Copyright 2020
Greenstone Media Consulting, LLC
Greenstone Media Consulting, LLC
American Broadcasting Company
Seattle - 1929
Seattle - 1929
In New York
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It’s not entirely surprising that immediately upon ABC’s crash in late August, Linden packed up his family and headed for New York. It has been surmised that he did so seeking new investors to somehow try rescue ABC. It seems possible that he left for New York because he had an existing corporate entity there which remained under his control. And to the degree that he was trying to rescue ABC, it would have been far easier to do through All-BC rather than trying gain control over ABC from its receiver if he successfully found new capital.
While Linden returned to Seattle in November, 1929 to consult with creditors and colleagues, he otherwise remained in New York where he made various attempts at business. Both he and Elizabeth had been stripped of virtually all of their possessions. Because it had been pledged against the losses which Puget Sound Savings and Loan suffered from her husband’s activities, her fairly considerable personal fortune was gone. The couple (and their young son) were seemingly helped with contributions from some old Seattle friends while they tried to craft a new life in New York. While it is not clear what was used to do so, they launched a tea room/restaurant (also reported as a night club) which ultimately failed. He also set up a company designed to operate a chain of restaurants which never materialized. New Yorkers may not have been taking tea out very much during the Depression. Elizabeth wound up working as a clerk for Macy’s.
In 1931, Linden was arrested and extradited back to Seattle to stand trial for embezzlement (although the Grand Jury indictment used the term “abstraction of funds” instead of embezzlement). Various accounts suggest that the criminal charge was somewhat inflated given the reality of what he had done and the restitution efforts he had already made. He and Elizabeth had turned over all their assets to Puget Sound Savings and Loan to satisfy the deficiencies he had created. The bank, however, failed to promptly liquidate those assets and the October Stock Market crash so significantly devalued them that their sale would have been substantially inadequate in discharging the debt he had created.
At the time of his arrest Linden was living in the Hotel Wellington, a residential hotel near Carnegie Hall. The family apparently had been given some financial assistance by Seattle friends. What is indisputable is that, after arriving in New York, he continued to pursue attempts to secure new capital to either rescue or recreate his vision which ABC represented. At the time of his arrest, he was trying to interest former film studio owner William Fox in investing in a national radio network.
While Linden returned to Seattle in November, 1929 to consult with creditors and colleagues, he otherwise remained in New York where he made various attempts at business. Both he and Elizabeth had been stripped of virtually all of their possessions. Because it had been pledged against the losses which Puget Sound Savings and Loan suffered from her husband’s activities, her fairly considerable personal fortune was gone. The couple (and their young son) were seemingly helped with contributions from some old Seattle friends while they tried to craft a new life in New York. While it is not clear what was used to do so, they launched a tea room/restaurant (also reported as a night club) which ultimately failed. He also set up a company designed to operate a chain of restaurants which never materialized. New Yorkers may not have been taking tea out very much during the Depression. Elizabeth wound up working as a clerk for Macy’s.
In 1931, Linden was arrested and extradited back to Seattle to stand trial for embezzlement (although the Grand Jury indictment used the term “abstraction of funds” instead of embezzlement). Various accounts suggest that the criminal charge was somewhat inflated given the reality of what he had done and the restitution efforts he had already made. He and Elizabeth had turned over all their assets to Puget Sound Savings and Loan to satisfy the deficiencies he had created. The bank, however, failed to promptly liquidate those assets and the October Stock Market crash so significantly devalued them that their sale would have been substantially inadequate in discharging the debt he had created.
At the time of his arrest Linden was living in the Hotel Wellington, a residential hotel near Carnegie Hall. The family apparently had been given some financial assistance by Seattle friends. What is indisputable is that, after arriving in New York, he continued to pursue attempts to secure new capital to either rescue or recreate his vision which ABC represented. At the time of his arrest, he was trying to interest former film studio owner William Fox in investing in a national radio network.
