Gerald Priest
Joe Riddell tells the story of the Elsa silver heist using fictitious names. Gerald Priest's daughter tells the story in her book The Elsa Silver Heist using the real names.
[Gerald Priest] was an assayer in the Elsa Assay Office in 1961. A couple of miners carried some native silver out of the Elsa mine and took it to [Priest] to be melted down. [Priest] was curious about the source and the miners told of an open portal at the 200 Level that anyone could access. In 1962, [Priest] called Joe Riddell, Chief Mine Engineer for United Keno based at Calumet. [Priest] had re-staked claims on Keno Hill and wanted to know if some sacks of ore he found legally belonged to him. Riddell told [Priest] he could sell the ore and keep the money.1)
In early summer 1963, a flat-bed semi trailer loaded with ore sacks stopped at the Elsa Coffee Shop. The driver reported that the ore was from [Priest's] mine and that two trucks of ore had preceded him. United Keno's general manager [Al Pike] had noticed the truck and he sent two exploration geologists to visit [Priest's] claims and they returned to report no evidence of mining. The police were notified to stop the shipment at the smelter gate at Helena, Montana. In early August, [Priest] was charged with theft and later two others were charged with a similar offense. A preliminary hearing was held in Mayo in late November and thirty-one witness were called over the three-week hearing. Sophisticated tests proved that the ore came from about the 200 level of the Elsa Mine and did not show weathering - so recently mined. The investigation uncovered silver precipitate from the mill and pounds of silver beads from a fire assaying process. A trail got underway with three men charged in October 1964. One of the men charged pled guilty and told the tale of theft in exchange for a two-year suspended sentence. The trial lasted six weeks and [Anthony Bobcik] was found guilty of theft while [Priest] was found not guilty. The jury was hung on whether the men had sold the silver. A new trial started in March 1965 and [Priest] and [Bobcik] were charged with conspiracy and the unlawful sale of silver precipitate. Both men were found guilty.2)