Crime and Punishment

Die Volkszeitung financial fraud

World War I took a toll on Die Volkszeitung, St. Paul’s German-language newspaper. The long-time editor, Fritz Bergmeier, was sent to an internment camp. The paper lost its state printing contracts. Profits dwindled. After the war the paper’s owner, Clara Bergmeier, wanted to sell but found no buyers. This created an opportunity for an opportunist and con man, Clarence Cochran, to engineer a massive financial fraud aimed at German immigrants.

Clara Bergmeier

Clara Bergmeier, ca. 1928. From Mary Dillon Foster, Who’s Who Among Minnesota Women (St. Paul: M. D. Foster, 1924), 26. Used in Paul Nelson, “Fraud of the Century,” Ramsey County History 59, no. 2 (Spring 2024), 2; used here with the permission of Ramsey County History.

Clarence A. Cochran and Arthur Lorenz

Clarence A. Cochran (left) and Arthur Lorenz (right), ca. 1928. From the St. Paul Daily News, March 16, 1928, 1, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 29, 1928, 5. Used in Paul Nelson, “Fraud of the Century,” Ramsey County History 59, no. 2 (Spring 2024), 1; used here with the permission of Ramsey County History.

Andrew Nelson

Andrew Nelson at the US Penitentiary in Leavenworth, ca. 1930. National Archives at Kansas City, Record Group 129, Records of the Bureau of Prisons, Leavenworth Penitentiary, Inmate Case Files (1895–1952), National Archives Identifier 571125. Used in Paul Nelson, “Fraud of the Century,” Ramsey County History 59, no. 2 (Spring 2024), 9; used here with the permission of Ramsey County History.

Clarence Cochran

Clarence Cochran, ca. 1930. National Archives at Kansas City, Record Group 129, Records of the Bureau of Prisons, Leavenworth Penitentiary, Inmate Case Files (1895–1952), National Archives ID 571125. Used in Paul Nelson, “Fraud of the Century,” Ramsey County History 59, no. 2; used here with the permission of Ramsey County History.

Sarah Bad Heart Bull and AIM members in Custer, South Dakota

Sarah Bad Heart Bull (center, wearing glasses) confronts law enforcement officers on the steps of the courthouse in Custer, South Dakota, 1973. From box 3 (152.B.11.3B) of Wounded Knee Legal Defense / Offense Committee records, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

AIM protest in Custer, South Dakota

American Indian Movement (AIM) activists confront law enforcement officers in Custer, South Dakota, February 6, 1973. From box 3 (152.B.11.3B) of Wounded Knee Legal Defense / Offense Committee records, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Welsch v. Likins

Welsch v. Likins (1974) was a landmark legal case for disability rights in Minnesota. It dealt with three issues fundamental to the disability community. First, it addressed the right to treatment under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Second, the case confronted the provision of care in the least restrictive of environments, including home and community-based services (HCBS). Third, it questioned whether institutional environments violate the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution.

US District Court Judge Earl R. Larson

US District Court Judge Earl R. Larson, ca. 1980. Larson ruled in Welsch v. Likins (1974) that both the US Constitution and Minnesota state law required state-run institutions to provide habilitation (vocational training and other education) to their inmates.

Minnesota State Seal on display

The Minnesota State Seal on display in a Hennepin County District Court courtroom at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis. Photograph by Wikimedia Commons user Tony Webster, October 25, 2018. CC BY 2.0

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