Lewis said he went to Cooper's suburban home one night just before Christmas—about three weeks after the skyjacking—and while he and Cooper were sitting in the den discussing an investment plan, he look- ed up and noticed two skydiving trophies on Cooper's mantel.

The skyjacker was obviously an ex- perienced parachutist. The news reports had all said so. Suddenly it hit him. "Say, you wouldn't happen to have about $200,000 in $20 bills that you can't spend," Lewis said to Cooper.

Cooper blinked once, then replied calmly: "Well, what if I did. What could a fella do with that money?"

The FBI had, and was circulating, the numbers of all the stolen bills. Some days later, both of them saw

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KARL FLEMING was associated with Newsweek magazine as a correspondent, Los Angeles bureau chief, and contributing editor for 11 years before resigning April 15 to found LA. While with Newsweek, he covered virtually every significant civil rights story of the [illegible] 1960s, including [illegible/cut off]