Wow...hard to believe I have been retired 2 years today. Time flies. I decided to take a field trip to Seattle. I treated myself to lunch up in Seattles China Town at the Kau Kau Chinese BBQ. Corner of S. King St and Maynard Ave South. Fantastic Chinese food... the real deal. I love that place. Pork Fried Rice with Sweet & Sour Spare Ribs...I could eat there every day. Roasted ducks hanging in the front window and all. NUM! Ok here is an interesting historic Washington factoid: The Kau Kau is almost directly across the street from the long defunct Wah Mee Gambling Club. The Wah Mee is just across King Street and about 50 feet South down Maynard Alley on the left. This was the site of the largest mass murder in Washington. Spooky! Ya, 3 young but well known Chinese dudes robbed the club just after midnight Feb.19th 1983 on the Chinese New Year hoping to score over 100 grand from the hopefully intoxicated wealthy gamblers. They hogtied and shot everybody in the place. The victims were all well to do local Chinese business owners known to have very frequent high stakes Mahjongg games with thousands of dollars routinely on the table. That sort of vice is illegal but was tolerated. Seattle Police were paid off on the take and looked the other way. Even high ranking city officials were known to tolerate it and from time to time frequent there. All victims died instantly except the one old guy who lived through it. He took two .22 pistol rounds to the neck. He knew the 2 shooters and identified them. The shooters were arrested the next morning! Not exactly a perfect crime. Their 3rd acomplice (he didnt shoot anyone but helped hog tie them and loaded up the cash) was on the run for the next 2 years and was caught in Calgary, Alberta by the Mounties who always get their man. The shooters, Willy Mak and Benjamin Ng got life without (Mak, the leader got death but you know Washington...it was later overturned to life without) and the helper Tony Ng (no relation to Benjamin Ng) was just released after 30 years in the big house and voluntarily deported to Hong Kong as part of his parole deal. 13 affluent Chinese business people one of which was a female, were killed...1 survivor. Pretty grizzly tale for sure. The exact take is unknown but was thought to be less than $30,000. Well less than planned. Rumor has it the owners, the Woo family, locked the place up after the cops got done investigating and havent been inside that part of the building since. They say everything is still inside, coats and all just as it was 32 years ago. Its got to be haunted. The building is quite large and had several other street level businesses in it until a fire broke out on the unoccupied top floor last Xmas eve. The fire took part of the roof off and the whole thing is vacant now awaiting a partial demo and remodel. The owners want to save the exterior as well as the undamaged portions and rebuild it since it has been a famous China Town fixture since 1911. Just a little bit of seedy Seattle history for you.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 06:24:32 +0000
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