Don Hogan
On Aug. 8, 1927, a three-alarm arson fire gutted an auto dealership owned by football star and aviator Don Hogan at 1227 Broadway in Denver - and Hogan plead guilty to the crime before the year was out.
Prosecutors accused Hogan of intending to defraud the Mercantile Insurance Company of America, which insured the property. Two of his employees, Rex Conley and Joe Crenshaw, were also arrested. Twenty-five cars and the entire stock of parts were destroyed.
The three alarms brought 200 Denver firefighters and 27 pieces of apparatus to the scene - a major response . Truck driver Paul Dretzler, of 4601 Williams St., Denver, spotted the fire at about 2 a.m., and told police two men tried to stop him from turning in the alarm from a fire box.
Immediately after the blaze, Hogan declared it was arson, citing charred bunting between cars stored in the basement and charred paper between steps leading to the basement, The Rocky Mountain News said. Hogan also insisted he was at a loss to say who started the blaze.
After pleading guilty on Oct 29, Hogan "left in his own car immediately for Canyon City in custody of a deputy sheriff" to serve his prison sentence, according to a United Press dispatch.
Flames from Hogan's building damaged the neighboring Permo Washing Co. and Stephens Miller, Inc., the News said. Five firefighters suffered minor injuries.
Hogan's dealership sold Rickenbacker and Kissel automobiles. These weren't popular. Rickenbacker halted production in 1927 and Kissel filed bankruptcy in 1931, according to Wikipedia.
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