FORT THOMAS — Almost 35 years ago, a stockbroker charged with a $7 million crime stepped into a year-old green Corvette Stingray and drove away from his Connecticut home, never to be seen by his family again.

        In April, his bones were found along the Ohio River, along with remnants of his blue polyester-rayon blend suit, dress socks with garter snaps, and other accessories — leather gloves, keys made in Connecticut, a 14K money clip bearing initials “HS” and foreign-made glasses with diamond chips in the frames.

Detective Mike Daly holds a money clip with initials “HS,” which police say belonged to Henry Scharf (pictured) (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        On Friday, state forensic anthropologist Dr. Emily Craig and Police Detective Mike Daly confirmed their longstanding hunch:

        The body belonged to Henry Scharf, 44, of Weston, Conn., who disappeared on March 25, 1966, and had an alias of “Heinz Otto Scharf.”

        Dr. Craig said the dental work was instrumental in solving the case.

        DNA from the teeth and bones proved a match to Mr. Scharf's sister, who lives in Florida.

        One of the most pressing questions for police is whether Mr. Scharf, who emigrated from Austria in 1942 and served in the Army Air Corps in 1944-45, had mob ties and was killed by another mobster.

        “It's definitely a direction to look at and see if it gets us anywhere,” Mr. Daly said.

        “The big question is: Why was Mr. Scharf here? Did he have family or friends here? Was he running from the indictment? Or was he running from something else?”

        Mr. Scharf had been charged, along with three others, with failing to pay $7 million in taxes on foreign stock when he left his home about 4 p.m. on March 25, 1966.

Dr. Emily Craig (left) discusses the clothing recovered with the skeleton of Mr. Scharf while Detective Daly listens. | ZOOM |

        Officials think he headed to New York City, where he parked in a lot at JFK International Airport and boarded a flight to Cincinnati under the name of Mr. Henry.

        His car was found in the airport lot. The keys still were in the ignition. The doors were unlocked.

        Mr. Daly said he thinks Mr. Scharf died soon after arriving in Cincinnati and that the crime was committed by someone experienced.

        Mr. Scharf was shot in the back of the head and placed in a grave. A load of lime was dumped on the body to disintegrate the evidence, Mr. Daly said.

        No shell casings have been found.

        “This was a clandestine burial,” he said.

        “Our No. 1 goal was to identify the victim. We've done that. Now we're going to go after what happened and why they did it.”

        He noted that Connecticut was once known for its mob activity and, in the 1960s, remnants of Newport's gaming operations and ties to the Cleveland syndicate remained.

        But, “this is a very cold case. We don't have a smoking gun,” Mr. Daly said.

        He said he plans to talk to Mr. Scharf's widow and daughter soon in the hopes of getting more information about him.

        Mr. Daly said he would like to know who else was on the New York-to-Cincinnati flight, and whether Mr. Scharf had any acquaintances in Greater Cincinnati.

        Mr. Scharf's family could not be reached for comment.

        “They're taking it very hard,” Mr. Daly said.

        Dr. Craig said the remnants found in April suggested that Mr. Scharf's clothes had large cuffs and tiny lapels, reminiscent of mob dress of his day.

        There were other clues that tipped her off to the crime's age, including a gold Cross pen and pencil manufactured between 1965 and 1970, and a 1964 nickel found near the upper part of the trousers.

        Anyone with information on the crime may call Fort Thomas police at (859) 441-0300 or detective Mike Daly, (859) 572-1231.
       

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