The Life and Legend of Otis T. Carr - Part 2

 Continued from

The Life and Legend of Otis T. Carr, Part 1: The Rise of OTC Enterprises 

Countdown to the Saucer Launch

Shortly before the big events in Oklahoma, Otis T. Carr received some national publicity in an article in Cosmopolitan magazine, April 1959, “Long John and the Night People” by Richard Gehman. It described Nebel’s program and its roster of unconventional guests and discussed Carr’s free energy and moon flight plans in the section, “A Space Ship in Every Garage.” Gehman said, "Most of these people are, or pretend to be, utterly serious. They speak with the transported conviction of a Los Angeles faith cultist. When they are questioned closely they launch into plausible, if all but unintelligible, jargon of the kind one finds in the science fiction magazines.”

Otis T. Carr in his workshop, 1959 press photo.

On Jan. 17, 1959, Wayne S. Aho announced his position as Director of Public Education of OTC Enterprises. Aho also said, “a new approach to education is all important in this space age. Man has gone as far as he can go in so-called pure science…” He recommended some books: Dimensions of Mystery by Otis T. Carr and Law of Life by A.D.K. Luk, from “Millennium Publications, 2502 No. Calvert St, Baltimore 18, Md.” That address was the original headquarters for OTC Enterprises, and A.D.K. Luk was the pseudonym for their stenographer, Alice Beulah Schutz.

Clipping from Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series: 1959: January-June

Law of Life was a repackaging of Guy Ballard’s “I AM” Theosophy, where Schutz wrote, “The appearance of Space ships, saucers or Scouts are becoming widely known and are being more and more accepted, as are contacts with people of other planets. This has been done throughout the ages, to some degree, as well as the assistance of the Ascended Masters. These are the teachers of mankind.”

Dana Howard’s Contactee book Up Rainbow Hill was released in Feb. 1959, and while not published in connection with OTC, it featured several passages about Otis T. Carr and his work. Carr must have liked it since he kept several copies on hand in his personal library.

Up Rainbow Hill

Though it didn’t bear the name, Millennium Publications produced another Theosophical book in 1959 from the 2502 North Calvert St. address of OTC Enterprises. It was Return of the Dove, the space mysticism reimagining of the life of Tesla by Margaret Storm, OTC’s publications editor. 

Their occult book business was kept quiet; the saucer model plans were OTC’s only physical product, as far as the public knew. Otis T. Carr wanted his name associated with spacecraft.

A Tale of Two Saucers

Throughout the previous year, Norman Colton had been saying there would be a public demonstration of OTC Enterprises spaceship. The contract with Frontier City, USA owner James Burge made that a requirement, and the flight was scheduled for the dedication of the park’s space ship ride in April of 1959. It was a tall order for Carr and associates to oversee the construction of two saucer projects at once. According to Eugene Carini, fabrication of the OTC-X1 prototype began in January of 1959, and it took their contractor, Aircraftsmen Inc., two months to construct its six-foot aluminum airframe.

The OTC-X1 saucer ride designed by Otis T. Carr was already under construction when he filed a patent on Jan. 22, 1959, as “a novel amusement device having the overall configuration of a space craft...” (Later granted on Nov. 9, 1959, Carr’s only successful patent.)

FBI records show that during this time OTC Enterprises was busy promoting the company and trying to sell franchises. On Feb. 19, 1959, a meeting was held at the office of chiropractor of Dr. Harry. D. Jenkins in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. OTC's new local representative Dennis Rapolti gave a presentation to establish “a franchise from the Carr group for the state of Pennsylvania … similar type meetings were being held in 39 other states in the United States for the same purpose… to purchase a share of the franchise …the total cost of which would be $30,000.” Finding support in the area, Carr set up an OTC Enterprises office across the river from Pittsburgh in Homestead, PA, and “was selling package plans for his space ship at $5 each and attempted to contact a local department store with the idea of being his representative here for $12,000.” (The Pittsburgh Press, Aug. 11, 1960)

With the prototype being built, interest increased about the plans for the manned flight of the OTC-X1, something that would come to be known as “Demo Day.” As part of a “publicity kickoff,” Otis T. Carr went to New York City for radio and television interviews. On Friday, Feb. 20th, 1959, the Henry Morgan TV talk show featured Carr, Long John Nebel, and several of the Party Line panel regulars. Carr emphatically repeated his claim he would launch for the moon on Dec. 7, 1959, accompanied by Wayne Aho - and possibly Daniel Fry. When asked if the ship had been built, Carr said no, but that it could be constructed “in five weeks.”

In his new role, Wayne S. Aho was busy helping publicize the Oklahoma demonstration. Carr (and OTC staff) sent a series of letters and “Space-O-Grams” to investors announcing the test and provided them with a list of hotels and motels with special rates for the event. Their invitation letter from March 23, 1959, contained the promise of a New Age:

“You are cordially invited to attend the demonstration of... the OTC-X1 Spacecraft in Oklahoma City... We have a great program of introduction before us to bring to mankind a higher standard of living in the development of higher consciousness - - which will ultimately be the foundation and framework for the new Earth.”

The next message from OTC Enterprises, Inc. had their Baltimore address crossed out, stamped with “Space Oklahoma, Inc.” With that, Carr made the move of OTC headquarters official. During this time, Carr seemed more interested in the Frontier City saucer ride than he did in the prototype. The original date announced for the saucer launch was April 5, but OTC sent out a Space-O-Gram changing the date to April 19:

“OTC… engineers have asked for two additional weeks of further testing and refinement so that the remote radio flight controls will be utterly dependable to respond accurately… for aerial performance…”  

It asked attendees to “write, wire or telephone any of our listed headquarters for further information." Besides OTC Enterprises, the 40 names listed included Daniel Fry (of Understanding Inc.), Gabriel Green (of the Amalgamated Flying Saucer Clubs of America), Calvin Girvin, Howard Menger, Della Larson, Hope Troxell, and other saucer and contact supporters.

Eugene Carini among the OTC-X1 construction and from his 2001 interview with Lance Moody

 The silvery OTC-X1 prototype looked good, standing four feet high, six feet in diameter, and it reportedly weighed 600 pounds. Carr’s literature stated the saucer would rise “400 to 600 feet” into the air, and that’s what people were coming to see. But there was a big problem. Eugene Carini said in his 2001 interview that in mid-April he received an urgent call from Carr asking him to fly to Oklahoma to install the electrical wiring to power the prototype. When Carini asked if there was a wiring diagram for him to use, Carr said, “No, that’s your job.” Carini was flown in and put up in a motel near the warehouse where the saucer was being finished. He was given only three days to do the job. Carini worked there day and night alongside a team of about 14 mechanics to complete the saucer’s innards for its flight demonstration on Sunday.

Show Time

The Oklahoma City event, as scheduled by OTC Enterprises, was essentially a UFO convention centered around the saucer launch and ride opening. Horizons Unlimited, the local saucer group, organized and hosted the events for the saucer people:

Base for registration and special guests of OTC.

• Friday, April 17: Registration at the Town Park Motel, with guests encouraged to visit Carr’s “Educational, recreational Space Ride” at Frontier City.

• Saturday, April 18: An afternoon of lectures beginning at 2:00 P.M. at First Christian Church amphitheatre: a welcome speech, keynote address, then Otis T. Carr on “Free Energy and the Third Electrical Age." After that, short talks from guests and a “Science Symposium” led by Wayne S. Aho.

•  Sunday, April 19: Guests had the morning free to attend church services, then visit Frontier City. At noon, the OTC-X1 prototype would be exhibited, then at 3:00 P.M. taken six miles east to a gravel pit for the demonstration of the OTC-X1 prototype under the direction of “Peter G. Varlan, Operations Chairman.” After that, another “Science Symposium by selected scientists.” Finally, at 7:00 P.M., a ceremonial dinner with a special message from Otis T. Carr.

Things did not go as planned.

The OTC-X1 demonstration brought out a contingent of flying saucer fans from far and wide. CSI News Letter, July 15, 1959, reported: “No major Contactees appeared (Mrs. Daniel Fry was there but not her husband), but lesser ones known and unknown were plentiful. Dana Howard talked about her trip to Venus. Margaret Storm told listeners that Carr is directly inspired by ‘the Divine Master St. Germain’  …[Lari Kendrick, president of Horizons Unlimited, demonstration co-sponsor] was there; he is former radio announcer who has seen hundreds of saucers and is now Oklahoma distributor for the OTC-X1.”

Among the many other recognizable saucer folk present: Gabriel Green, Calvin C. Girvin,(author of The Night has a Thousand Saucers, Canadian flying saucer researcher, Wilbert B. Smith, author of The Boys from Topside, Hayden Hewes, director of the Interplanetary Intelligence of Unidentified Flying Objects. From California, a group of six led by Art Kloepfer, president of Dan Fry’s Understanding Unit in El Monte. OTC’s Doubting Thomas was there, too; even Bud Gosnell had high hopes of seeing Carr’s saucer fly.

Gabriel Green, president of the Amalgamated Flying Saucer Clubs of America

OTC Enterprises guaranteed press coverage for the event by actively recruiting it. They’d coaxed the NBC’s live radio program Monitor hosted by Walter McGraw to cover the story. Norman Colton persuaded Long John Nebel and seven of his panelists to come by paying for their trip and all expenses. The advance straight news coverage was near zero. The Daily Oklahoman, April 9, 1959, featured a story on the event, “Flying Saucer Tryout Slated,” saying, “Inventor Otis T. Carr will put his theory of “free energy” space flight to the test here April 19.” It appeared on page 20, next to the comic strips.

As for Carr’s other saucer, the Frontier City “Space Ship” ride, the attraction was operational, but not yet finished, lacking the disc’s rim and other cosmetic details. The ride was to be dedicated that weekend, then officially opened to the public shortly thereafter.

Technical Difficulties 

The stage was set, the audience was filing in, but backstage there was some drama with the stars. True magazine reported the story as heard from Margaret Storm. A few days before the flight Storm sent “an electronics engineer," who "examined the wiring and announced that it would create a short circuit all around the model, and the ship would never get off the ground." Hearing that, Otis Carr flew “into a screaming rage, burst a blood vessel in a lung, and had to be taken to Mercy Hospital.”

That engineer was Eugene Carini, and in 2001, he told Lance Moody his own version of events. “When I first saw the craft at the warehouse, and examined it closely, I was really shocked and taken aback because I knew the circuitry, the properly designed circuitry, that I had to put in it would not work. And the reason being… is that when it was built and fabricated at [Aircraftsmen, Inc.], they had built the internal gridwork out of aluminum struts and girder work... Now the top and bottom half of the craft had a capacitor effect action, and they were supposed to be insulated, so therefore, any circuitry that I connected to the top and bottom half of the craft, when I threw the switch, would be a dead short to the batteries. And when I mentioned that to Otis, he got very upset and said, ‘Don't tell anybody.’ And then he disappeared and ended up in the hospital...” Wayne Aho would later state that Carr “had to enter the hospital for eight days... with a lung hemorrhage... probably caused by over-work and strain.” Carini didn’t believe Carr was ever sick, that the hospital was “a safe haven for him, to get away from the pressure.” Nevertheless, work on the saucer was ordered to go on.

Friday, April 17, 1959

The saucer people started arriving Friday, getting signed in and receiving their name tags to identify them for OTC events. Many of them took a “flight” in the OTC Educational Space Ride, and it reportedly gave a good simulation of traveling in space.  

The OTC ride with Rex Stanford, Gabriel Green and John McCoy. From Understanding magazine, April 1959. 

Long John Nebel and company’s flight arrived at about 3:00 a.m., on a cold and rainy Saturday the 18th. Nebel’s Party Line producer Paris Flammonde came along, with regular panelists including Ellery Lanier, who was there in the prospects of writing the story for True magazine, and Sam Vandivert, photographer. Nebel was eager to get started but couldn’t locate Carr — and he was told that no one was permitted to see the saucer. Fate magazine quoted a local television reporter as saying, “This thing will never leave the ground… a great deal of the ballyhoo they’re giving out is tied in with the ride at Frontier City. I have tried constantly to get in to see the saucer model, but they’ve kept it hidden.” Unhappy with that, Nebel found out where the prototype was being finished and demanded to be let in. Inside he found the saucer in three or more pieces with its top removed, tools scattered on the floor around it. “I knew then and there it would never work,” Nebel later said.

Ellery Lanier and John Nebel, photo by Sam Vandivert.

Throughout the events, Long John Nebel taped interviews from Oklahoma City with attendees and members of Carr’s team, later broadcast after his return to New York. Eugene Carini described the free energy mechanics of the prototype, and said the principles were solid. He noted that technical problems were common in test flights, but said he was cautiously optimistic the launch would go as planned. Eugene Carini interview (YouTube audio clip, approximately 9 minutes).

Saturday, April 18, 1959

The Saturday afternoon lectures at the church went on as planned with about 70 saucer buffs in attendance. In Carr’s absence, a taped message was played instead, saying, "Barring any flat tires, I feel that history will be made Sunday afternoon when the model of the OTC-X1 is launched here." Meanwhile, Long John thought something smelled fishy, so he set out to find the missing inventor, and he found Carr at Mercy Hospital. 

In Mercy Hospital

Carr was in his room, dressed in a hospital gown, up walking and talking to a nurse. Nebel said, “He appeared to be wracked with pain as soon as I appeared, and I helped the great man into bed.” Carr recovered his strength well enough to tape a short interview for Nebel’s show, assuring him the craft would work and be ready to fly, saying, “it certainly won’t be as big a disappointment as Cape Canaveral.” Otis T. Carr Hospital interview (YouTube audio clip, approximately 9 minutes).

During his stay in the hospital, Carr received more visitors, most of them bringing gifts and sympathy. However, Bud Gosnell paid a visit, too, and told him, “Otis, you’re a goddamned faker, a coward, and you’re yellow-bellied.”

The public and the flying saucer fans who’d made the pilgrimage knew nothing of the technical difficulties and little of Carr’s hospitalization. Many fans saw and rode the OTC-X1 attraction, socialized, and eagerly waited for the Sunday launch.

Sunday, April 19, 1959 “Demo Day”

Silent footage from Frontier City. Includes images of crowds walking around the amusement park, with scenes of the OTC-X1 in the background. Also, a shot of the partially constructed saucer prototype, then Wayne S. Aho is shown speaking to a crowd. 
WKY News: Saturday-Sunday, April 18-19, 1959 (YouTube)

A crowd of around 3,000 was on hand Sunday at Frontier City by the space ride for the unveiling of the OTC-X1 prototype at noon. It didn’t show. The arrival of the saucer was delayed until 2:00 p.m., and the audience was subjected to Wayne Aho lecturing for nearly two hours. Finally, around five o’clock, Aho passed the bad news that the launch was postponed. The prototype didn’t work due to either “electrical difficulties,” or that “precision parts failed to fit.” An announcement was made for newsmen to come to the warehouse and photograph the saucer, but for the audience, there was nothing.

Norman E. Colton directing the press. Photo by Sam Vandivert.

At the warehouse, Norman Colton warned photographers not to touch the saucer or look at or photograph underneath it. Reporter Gene Campbell took a peek, and reported that it “revealed nothing more interesting than a tri-wheel landing gear and an electric cord attached to the saucer.”

OTC’s Sunday invitation-only evening church meeting had been scheduled to serve as a victory party for the launch. About 70 people attended, Eugene Carini among them. Otis Carr missed the ceremonial dinner, so a pre-recorded tape by him was played instead, causing some to wonder how far in advance he’d known the flight was off. Carr assured his followers that not only would the prototype soon launch, the real OTC-X1 would fly to the moon as planned on Dec. 7, 1959. On board would be Carr as Flight Captain, Norman Colton as Flight Engineer, Hildegarde Shea as Flight Commissar, and Wayne Aho as Guest Passenger.

Wayne S. Aho, OTC's Director of Public Education.

Wayne Aho oversaw the event and tried to put a brave face on the flop. He held up one of Carr’s small models, the closest anyone came to seeing a saucer fly. However, from the OTC perspective, it wasn’t a total flop. 3000 people had been interested, and many of them had taken a spin on the “45-foot Educational Space Ride.”

From Identified Flying Saucers by Robert Loftin, 1968 

OTC had laid out a lot of capital to present the Oklahoma City launch. Estimates of building costs for the OTC-X1 prototype ranged from $20,000 to $40,000, and it was reported that $15,000 was spent to bring in and lodge newsmen, including Long John Nebel and his crew. OTC didn’t have enough money left to pay for Eugene Carini’s plane ticket home. He said Norman Colton had to take up a collection at the church to raise the cash. Many attendees had travelled far to see Otis Carr and the flight of his saucer, but most left without getting a glimpse of either. But some did go home with souvenirs.

Before heading back for New York, Long John Nebel interviewed Norman E. Colton, who was disappointed only in that people had not been able to see the launch. Colton didn’t regard the flight as canceled, merely delayed. Norman Colton interview (YouTube audio clip, approximately 3 minutes). 

Early Monday morning there was a rumor that the launch was on, but it was another false hope. John Nebel and most of his group took a flight home. In late afternoon Norman Colton tried to salvage things with a warehouse demonstration of the prototype for the press. There were about 14 workmen or mechanics on hand to conduct the test of it spinning in place. WKY News was there and filmed the crew preparing the experiment, with shots of newsmen watching and photographing the saucer spinning in the warehouse.

WKY film of the OTC-X1 bench test. (YouTube)

Walter McGraw of NBC’s Monitor said, “Finally, a bench test was run, on Monday, ‘to see if it was properly balanced'; mercury then leaked from the innards of the machine, and the plastic halves began to come apart from the vibration. This test was powered (quite openly) by an outside electric motor. In short, the famed demonstration was a flat tire — ‘it wasn't even an anti-climax, because there wasn't any climax for it to be anti to.’”

The Aftermath and the Press Coverage

Despite OTC’s efforts, the general public was largely unaware of the event, probably because most news outlets avoided it as a publicity stunt for the amusement park. Locally, there was a story in The Daily Oklahoman, April 20, 1959, by Gene Campbell on the scrubbed launch.

The national news coverage was slight, just one nationally photo with a caption saying, “electrical bugs forced them to delay the test.”

The saucer magazines provided an insider’s point of view, mostly unfavorable.

Daniel Fry’s Understanding magazine, April 1959, carried the article, “Visit to a Small Spacecraft.” It was a trip report by six members from the El Monte Unit, which described the disappointed crowd leaving the scrubbed launch on Sunday as a “funeral procession.” That evening, several select groups were allowed to view the X1 prototype, but not the Understanding group. “We were very much disappointed in this.”

Thy Kingdom Come, March/April 1959, carried several photos taken during the events, but reported on the story only by reproducing a statement written by Wayne S. Aho of OTC. Aho claimed the event was “very successful” despite the scrubbed launch. He said that the problem was being corrected, however, “We are not announcing a flight date and do not plan to announce it in advance. Pre-flight tests will be made, then validation and public demonstration will take place.”

FATE magazine, August 1959, ran a scathing story on Carr, “The Saucer that Didn't Fly” by W. E. Du Soir. It opened with, “The serious field of UFO's and flying saucer research received a setback at Oklahoma City…” The name “Du Soir” was a pseudonym, probably for one of Nebel’s associates, Paris Flammonde or Ellery Lanier.

Civilian Saucer Intelligence of New York published a harsh article condemning Carr in CSI News Letter, July 15, 1959. It raised the issue about whether Carr was a phony or just a fool. “What makes the accusation of fraud now seem inapplicable—or at any rate less likely—is the ineptitude of this grandiose fizzle. No con man out of rompers would fumble things this way from start to finish. He would have provided something for the paying customers to look at, something to support the hopes of past and potential suckers.”

Wilbert B. Smith

Canadian  radio engineer and saucer buff Wilbert B. Smith had been following the OTC story with great expectations and had traveled with his antigravity research partner Bill Ridell to witness the launch. Smith was a believer in saucers and aliens, but after the trip, not in Carr. Smith wrote in a letter dated Aug. 4, 1959: “At Oklahoma City Mr. Gosnell, who is a shareholder in OTC Enterprises, arranged for [us] to see the innards of the 6 foot model… after about an hour of close inspection during which we became familiar with every nut and bolt, we came to the conclusion that if the saucer went anywhere, someone was going to carry it!” 

Bud Gosnell wrote the SEC again and described Smith’s examination of the OTC-X1, stating Carr’s saucer had “...many crude and amateurish defects... The only animation of the prototype was possible only from the dry cell and hot shot batteries which had been built into the prototype.” 

Symbolic illustration of Carr's troubles to come.

Eugene Carini considered the fiasco a turning point for Carr, a severe emotional blow from which he never recovered. What Carini didn’t know at the time was the severity of Carr’s problem with alcoholism, which got much worse after the flop of the OTC-X1 prototype. He thought it had affected Carr’s judgment all along and had led to careless decisions. OTC Enterprises, Inc. was almost finished. After Carr left Baltimore, the former headquarters remained open while OTC also leased workspace in Oklahoma City and Pennsylvania. Carini thought some of the problems came from Norman Colton embezzling funds. “I had found out that he had been getting involved with taking sums of money from book sales, and some here, and some there - wherever. And that was upsetting to me, and of course, a lot of stress for Otis, also.”

The stress for Carr was just beginning. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the state of Oklahoma were investigating him for illegal sales of stock. He was headed for the courtroom, possibly prison.

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 Part 3:

The Trial of Otis T. Carr

The Life and Legend of Otis T. Carr - Part 3: The Trial

 Continued from

The Life and Legend of Otis T. Carr, Part 2: Countdown to the Saucer Launch

The Trial of Otis T. Carr

The Oklahoma Securities Inquiry

In February 1959, C.E. Booth, chief securities investigator of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission regional office in Fort Worth, Texas, began a three-month investigation into OTC Enterprises. The investigation dug into activities across several states, and apparently Scott Berner, a reporter for WKY-TV in Oklahoma City caught wind of things and insisted the county attorney’s office prosecute Otis T. Carr for selling securities in the state without a license. Following the Frontier City fiasco, Oklahoma County attorney James W. Bill Berry revealed there was an investigation into securities violations by OTC Enterprises. The Daily Oklahoman, April 28, 1959, reported Berry would be delayed a week to allow Otis T. Carr’s attorney Hubert Gibson time to familiarize himself with the case. “Among those subpoenaed were Otis T. Carr, president of the firm; Norman Colton, publicist; Maj. [Wayne] Aho, 1400 N Drexel; Otto Hess, manager of Aircraftmen Inc., builder of the saucer; Charles O. Rhoades jr. reported seller of stock options; John A. Green, attorney for OTC, and James Burge, operator of Frontier City.”

Hubert Gibson advising Carr to take the 5^th

WKY-TV News filmed the court hearing, and their YouTube channel hosts clips showing Carr, his attorney and OTC associates. WKY News: Monday, May 4, 1959 

OTC associates, believed to be: Wayne S. Aho, Charles O. Rhoades Jr., Lari Kendrick, and Norman E. Colton.

The Daily Oklahoman, May 5, 1959, reported on Carr’s hearing. Charles Gregory, assistant county attorney said the legal investigation was “primarily interested in the stock angle and not in the performance of the OTC-X1 (saucer).” Under questioning, "Carr invoked the fifth amendment when asked if OTC had issued a block of 21,000 shares to Jimmy Burge, Frontier City promoter. He also declined to state whether or not stock had been issued to Frank Buttram, oilman, or E. K. Gaylord, president of the Oklahoma Publishing Co." Wayne S. Aho, testified, but insisted he was not familiar with the finances of the company… He had no scientific experience but believed in Carr’s invention. “I’ve spent all of my time touring the country explaining the device. I have studied the principles of the outer space ship and know it will work.” Charles Rhoades Jr. identified himself as a test pilot for the OTC-X1, and testified he’d been selected to fly into outer space. As for the technology, “I know generally what will make it fly. There are a lot of things I don’t understand about it.” Rhoades admitted he’d never seen a Carr model fly. Lari Kendrick identified himself as the southwest representative of OTC Enterprises Inc., testifying, “I have no personal knowledge of the financial structure of the company. I know I have been getting some expense money.” When asked about his solvency, Carr said he had only $17.01 left in his bank account.

Oklahoma County Attorney James W. Bill Berry

WKY News: Tuesday, May 5, 1959: “Footage of county attorney Bill Berry in an interview where he discusses the OTC Enterprises, Inc. investigation. Berry discusses OTC's technical violations of Oklahoma's security's law and the factors determining whether or not the state will file charges against Otis T. Carr.”

Bud Gosnell finally severed his ties and wrote Otis T. Carr a letter of resignation from OTC Enterprises, Inc. on May 11. At about the same time he sent his last letter to the SEC, which ended with the sentence, “These men have received and dissipated approximately three to four hundred thousand dollars and are, apparently, continuing to extract more money from the hard-headed, stupid and greedy investors, such as myself…” By that point, Gosnell had lost $10,000 investing in Carr.

The Daily Oklahoman, May 20, 1959

The United Press reported that Carr along with Norman Colton, Wayne Aho and Lari Kendrick, were charged with violating Oklahoma state securities regulations. The other three were not present, but Carr's attorney, Hubert Gibson, said Aho and Kendrick were still in Oklahoma and would surrender for their arraignment, but he said Colton was out of the state, "and we do not believe he will return." Carr entered a plea of not guilty and was released on $1,000 bond. The preliminary hearing for trial was set for June 12.

Miami Daily News-Record, May 20, 1959

Carr v. the SEC

While the Oklahoma case was looming, Carr still had to face the Securities and Exchange Commission. On May 28, the case was presented to Judge Ross Rizley, of the U.S. District Court. The SEC complaint charged that Otis T. Carr, Lari Kendrick (the Horizons Unlimited president) and Charles O. Rhoades had “engaged in practices in violation of the securities act of 1933...” and said since Nov. 18, 1955, Otis T. Carr had been selling securities, options and rights to purchase shares of OTC capital stock. SEC investigator C.E. Booth was able to document that Otis T. Carr had never registered to sell stock and estimated that OTC had raised at least $150,000 in Baltimore, then collected a total of $61,007 from more than 400 people between March 11, 1958 and February 7, 1959. They’d also used the U.S. mails to solicit the sale of stock.

The Daily Oklahoman, on May 29, 1959, revealed some of the most damning evidence against Carr in, “‘Flying Saucer’ Trio Is Ordered To Stop Sales” by Jim Reid. “C. E. Booth, Fort Worth, chief securities investigator of the SEC regional office… said an option receipt book confiscated from the company's Baltimore office shows that during the period March 11, 1958, to Feb. 7, 1959, more than 400 persons all over the country had paid a total of $61,007 to Carr for stock. Booth estimated that the OTC firm raised approximately $150,000 before coming to Oklahoma City… afterward, an additional sum of $34,997.38 was deposited at Liberty National Bank.”

During a prior questioning session with SEC investigators on May 12 and 13, Carr “took the fifth amendment 84 times... Aho took the fifth amendment eleven times...”

The Daily Oklahoman, on May 29, 1959

U.S, district Judge Rizley issued a temporary restraining order barring further sale of stock, and on the follow-up June 5, session, entered a permanent injunction halting OTC Enterprises, Inc. from selling stock. Otherwise, there was no penalty.

SEC News Digest, June 9, 1959

Back to Business

Meanwhile, Carr’s greatest success, the Frontier City saucer ride was completed and officially opened to the public. The Daily Oklahoman, June 7, 1959, story, “‘Saucer’ Takes Off.” reported, “The OTC-X1 spaceship ride, only one of its kind in the world went into operation this week at Frontier City.”

From the Frontier City, U.S.A. literature: 

"Space Ship OTC X-1

Passengers on the OTC X-1 will experience the fantastic sensation of a thrilling ride into space. Inventor Otis T. Carr, who plans to fly to the moon in a ship exactly like this one, explains to those aboard the 'wheel within a wheel'' principle that enables the ship to ride the earth’s magnetic waves. The OTC X-1 is firmly anchored so as to prevent its taking off into orbit unexpectedly".

The Daily Oklahoman, June 7, 1959

Tourist photo, circa 1960

On June 2, 1959, there was an event at the Penn-McKee Hotel in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, where Contactee author Dana Howard spoke to promote OTC Enterprises. FBI files state that the speaker “was unable to answer technical questions and that certain engineers who attended this meeting described the events which took place at this meeting as “electronic gobbledygook.” 

The Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, June 11, 1959 ran a story on Carr’s operation that included reports of inquiries on it to the Better Business Bureau there and in Baltimore. It also included a description and photo of the OTC literature that they were selling from their office in the area.

Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, June 11, 1959

The Pennsylvania OTC group arranged another meeting two weeks later to present the technical details, but since Carr was busy with legal matters, Norman Colton took his place. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 19, 1959, reported that nearly 50 scientists and engineers from the area turned out. They were shown a color movie of what was described as a “structural prototype” of the spacecraft, the amusement park ride. Colton told the group that he was not a scientist, but a “professional communicator” and that he could not answer all their questions because some of the OTC technology details were “secret.”

Investor Eugene Carini of Connecticut still believed, so reported the Manchester Evening Herald, June 19, 1959. He asserted Carr’s ship would fly and the stock troubles had been cleared up. Carini was setting up his own business based on Carr's concepts, “developing a power on the ‘free energy principle’” for home and industrial use, opening a shop with a friend in Bridgeport.

Carr v. the State of Oklahoma

The SEC injunction was finished, but Carr still faced charges from the state of Oklahoma. The Daily Oklahoman, June 6, 1959, reported that “Carr and two of his associates, Wayne Aho, public information director, and Lari Kendrick, sales director, are charged with selling stock in the space ship without registering with the Oklahoma securities commission. Art Minick, investigator for the county attorney’s office once estimated that Carr and his associates had sold Oklahomans more than $50,000 worth of the stock at $1 a share. Carr declined to testify when arraigned on the charge and was released on a $1,000 bond. His attorney Hubert Gibson said his client would ‘talk at the proper time.’”

Despite the legal woes, in July 1959, Carr sent out a news release stating that he was proceeding with his plans, building the Space Research Institute in Oklahoma, and launching his flying saucer powered by “antigravitation.” Meanwhile, in Baltimore, the OTC staff shut down the former headquarters on N. Calvert Street, leaving stacks of bills unpaid. The few remains of OTC Enterprises were fragmented. The United Press story from Aug. 8, 1959, reported that Carr and associates would be arraigned in Oklahoma City on Aug. 14, but that “Norman Colton of Baltimore, was listed as a fugitive... a warrant issued for his arrest.” In court, nothing changed and Carr remained free on bond, his trial set for November.

Aho's Plea to NASA

On Aug. 17, 1959, Wayne Aho appealed to the US government. Using the (outdated) OTC Enterprises, Inc. letterhead, he sent a letter to Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, the chairman of the US Senate Committee on National Aeronautical and Space Administration. Aho informed him of the “heroic effort being made by Otis T. Carr,” and asked for NASA’s support of OTC-X1 research and development. He included a picture of the prototype as proof of their progress. Maybe Aho dreamt that with NASA backing, Carr’s legal problems would vanish, but that didn’t happen.

Coral Lorenzen in APRO Bulletin, July 1959, said, "Considering the dubious talents of the Carr crowd, it is quite likely that should they be convicted of a violation, a hue and cry will go up from their followers; ‘Persecution,’ ‘suppression,’ etc., etc., ad infinitum.” She was right. Art Minick, Oklahoma County investigator, told True, “I interviewed ten to fifteen people who had invested $10 to $1,000 in the scheme and they were a little indignant when I asked them why they invested. They said they would like to put more in." Gray Barker sympathetically updated the OTC saga in his column in Flying Saucers magazine, portraying Carr as a victim, asking, “was this only a part of the persecution which always seems to arise when a method of providing cheap power is discovered, or allegedly discovered?”

The OTC-XI Goes on the Road

AFSCA World Report, Sept. Oct. 1959

Legend has it that soon after the Frontier City fiasco, “a fire of unknown origin destroyed the OTC-X1,” but that’s not true. Carr attended the Second Northern California Spacecraft Convention, Sept. 5-6, 1959, in Pleasanton, CA, where he made the first public display of the OTC-X1 prototype. Carr claimed he hoped to fly it at the convention, if he could get “the remote control system perfected on time.” Despite the criminal charges, Carr was still welcomed at flying saucer conventions and continued to promote his spaceflight project alongside Wayne Aho. The Sept. 1959 Spacecrafter reported, “The show got off to a slow start Sunday, but the tempo increased as the day progressed with Orfeo Angelucci, Reinhold Schmidt and Otis Carr putting it in full swing with messages of spiritual and material progress.”

Oakland Tribune, Sept. 6, 1959: Rev. Marke A. Norman and Dan Fry of Understanding Inc.

 

The Oklahoma Conviction

Carr’s one-day trial by jury in Oklahoma was presided over by District Judge Clarence M. Mills on Nov. 19, 1959. Although Carr had sold thousands of dollars’ worth of stock far and wide, he was tried for a single crime. “Specifically, Carr was charged with selling 100 shares of stock to Gurney G. Warnberg, Yukon, a professional pilot and railroader.” Warnberg identified Carr’s signature on a receipt and described the stock transaction with Lari Kendrick, who said he had authority to issue this stock and to sign it. “I said well you don't mean anything to me, I want Mr. Carr's signature on there and Lari left Dolores Restaurant and went across the street to the motel and came back again in a few minutes with the signature of Mr. Carr on there and I recognized it as I had seen it before in connection with this flying saucer. I had seen some literature about it."

The State's key witness, Gurney Warnberg.

Carr’s attorney Hubert Gibson claimed Warnberg‘s $410 was only a loan that would allow him to subsequently purchase stock options. Gibson said Warnberg wouldn’t seek a refund “because he wasn’t quite sure whether Carr was a genius or a damn fool.” As for the source of OTC revenues, Carr testified that rather from stock sales, they came from sale of the model plans and the space ride. Under cross-examination, Carr admitted that under the contract, he wouldn’t profit from the ride until the saucer was flown at Frontier City, but assured the court that, “We will fly the X1.” After the case was presented, it took the jury less than forty minutes to agree on a guilty verdict.

Bill Barry, Otis Carr and Hubert Gibson from an earlier court hearing.

Somehow, Carr’s associates were spared. Norman E. Colton was lying low to avoid the law, and there is no record of a trial or settlement for Aho or Kendrick. The company bore Carr’s name, but Colton was just as responsible for making it all happen. The authorities got their conviction of the perceived ringleader, so Colton escaped justice.

As Carr and his attorney were leaving the courtroom, there was some violence from an angry OTC investor, but not towards Carr. Outraged at the “persecution,” Cleve Bordner struck Scott Berner, who was filming the scene for WKY-TV. Bordner was subsequently charged with assault and battery.

The Daily Oklahoman, Nov. 20, 1959

Carr faced the possibility of three years in prison, but instead received a fine of $5,000, which was the maximum amount allowed under Oklahoma law. Carr’s attorney filed an appeal to avoid the $5,000 fine, and Carr was released on a $1,000 bond. Hoping to find greener pastures, Carr and his wife quietly moved to California. In Apple Valley, he was closer to the support system of the West Coast’s flying saucer community: Dan Fry’s Understanding, Inc, Gabe Green’s AFSCA, George Van Tassel’s Giant Rock, and the thriving Contactee convention scene. December 7th came and went without the long-promised Carr-Aho flight to the moon in the OTC-X1.

 

1960: A New beginning at Apple Valley as OTCA

Otis T. Carr’s supporters didn’t hear from him again until January 1, 1960. True magazine reported that Carr sent out a letter saying he was “making wonderful progress in spite of extreme pressures... This work... has brought us closer than most would suppose, to the free intercommunication between planets...” He enclosed a photostat of the page of the Official Gazette of the U.S. Patent office, November 10, 1959, showing the “Amusement Device,” stating it “now heads the list of hardware items that will whirl us toward full accomplishment and become the dynamic physical trademark of the Third Electrical Age…” Carr’s letter closed by saying that he would be glad to hear from his friends, and could be reached via “our Baltimore regional office at 9 West Redwood Street…” That was the new base for Norman E. Colton and Hildegarde W. Shea, who were still promoting OTC.

In California, Carr renewed some old acquaintances and made a few new ones. Ralph Ring turns up nowhere in period literature, but he surfaced around 2001 with some colorful stories claiming to be a pivotal Carr associate. The credible portion of Ring’s account is about how he attended a meeting of Daniel Fry’s Understanding, Inc. flying saucer group in late 1959 or early 1960, where Otis T. Carr was lecturing. “This was in Costa Mesa, California, where these 'Understanding' meetings were and that's where I met Carr.” He said he became interested and later joined Carr’s crew. “I met with Carr and his entourage… Dennis Rapolti, Norman Colton, Wayne Aho… about six of them... Shortly thereafter...we got down into the laboratory down in Hesperia, down in Apple Valley... we started setting up shop.”

Back east, Norman Colton represented the Carr cause as the guest for the debut episode of Long John Nebel’s (short-lived) half-hour television show. The Daily News, Feb. 18, 1960, reported, “[Nebel’s] guest, Norman Colton, exhibited a model of a saucer-shaped craft which he assured viewers could make a trip to the moon in five-and-a-half hours. Colton gave absolutely no proof that his craft would function and proved to be most evasive in his answers.” Nebel and his Party Line regular (science fiction author) Lester del Rey “tore his arguments to shreds.” 

Newspaper ad for the first episode, featuring Norman Colton, and an illustration of the OTC saucer.

Things were also happening in Pennsylvania with the Carr’s branch. FBI files show that a “representative of this organization caused a disturbance at the public library in Homestead by demanding that the library remove certain science books from the shelves and replace them with books supplied by OTC Enterprises. It was claimed that the library’s books were inaccurate and did not contain the true facts concerning atomic science and space travel.”

Richard Gehman interviewed Carr for True magazine.

Independent Press-Telegram (Southland Magazine) Sun, Apr 13, 1958

On March 2, 1960, True magazine reporter Richard Gehman travelled to Apple Valley to interview Carr, but Otis told him he would not be able to see the new project. “My two engineers out here are violently opposed… declared the area off bounds to everybody… we can’t show you the physical equipment at all.” That included the OTC-X1 prototype, which Carr said was still under construction. “It’s more than a mock up. Parts of the material for the physical makeup are being purchased this very day.” Gehman left without seeing much more than Carr’s motel room. 

On April 12, 1960, Carr signed the lease for the old Osbrink building on Bear Valley Road. The enterprise was rechristened “Otis T. Carr and associates.” 

As for the OTC-X1 prototype from Oklahoma City, it wasn’t in the shop, instead it was being readied to mount on the billboard out front, the closest thing it ever achieved to flight.

The billboard erected at the plant stated: 

“OTC-X1 Spacecraft

Work scheduled to begin here June 1, 1960

(Prototype) This 6 ft model of the OTC-X1 built by Aircraftsmen, Inc of Oklahoma City. Improved full scale 21 ft and 45 ft models on order to be fabricated and tested here.

With new concepts in aerial transportation utilizing gravity, electro-magnetism, electro-motive force and electro-chemicals in new dynamics

Otis T. Carr and associates

Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, Kansas, Oklahoma, California, Pennsylvania, Washington, Oregon, and other states.”

Carr and his plans were getting coverage in the local news, and he issued a press release stating the purpose of his new operations: "The plant will be used by Mr. Carr to further his developments in space research, which will include fabrication and assembly of space exhibition rides, such as were developed by him and associates in Oklahoma City…” It described their contract to construct a new saucer, "a 21-foot craft with a passenger capacity of four persons is on order for Frank Santora of Wilmington, Del.”

The San Bernardino County Sun, April 16, 1960

The Desert Valley News-Herald, May 5, 1960, featured a cover story written by Norman Evans Colton, “Carr Explains How the OTC-X1 Works.” Colton described the OTC-X1 "as being two tops that spin in opposite directions around a single axis... The entire circular-foil craft that is Mr. Carr’s most profound development…an assembly of only two major moving mechanical parts." More press coverage came in The San Bernardino County Sun, May 22, 1960, reporting that Carr “said last week that he intends to build space vehicles for amusement parks.” He planned “to begin work this summer on the OTC-X2...” but would not set a target date for the moon flight, since last time, that “ran into difficulties.”

On May 30, 1960, Carr held an open house and dedication ceremony for his “OTCA Space Research Center” facility in Apple Valley, with over 200 people present, and told them,“It is a treacherous misstatement of fact to say or infer that we are coming to California to raise money in stock sales.” He told the press that he would manufacture an “electro-magnetic powered” spacecraft that would reach the moon “with ease,” and that the principle was no more than two months from reality. Among Carr’s associates was Dennis Rapolti, dressed in a flight suit, who described himself as “director of sales engineering for the Pennsylvania organization OTC Enterprises, with headquarters in Pittsburgh." Carr also told the press, “We may have franchises to offer for the area.”

Dennis Rapolti, exclusive distributor for OTC

 in Pennsylvania, with Carr in Hesperia, CA.

Back in Oklahoma, the legal problem remained unsettled. The Daily Oklahoman, June 5, 1960, recapped Carr’s trial and verdict, and of the $5,000 fine, “Carr’s attorney here, Hubert Gibson, has since filed an appeal with the state court of criminal appeals, claiming his client is ‘practically destitute’ and is without funds to pay the fine. Similar cases are still pending in district court here against two of Carr’s cohorts - Wayne Aho and Lari Kendrick. And a felony warrant is out for another - Norman Colton.” Carr said his Apple Valley efforts were concentrated on three goals: the OTC-X1, developing more spaceship rides, and finally, a new 500-watt “power package” for industrial use.

Carr revised the company name and billboard to “OTCA Research,” but everything carried on much as before. He bought a full-page ad in an Apple Valley newspaper stating that the company was expanding, seeking to hire a sales and advertising manager and 1,000 scientists, engineers, and skilled workers. Work would begin on Sept. 15, 1960, on their first goal, 100 antigravity motors, and after that, a prototype 21 ft vessel powered by such an engine.

Riley Crabb of the BSRF, Borderlands, Vol. L, No. 2, 2nd quarter 1994

Eugene Carini still admired Carr and shared his technological dreams, but he thought OTC had collected and wasted over a million dollars, his $10,000 among them. He made a trip to visit Carr in Apple Valley, California, but couldn’t locate him, or even get inside the OTCA Research building. But he did see the billboard, which featured the famous OTC-X1 prototype he’d wired, now bolted to the sign as a prop. The saucer later vanished which led to rumors of its destruction or confiscation. Carini said that the prototype was later stolen from the billboard by someone he knew, taken to Dike, Iowa, where it ended up stored in a barn.

Sign minus saucer.

Carr’s Apple Valley endeavors were not picked up as national news, but the money lost in OTC stock sales was still making news. SEC chairman Edward N. Gadsby spoke before theAmerican Society of Corporate Secretaries in French Lick, Indiana, on June 7, 1960. Gadsby’s lecture was serious, but he opened and closed with jokes about investing in Carr’s moon flight.

Major magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Harper’s and Newsweek mentioned the SEC action taken against Otis T. Carr’s illegal stock sales. Changing Times: The Kiplinger Magazine, July 1960, also mentioned it in their cover story, “Don’t Fall For These Frauds and Gyps.”

Paul Coates talk show on KTTV in Los Angeles was called “Confidential File,” and he had a column for The Los Angeles Mirror News with the same name. Coates interviewed Carr for his show, and an article on it it was published as "Otis T. Carr All Set to Send Man to Moon" on June 28, 1960, with the filmed interview broadcast on July 7. Carr was hit by tough questions, grilled about the legal troubles and the money received from investors. Carr reluctantly estimated he’d collected $300,000, and that the Frontier City ride had cost $35,000 to build, the prototype $60,000. He admitted improperly selling stock but gave the excuse that he was no legal or financial expert, saying, “In certain matters, we erred.” Carr refused to comment on his attorney’s claim that he was destitute, but said, “As for the Oklahoma City conviction, that’s still being appealed.” Carr still insisted that the saucer could be built and flown to the moon if he had the money.

Carr v. the State of New York

New York State Attorney General Louis J. Lefkowitz issued a press release on Aug. 11, 1960, stating he was investigating the defrauding of New York state residents by Otis Carr and associates, who he characterized as, "space age charlatans” who had “victimized investors of more than $50,000 in the sale of stock in O.T.C. Enterprises, since 1958." Lefkowitz had “obtained an order requiring the promoters and designers of the alleged space ship to appear for questioning by members of his staff on September 26, 1960.” He noted that, “Often, the interested investors contacted the company after listening to Carr or Colton address a local club or after they appeared on a radio program.” Carr appeared on many shows, but none had a further reach than that of Long John Nebel.

New York Attorney General Louis J. Lefkowitz

Other than Otis T. Carr and Norman E. Colton, the NY attorney general named the following individuals and entities in his order: Utron Atomic Development Inc, Carrotto Dynamics Inc., Hildegarde Shea, Alex Andreotta, Melvin Mills, Frank Santora, Margaret Storm, and Peter Varlan. Unfortunately, Lefkowitz had no jurisdiction outside of New York, and no power to compel the OTC officers to appear. Possibly it was a bluff just intended to shut down their activity in New York. Nevertheless, it resulted in a lot of press.

 

The Last Conventions of Otis T. Carr and his Saucer

The third Annual Northern Space Craft Convention was held in Berkley, California, Aug. 27 - 28. Wayne Aho was the master of ceremonies, guests included: Otis T. Carr, Rev. Chief Standing Horse, Dan Fry of Understanding, Inc, and George King of the Aetherius Society.  The next weekend, Sept. 3 - 5, was the International Space Craft Project Convention, hosted by Reinhold O. Schmidt, at Rosamond, CA. The announced guest list included Otis T. Carr, Wayne Aho, Daniel Fry, and others. Both Schmidt and Carr were facing legal problems for their saucer-related investment schemes, but sadly there’s no record of their conversation.

Reinhold O. Schmidt and Carl Anderson, backed by host Karl Veidt.

The OTC brochure “Atoms For Peace” was translated as Atomer för fred in 1959, and it helped establish Carr as a saucer celebrity in Germany. The International UFO Congress in Wiesbaden, Germany, was held on Oct. 22 - 24, 1960, and they had invited Carr to speak, but he was unable to attend. Instead, two Contactees from the US were featured as guests, Reinhold O. Schmidt, and Carl Anderson. Anderson stood in for Carr, bringing along one of his small saucer models and lecturing on spaceship propulsion as an employee of OTCA Research. His talk was full of tall tales, and he said Carr’s antigravity engine generated a magnetic field that interfered with radio remote controls, causing three models to be lost in the sky. However, Anderson claimed that there had been a successful demonstration just the month before - during Reinhold Schmidt’s convention. "It was about three feet tall and the small round ship ran like a big top.” Rocket scientist Dr. Hermann Oberth was another guest, and he posed on stage with Carr’s model saucer for the crowd.

From UFO-NYT, the magazine of Scandinavian UFO Information (SUFOI), Feb. 1961, “Report from Wiesbaden” and Journal für UFO-Forschung No. 12, 1980, “Der Otis T. Carr-Bluff” by Werner Walter.

In late December True magazine (cover dated Jan. 1961) featured a scathing exposé of Carr by Richard Gehman, "King of the Non-Flying Saucers." The article was a by-product of the trip by John Nebel’s Party Line to chronicle the events at the Oklahoma City non-launch. Panelist Ellery Lanier was originally writing a piece, with Sam Vandivert providing photographs, but it seems the article grew in scope and True editors assigned the story to Gehman instead. The article was revealing, particularly in its interviews with Bud Gosnell and Carr. Many supporters still believed in Carr and his dream even after the failure of the OTC-X1 prototype and trouble with the SEC. Even Margaret Storm and Gosnell, who had lost all faith in the man himself still believed in Carr’s concept of an antigravity engine. Storm regretted her involvement in OTC and said she was attempting to repay the $15,000 raised through her mailing list. The True article portrayed Carr as a fraud and a crackpot, and it exposed his flawed and criminal enterprises to a national audience.

1961: Otis T. Carr Sent to Jail

On Jan. 11, 1961, Carr was back before a judge at the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. The original trial judgment was affirmed and Carr was ordered to pay the $5000 fine. See the court records, “CARR v. STATE, 1961 OK CR 15, 359 P.2d 606., Case Number: A-12907, Decided: 01/11/1961, Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals”

The Miami News, March 11, 1961

In seemingly unrelated matters, Wayne Aho ran into some trouble of his own. After a series of saucer lectures at New Age churches in Florida, he was speaking in New York City. During his talk there, Aho was acting strangely and “went off onto a weird religious theme,” and subsequently went missing. When found on March 29, he was committed to the mental ward at Bellevue Hospital in New York for a short stay. (As reported in “Wayne Aho Falls Victim to the Men in White Coats,” Saucer News Non-scheduled Newsletter #13, June 13, 1961.)

Eleanor and Otis Carr with Elizabeth (Betty) Colton in Vashon, Washington, June 1961. Photo from J.B.M.

Carr abandoned Apple Valley and was laying low to avoid paying the fine or going to jail in Oklahoma for months, not even his attorney Hoot Gibson knew where to find him. In June Otis sent him a letter letting him know that he and Eleanor were staying in Vashon, near Seattle Washington. Gibson urgently wrote back saying Carr’s 90 day stay of execution had expired, so he must appear in court or face Federal charges for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. 

After seven months of being unable to pay his $5,000 fine, Otis T. Carr was locked up on Friday morning, July 14, 1961. The Daily Oklahoman, July 18, 1961, reported: “Carr, convicted of selling stock without project proper registration, was ordered jailed Friday morning by District Judge Clarence M. Mills.” Attorney Hubert Gibson said, “Carr doesn’t have the money to pay the fine. Under the judge’s ruling he would languish in the county jail for 5000 days at a dollar a day.” After the order, ”The pudgy inventor watched the district court maneuvers intently, then was led to the jail elevator by a deputy sheriff. He said he had no comment.”

The Daily Oklahoman, July 18, 1961

The Millennium Agency

With Otis T. Carr locked up, Norman E. Colton tried rebranding the merchandise. He moved to Ben Lomond, California, and on July 13, formed “The Millennium Agency,” registered as “a sales engineering consulting business.” The next week, he was advertising the free energy Carrotto Gravity Motor under a new name. On July 20, 1961, The Millennium Agency issued a press release “To all news editors of the world press and radio,” stating: “I, Norman Evans Colton, do hereby declare under oath that I have perfected a machine to draw electricity from the atmosphere without the use of any fuel. The machine is operated entirely by environmental gravitic forces. A newly constructed ‘Colton-Gravity-Electric-Engine’ has been installed at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, CA, where it may be seen, examined, evaluated and photographed.”

The Millennium Agency was either Norman Colton’s solo venture, or a stealthy continuation of OTC Enterprises without having a connection to Otis in the name to avoid the SEC’s prohibition of the company issuing securities and the investigation from New York. 

Colton’s press pitch made no mention of  Carr, but he later issued a “special confidential bulletin” claiming that: “On May 1st 1961 The Millennium Agency was assigned worldwide manufacturing and marketing rights to the discoveries and inventions of Otis T. Carr as committed by assignment and inherent right to OTC Enterprises Inc.” Colton said the Millennium Agency’s “own independent research and development,” had them “ready to design, manufacture, and start selling the first prototype production models of several new kinds of electric engines.” The brand was to be known as “Colton Gravity Electric Engines. They were ready to accept orders, and “Dealer and Distributor appointments are now being arranged. Manufacture and supply contracts are now being negotiated. Employment opportunities… Offices… are now being established in principal cities of the United States and Canada.” 

There was big one thing missing from the Millennium Agency hype: flying saucers.

Carr in Jail

Some modern articles sources report that Carr was “sentenced to a 14- year jail term,” but that’s false. Six months in the county jail is all he ever faced. “Carr in Jail Talks of Moon” by J. Nelson Taylor, from The Daily Oklahoman, Aug. 5, 1961, featured an interview while he was behind bars. “Otis T. Carr, 58, rotund ‘space craft’ inventor and promoter, still plans a trip to the moon when he gets out of county jail.” Carr was interviewed from the jail kitchen where he was peeling potatoes, and he blamed his troubles on others. 

Carr signed this photo to newsman Scott Berner

"I have been double-crossed two or three times.” He said, “I can take this six months in jail, but I will be on top again. The only thing I worry about is my wife. She is getting up in years like myself. She is living in Washington and, of course, worries.” Otis dropped the “we” affectation, at least while in jail. Sheriff Bob Turner explained the sentence: “Carr is really serving out a $5,000 fine at $1 a day. Under the law, however, after six months he may take a pauper’s oath and have the remainder of the fine suspended.”

Meanwhile, things were happening in California. Carr had hoped to place his saucer rides across the USA and in other countries, but his product was not unique. Walt Disney got into the space age amusement business with the "Flying Saucers" bumper car ride at Disneyland on August 6, 1961.

Norman Colton had set up shop in California, but he sent a letter to prospective Millennium Agency customers on Aug. 20, from Vancouver, B.C., Canada (where he was supposedly working with business partners). He claimed that his successful gravity engine demonstration in California had been witnessed by 600 people, yet word of it had been suppressed, “the press was told to stay away.” Colton said, “Nobody can stop a lot of independent individuals like ourselves as long as we are sincere and honest, and determined to pitch in…” He gave the name of Melvin Mills of New York, NY, as the contact for more information or to place orders for power plants. 

Colton was frequently moving, perhaps in flight from the authorities. On Sept. 22, a summons was published for his appearance to face charges in court by the County Bank of Santa Cruz, California. Later correspondence indicates he moved back to Baltimore. 

Dodging Bullets and Leaving Jail 

In 1960, three of the people involved in that Millennium Agency demonstration had been ordered to appear in New York court: Colton, Alex Andreotta, and Melvin Mills. The heat was still on. Attorney General Louis J. Lefkowitz described the promoters of OTC Enterprises Inc. as “space age charlatans.” The Associated Press story from Sept. 23, 1961, reported the NY State Supreme Court ordered the halt of OTC stock sales, a local reaffirming the SEC’s ruling. Lefkowitz had been unable to locate Norman Colton, and Carr was already in jail as a pauper in Oklahoma. After a year of fierce pursuit, nothing further came of the New York inquiry, probably abandoned since there was no way to recover any of the lost money.

In late 1961 the Millennium Agency sent out letters to promote the “Colton Milliplant Gravity Electric Engine Mark II,” saying its miraculous performance had been observed by thousands on its nationwide tour. Colton set up a demonstration of the free energy engine in New York, but the only data about it comes from George Emerson Fox, who corresponded with Carr associates off and on from 1971 to 1982. According to Fox’s Nov. 21, 1981, letter to Carr:

“I was with Mr.  Colton when he demonstrated his Milliplant at [Alex] Andreotta’s print shop. Later we had coffee with Mr. Depauw and possibly a representative of Seversky. A thrilling experience” The margin note by Fox indicates others in attendance: “Velikofsky, Seversky, De Pauw, Rideout, Babson!” That seems to be a misspelling of Immanuel Velikovsky, and the next a reference to Seversky Aircraft. We drew a blank on De Pauw, but the other names represent the Gravity Research Foundation leaders George Rideout and Roger Babson. The event seems to be attracted an all-star audience of pseudoscience and fringe theorists. Fox, didn’t say if he thought the machine worked, but there was not a negative tone in the short passage. 

In the months prior to the Milliplant demonstration, Norman Colton announced Melvin Mills of New York City as the Millennium Agency’s exclusive correspondence secretary. For whatever reason, shortly after the event, Colton disappeared. Fox told Carr that since then, “Mills had two changes of address. Chances are, that mail or inquiries and donations intended for Colton, or for you, were returned to the senders."

The FBI was still processing information on Carr in relation to the possibility of criminal charges. In a memo dated Sept. 25, 1961, it stated that in 1939, “Otis T. Carr, of New York City, tried to interest the Bureau in a fingerprint device... Examination of the device by a Bureau representative showed. that it was. a simple piece of prismatic glass… The ‘highly developed chemical liquid’ inside the prism was determined to be simple corn syrup.”

Like New York, the FBI ultimately decided that pursuing the case was of little value.

The Springfield News-Leader, Sept, 26, 1961, reported that Carr had two ways to get out of jail, clemency, or “Oklahoma law provides for release after six months imprisonment for a fine if the person can prove he has no estate of any kind to pay the fine.” Carr petitioned for release but was denied. See, Ex Parte Carr, Opinion No. A-13082.  September 27, 1961. 

At the end of the year, James W. Moseley reported on the incarceration of both Reinhold Schmidt, Otis T. Carr, and the freedom and activities of Norman Colton in "Report on Saucerers Recently and Currently in Confinement," Saucer News, Dec. 1961. It reported that Colton was demonstrating his free energy motor in NYC. That was the last the UFO world heard of Norman Evans Colton.

Saucer News, Dec. 1961

Carr was released on Wednesday morning, Jan. 17, 1962, reported as, “Saucer Promoter Carr Leaves City” in The Daily Oklahoman. “Under Oklahoma law a person cannot be incarcerated more than six months for failure to pay a fine, no matter what amount was assessed.” Carr was photographed but refused to talk to the press. Upon his release, “He left by air to visit his wife in Baltimore, Md., his hometown.”

The Daily Oklahoman Jan.18, 1962

Carr still had big plans, but after his time in jail, his days as a celebrity were over. He was seldom mentioned in the press, or even in contemporary literature, usually unfavorably. From Wall Street's Shady Side by Frank Cormier, 1962: “[A] measure of the mass craving for common stocks during the big bull market was the success of crackpots and con men who peddled shares in the most improbable and harebrained projects — until the government caught up with them. Between 1955 and 1959 Otis T. Carr of Baltimore persuaded an impressive number of his fellow citizens to invest in O.T.C. Enterprises, Inc… grounded permanently when S.E.C. obtained a federal court injunction to halt Carr's stock sales.” NICAP’s UFO Investigator, Dec/Jan. 1963-1964, featured an article on man-made saucers, “Disc Aircraft Inadequate to Explain UFOs.”  They mentioned Carr, saying, “A fanciful plan to build a spaceship to fly to the Moon with a totally unexplainable power system... Hoax.” 

The Daily Oklahoman, April 18, 1965

Oklahoma's Orbit, the weekend magazine of The Daily Oklahoman, April 18, 1965, carried a UFO article on the fifth anniversary of “Demo-Day.” It was by ufologist Hayden Hewes, “Flying Saucer Mystery Still Unsolved”, with a brief mention of Carr and his saucer: “April, 1959, Otis T. Carr attempted to launch an ‘electro-gravitational’ flying saucer. The OTC-Xl was six feet in diameter, four feet high, weighed about 600 pounds and cost over $25,000. It never got off the ground.”  

Look: Flying Saucers 1967

The 1967 Flying Saucers special from Look magazine featured a section of various “Man-Made Flying Saucers” over the years, and it included a photo of one of Carr’s OTC-X1 models, with a caption stating that after the government’s rejection, he had become discouraged with the project.

A New Beginning

As far as ufology is concerned, the Carr saga stops there. This was not the end of his story, however. After returning to Baltimore in 1962, Otis T. Carr moved to Pennsylvania and set up a new company. His Carr Gravity-Electrodynamic Systems was set to produce machines generating energy that “could be applied anywhere on this planet or in space.”

In the final chapter, we examine the previously unpublished files of Otis T. Carr, including the 1967 presentation of his free energy technology to the United States government. 

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Part 4:

The Life and Legend of Otis T. Carr: The CG-ES Files