There, he managed to kick his habit of drinking, and never touched another glass of alcohol again.įor the next few years, Berg shifted between careers, first becoming a shoe salesman, then opening a clothing store. He descended into a life of alcoholism, and began suffering from neuromuscular seizures.Īt the urging of his wife, Berg decided to end his law practice and move to Denver, Colorado.
Unfortunately for Berg, the stress of his job eventually took its toll. Berg and Halpern settled down in Illinois soon afterwards, and Berg continued his career as a defense attorney, representing everyone from petty criminals to Chicago mobsters. In 1951, Berg met a wealthy young socialite named Judith Lee Halpern, a native of Denver, and they married in 1958. At the age of 22, Berg became the youngest person at the time to pass the bar exam, and entered practice as a lawyer in Chicago. He excelled in school and was known for his witty, keen sense of humor and his penchant for debating.Īfter attending the University of Denver in Colorado, Berg, now 17, decided to put his love of arguing to use, and he entered law school in Illinois. Joseph Berg and his wife, Ruth, Berg, who was raised Jewish, showed himself to be extremely intelligent in his youth. It is a story of hatred, violence, and terrorism, but it is also a story of courage, fortitude, and, in the end, redemption.Īlan Harrison Berg was born in Chicago, Illinois, on New Years Day, 1934. This is the story of the martyrdom of Alan Berg, and the tale of the violent terrorist group that took his life: The Order. It was carefully planned and orchestrated by a band of violent neo-Nazi terrorists led by a young, charismatic extremist hell-bent on overthrowing the US government, establishing an all-white nation in the Pacific Northwest, and killing anyone and everyone who got in his way. His wittiness and crude humor was characteristic and matched by few others in his field.īut Berg's life was tragically cut short in 1984 when he fell victim to an assassin's bullets outside his home in Denver, Colorado. A walking poster child for the First Amendment, Berg was known for being brash and uncensored. Nelson Mandela had Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King had Henry David Thoreau, and Barack Obama had Saul Alinsky.Īs for my role model? Well, I have quite a few, but the one that stands out the most is a highly intelligent, well-educated Jewish lawyer and liberal radio pundit, a man named Alan Berg.īerg was a former Chicago lawyer-turned liberal talk radio host who openly challenged neo-Nazis, anti-Semites, and white supremacists on his radio show in Colorado. This guy definitely does not fit that pattern.Most everyone in the world has a role model or a personal hero of some sort. It is not uncommon for the guy in the getaway car to claim that he just thought his passenger was going into a store to cash as check so he did not think there was anything funny about him coming out with a lot of cash.
This guy does appear to have some boundaries he won't cross. The would-be robber suggested that Wilson accompany him to the Slidell bank at 636 Gause Blvd., where he'd make a withdrawal and repay him. That's what I do," Foltz quoted him as saying.Īccording to police, the robber and Wilson had met at a hotel off Chef Menteur Highway in New Orleans the night before, and the robbery suspect owed Wilson money, apparently for drugs.
Wilson was emphatic that he was no bank robber. While officers were questioning Wilson inside the bank, officers noticed that his mouth contained rocks of cocaine, which he eventually swallowed, Foltz said. In the end, Wilson, 42, turned out to be a hero of sorts for foiling the robbery, police said. Wilson of New Orleans, leaving police to figure out whether Wilson was a hero, as he and witnesses claimed, or a co-conspirator in a poorly planned robbery attempt. The man left behind his wallet and his companion, Harry G. The two men struggled, rolling on the ground, and a male bystander, apparently unaware of the crime that was unfolding, pulled the companion off the would-be robber, who wriggled out of his coat and escaped, Slidell Police spokesman Kevin Foltz said. "Hey, don't take that woman's money!" he shouted before tackling him and knocking the money out of his hand.
As the teller began to hand over the money to one of the men, his companion turned on him. As bank robberies go, the events at a Bank of Louisiana branch in Slidell started out in fairly typical fashion Wednesday with two apparent robbers, a demand note and a threat to shoot the teller if the demand was not met.īut as the robbery was unfolding, things took a very weird turn.