They went to the roofer’s house instead of his shop because Bertram knew someone who knew the address. In Youngstown, that was sometimes how people found answers quickly. I want to be honest about what happened, because the story changed as it spread. Nobody broke anyone’s arm. The version people repeated simply became more dramatic with every telling.

What actually happened was that thirty motorcycles arrived outside the roofer’s house on a Tuesday evening. Thirty men stayed seated on their bikes, barely moving or speaking. The roofer eventually appeared at his window and looked outside. Thirty men looked back. Then Bertram walked to the front door and knocked. When the roofer opened it, Bertram calmly explained that an eighty-six-year-old widower had been waiting six weeks for his roof to be finished, and that the materials were still sitting on his lawn. Then he asked what the roofer intended to do about it. Click continue reading below