Biography
George Wallace was a seaman and member of the Marine Firemen, Oilers, Watertenders and Wipers Union prosecuted in the Point Lobos murder case. Police arrested him in Harlingen, Texas on August 27, 1936 and transferred him to California the following day. Wallace admitted participating in the events surrounding chief engineer George W. Alberts’s killing and testified at the trial. Much of the prosecution’s case against Earl King, Ernest Ramsay and Frank Conner rested on Wallace’s testimony. All four defendants were convicted of second-degree murder. Wallace received a five-years-to-life sentence at San Quentin. He remained imprisoned when King, Ramsay and Conner were paroled in 1941.
The Point Lobos defense account names this seaman in the Alameda murder prosecution and alleges isolation from chosen counsel during the investigation. It discusses chief engineer Alberts’s March 22, 1936 death and disputes the prosecution. These are attributed pretrial claims; later verdicts and prison-release dates remain unchanged. Labor Defender, December 1936, original PDF page 18. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/labordefender/1936/v12-%5B10%5Dn11-dec-1936-orig-LD.pdf#page=18
The Point Lobos chapter identifies Wallace as the arrested seaman and prosecution witness, dating his Texas arrest August 27, 1936 but calling the town Brownsville rather than the established Harlingen account. It describes Public Defender Willard Shea’s representation and disputed testimony, not an acquittal or release. The retrospective’s allegations are attributed union history; the original verdict and individual endpoint remain unchanged.
