The G-Man and the Diamond King: A True FBI Crime Story of the 1930s

The 1935 Murder of FBI special Agent Nelson B. Klein of the Cincinnati office and the ensuing investigation.

By William Plunkett
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‍In the summer of 1935, a nasty career criminal by the name of George Barrett shot to death a young FBI agent beside a flower garden in the little town of College Corner, which sat astraddle the state line between Ohio and Indiana. Indeed, when the shooting occurred, Barrett fired from Indiana and the agent fell dead in Ohio. It was only one peculiarity of the case of Barrett vs. J. Edgar Hoover's fledgling agency as it struggled for supremacy over the rampaging criminal elements of the chaotic 1930's.

Sold Out
Klein's gravesite August 16, 2021 (Author's Collection)
Photo of Klein and his three children; Bud Jr., Richard and Barbara Ann, outside their home in Southgate, KY. (Courtesy of Klein family).
April 1935 photograph of Special Agent Nelson B. Klein (Courtesy of the FBI)

The case made national headlines for a number of reasons: the Cincinnati agent, Nelson Klein, was the first FBI agent to be killed in the line of duty; his killer, Barrett, a one-time Kentucky moonshiner who had killed his own mother, was only the second man tried under a new federal statute that made the murder of a government agent a federal offense - and the first to be executed.

This story is not only the story of two men whose paths crossed in a backyard shootout with tragic results, but it is, too, the story of one of America's most dangerously exciting decades and the birth of modern crime-fighting.

Even the execution itself was novel, for the verdict was death by hanging, and Indiana used electrocution, which necessitated bringing in the famous "human hangman," Phil Hanna-a story in himself-who dismantled an Illinois gallows and reassembled it in Indianapolis, expressly for George Barrett.
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The G-Man and the Diamond King: A True FBI Crime Story of the 1930s is not only the story of two men whose paths crossed in a backyard shootout with tragic results, but it is, too, the story of one of America's most dangerously exciting decades and the birth of modern crime-fighting.

The G-Man and the Diamond King: A True FBI Crime Story of the 1930s is not only the story of two men whose paths crossed in a backyard shootout with tragic results, but it is, too, the story of one of America's most dangerously exciting decades and the birth of modern crime-fighting.
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Even the story behind the story itself was captivating, for it began when the author, former Special Agent William Plunkett, stood in a Southgate, Kentucky, cemetery for Nelson Klein's memorial, held nearly seventy-five years after Klein's death. Overcome with melancholia, Plunkett took on Klein as his personal case: who was Klein, his life ended almost before it began; who was this man Barrett; and how did they end up tragically in a College Corner backyard?
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Plunkett's tenacious unraveling of this long-forgotten case brings to life a colorful and compelling American period in which the headlines belonged, at least briefly, to the criminals and not their captors, and his all-too-human story reminds us of history's sorrowful resonances.

George W. Barrett at his federal trial, December 1935 (Author's Collection)
George W. Barrett at his federal trial, December 1935 (Author's Collection)

I became interested in the murder of Cincinnati Special Agent (SA) Nelson Bernard Klein in 2008, when former SA Timothy P. Tracy of the Louisville Division of the FBI assigned to the Covington, KY office read an article in the Kentucky Post mentioning Klein was buried at Evergreen Cemetery, Southgate, KY.

While Klein had been remembered nationally with his name read yearly during police week in May, unfortunately he had been forgotten locally.  

Klein and his partner SA Donald C. McGovern were in West College Corner, Indiana on August 16, 1935 looking for George W. Barrett, a small-time criminal, wanted for transporting stolen automobiles across state lines. The Agents found Barrett on the street near his vehicle and called to him, identifying themselves as federal officers. Barrett ran down an alley, around a garage, taking cover behind a tree and fired five shots from his revolver at Klein who had followed him down the alley. Klein was hit five times and died at the scene, Barrett was wounded in both knees by the agents, taken to a hospital ultimately facing the federal government and his maker for the crime.

Division of Investigation badge used 1934-1935
Click image to enlarge

Marker Dedication for Agent Klein in 2017

The Indiana Historical Bureau, through their Indiana State Historical Marker Program, facilitated the effort to honor SA Klein. Dedication of the Marker involved officials from the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Louisville FBI Offices. The fanfare, celebrating SA Klein, resulted in the small, usually quiet town of West College Corner, Indiana, increasing its population substantially, if only for a short period. See full details in the article below: "G-Man Honored with Indiana State Historical Marker.
Marker Dedication photographs by www.jeffcorcoran.com

October 2015 interview conducted by William E. Plunkett

This video is just part of an October 2015 interview conducted by William E. Plunkett, author of The G-Man and the Diamond King (May 2015) of Neal Ernest Miller (1927-2018), and Ellis A. Miller (1929-2018). On August 16, 1935, the brothers were at their grandparent’s Otis and Mary Miller’s residence at 303 Union Street, West College Corner, Indiana. The boys were playing outside across the street from where Cincinnati FBI Special Agent Nelson B. Klein was shot and killed by car thief George W. Barrett.

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Timeline

October 18, 2004
Tracy went to Klein's gravesite and found it in disrepair.

August 16, 2008
‍A ceremony with Klein family, friends and law enforcement in attendance is held to rededicate SA Klein's gravesite at Evergreen Cemetery, Southgate, KY. The Lewin Monument Company gave a reduction for the repair and inscription saying they "considered it an honor to be doing this restoration."

‍June 2, 2012
‍FBI Cincinnati Division building located in Kenwood, Ohio is dedicated in the memory of Klein, in honor of his ultimate sacrifice.

August 16, 2013
‍Author along with Tracy, former FBI SSA Roger D. Wilson who was President of the Cincinnati Chapter of the Society of Former FBI Agents facilitated the funds for a plaque honoring Klein. Former SA George R. Custer of Awards and Sign Graphics of Cincinnati provided the plaque at a discount. The Cincinnati FBI office held a ceremony with eight of Klein's family members in attendance along with the Cincinnati Police Chief, Hamilton County Sheriff and FBI employees placing the plaque in the lobby.

November 7, 2014
‍Author and Tracy attend an excellent presentation given by Historian Doria Lynch at the U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, IN on U.S. v. George Barrett.


May 18, 2015
‍‍The G-Man and Diamond King about the Klein murder is published by Orange Frazer Press, Wilmington, Ohio.


August 16, 2015
An article "1935 Killing of local FBI agent chronicled in book," appears in the Sunday edition of The Enquirer by Jeff Suess.

October 24, 2015
‍Author interviews Neal (1928-2018) and Ellis (1929-2018) Miller who were visiting their granparents just across the street the day of the Klein murder at 303 Union Street, West College Corner, Indiana. Neal would cross the street and see Klein lying in a pool of blood, Ellis would hear the shots and fall from a cherry tree he was climbing and run crying to his grandmother.

August 16, 2017
‍An Indiana State Historical Marker was dedicated at the Stateline Ball Park/Town Grove in West College Corner, Indiana approximately 100 feet from where SA Klein was murdered. This effort was facilitated by the author and former Cincinnati SAC Kevin Cornelius, funded by the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI. Well over 200 residents, FBI employees, and law enforcement attended.

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