All was not Glamour when Celebrities where building their massive Ranches around 1940 in the Northridge/Chatsworth area of WSFV! Once upon a Time……….. There was a person called: “The Black Widow” ~ Huh? :/ Was this a “House of ILL REPUTE” or just an Operational Hub? In 1940 “Almerdell Forrester” – aka; ‘Ann Forst’ (The Black Widow), resided at 19240 Devonshire Street. This home belonging to her was located on a 10-acre lot on the southeast corner of Devonshire Street and Tampa Avenue in Northridge. The fenced property boasted 9 rooms: 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, 2 real fireplaces, and a spacious living room. Built at a cost of $35,000, it was electrically equipped and air-conditioned. In order to pay for her legal expenses, Forst put it up for sale in November 1940 asking $25,000 cash. She had to lower the price to $21,000 in January 1941, and was eventually sold to theatrical agent, Marco Wolfe. On April 22, 1940 a white slave ring operating from Los Angeles, but spanning from El Centro to Seattle, was uncovered when a young woman, an intended victim by the name of Maxine Rayle called LAPD Sheriff, Captain Walter Hunter to say she and another woman were being held captive and gave an address where they could be found. When police raided the location, they arrested two men and one woman on suspicion of pandering - they were identified as: 43-year-old Charles W. Monty Montgomery, leader of the operation; 21-year-old Bristol Barrett, in charge of finding, wooing, and luring the young women; and 33-year-old Ann Forst, aka Anne Forrester The Black Widow, an asserted key figure in booking girls and placing them in disorderly and ill-reputed houses. It was discovered that Ann Forst ran multiple houses of prostitution, promising girls net incomes of $300-$400 a month. Evidence indicated that approximately 200 women made up Forsts white slave ring. Montgomery and Barrett were charged; though it is not known how much time they served. Also indicted were Tim Tullis, an accomplice of the slave ring; Dolly Dupree, operator of one of the houses in San Bernardino; and Serena Peine, who served one year for pandering. Ann Forst (birth name Almerdell Forrester) was booked on pandering charges and spent 3 or 4 years of a 1 to 10 year sentence at the womens prison in Tehachapi. She moved up north upon her release and then to Arizona and Nevada, where she ran highway motels with her husband. Forst died in obscurity in 1998. It is believed that the LAPD so dubbed her as ‘The Black Widow’ because of the Black Book she carried with her … unknown!
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 02:37:48 +0000