I have had the great priviledge of speaking to Charlie Hess over the last couple days. Apple Dumpling Gang story -- Charlie had been a delight to speak with and has gone out of his way to inform me on the whole reason I called him. He is a link to my dad. He is also 79 years old and the smartest man I have ever spoken to. Charlie is sitting down lower right in this photo. Charlie's "gang" consists of:
Scott Fischer, 60. The “kid” of the operation has 40 years of newspaper experience, from reporter to publisher of The Gazette in Colorado Springs. He says he has admired law enforcement nearly all his life, starting as a teenager photographing murder scenes for his hometown Clovis, N.M., police department. Colleagues value his background in accounting, his newsman’s curiosity and his computer skills.
Charlie Hess, 79. Hess’ law enforcement career began with the FBI, then private investigations, then the CIA, where he said he took part in the Phoenix Program, an assassination campaign against Viet Cong leaders. He developed keen interrogation skills with the government that his teammates say helped build a rapport with Browne. He says he has never learned to use a computer, and probably never will, but colleagues say he has the sharpest memory they have ever seen.
Lou Smit, 71. Spent 25 years on the Colorado Springs Police Department, the last 18 in homicide, then five years as a District Attorney’s Office investigator. He theorized that an intruder may have killed JonBenet Ramsey in Boulder, Colo., 10 years ago. His teammates say he is a master organizer with an encyclopedic knowledge of Colorado Springs’ criminal past. Smit says he has a special place in his heart for the victims of unsolved crimes, noting, “Somebody’s got to work on these old cases.
I love that they call Scott "the Kid". Any way what brought me to Charlie was the article (see the link above about the "Apple Dumpling Gang". My criminal profiling class has opened a whole new area of interest to me. Alot of this new interest involves forensic science but mostly I am fascinated by the men/women that get inside the minds of criminals. Charlie's team volunteered their time to assist the police department in getting a sicko to confess. He would only talk to Charlie and his team. A little blurb in one of the articles I read mentioned Charlie was involved in the CIA's phoenix project. This is a project (can do a search on google) that was run in Vietnam during the war by the CIA. My dad was a part of it. I can't say what he did - I have no idea and this sortof where Charlie fits in. I sent an email to the Colorado Sheriff's office asking if they might be able to put me in touch with Charlie and he called me the next day. Charlie has the mind of a 20 year old and about as sharp as any person I have met. I have had two conversations with him, mostly about that era, background on the war, different fighting techniques of the Vietcong, and how the terroritories were broken into sectors.
After I explained I originally contacted him to see if he knew my father (and he may well have met him at some point, but does not remember), he has offered to help me dissect his records and then proceeded to give me a very detailed discussion on Vietnam and it's basics.
It goes without saying that I suck as a friend. Happy Birthday Ashleigh - you can now lord over my head that I can't remember anything and I don't even have a really good excuse. Though I can tell you that this is one of my favorite photos of you and Lo. I apologize humbley and the sad fact is, I told everyone on Saturday how excited I am that you and Christian are coming up this weekend! DOH! I even told you Thursday night on the phone - isn't your birthday tomorrow? Lo has been hacking up a storm keeping us awake at night so I am not firing on all cylinders. Of course, Mark also told me on Saturday we were hosting what amounted to be a block party that night. So my dog ate my homework? Aliens abducted me? The check is in the mail? I will make it up to you this weekend. I need about 300 hours of sleep....got any to spare? 
