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July 2, 1974

Mr. Alan Oster
Surrey, Karasik, Greene and Seham
500 Fifth Avenue
New York, N. Y. 10036

Dear Mr. Oster:

We have found out a good deal about this sad business with Doris Ullman. I am not sure all of this will be relevant, but let me outline it briefly. Detective Buda of the Missing Persons Bureau (tel. 374-6913) investigated the circumstances of her death and found no evidence of foul play: he thinks the death was due to natural causes. Some of Doris' effects, described as money (a moderate amount) and jewelry, are now at the 23rd Precinct Station in charge of the property clerk under Vouchers # 391-057 and 391-058 (tel. 860-6411). Doris also left some effects at the Franklin Hotel on 87th St. (Tel. AT-9-5958) where she was staying after the fire in her apartment. I may pick up these two sets of effects this week if I get into town and if they let me have them.

Mrs. Blake is of course somewhat concerned about the bonds which were her property in Doris' possession. Enclosed is a Xerox copy of the description Doris wrote of the first $10,000 worth that she bought. Mrs. Blake will send you a copy of the letter she sent to Doris recently stating that the bonds were the property of Mrs. Blake. I presume these will be in her safe deposit box, which she recently moved to the 86th St. branch of the Irving Trust Co. (tel. 922-8696). When I called them, they told me the box had already been sealed. The man I talked to did not know on whose orders this was done.

As for Dean Gardner, Mrs. Blake spoke to him on the telephone. He learned of Doris' death only on Monday. He is apparently rather seriously ill, with broken bones in his foot and an infection in his arm, at Metropolitan Hospital. Detective Buda told me he had spoken to Gardner's doctor on Friday, and the doctor had not wanted to tell Gardner the news for fear it would worsen his condition. Gardner agreed to our funeral plans and even gave Mrs. Blake permission to go into the apartment on 89th St. However, we haven't done that. I think it's extremely unlikely she would leave valuables in an apartment which was burned out and which she had vacated, and our main concern is of course with the bonds. I enclose a Xerox copy of the envelope of the last letter Doris sent her mother, with the notation about the legality of their marriage. I didn't Xerox the letter itself, which is full of the same kind of things Doris told you about on Thursday.

Doris worked at Diebold Inc., 421-0100, and a good friend of hers there is Ida Richardson, extension 853. Doris left some things in her desk there, which Ida Richardson said would be sent to Mrs. Blake. Doris also worked for Fordham University, the downtown branch, but we have not contacted them. She taught statistics in the evening.

Mrs. Blake returns to Washington tomorrow. I will call you Monday. I hope you will have had a really restful week.

Very truly yours,
Jack Ullman
Jack Ullman