HOUDINI COMMANDOS RESTORE GRAVESITE
Houdini's grave site has been headless since 1975 when vandals destroyed the bust of the magician which had been installed in 1926. For 20 years, plans have been underway to restore the bust and the Houdini Commandos were tapped to reinstall it. A secret group called the "Houdini Commandos" was then formed. They were Dorothy Dietrich; Dick Brookz; Steve Moore, retired escape artist; along with Dean Allen, contractor; Tracy Bullaro, helper; Cathy Moore, helper; and Ron Chicken, videographer. The stealth plan was to get in and out unnoticed in one day. According to Market Watch:
Everything was ready. Diamond bits, drills, a powerful vacuum system, a generator (no electricity at the grave), special cements and epoxies, a way to safely transport the bust, etc. On several of the planned days flooding rains ensued and dates were changed. Everyone had to be available on the same day, which was almost impossible. Finally the day came. On September 27, 2011 everyone arrived by caravan at 10 a.m. and the work began. Each person had their assignments. Part way into the project a cemetery caretaker and watchman inquired what we were doing. Dorothy explained and tried to distract him with various papers, etc., as we continued working. He said we would have to stop until he called his boss. A long, almost non-ending phone conversation followed, and the issue of insurance came up. Our insurance agent faxed a letter and we were given the go ahead. Because of the lost time and other problems - such as a powerful construction cement drying too rapidly, having to drill it out and rushing to a local hardware store last minute for more - we did not finish until 7 p.m. The watchman had now become our supporter and allowed the cemetery to stay open an extra 3 hours.
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