Is anyone aware of any updates in this strange case? Officer Probst was shot and killed in his home in 1967. The killer fired a single shot through Probst's kitchen window. It was believed to have been a contract hit. His partner speculated that Probst was close to breaking a major case, or may have discovered something that put his life in danger.

Is anyone aware of any updates in this strange case? Officer Probst was shot and killed in his home in 1967. The killer fired a single shot through Probst's kitchen window. It was believed to have been a contract hit. His partner speculated that Probst was close to breaking a major case, or may have discovered something that put his life in danger.

i thought he died of a heart attack after surviving the shooting?

No, he did die. I remember him and his wife were watching the Academy Awards that night she said and she had fell asleep and he apparently went into the kitchen he was shot by someone outside.

i thought he died of a heart attack after surviving the shooting?

That was a different case altogether.

That was a different case altogether.
ah, i see. my mistake. thanks.

I just read a chapter in Murderers Among Us about this case. It seems that two of the main suspects have been dead for many years now (Sam Di Stefano and Frank Calvese real Chicago mobster throwbacks) and the first policeman on Probst murder scene was his old police academy classmate (Lt. James Keating) who was serving time for corruption (taking bribes) and conspiracy to cause the death of teacher Dianne Masters. http://www.projectposner.org/case/1991/924F2d1362
Keating should be out on parole by now and he possibly could be the one that set his old buddy Probst up for murder because he was going to expose the corruption going on. Probst probably warned him and it signed his death warrant since Keating was the top corrupt cop at the time and the absolute wrong person to screw with. A major clue is that Ralph Probst's notebook that he always carried around him was missing, yet it was seen in the photographs at his murder scene. This leads me to believe that this was an inside job complete with cover-up & wall of silence and may never be solved unless someone finally breaks that wall and talks. Hopefully all the principals aren't dead already. There should be pressure put on Cook County to solve this, even though it is about as cold a case as I can think of, the murder of Ralph Probst happened over 40 years ago and I doubt that the town this happened in isn't still haunted by this murder to this day either.

This case needs some explaining. Several Unsolved descriptions say the same thing: "Probst's partner got shot" not Probst, and now this post says it was Probst. If you can't believe those descriptions, what can you trust?

This case needs some explaining. Several Unsolved descriptions say the same thing: "Probst's partner got shot" not Probst, and now this post says it was Probst. If you can't believe those descriptions, what can you trust?

Ralph Probst was the murder victim, not his partner. I believe the partner's name was Bob Borowski(sp?) and he brought the story to the attention of UM as he had been trying to solve the case for many years and promised Probst's family that he would.

There was another story, from 1996 or thereabouts, about a police officer who was shot through his kitchen window. The re-enactment was similar to that in the Probst segment from years before. This officer survived the shooting. The shooter was a member of some militant group and was wanted at the time. I don't remember much else, as it was from the later seasons and was not a story I revisited often, if at all.

so no update?

http://www.animalpeoplenews.org/94/7/horse_killers.html

damn, thats crazy



so it was a horse rapist?

A little tidbit of trivia, not really anything to do with the case but an interesting coincidence. Remember the mobster that was in the hospital in the segment, Sam Gianacala (sp?) the one that Probst handcuffed to the bed and the mobster went crazy? Well, JFK had a one year affair with Gianacala's girlfriend back in the early 1960's. So in a way Sammy G and JFK were connected.

Well, JFK had a one year affair with Gianacala's girlfriend back in the early 1960's. So in a way Sammy G and JFK were connected.

Judith Campbell also claimed she was the conduit for information and money between them as well. I don't recall if they mentioned it in the Probst segment, but Giancana was killed in Chicago in 1975, right before he was to testify at the Rockefeller Commission's investigation of the CIA.

There were enough people -- crooked cops and the horse mafia alike -- who would have wanted Probst dead for his investigation.

The Charley Project link for the three missing women who were associated with George Jayne (Silas Jayne's brother)

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/blough_patricia.html

A link to an article about the Jayne brothers criminal activities:

http://www.thelaborers.net/NEWS/blood_feud_by_gene_o.htm

A little tidbit of trivia, not really anything to do with the case but an interesting coincidence. Remember the mobster that was in the hospital in the segment, Sam Gianacala (sp?) the one that Probst handcuffed to the bed and the mobster went crazy? Well, JFK had a one year affair with Gianacala's girlfriend back in the early 1960's. So in a way Sammy G and JFK were connected.

That wasn't Giancana portrayed in the segment, it was Sam DiStefano (sic?). DiStefano died a few years later.

The Calvesse lead seems to have been rather promising, I don't see why it necessarily had to be dropped so abruptly. The neighbor that spotted him was being only human by refusing to get involved, he could have been taken out just as easily. I would imagine that that lead could've been pursued stronger and when/if the time came the neighbor could be placed in some form of witness protection.

Is anyone aware of any updates in this strange case? Officer Probst was shot and killed in his home in 1967. The killer fired a single shot through Probst's kitchen window. It was believed to have been a contract hit. His partner speculated that Probst was close to breaking a major case, or may have discovered something that put his life in danger.

Yes, I believe he was close to breaking a major case.

http://www.animalpeoplenews.org/94/7/horse_killers.html

IIRC, the UM segment seemed to indicate that Ralph was investigating some organized crime ring that had some mafia like overtones. That link makes it seem like there were just two sick guys who were into some type of insurance fraud involving killing game horses that Ralph was investigating which got him killed. I wonder which one is accurate?

Just watched the UM segment (for the first time I must add, so thanks for highlighting it - had never heard of it before). It was believed that he was single-handedly investigating a vice ring.

It is implied that during this investigation, he visited the home of Frank Calvise and spoke to Frank's wife. A time later, a man matching the description of Frank Calvise appeared to look at a house for sale across the street from Ralph's and asked if the layout of this house was similar to the others on the street, and was told that it was.

It appears to be another UM case where so much time has passed, that alot of the individuals linked to the enquiries have either died or moved on. Unfortunately.

In another thread I mentioned I was reading a book called Getting Away With Murder by Ed Baumann and John O'Brien, which goes over the Ralph Probst murder in some detail. I was going to talk about this in a thread about the book, but since this thread is active I might as well mention some of the things here.

A lot of the things discussed in the segment are gone over in the book. The scene involving "Mad Sam" DeStefano in the hospital is rehashed, but the cops interviewed for the book are pretty certain DeStefano didn't have anything to do with it, though DeStefano was willing to off anybody who didn't look at him straight. (Elsewhere in the book DeStefano's own unsolved death is discussed, as well as a number of murders he was said to be involved with...including that of his own brother, allegedly because Sam was embarrassed about his brother's drug use.)

The book reiterates that Probst was bragging that he was working on a case that would get him promoted, but it doesn't go into much detail about that. What the book does say, and something I don't think was in the segment, was that after Probst's death all of his files on this case mysteriously disappeared. That, as we will see, is of major importance in the story.

From the very start the police were certain that Frank Calvise had something to do with the homicide. As the segment says, a man matching Calvise's description was seen at the neighbor's house asking about the layout of Probst's house. Around the same time, an informant told police that Calvise was bragging about having "killed a county cop." Again as the segment says, the neighbor refused to identify Calvise. "I've got a family to think about," he allegedly said. With nobody wanting to finger Calvise, the trail went cold.

Now this next part was not in the segment: a few years later a local hood named Roger Douglas was shot in a botched burglary attempt. Though he survived the shooting, he was on his deathbed in hospital. Detective Chris Fosco was told that Douglas might be in on some local mob folklore, so Fosco went to the hospital to see what he could find out before Douglas died. After Douglas spilled a couple of secrets, Fosco asked him about Probst. Douglas wouldn't say anything, apparently because he saw Fosco had come along with another officer, James Keating. Douglas said the conversation was over and died shortly thereafter. A few months later, Officer Keating was outed as a mob mole and convicted of several conspiracy offenses.

As the segment noted, the weapon used to kill Probst was an unusual one: a .41 Magnum. At the time, the book says, only about 100 of those guns had been sold in the US. One of the detectives who worked on the case is quoted as saying, "The person who shot Probst was qualified to use a handgun...(the murder weapon) was the type of handgun that only a weapon enthusiast--or a police officer--would have used."

It seems to me that what the book is hinting at is that Calvise was involved in the murder, but that someone inside the police force was also involved. That person would have been the one responsible for confiscating and destroying Probst's files on his big case. It's even possible that Officer Keating himself--who was obviously qualified to use handguns and was known to be a gun collector--was the triggerman.

It seems to me that what the book is hinting at is that Calvise was involved in the murder, but that someone inside the police force was also involved. That person would have been the one responsible for confiscating and destroying Probst's files on his big case. It's even possible that Officer Keating himself--who was obviously qualified to use handguns and was known to be a gun collector--was the triggerman.

I'd say that this is a very likely scenario of what happened.

A major clue is that Ralph Probst's notebook that he always carried around him was missing, yet it was seen in the photographs at his murder scene.

What the book does say, and something I don't think was in the segment, was that after Probst's death all of his files on this case mysteriously disappeared.

Very, very interesting...

Well, given that the files disappeared, I'm now convinced that his killing was done from the inside. Someone in local law enforcement had ties to organized crime and Ralph was getting dangerously close to exposing that person.

The investigator interviewed in the UM segment even speculated that Ralph's killer may have been in law enforcement due to the precision the shooter had in being able to hit Ralph square in the back of his head. There were only 2000 guns (of the particular model used to kill Ralph) manufactured in the US at the time of his death...how on Earth did they not narrow that down and find his killer? I think whatever secrets Calvise had about the case were taken to his grave and that without a confession, this case will likely remain unsolved.

According to Wikipedia, one "Silas Jayne" is a suspect in the case. Don't recall if it was mentioned in the segment or not but I found it interesting.

According to Wikipedia, one "Silas Jayne" is a suspect in the case. Don't recall if it was mentioned in the segment or not but I found it interesting.

Was thinking about this case today, particularly the issue of Silas Jayne. It has been hinted at more than once that Ralph was working the horse racket Jayne was instrumental in growing and perpetuating, or was at least sniffing around it because of Jayne's known associations with mafia characters. Jayne and Sam DeStefano--the mobster who threatened Probst in the hospital--are definitely linked through Jayne's stables. Many members of the Chicago syndicate patronized his facilities, including DeStefano. But a connection between Frank Calvise and Silas Jayne is a bit more tenuous. In fact, digging up anything on Calvise is a little difficult. There's plenty on Jayne and DeStefano because they were both infamous, disgustingly heinous criminals, but there is little on Calvise. So that's a bit of a stumbling block.

Like many law enforcement agencies of large metropolitan areas at that time, the CCSP, as well as CPD, was infested with rogue cops with mafia connections. I think a dirty cop killed Ralph Probst (and I think Mike O'Mara--another member of the CCSP featured on UM--was murdered by one of his own for similar reasons. For that reason, I think the two deaths are loosely connected). The issue is digging up who that officer could have been. The blatant bad guys are easy to identify; the guys operating under false flags are not, and probably never will be.

I'm shocked that nothing ever happened to Bob Borowski through all the years he investigated Ralph's death on his own.

I'm shocked that nothing ever happened to Bob Borowski through all the years he investigated Ralph's death on his own.

My personal feeling is that Calvise was the man who murdered Ralph. I don't think DeStefano really had any motive to kill him. For handcuffing him to a bed and not allowing visitors? I don't buy it. I do think Calvise was the one who was looking at the house for sale, and I think the witness was intimidated into changing his tune. Calvise and Calvise alone knew the layout of Ralph's house, and I just think it's too far a coincidence for him to ask the layout of Ralph's house and then have nothing to do with his murder. Since he died in 74, I get the feeling that that's why Borowski had nothing happen to him, since Ralph's murderer went to his grave without being prosecuted.

My personal feeling is that Calvise was the man who murdered Ralph. I don't think DeStefano really had any motive to kill him. For handcuffing him to a bed and not allowing visitors? I don't buy it.

I actually don't think DeStefano killing someone for those reasons is unlikely. The reasons he was known as "Mad Sam" included his chronic mental instability and the sadism incorporated in the commission of his crimes. I think he'd definitely be unbalanced enough to murder, or order the murder, of someone who restrained him like Probst did. Now, I'm not convinced DeStefano was involved. But I do think such a crime would certainly fit his character.

I do think Calvise was the one who was looking at the house for sale, and I think the witness was intimidated into changing his tune. Calvise and Calvise alone knew the layout of Ralph's house, and I just think it's too far a coincidence for him to ask the layout of Ralph's house and then have nothing to do with his murder. Since he died in 74, I get the feeling that that's why Borowski had nothing happen to him, since Ralph's murderer went to his grave without being prosecuted.

I would just love to have more information about the guy, specifically how he ranked in the organization. I can't imagine he himself would be the triggerman, especially considering that .41 Magnum business. That caliber had only been available since 1964, and was originally conceived in hopes of becoming a happy medium between the .38 Special and the .44 Magnum for law enforcement (the .44 Magnum revolver itself had a reputation for powerful recoil and being something of an "overkill" weapon for police work). In fact, it was closely associated with law enforcement at the time.

So I wonder: did the Cook County SP ever have .41 Magnum handguns on their property books? Did Chicago PD? Shoot, did the Hometown PD have them? I'd love to know.

Didn't law enforcement rule out DeStefano as being responsible? I seem to remember them saying he had an alibi at the time Ralph was murdered.

Didn't law enforcement rule out DeStefano as being responsible? I seem to remember them saying he had an alibi at the time Ralph was murdered.

Even if he did have an alibi, he could have requested or ordered the shooting.

Even if he did have an alibi, he could have requested or ordered the shooting.

The segment says he was immediately ruled out. I just don't think it's coincidental that Ralph went to speak to Calvise's wife shortly before he was murdered, and then a man who was at firest ID'ed as Calvise was looking at houses similar to Ralph's a week before the murder.

The segment says he was immediately ruled out. I just don't think it's coincidental that Ralph went to speak to Calvise's wife shortly before he was murdered, and then a man who was at firest ID'ed as Calvise was looking at houses similar to Ralph's a week before the murder.

The fact that the eyewitness then didn't identify Calvise in the lineup after he originally came forward is also par for the course for that time period as far as Cook Co LE and the mob is concerned. That appears to have happened frequently.

Your theory is probably the most viable. The link between DeStefano, Jayne, and the CCSP is intriguing, but I think your scenario makes the most sense in light of the evidence we're aware of. Thanks for humoring my bouncing it off you. :)

I do still definitely think dirty cops played a role in both the Probst and O'Mara shootings, however.

I do still definitely think dirty cops played a role in both the Probst and O'Mara shootings, however.

While I still think OMara was a suicide, I do agree that dirty cops probably buried and/or helped cover up Ralph's murder.

I just read a chapter in Murderers Among Us about this case. It seems that two of the main suspects have been dead for many years now (Sam Di Stefano and Frank Calvese real Chicago mobster throwbacks) and the first policeman on Probst murder scene was his old police academy classmate (Lt. James Keating) who was serving time for corruption (taking bribes) and conspiracy to cause the death of teacher Dianne Masters. http://www.projectposner.org/case/1991/924F2d1362
Keating should be out on parole by now and he possibly could be the one that set his old buddy Probst up for murder because he was going to expose the corruption going on. Probst probably warned him and it signed his death warrant since Keating was the top corrupt cop at the time and the absolute wrong person to screw with. A major clue is that Ralph Probst's notebook that he always carried around him was missing, yet it was seen in the photographs at his murder scene. This leads me to believe that this was an inside job complete with cover-up & wall of silence and may never be solved unless someone finally breaks that wall and talks. Hopefully all the principals aren't dead already. There should be pressure put on Cook County to solve this, even though it is about as cold a case as I can think of, the murder of Ralph Probst happened over 40 years ago and I doubt that the town this happened in isn't still haunted by this murder to this day either.

Wow. I came away from the segment believing Frank Calvese to somehow be involved in it given his statements to the realtor about the layout of the Probst home, but after reading this, I'm being swayed. That part about his notebook missing yet it was captured in photos from the crime scene is VERY telling.

Wow. I came away from the segment believing Frank Calvese to somehow be involved in it given his statements to the realtor about the layout of the Probst home, but after reading this, I'm being swayed. That part about his notebook missing yet it was captured in photos from the crime scene is VERY telling.

Just watched this segment again and found this thread. Given that it was Cook County/Chicago, I'd say that the conspiracy (whatever it actually involved), was pretty widespread and involved both Calvese and one or more LE officers (along w/probably the mob too)

Two things stood out to me when rewatching this one recently:

-The actor who played Sam DeStefano also played a police officer in the John Branion segment. He stood out to me because he was a good actor.

-On the day of his murder, Ralph stopped at a gas station to make a phone call. Why would he do this instead of going home and placing the call? This throws a wrinkle into the case, IMO.

Would a mobster be so sloppy to advertise the fact that he was scouting houses in the area prior to murdering Ralph? Would they murder him with witnesses (his wife) present? And also using such a rare weapon? I think Ralph's personal life (not his wife) should have been looked at closer. I don't know why but the phone call at the gas station stands out to me. Why didn't he go home to place the call? To my knowledge, in 1967 you couldn't trace a phone number of who was calling you, so him not wanting his number to be found out seems unlikely.

Would a mobster be so sloppy to advertise the fact that he was scouting houses in the area prior to murdering Ralph? Would they murder him with witnesses (his wife) present? And also using such a rare weapon? I think Ralph's personal life (not his wife) should have been looked at closer. I don't know why but the phone call at the gas station stands out to me. Why didn't he go home to place the call? To my knowledge, in 1967 you couldn't trace a phone number of who was calling you, so him not wanting his number to be found out seems unlikely.

That corruption would've/could've been institutionalized (not at all surprising in a place like Chicago) could've given mobsters like DeStefano and Calvese a false sense of confidence - it's mentioned in the segment that fear of Calvese is what made a neighbor (or witness?) recant his statement and clam up.

Using a rare weapon isn't that unheard of either - brings to mind the little 'Deutonics' 1911 piece used in the Jay Given murder.

When it comes to the phone call - I'm thinking Ralph knew whatever he was into carried an undercurrent of danger and wanted to keep his activities a secret from his wife, didn't want to worry her and/or wanted to shield his family from that danger as much as he could.

Given what we know about Ralph poking around in Calvese's business (why was he over talking to his wife?) and the mysterious phone calls, I think it was a cop on the take he was talking to and who murdered him.

Whether this dirty cop was playing Ralph & feeding him false/inside info, whether Ralph was arguing with this guy and threatening to expose him or whether Ralph was exchanging info with someone else and this dirty cop got tipped off/got wind of it, I don't know - there's not enough info to go on there.

My gut/occam's razor though feels like this corruption is the reason Ralph was killed - though there was never anything substantive presented that proves DiStefano/Calvese didn't have a motive for killing him, I still don't think they did anyway.

I think Ralph got wind of some corruption inside the department that involved one or more officers and DiStefano, Calvese, Jayne (mentioned earlier in the thread). One or more dirty cops soon learned Ralph was poking around and whatever he was doing would expose them. This went up the line to whatever gangster they were connected with (one of the above) who probably figured that when the dirty cops were exposed, that would bring heat on them & get them in some hot water. So, the decision was made to have Ralph taken care of.

Using a rare weapon isn't that unheard of either - brings to mind the little 'Deutonics' 1911 piece used in the Jay Given murder.

That's why I don't believe it was mafia related, but rather someone close to Ralph...like a fellow police officer.

When it comes to the phone call - I'm thinking Ralph knew whatever he was into carried an undercurrent of danger and wanted to keep his activities a secret from his wife, didn't want to worry her and/or wanted to shield his family from that danger as much as he could.

But he was either set to receive or place a phone call on the night he was murdered...which makes the stopping at the gas station aspect odd to me.

One or more dirty cops soon learned Ralph was poking around and whatever he was doing would expose them. This went up the line to whatever gangster they were connected with (one of the above) who probably figured that when the dirty cops were exposed, that would bring heat on them & get them in some hot water. So, the decision was made to have Ralph taken care of.

I lean more towards a cop (or cops) who were jealous of Ralph's "by the book" approach to policing who had a personal vendetta against him for whatever reason. It just seems weird to me that a guy who planned on transferring to the K-9 unit to spend more time with his family was secretly investigating some clandestine mafia ties with the police department. In other words, I believe there could have been corruption going on within the department, but it may not have been as high level as the UM led you to believe.

I'm not sure how much they looked into "Mad" Sam Destefano but I do wonder if he had something to do with it. Whoever killed him was most definitely hired to do it. Someone made sure he would be in the kitchen at the precise moment the gunmen came to the window. I think that was one reason they initially suspected his wife of being involved and who knows? Maybe she was. We will never know. I think anyone that could close the book on this mystery is most likely dead by now.

Sometimes, the comments section of the official UM website can be an interesting place to find new leads/theories. Such as this one (dated 7/13/20):

Ralph was finding out about how many businesses paid how much weekly to the Mob for “protection” money. He found out about how many uniformed Cook County Deputies were also “bag men” who collected this money for the Mob every week. One of those Deputies had a .41 hand gun and spent time in a federal prison by using his criminal friends to steal from the homes he was supposed to protect.

Could it be a far out/wacko theory? Sure. I don't often see crackpot theories like that though that are this specific (the bit about one of the deputies owning a .41 Magnum and spending time in federal prison).

In recent years I've come to think that when UM often portrayed "the obvious answer" in a segment that more likely than not it was not what had happened. The way UM set this segment up made it seem like it was a slam dunk that Ralph was murdered by Frank Calvise or someone connected to him but never offers any viable reason as to why. The comment above from UM's writeup on the case makes sense. It ties in why Ralph was seen leaving Calvise's home after speaking to his wife. The "rare" handgun used in the murder reminds me of the Jay Given murder: it's something a police officer would have owned.