Moonshine and Murder in Red Oak

Albert Girardi and his family

Albert Girardi was dead. George Austin checked the pulse, pressed his ear to the lifeless chest. There were no signs of life. None. So, you can imagine his surprise when Girardi sat up as they headed out to dispose of the body.

“For God’s sake, hit him again!” John Stewart screamed. “He is raising up.”

Austin hit Girardi with the king bolt. “This blow finished him,” he said. “I didn’t notice any more life to him.”

Austin rifled through Girardi’s billfold. He counted $82 in cash, pocketed the money, and tucked the wallet back in Girardi’s jacket. No sense taking evidence with him.

That was the second time they killed Girardi. But let’s start at the beginning.

Albert Girardi was a produce salesman from the Little Italy district of Omaha, Nebraska. He had a wife, two small children, Arto, 4, and Lucrezia, 9 months—and a booming business.

He left home twice a week with a pocket full of money and traveled through Southwestern Iowa buying butter and eggs and selling a little moonshine.

January 23, 1923, found Girardi outside of Red Oak, Iowa, near Emil Buehler’s place. John Stewart talked with him for a few moments, then got into the car. They drove across the street to Stewart’s farm and went inside to talk business.

John Stewart

Girardi carried in a gallon jug of moonshine whiskey. They had a drink, then another. Stewart called his farmhand, George Austin, and told him to get home. Austin hesitated. He was in the middle of a game of pinochle with Emil Buehler and on a winning streak. Stewart called again and told him to get over there. Now. They had business to conduct.

Girardi had ten gallons of moonshine—five one-gallon jugs and a five-gallon jug. Stewart wanted them all. The only catch was that he didn’t have any cash. He wrote Austin a check for $100 and had him endorse it over to Girardi. That way, the bank wouldn’t see he’d made it out to a moonshiner.

Stewart carried the five-gallon jug to the corn crib while Austin handled the payment. When he came back, he saw Austin and Girardi reaching for something on the ground.

Austin “hit Girardi across the eye and the temple with a king bolt as he rose up.” Then Girardi staggered backwards, and Stewart hollered, “He is reaching for his gun.” He raced toward Girardi. “I hit him with my fist,” Stewart said, “and spun him around, and he fell on his knees.”

Girardi reached for his gun again, and Stewart screamed. “He is reaching for his gun… you’d better hurry…” Austin hit him on the back of the head. This time Girardi went down and stayed down.

Now they had to get rid of the body.

They picked it up and put it in the front seat of Girardi’s Dodge roadster, careful to keep the body out of the neighbor’s view. Stewart headed west, looking for a deserted spot to ditch the car, but a minute or two later, Girardi sat up.

“For God’s sake, hit him again!” Stewart screamed. “He is raising up.”

Austin hit Girardi with the king bolt. “This blow finished him,” said Austin. “I didn’t notice any more life to him.”

They drove the car into a ditch about a mile from there. “Let’s burn it up,” said Austin.

Stewart unscrewed the bottom of the carburetor, let the gas drip on the ground, then piled some leaves around the front tires. He lit a match. They checked Girardi once more to make sure he was dead, then Austin hollered, “Let’s get out of here.”

They jumped over the fence and ran, cutting through the fields and hedges until they reached Stewart’s house. Austin carried the four one-gallon jugs of whiskey to the oat bin, while Stewart cut firewood. After that, they carried the wood into the house and split the money they took from Girardi—$41 each.

They spent the next few hours working on fences and concocting an alibi.

They’d been seen with Girardi, so it was only a matter of time before the sheriff came. A wrong answer could see them dangling from the end of a rope. Stewart decided they would say they spent the afternoon fixing the fence, and Austin agreed to back him, until he didn’t.

Raymond Stoneking discovered an abandoned vehicle by the side of the road with smoldering leaves under the front wheels. He extinguished the flames, then contacted Sheriff Art Baker.

George Austin

Baker called in bloodhounds from a nearby town. They led officers to the John Stewart farm, where several pieces of incriminating evidence were found, including seven silver dollars, three empty whiskey bottles, and evidence of a bloody fight.

Stewart told the sheriff that Girardi pulled up to Buehler’s home at around 2:30 p.m. He was in the yard with Buehler and George Austin. He walked over to his car to buy some liquor. He got in Girardi’s car, and they rode back to his house. He called Austin and told him to come over, thinking he might want to buy something, but Austin said the gallon he bought was good enough.

After Girardi left, they grabbed a hatchet and headed out to work on some hedges. Austin was close to him, although maybe not within his eyesight, until the officers came at 8 p.m. The sheriff appeared satisfied and let them go home.

The next day, Stewart and Austin attended the coroner’s inquest. When it was over, they went to a nearby restaurant to have lunch. When they came out, officers arrested Austin. Stewart was arrested a few days later.

Stewart changed his story after his arrest. He admitted Girardi was killed in a fight over 10 gallons of moonshine whiskey, but it was self-defense.

Girardi objected to taking a check for payment. He attacked Austin, and after Austin hit him with a kingpin, Girardi went for his gun.

They went a little crazy afterward and hoped to make his death look like an accident. Unfortunately, the car didn’t burn. After the sheriff left, they snuck back to Girardi’s car and set it on fire again, hoping to destroy the evidence.

George Austin pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to life in the Fort Madison Penitentiary. John Stewart pleaded not guilty. He admitted Girardi was killed on his property, but said it was self-defense. Girardi was reaching for his gun when Austin struck the final blow. His attorney also pointed out that Austin killed Girardi. The most Stewart was guilty of was trying to conceal the body.

The jury didn’t buy his argument. Stewart was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He appealed the decision the next year, but the court upheld his sentence.

The justices said the actual attack on Girardi at Stewart’s farm might have been self-defense, but what happened afterwards made him an accomplice to murder. He dragged Girardi’s body to the car to help dispose of it. Then, when Girardi came to, he encouraged George Austin to attack him. And then, when he was sure Girardi was dead, Stewart set fire to the vehicle to destroy the evidence. That made him guilty of murder.