vault backup: 2026-09-23 12:58:21
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- 2026-09-23T1248 · [[R.C. Horsch]]
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- 2026-09-23T1254 · [[R.C. Horsch]]
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- 2026-09-23T1254 · [[John Rutherford (New Zealand lawyer)]]
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- 2026-09-23T1254 · [[Chemical Technology Limited]]
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- 2026-09-23T1254 · [[Myroslawa Ferkuniak]]
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- 2026-09-23T1254 · [[Albert Hoersch]]
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- 2026-09-23T1254 · [[Raymond C. Hoersch]]
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- 2026-09-23T1251 · [[_manifest]]
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- 2026-09-23T1235 · [[_NOTES_PapersPast]]
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- 2026-09-23T1229 · [[Jerome Brown]]
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- 2026-09-23T1229 · [[Wackenhut Corporation]]
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@ -9,8 +15,6 @@
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- 2026-09-23T1229 · [[John Butterworth]]
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- 2026-09-23T1229 · [[The Erotic Memoirs of a Male Chauvinist Pig]]
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- 2026-09-23T1229 · [[Black Mass (1975 film)]]
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- 2026-09-23T1229 · [[Raymond C. Hoersch]]
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- 2026-09-23T1222 · [[_manifest]]
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- 2026-09-23T1222 · [[Helen M. Hoersch]]
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- 2026-09-23T1222 · [[Olney House Investigation]]
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- 2026-09-23T1221 · [[Charles B. Flack Jr.]]
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@ -28,17 +32,13 @@
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- 2026-09-23T1216 · [[_NOTES_Newspapers_com]]
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- 2026-09-23T1212 · [[_NOTES_People_women]]
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- 2026-09-23T1212 · [[_NOTES_People]]
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- 2026-09-23T1211 · [[Albert Hoersch]]
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- 2026-09-23T1208 · [[_NOTES_People_LE]]
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- 2026-09-23T1207 · [[_NOTES_People_legal]]
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- 2026-09-23T1204 · [[_NOTES_Family]]
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- 2026-09-23T1200 · [[_NOTES_Film]]
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- 2026-09-23T1158 · [[George R. Wackenhut]]
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- 2026-09-23T1156 · [[Underground Cinema 16]]
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- 2026-09-23T1156 · [[John Rutherford (New Zealand lawyer)]]
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- 2026-09-23T1156 · [[Chemical Technology Limited]]
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- 2026-09-23T1156 · [[Charles Griffith]]
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- 2026-09-23T1156 · [[Myroslawa Ferkuniak]]
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- 2026-09-23T1156 · [[Cecilia T. Hagerty]]
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- 2026-09-23T1156 · [[Clara Hoersch]]
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- 2026-09-23T1156 · [[Helen E. Hoersch]]
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@ -10,15 +10,16 @@ alias:
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- Anna Ferkuniak
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- Anna M. Horsch
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- Myroslawa Anna Ferkuniak
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summary: "Welsh-born wife of the fugitive R.C. Horsch, whom she married in Nevada under his stolen name and accompanied to New Zealand, and mother of Eugene Horsch."
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summary: "Welsh-born wife of the fugitive R.C. Horsch, whom she married in Reno in 1980 under his stolen name and accompanied to New Zealand, and mother of Eugene Horsch."
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born: 1949-10-07
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died: 1989-07-28
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location: "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania"
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relations:
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- type: spouse_of
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with: "[[R.C. Horsch]]"
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start: 1980
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start: 1980-09-12
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end: 1989
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fn: 1
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fn: 5
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- type: relative_of
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with: "[[Eugene Horsch]]"
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role: "mother"
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@ -27,26 +28,35 @@ created: 2026-09-23
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updated: 2026-09-23
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---
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Myroslawa "Anna" Ferkuniak (about 1950 to July 28, 1989), known after her marriage as Anna M. Horsch, was the second wife of the [[Philadelphia]] pornographer and counterfeiter [[R.C. Horsch]] and the mother of [[Eugene Horsch]]. She married Horsch in [[Nevada]] in 1980 while he was a fugitive using the stolen identity of a [[California]] chemist, Dr. Stanley Eugene Stokowski, and lived with him in [[New Zealand]] until he fled the country in 1984.[^1][^2]
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Myroslawa "Anna" Ferkuniak (October 7, 1949, to July 28, 1989), known after her marriage as Anna M. Horsch, was the second wife of the [[Philadelphia]] pornographer and counterfeiter [[R.C. Horsch]] and the mother of [[Eugene Horsch]]. She married Horsch in [[Reno, Nevada|Reno]] on September 12, 1980, while he was a fugitive using the stolen identity of a [[California]] chemist, Dr. Stanley Eugene Stokowski, and lived with him in [[New Zealand]] until he fled the country in 1984.[^1][^2]
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### Family
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She was born in [[Nantymoel]], [[Wales]], a daughter of Michael and Maria (Perwiczko) Ferkuniak, and her parents later lived on a rural route outside [[Lehighton, Pennsylvania|Lehighton]] in [[Carbon County, Pennsylvania|Carbon County]]. She had one sister.[^2]
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She was born in [[Nantymoel]], [[Wales]], a daughter of Michael and Maria (Perwiczko) Ferkuniak, and her parents later lived on a rural route outside [[Lehighton, Pennsylvania|Lehighton]] in [[Carbon County, Pennsylvania|Carbon County]]. She had one sister. Her birth was registered in the Bridgend district of [[Glamorgan]] in the last quarter of 1949, and she arrived in [[New York City|New York]] on March 2, 1961, at 11. Her Social Security record also carries the names Myroslawa Anna Hoersch and M Horsch.[^2][^3][^4]
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### With Horsch
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According to the *[[The Philadelphia Inquirer|Philadelphia Inquirer]]*, she met Horsch at some point after her arrest in an [[LSD]] raid on a house near [[Temple University]]. After Horsch was arrested by the [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] for manufacturing methamphetamine in February 1977 and jumped bail, she went with him to the West Coast, where he took the identity of Stokowski, a chemist with a doctorate from [[Stanford University]]. They married in Nevada in 1980 under that name and flew to New Zealand.[^1] *[[The Press]]* of [[Christchurch]] reported in 1984 that "Stokowski" had arrived in [[Canterbury, New Zealand|Canterbury]] in 1980 with his "wife Anna and 18-month-old son"; the *Inquirer* gives her son Eugene's birth as 1981, in New Zealand.[^1][^3] The family lived near [[Timaru]], where Horsch worked with [[Chemical Technology Limited]] at [[Clandeboye, New Zealand|Clandeboye]] on a whey-to-ethanol plant, and the company's founder, [[John Rutherford (New Zealand lawyer)|John Rutherford]], described Horsch to *The Press* as "an excellent family man."[^1][^3] When Horsch left New Zealand on March 17, 1984, on a passport that police believed had been stolen in a burglary at [[Temuka]], he left his wife and son behind, and they returned to the [[United States]] later.[^1][^3]
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According to the *[[The Philadelphia Inquirer|Philadelphia Inquirer]]*, she met Horsch at some point after her arrest in an [[LSD]] raid on a house near [[Temple University]]. After Horsch was arrested by the [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] for manufacturing methamphetamine in February 1977 and jumped bail, she went with him to the West Coast, where he took the identity of Stokowski, a chemist with a doctorate from [[Stanford University]]. They married in Reno on September 12, 1980, before a religious celebrant, he as Stanley E. Stokowski; the marriage was recorded on September 16, and both gave their residence as [[Florida]]. It was the opening day of the 1980 [[Reno Air Races]], where Horsch later claimed to have flown a jet. Horsch said in 2013 that they had been together five or six years and married "specifically because we needed a marriage license to get into New Zealand."[^1][^5][^6] The New Zealand Minister of Immigration said in 1984 that her husband had entered the country in 1980.[^7] *[[The Press]]* of [[Christchurch]] reported in June 1984 that "Stokowski" had come to New Zealand "with his wife, Anna, and 18-month-old son," and in April 1985 that he had fled "with his wife and 18-month-old son"; the *Inquirer* gives her son Eugene's birth as 1981, in New Zealand.[^1][^8][^9][^10] The family lived at [[Hadlow, New Zealand|Hadlow]], near Timaru, until March 1984.[^11] The family lived near [[Timaru]], where Horsch worked with [[Chemical Technology Limited]] at [[Clandeboye, New Zealand|Clandeboye]] on a whey-to-ethanol plant, and the company's founder, [[John Rutherford (New Zealand lawyer)|John Rutherford]], described Horsch to *The Press* as "an excellent family man."[^1][^8] When Horsch left New Zealand on March 17, 1984, on a passport that police believed had been stolen in a burglary at [[Temuka]], he left his wife and son behind, and they returned to the [[United States]] later. Detective Superintendent [[R.N. MacDonald]] told *The Press* that the family had left "soon after," and in mid-June police said they were looking for the wife and child, having searched properties at Clandeboye and Hadlow. Horsch said in 2013 that he got his wife and son out first, on their own passports, before leaving himself.[^1][^6][^8][^9][^12]
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The psychologist [[Don Seraydarian]], who examined Horsch in 1985 before his federal sentencing, recorded that his only real support at the time was his wife, who had a "therapeutic and rehabilitative effect" on him. Horsch was released from federal prison in 1987.[^4]
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The psychologist [[Don Seraydarian]], who examined Horsch in 1985 before his federal sentencing, recorded that his only real support at the time was his wife, who had a "therapeutic and rehabilitative effect" on him. Horsch was released from federal prison in 1987.[^13]
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### Death
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She died at the family's house at 1101 Devereaux Avenue in Philadelphia on Friday, July 28, 1989, at 39. Her obituary in *[[The Morning Call]]* of [[Allentown, Pennsylvania|Allentown]] said that she died "after a lengthy illness"; the *Inquirer* reported in 2026 that she died of an accidental overdose of glutethimide and codeine while sitting in the living room. Her funeral was held from the Andrew P. Ovsak Funeral Home in Lehighton, with a Divine Liturgy at [[St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church (Lehighton)|St. Vladimir's Ukrainian Catholic Church]]. The following month Horsch bought a house in [[New Britain Township, Pennsylvania|New Britain Township]], where their son grew up.[^1][^2][^5]
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She died at the family's house at 1101 Devereaux Avenue in Philadelphia on Friday, July 28, 1989, at 39. Her obituary in *[[The Morning Call]]* of [[Allentown, Pennsylvania|Allentown]] said that she died "after a lengthy illness"; the *Inquirer* reported in 2026 that she died of an accidental overdose of glutethimide and codeine while sitting in the living room. Her funeral was held from the Andrew P. Ovsak Funeral Home in Lehighton, with a Divine Liturgy at [[St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church (Lehighton)|St. Vladimir's Ukrainian Catholic Church]]. The following month Horsch bought a house in [[New Britain Township, Pennsylvania|New Britain Township]], where their son grew up.[^1][^2][^14]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: "How a pornographer's violent fantasies blurred fact and fiction as cops searched Olney house for missing women," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* August 2, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/news/a/raymond-eugene-horsch-olney-philadelphia-missing-women-history-20260802.html
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[^2]: "Anna M. Horsch," obituary, *The Morning Call,* August 1, 1989, p. 18 ("Born in Nantymoel, England [sic], she was a daughter of Michael and Maria (Perwiczko) Ferkuniak of Lehighton R.2."; survivors include "son Eugene, at home"). https://www.newspapers.com/image/283766965/ Death notices ran in the same paper on August 1, 1989, p. 30, and August 2, 1989, p. 37.
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[^3]: Leask, Anna. "Man linked to multiple missing women in US had fled NZ 40 years ago after posing as scientist," *The New Zealand Herald,* September 23, 2026 (quoting *The Press* of 1984). https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/raymond-horsch-man-linked-to-philadelphia-house-of-horrors-lived-near-timaru-under-stolen-name/BVQSWBL3LZDL3GIXFEHHBFY6RY/
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[^4]: Marin, Max, Ryan W. Briggs, and Ellie Rushing. "'Consumed by anger': Inside the 1985 psych profile of Raymond Horsch," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* September 3, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/news/raymond-horsch-olney-missing-women-psych-exam-20260903.html
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[^5]: [Bucks County real-estate transfers], *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* October 29, 1989, p. 480 ("520 Airy Ave. ... to Raymond C. Horsch"). https://www.newspapers.com/image/177531276/
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[^3]: England and Wales Civil Registration Birth Index, fourth quarter 1949, Bridgend registration district, Glamorgan, "Myroslawa A Ferkuniak"; U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, "Anna Ferkuniak," also recorded as Myroslawa Anna Hoersch and M Horsch, born October 7, 1949, Nantymoel, died July 1989 (both via Ancestry.com), accessed September 23, 2026. https://www.ancestry.com/
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[^4]: New York State, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1917-1967, "Myroslawa A Ferkuniak," arrival March 2, 1961, New York (Ancestry.com), accessed September 23, 2026. https://www.ancestry.com/
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[^5]: Nevada Marriage Index, 1956-2005, record for Myroslawa Anna Ferkuniak, spouse Stanley E Stokowski, marriage date September 12, 1980, Reno, officiant a religious celebrant, recorded September 16, 1980, Book 722, page 654, instrument number 4784, both parties residing in Florida (Ancestry.com, collection 1100), accessed September 23, 2026. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1100/
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[^6]: West, Ashley. "Ray Horsch: Sociopathic Villain," *The Rialto Report,* Podcast 27, 2013, audio at 1:05:45 to 1:09:27 (audio preserved in a Wayback Machine capture of March 31, 2019). https://web.archive.org/web/20190331064614/http://traffic.libsyn.com/therialtoreport/27_Rialto_Report_027_-_Ray_Horsch__Sociopathic_Villain.mp3
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[^7]: "Impostor: immigration cleared of blame," *The Press* (Christchurch), October 3, 1984. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19841003.2.23
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[^8]: Leask, Anna. "Man linked to multiple missing women in US had fled NZ 40 years ago after posing as scientist," *The New Zealand Herald,* September 23, 2026 (quoting *The Press* of 1984). https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/raymond-horsch-man-linked-to-philadelphia-house-of-horrors-lived-near-timaru-under-stolen-name/BVQSWBL3LZDL3GIXFEHHBFY6RY/
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[^9]: "Where has 'Dr Stokowski' gone?," *The Press* (Christchurch), June 9, 1984. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19840609.2.9
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[^10]: "Ethanol 'scientist' jailed for drug offences," *The Press* (Christchurch), April 27, 1985 (Press Association). https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19850427.2.26
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[^11]: "Police look for U.S. chemist," *The Press* (Christchurch), June 6, 1984 (Press Association, Timaru). https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19840606.2.48
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[^12]: "Police seek wife, child," *The Press* (Christchurch), June 13, 1984 (Press Association, Timaru). https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19840613.2.7
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[^13]: Marin, Max, Ryan W. Briggs, and Ellie Rushing. "'Consumed by anger': Inside the 1985 psych profile of Raymond Horsch," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* September 3, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/news/raymond-horsch-olney-missing-women-psych-exam-20260903.html
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[^14]: [Bucks County real-estate transfers], *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* October 29, 1989, p. 480 ("520 Airy Ave. ... to Raymond C. Horsch"). https://www.newspapers.com/image/177531276/
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@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ created: 2026-09-23
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updated: 2026-09-23
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---
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Albert Hoersch (died July 1, 1972, aged 81) lived at 417 West Chew Street in the [[Olney, Philadelphia|Olney]] section of [[Philadelphia]], the house later owned by his grandson, the pornographer and fugitive [[R.C. Horsch]], and from 2006 by his great-grandson [[Eugene Horsch]], and searched by the [[Philadelphia Police Department]] and the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] in the [[Olney House Investigation]] of 2026.[^1][^2][^3]
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Albert Hoersch (died July 1, 1972, aged 81) lived at 417 West Chew Street in the [[Olney, Philadelphia|Olney]] section of [[Philadelphia]], the house later owned by his grandson, the pornographer and fugitive [[R.C. Horsch]], and from 2007 by his great-grandson [[Eugene Horsch]], and searched by the [[Philadelphia Police Department]] and the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] in the [[Olney House Investigation]] of 2026.[^1][^2][^3]
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### Family
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@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ He was married to [[Helen E. Hoersch|Helen E. Wissman]], who died at the Chew St
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### Death
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He died on July 1, 1972. His funeral service was held at the Schneider Funeral Home, 617-619 West Olney Avenue, and he was buried in [[Hillside Cemetery]], as his wife had been. The *[[The Philadelphia Inquirer|Philadelphia Inquirer]]* reported in 2026 that Eugene Horsch acquired the Chew Avenue house from his father in 2006.[^1][^2][^3]
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He died on July 1, 1972. His funeral service was held at the Schneider Funeral Home, 617-619 West Olney Avenue, and he was buried in [[Hillside Cemetery]], as his wife had been. The city's deed index records a deed of October 1, 2007, naming his daughter Helen M. Hoersch, who had died in 2004, as grantor ("Hoersch Helen M") and Eugene A. Horsch as grantee.[^1][^2][^3][^7] His grandson said in 2013 that he had suffered from depression all his life and added, "I think my grandfather, my paternal grandfather, died of it."[^8]
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### Footnotes
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@ -45,3 +45,5 @@ He died on July 1, 1972. His funeral service was held at the Schneider Funeral H
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[^4]: "Hoersch, Helen M.," death notice, *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* April 7, 2004, p. B12. https://www.newspapers.com/image/201102740/
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[^5]: Find a Grave memorial 25275352, "Albert Hoersch Jr.," headstone inscription "LT US Navy WWII," St. Mark's Episcopal Church Cemetery, West Nantmeal Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25275352/albert-hoersch
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[^6]: [Social column], *The Daily Intelligencer* (Doylestown), January 10, 1955, p. 2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/40163522/
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[^7]: City of Philadelphia, Department of Records, real estate transfer index, 417 W. Chew Ave., deed document 51798675, executed October 1, 2007, recorded October 26, 2007, grantor "Hoersch Helen M," grantee "Horsch Eugene A"; later mortgages of 2007 and 2009 and satisfaction of 2025, via the city's open data (rtt_summary). https://phl.carto.com/api/v2/sql?q=SELECT%20*%20FROM%20rtt_summary%20WHERE%20street_address%20=%20%27417%20W%20CHEW%20AVE%27
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[^8]: West, Ashley. "Ray Horsch: Sociopathic Villain," *The Rialto Report,* Podcast 27, 2013, audio at 1:29:47 to 1:29:57 (depression; audio preserved in a Wayback Machine capture of March 31, 2019). https://web.archive.org/web/20190331064614/http://traffic.libsyn.com/therialtoreport/27_Rialto_Report_027_-_Ray_Horsch__Sociopathic_Villain.mp3
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File diff suppressed because one or more lines are too long
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- Raymond Hoersch
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- Ray Hoersch Sr.
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summary: "Bucks County engineer and Second World War glider pilot, father of the pornographer and fugitive R.C. Horsch, whose Chalfont house and aircraft registration were tied to his son's cases."
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born: 1918-08-17
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died: 1991-11-20
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location: "Chalfont, Pennsylvania"
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relations:
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@ -25,47 +26,49 @@ relations:
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fn: 2
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- type: spouse_of
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with: "[[Clara Hoersch]]"
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fn: 6
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fn: 7
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created: 2026-09-23
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updated: 2026-09-23
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---
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Raymond C. Hoersch was a [[Bucks County, Pennsylvania|Bucks County]] mechanical engineer and a glider pilot of the [[United States Army Air Forces]] in the [[World War II|Second World War]], the father of the [[Philadelphia]] pornographer, counterfeiter, and fugitive [[R.C. Horsch]], who was born Raymond Charles Hoersch Jr. in 1943. He was a son of [[Albert Hoersch]] and [[Helen E. Hoersch]] of 417 West Chew Street in the [[Olney, Philadelphia|Olney]] section of Philadelphia, the house that his grandson [[Eugene Horsch]] acquired from R.C. Horsch in 2006 and that was searched in the [[Olney House Investigation]] of 2026.[^1][^2][^3]
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Raymond C. Hoersch was a [[Bucks County, Pennsylvania|Bucks County]] mechanical engineer and a glider pilot of the [[United States Army Air Forces]] in the [[World War II|Second World War]], the father of the [[Philadelphia]] pornographer, counterfeiter, and fugitive [[R.C. Horsch]], who was born Raymond Charles Hoersch Jr. in 1943. He was born in Philadelphia on August 17, 1918, a son of [[Albert Hoersch]] and [[Helen E. Hoersch]] of 417 West Chew Street in the [[Olney, Philadelphia|Olney]] section of Philadelphia, the house deeded to his grandson [[Eugene Horsch]] in 2007 and searched in the [[Olney House Investigation]] of 2026.[^1][^2][^3][^4]
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### Glider Pilot
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His son said in a 2013 interview, rebroadcast in 2026, that he flew cargo gliders for the Army Air Corps and was stationed in [[London]]: large plywood aircraft, towed aloft six or eight at a time behind a [[Douglas DC-3|DC-3]], each able to carry a jeep or twelve to sixteen troops, which landed once behind enemy lines by crashing in a controlled way. "My father said generally, you pick two trees and you went between them to shear the wings off," he said, and added that his father's war stories concerned "slipping across the [[English Channel]] and smuggling back a plane load of wine." In January 1979 a notice in [[Luzerne County, Pennsylvania|Luzerne County]] newspapers asked former World War II glider pilots living in the area to contact "State Commander Raymond Hoersch, 523 N. Main St., Chalfont."[^1][^4]
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His son said in a 2013 interview, rebroadcast in 2026, that he flew cargo gliders for the Army Air Corps and was stationed in [[London]]: large plywood aircraft, towed aloft six or eight at a time behind a [[Douglas DC-3|DC-3]], each able to carry a jeep or twelve to sixteen troops, which landed once behind enemy lines by crashing in a controlled way. "My father said generally, you pick two trees and you went between them to shear the wings off," he said, and added that his father's war stories concerned "slipping across the [[English Channel]] and smuggling back a plane load of wine." In January 1979 a notice in [[Luzerne County, Pennsylvania|Luzerne County]] newspapers asked former World War II glider pilots living in the area to contact "State Commander Raymond Hoersch, 523 N. Main St., Chalfont."[^1][^5]
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### Bucks County
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He married [[Clara Hoersch|Clara Hagerty]], a daughter of [[Eugene D. Hagerty]] and [[Cecilia T. Hagerty]] of [[Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania|Stroudsburg]].[^5] In January 1955 a Bucks County social column reported that Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Hoersch had been entertained at a New Year's Eve party in [[Paoli, Pennsylvania|Paoli]] in honor of their thirteenth wedding anniversary, and that Mr. and Mrs. Albert Hoersch of Philadelphia and Mr. and Mrs. Elwood Hagerty of [[Reading, Pennsylvania|Reading]] had been their guests.[^6][^7] His son described a childhood on a farm near Stroudsburg, a one-room schoolhouse, and a father with whom he "never, ever agreed about anything," especially about the Second World War and the [[Vietnam War]], but who "would always stand up for me and pretty much get me out of whatever trouble I was in with the authorities."[^1][^3]
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He married [[Clara Hoersch|Clara Hagerty]], a daughter of [[Eugene D. Hagerty]] and [[Cecilia T. Hagerty]] of [[Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania|Stroudsburg]].[^6] In January 1955 a Bucks County social column reported that Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Hoersch had been entertained at a New Year's Eve party in [[Paoli, Pennsylvania|Paoli]] in honor of their thirteenth wedding anniversary, and that Mr. and Mrs. Albert Hoersch of Philadelphia and Mr. and Mrs. Elwood Hagerty of [[Reading, Pennsylvania|Reading]] had been their guests.[^7][^8] His son described a childhood on a farm near Stroudsburg, a one-room schoolhouse, and a father with whom he "never, ever agreed about anything," especially about the Second World War and the [[Vietnam War]], but who "would always stand up for me and pretty much get me out of whatever trouble I was in with the authorities."[^1][^3]
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In May 1964 a firm named R. C. Hoersch & Associates, at Rural Delivery 1, [[Doylestown, Pennsylvania|Doylestown]], advertised in *[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]* for a mechanical design draftsman.[^8] In September 1969 Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Hoersch "of Doylestown" attended the fiftieth wedding anniversary of Clara's parents in Stroudsburg with their daughter Helen; the son's wife attended separately, listed as Mrs. Raymond Hoersch Jr., of Philadelphia.[^9] The following month Raymond C. Hoersch and his wife sold a property on Gayman Road in [[Plumstead Township, Pennsylvania|Plumstead Township]] for 48,000 dollars.[^10] In July 1971, when a car he owned crashed into a tree on South York Road in [[Hatboro, Pennsylvania|Hatboro]] with his daughter, then Mrs. Bowers, in it, he was living at the English Village Apartments in [[Horsham Township, Pennsylvania|Horsham]]; in September 1971 he bought a property in [[Chalfont, Pennsylvania|Chalfont]] from Karl R. Zuch for 36,400 dollars, and in July 1973 the Chalfont borough council approved the division of land he owned on Oak Avenue into three lots.[^11][^12][^13]
|
||||
In May 1964 a firm named R. C. Hoersch & Associates, at Rural Delivery 1, [[Doylestown, Pennsylvania|Doylestown]], advertised in *[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]* for a mechanical design draftsman.[^9] In September 1969 Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Hoersch "of Doylestown" attended the fiftieth wedding anniversary of Clara's parents in Stroudsburg with their daughter Helen; the son's wife attended separately, listed as Mrs. Raymond Hoersch Jr., of Philadelphia.[^10] The following month Raymond C. Hoersch and his wife sold a property on Gayman Road in [[Plumstead Township, Pennsylvania|Plumstead Township]] for 48,000 dollars.[^11] In July 1971, when a car he owned crashed into a tree on South York Road in [[Hatboro, Pennsylvania|Hatboro]] with his daughter, then Mrs. Bowers, in it, he was living at the English Village Apartments in [[Horsham Township, Pennsylvania|Horsham]]; in September 1971 he bought a property in [[Chalfont, Pennsylvania|Chalfont]] from Karl R. Zuch for 36,400 dollars, and in July 1973 the Chalfont borough council approved the division of land he owned on Oak Avenue into three lots.[^12][^13][^14]
|
||||
|
||||
### 523 North Main Street
|
||||
|
||||
The house at 523 North Main Street, Chalfont, was the address his son gave in December 1972 when, as "Raymond C. Hoersch, Jr.," he sued the Secretary of the Army to void his call to active duty, and in December 1974, when the [[United States Secret Service]] arrested the son for counterfeiting, officials described it as his parents' home, where he had been living recently.[^14][^15] On August 20, 1973, a Cessna 210A, registration N1437J, was registered to "Hoersch Raymond C" at that address; the registration was cancelled on July 11, 1984. On July 26, 1981, while the son was living in [[New Zealand]] under a false identity, the aircraft lost power in its initial climb from [[Doylestown Airport]] and was brought back for a wheels-up landing; the [[National Transportation Safety Board]] recorded the pilot in command as 62 years old, an engineer holding a commercial certificate, with a minor injury.[^16][^17] At 7:50 p.m. on November 19, 1991, walking home in dark clothing along a dimly lit stretch of Main Street near Peace Valley Road in Chalfont, he was struck by a car; borough police said he was hearing-impaired and "technically" jaywalking. He was flown by helicopter to [[Hahnemann University Hospital]] with head injuries and two broken legs and was pronounced dead at 5 a.m. on November 20, at 73. His death notice names his wife Clara, his son Raymond of Chalfont, his daughters Helen M. Mitchell of Chalfont and Virginia E. of [[Souderton, Pennsylvania|Souderton]], his sister [[Helen M. Hoersch|Helen M.]] of Philadelphia, and four grandchildren, and asked for remembrances to [[Doylestown Hospital]]; the funeral was held at the Decker Funeral Home in [[Warminster, Pennsylvania|Warminster]], with interment at [[Hillside Cemetery]].[^18][^19] In June 2026 the *Inquirer* reported that investigators searching the Olney house had found what appeared to be urns holding remains, "one set of which was apparently his father's."[^20] In September police said they believed three of the five urns found in the house held the ashes of R.C. Horsch, his sister, and a friend, and that two were unidentified.[^21]
|
||||
The house at 523 North Main Street, Chalfont, was the address his son gave in December 1972 when, as "Raymond C. Hoersch, Jr.," he sued the Secretary of the Army to void his call to active duty, and in December 1974, when the [[United States Secret Service]] arrested the son for counterfeiting, officials described it as his parents' home, where he had been living recently.[^15][^16] On August 20, 1973, a Cessna 210A, registration N1437J, was registered to "Hoersch Raymond C" at that address; the registration was cancelled on July 11, 1984. On July 26, 1981, while the son was living in [[New Zealand]] under a false identity, the aircraft lost power in its initial climb from [[Doylestown Airport]] and was brought back for a wheels-up landing; the [[National Transportation Safety Board]] recorded the pilot in command as 62 years old, an engineer holding a commercial certificate, with a minor injury.[^17][^18] His son said in 2013 that while he was a fugitive [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agents obtained his father's telephone records about once a year and traced every long-distance call, "which it never was, even though I was in pretty good contact with my father the whole time," and that the father was notified after each search, which let the son track the investigation. R.C. Horsch also said that his own son, then three, "was missing seeing his grandparents" when he decided to surrender in 1984.[^19] At 7:50 p.m. on November 19, 1991, walking home in dark clothing along a dimly lit stretch of Main Street near Peace Valley Road in Chalfont, he was struck by a car; borough police said he was hearing-impaired and "technically" jaywalking. He was flown by helicopter to [[Hahnemann University Hospital]] with head injuries and two broken legs and was pronounced dead at 5 a.m. on November 20, at 73. His death notice names his wife Clara, his son Raymond of Chalfont, his daughters Helen M. Mitchell of Chalfont and Virginia E. of [[Souderton, Pennsylvania|Souderton]], his sister [[Helen M. Hoersch|Helen M.]] of Philadelphia, and four grandchildren, and asked for remembrances to [[Doylestown Hospital]]; the funeral was held at the Decker Funeral Home in [[Warminster, Pennsylvania|Warminster]], with interment at [[Hillside Cemetery]].[^20][^21] In June 2026 the *Inquirer* reported that investigators searching the Olney house had found what appeared to be urns holding remains, "one set of which was apparently his father's."[^22] In September police said they believed three of the five urns found in the house held the ashes of R.C. Horsch, his sister, and a friend, and that two were unidentified.[^23]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: West, Ashley. "Unknowing Ray Horsch, Episode 1: Youth," *The Rialto Report,* Podcast 171, September 13, 2026, audio at 08:39 to 10:20 and 26:01 to 27:14. https://www.therialtoreport.com/2026/09/13/ray-horsch-2/
|
||||
[^2]: "Hoersch, Albert," death notice, *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* July 3, 1972, p. 10 ("father of Albert Jr., Raymond C., Helen M Hoersch, 417 W. Chew st."). https://www.newspapers.com/image/180006503/
|
||||
[^3]: "How a pornographer's violent fantasies blurred fact and fiction as cops searched Olney house for missing women," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* August 2, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/news/a/raymond-eugene-horsch-olney-philadelphia-missing-women-history-20260802.html
|
||||
[^4]: [Notice seeking former World War II glider pilots], *The Times Leader* (Wilkes-Barre), January 29, 1979, p. 36; the same notice ran in *The Mountaintop Eagle* and *The Miner* (Carbondale) in January and February 1979. https://www.newspapers.com/image/407620980/
|
||||
[^5]: The marriage is inferred rather than stated in any one document: Cecilia T. Hagerty's obituary of 1991 names her daughter "Clara Hoersch of Chalfont"; he bought property in Chalfont in 1971 and lived at 523 North Main Street there; and the *Pocono Record* in 1969 listed "Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Hoersch" among the Hagerty children and grandchildren. "Cecilia T. Hagerty," obituary, *The Morning Call,* October 26, 1991, p. 115, https://www.newspapers.com/image/283774999/; *Pocono Record,* September 26, 1969, p. 6, https://www.newspapers.com/image/40464241/
|
||||
[^6]: "Cecilia T. Hagerty," obituary, *The Morning Call,* October 26, 1991, p. 115 ("Daughter, Clara Hoersch of Chalfont, Bucks County"). https://www.newspapers.com/image/283774999/
|
||||
[^7]: [Social column], *The Daily Intelligencer* (Doylestown), January 10, 1955, p. 2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/40163522/
|
||||
[^8]: [Classified advertisement, "Draftsman, Mechanical Design"], *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* May 12, 1964, p. 42. Whether the firm was the father's or the son's is not stated. https://www.newspapers.com/image/180608119/
|
||||
[^9]: [Report of the fiftieth wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Hagerty], *Pocono Record* (Stroudsburg), September 26, 1969, p. 6. https://www.newspapers.com/image/40464241/
|
||||
[^10]: [Bucks County real-estate transfers], *News Herald* (Perkasie), October 29, 1969, p. 29 ("Plumstead ... Raymond C. Hoersch ux to John W. Richards ux $48,000 ... Gayman Rd."). https://www.newspapers.com/image/540614261/
|
||||
[^11]: [Report of a car crash on South York Road], *The Daily Intelligencer,* July 21, 1971, p. 25 ("The car is owned by Raymond Hoersch, English Village Apartments, Horsham. Hoersch is the father of Mrs. Bowers."). https://www.newspapers.com/image/47541500/
|
||||
[^12]: [Bucks County real-estate transfers], *The Daily Intelligencer,* September 10, 1971, p. 8 ("Chalfont: ... Karl R. Zuch to Raymond C. Hoersch, $36,400"). https://www.newspapers.com/image/47552873/
|
||||
[^13]: [Chalfont borough council report], *The Reporter* (Lansdale), July 19, 1973, p. 4 ("A subdivision of land owned by Raymond C. Hoersch, located at Oak ave., was approved"). https://www.newspapers.com/image/1034188168/
|
||||
[^14]: Hoersch v. Froehlke, 382 F. Supp. 1235 (E.D. Pa. 1974). https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2596970/hoersch-v-froehlke/
|
||||
[^15]: "[...] bogus $180,000 in Bucks raid," *The Morning Call* (Allentown), December 11, 1974, p. 5 ("The Chalfont address was identified as Hoersch's parents' home where he had been living recently"). https://www.newspapers.com/image/275702319/
|
||||
[^16]: Federal Aviation Administration, Aircraft Registry, Aircraft Deregistered File, record for N1437J, downloaded September 23, 2026. https://registry.faa.gov/database/ReleasableAircraft.zip
|
||||
[^17]: National Transportation Safety Board, pre-1982 aviation accident database, record for N1437J, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, July 26, 1981. https://data.ntsb.gov/avdata
|
||||
[^18]: "Chalfont man, 73, struck by auto, dies in hospital," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* November 21, 1991, p. 19. https://www.newspapers.com/image/176160072/
|
||||
[^19]: "Hoersch, Raymond C.," death notice, *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* November 22, 1991, as reproduced in Find a Grave memorial 233455054. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/233455054/raymond-c-hoersch/photo
|
||||
[^20]: "A woman missing since 2016 had close ties to the Olney house that's now the target of a massive investigation," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* June 27, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/news/olney-raid-missing-women-mystery-drugs-20260627.html
|
||||
[^21]: Sharber, Cory. "Police, FBI provide updates on Horsch missing women case," *WHYY,* September 16, 2026. https://whyy.org/articles/olney-home-investigation-abuse/
|
||||
[^4]: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File and Social Security Death Index, "Raymond Hoersch," born August 17, 1918, died November 20, 1991; World War II draft registration card, Raymond Charles Hoersch, born August 17, 1918, Philadelphia (all via Ancestry.com), accessed September 23, 2026. https://www.ancestry.com/
|
||||
[^5]: [Notice seeking former World War II glider pilots], *The Times Leader* (Wilkes-Barre), January 29, 1979, p. 36; the same notice ran in *The Mountaintop Eagle* and *The Miner* (Carbondale) in January and February 1979. https://www.newspapers.com/image/407620980/
|
||||
[^6]: The marriage is inferred rather than stated in any one document: Cecilia T. Hagerty's obituary of 1991 names her daughter "Clara Hoersch of Chalfont"; he bought property in Chalfont in 1971 and lived at 523 North Main Street there; and the *Pocono Record* in 1969 listed "Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Hoersch" among the Hagerty children and grandchildren. "Cecilia T. Hagerty," obituary, *The Morning Call,* October 26, 1991, p. 115, https://www.newspapers.com/image/283774999/; *Pocono Record,* September 26, 1969, p. 6, https://www.newspapers.com/image/40464241/
|
||||
[^7]: "Cecilia T. Hagerty," obituary, *The Morning Call,* October 26, 1991, p. 115 ("Daughter, Clara Hoersch of Chalfont, Bucks County"). https://www.newspapers.com/image/283774999/
|
||||
[^8]: [Social column], *The Daily Intelligencer* (Doylestown), January 10, 1955, p. 2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/40163522/
|
||||
[^9]: [Classified advertisement, "Draftsman, Mechanical Design"], *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* May 12, 1964, p. 42. Whether the firm was the father's or the son's is not stated. https://www.newspapers.com/image/180608119/
|
||||
[^10]: [Report of the fiftieth wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Hagerty], *Pocono Record* (Stroudsburg), September 26, 1969, p. 6. https://www.newspapers.com/image/40464241/
|
||||
[^11]: [Bucks County real-estate transfers], *News Herald* (Perkasie), October 29, 1969, p. 29 ("Plumstead ... Raymond C. Hoersch ux to John W. Richards ux $48,000 ... Gayman Rd."). https://www.newspapers.com/image/540614261/
|
||||
[^12]: [Report of a car crash on South York Road], *The Daily Intelligencer,* July 21, 1971, p. 25 ("The car is owned by Raymond Hoersch, English Village Apartments, Horsham. Hoersch is the father of Mrs. Bowers."). https://www.newspapers.com/image/47541500/
|
||||
[^13]: [Bucks County real-estate transfers], *The Daily Intelligencer,* September 10, 1971, p. 8 ("Chalfont: ... Karl R. Zuch to Raymond C. Hoersch, $36,400"). https://www.newspapers.com/image/47552873/
|
||||
[^14]: [Chalfont borough council report], *The Reporter* (Lansdale), July 19, 1973, p. 4 ("A subdivision of land owned by Raymond C. Hoersch, located at Oak ave., was approved"). https://www.newspapers.com/image/1034188168/
|
||||
[^15]: Hoersch v. Froehlke, 382 F. Supp. 1235 (E.D. Pa. 1974). https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2596970/hoersch-v-froehlke/
|
||||
[^16]: "[...] bogus $180,000 in Bucks raid," *The Morning Call* (Allentown), December 11, 1974, p. 5 ("The Chalfont address was identified as Hoersch's parents' home where he had been living recently"). https://www.newspapers.com/image/275702319/
|
||||
[^17]: Federal Aviation Administration, Aircraft Registry, Aircraft Deregistered File, record for N1437J, downloaded September 23, 2026. https://registry.faa.gov/database/ReleasableAircraft.zip
|
||||
[^18]: National Transportation Safety Board, pre-1982 aviation accident database, record for N1437J, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, July 26, 1981. https://data.ntsb.gov/avdata
|
||||
[^19]: West, Ashley. "Ray Horsch: Sociopathic Villain," *The Rialto Report,* Podcast 27, 2013, audio at 1:04:22 to 1:05:28 and 1:08:14 to 1:08:40 (the FBI searches and the decision to surrender; audio preserved in a Wayback Machine capture of March 31, 2019). https://web.archive.org/web/20190331064614/http://traffic.libsyn.com/therialtoreport/27_Rialto_Report_027_-_Ray_Horsch__Sociopathic_Villain.mp3
|
||||
[^20]: "Chalfont man, 73, struck by auto, dies in hospital," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* November 21, 1991, p. 19. https://www.newspapers.com/image/176160072/
|
||||
[^21]: "Hoersch, Raymond C.," death notice, *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* November 22, 1991, as reproduced in Find a Grave memorial 233455054. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/233455054/raymond-c-hoersch/photo
|
||||
[^22]: "A woman missing since 2016 had close ties to the Olney house that's now the target of a massive investigation," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* June 27, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/news/olney-raid-missing-women-mystery-drugs-20260627.html
|
||||
[^23]: Sharber, Cory. "Police, FBI provide updates on Horsch missing women case," *WHYY,* September 16, 2026. https://whyy.org/articles/olney-home-investigation-abuse/
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -29,15 +29,22 @@ John Gordon Rutherford was a [[Christchurch]] lawyer who set up [[Chemical Techn
|
|||
|
||||
### Stokowski
|
||||
|
||||
The company was incorporated on May 26, 1981, with Rutherford and [[Dorothy Verna Rutherford]], who shared his Christchurch address, as its directors, and its registered office at Ibis House, 183 Hereford Street, Christchurch.[^3]
|
||||
|
||||
The company was incorporated on May 26, 1981, with Rutherford and [[Dorothy Verna Rutherford]], who shared his Christchurch address, as its directors, and its registered office at Ibis House, 183 Hereford Street, Christchurch.[^3] In July 1981 the government approved a licence for its whey distillery, the first commercial one in the South Island, and two regional development suspensory loans totalling 120,235 dollars were approved for it the same year.[^4][^5] In December 1981, as a director, Rutherford asked the Canterbury United Council to support ethanol as a replacement for tetraethyl lead in petrol and to seek removal of the tax on ethanol used as an octane booster.[^6] The plant was opened by the Minister of Science and Technology, [[Ian Shearer]], in April 1982.[^7]
|
||||
|
||||
Rutherford told *[[The Press]]* in 1984 that he had contacted Stokowski "after reading American advertisements about new technology." A later [[New Zealand]] government investigation found that the [[New Zealand Department of Immigration|Department of Immigration]] had been "under some pressure" from the man's "proposed employer" to "make an early decision" on his application.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
After Horsch left New Zealand on March 17, 1984, on a passport that police believed had been stolen in a burglary at [[Temuka]], Rutherford described him to *The Press* as "brilliant and hard working," "a brilliant chap" who "knew what he was about," and "a particularly smart fellow, a real toiler and an excellent family man." He conceded that his partner might have been living under a false identity and, according to the paper, believed that he "had had some sort of trouble in the [[United States]]; perhaps of the scale of being a draft dodger during the [[Vietnam War]]," while dismissing any suggestion that he was a spy. He said he had not heard from Horsch since his departure and that his business had not suffered: "As far as I am concerned, it is business as usual."[^1]
|
||||
After Horsch left New Zealand on March 17, 1984, on a passport that police believed had been stolen in a burglary at [[Temuka]], Rutherford described him to *The Press* as "brilliant and hard working," "a brilliant chap" who "knew what he was about," and "a particularly smart fellow, a real toiler and an excellent family man." He conceded that his partner might have been living under a false identity and, according to the paper, believed that he "had had some sort of trouble in the [[United States]]; perhaps of the scale of being a draft dodger during the [[Vietnam War]]," while dismissing any suggestion that he was a spy. He said he had not heard from Horsch since his departure and that his business had not suffered: "As far as I am concerned, it is business as usual." He called the spy story "a romantic tale," said the [[New Zealand Security Intelligence Service|Security Intelligence Service]] had never approached him, and said he had last seen Horsch in early March, when the man had talked of leaving "for some months" and told him "his shares were worth nothing." Horsch, he said, "had a lot of trouble getting a beverage alcohol licence ... like a lot of Americans he did not appreciate the time things take here."[^1][^8] He told *The Press* that he had transferred an amphibian aircraft to the company to increase its assets and had flown once with Horsch to [[Lake Tekapo|Tekapo]], but that Horsch lacked the rating for solo landings on water: "He didn't have enough hours." [[Westpac]] put the company into receivership on May 22, 1984, and Rutherford arranged to pay the bank about 170,000 dollars.[^9] In October 1984 he said business was booming and that Horsch "did everything he said he was going to accomplish."[^10] By 1986 he was growing Jerusalem artichokes under quarantine on his farm at Moncks Spur on the [[Port Hills]] as a feedstock for the company.[^11]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Leask, Anna. "Man linked to multiple missing women in US had fled NZ 40 years ago after posing as scientist," *The New Zealand Herald,* September 23, 2026 (quoting *The Press* of 1984 and the New Zealand immigration investigation report). https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/raymond-horsch-man-linked-to-philadelphia-house-of-horrors-lived-near-timaru-under-stolen-name/BVQSWBL3LZDL3GIXFEHHBFY6RY/
|
||||
[^2]: "How a pornographer's violent fantasies blurred fact and fiction as cops searched Olney house for missing women," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* August 2, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/news/a/raymond-eugene-horsch-olney-philadelphia-missing-women-history-20260802.html
|
||||
[^3]: New Zealand Companies Office, Companies Register, "Chemical Technology Ltd," company number 141090, accessed September 23, 2026. https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/141090
|
||||
[^4]: "Ethanol plant at Temuka," *The Press* (Christchurch), July 15, 1981. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19810715.2.31
|
||||
[^5]: "Impostor: immigration cleared of blame," *The Press* (Christchurch), October 3, 1984. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19841003.2.23
|
||||
[^6]: "Ethanol study beyond council," *The Press* (Christchurch), December 11, 1981. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19811211.2.98
|
||||
[^7]: "Dr Shearer wants extra effort in biotechnology," *The Press* (Christchurch), April 23, 1982. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19820423.2.96.9
|
||||
[^8]: "Police look for U.S. chemist," *The Press* (Christchurch), June 6, 1984 (Press Association, Timaru). https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19840606.2.48
|
||||
[^9]: "Where has 'Dr Stokowski' gone?," *The Press* (Christchurch), June 9, 1984. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19840609.2.9
|
||||
[^10]: "Ethanol plant's business booms," *The Press* (Christchurch), October 4, 1984. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19841004.2.21
|
||||
[^11]: "Jerusalem artichokes as dual-purpose crop?," *The Press* (Christchurch), February 14, 1986. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19860214.2.93.1
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -17,29 +17,42 @@ relations:
|
|||
- type: director_of
|
||||
with: "[[Dorothy Verna Rutherford]]"
|
||||
reverse: true
|
||||
fn: 3
|
||||
fn: 4
|
||||
created: 2026-09-23
|
||||
updated: 2026-09-23
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
Chemical Technology Limited was a [[New Zealand]] company at [[Clandeboye, New Zealand|Clandeboye]], near [[Timaru]] in South [[Canterbury, New Zealand|Canterbury]], set up by the [[Christchurch]] lawyer [[John Rutherford (New Zealand lawyer)|John Rutherford]] to work on byproducts of milk. From about 1980 to 1984 its plant for converting whey into ethanol fuel was built and run by [[R.C. Horsch]], an American fugitive from a [[Philadelphia]] methamphetamine charge who was working under the stolen identity of Dr. Stanley Eugene Stokowski, a [[California]] chemist.[^1][^2]
|
||||
Chemical Technology Limited was a [[New Zealand]] company at [[Clandeboye, New Zealand|Clandeboye]], near [[Timaru]] in South [[Canterbury, New Zealand|Canterbury]], set up by the [[Christchurch]] lawyer [[John Rutherford (New Zealand lawyer)|John Rutherford]] to work on byproducts of milk. From about 1980 to 1984 its plant for converting whey into ethanol fuel was built and run by [[R.C. Horsch]], an American fugitive from a [[Philadelphia]] methamphetamine charge who was working under the stolen identity of Dr. Stanley Stokowski, a [[California]] chemist, whose middle name the 1984 *Press* gives as Edward and the 2026 *Inquirer* as Eugene.[^1][^2][^3]
|
||||
|
||||
### Registration
|
||||
|
||||
The company, registered as Chemical Technology Ltd, company number 141090, was incorporated on May 26, 1981, with its registered office at Ibis House, 183 Hereford Street, Christchurch. The register lists two directors, John Gordon Rutherford and [[Dorothy Verna Rutherford]], who shared a Christchurch address; neither Horsch nor the name Stokowski appears among its officers. The register records the company as in receivership from its incorporation until December 17, 1984, and then as registered until it was removed from the register in November 2013.[^3]
|
||||
The company, registered as Chemical Technology Ltd, company number 141090, was incorporated on May 26, 1981, with its registered office at Ibis House, 183 Hereford Street, Christchurch. The register lists two directors, John Gordon Rutherford and [[Dorothy Verna Rutherford]], who shared a Christchurch address; neither Horsch nor the name Stokowski appears among its officers. The register records the company as in receivership from its incorporation until December 17, 1984, and then as registered until it was removed from the register in November 2013.[^4]
|
||||
|
||||
Whey ethanol was then an established New Zealand industry: the technology for fermenting deproteinated whey into ethyl alcohol was bought from [[Ireland]] by the [[Anchor Ethanol Company]] in the late 1970s and used at plants at [[Tirau]] and [[Reporoa]].[^4]
|
||||
The company was "formed earlier this year," *The Press* reported in July 1981. On July 14, 1981, the Minister of Customs, [[Hugh Templeton]], and the Minister of Energy, [[Bill Birch]], announced that a licence had been approved for its distillery at [[Temuka]], 15 kilometres north of Timaru, the first commercial distillery in the South Island, to produce industrial ethanol mainly from whey and beet crops; Birch said it would save 250,000 dollars a year in overseas funds. "Dr Stanly Stokowski, the director," said the 1.5 million dollar plant would be in full production of one million litres a year by the end of 1981, fed by 22 to 27 million litres of whey a year from the neighbouring dairy factory. "We will be solving a serious waste disposal problem," he said. The company planned to take damaged potatoes and off-grade grain, to make acetic acid, ethyl acetate, butanol, milk protein, carbon dioxide, and cattle feed, and to study gasohol fuels; it hoped the plant would serve as a pilot for a sugar-based chemical industry, was trialling [[Jerusalem artichoke]]s, and spoke of expanding five to ten times.[^5][^6] Two regional development suspensory loans totalling 120,235 dollars were approved for it in 1981 on the recommendation of the South Canterbury Regional Development Council, and the [[Development Finance Corporation]] reported favourably on its viability.[^7] In December 1981 Rutherford, as a director, asked the Canterbury United Council to back ethanol in place of tetraethyl lead as an octane booster, to press for unleaded fuel from the [[Marsden Point Oil Refinery|Marsden Point]] refinery to be shipped to the South Island, and to seek removal of the tax on ethanol used for the purpose.[^8] The Minister of Science and Technology, [[Ian Shearer]], opened the whey-to-alcohol factory in April 1982, remarking that it would turn what had twenty years earlier been "poured down the throat of a pig" into alcohol and proteins.[^9]
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Whey ethanol was then an established New Zealand industry: the technology for fermenting deproteinated whey into ethyl alcohol was bought from [[Ireland]] by the [[Anchor Ethanol Company]] in the late 1970s and used at plants at [[Tirau]] and [[Reporoa]].[^10]
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### Stokowski
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Rutherford told *[[The Press]]* in 1984 that he had contacted "Stokowski" "after reading American advertisements about new technology," and that the man was "brilliant and hard working" and "trained unskilled men in skills from welding to more complex tasks." Horsch had obtained the post with a forged [[Stanford University]] transcript in Stokowski's name.[^1][^2] A New Zealand government investigation into his admission to the country found that his papers included a transcript of a university degree, that the [[New Zealand Department of Immigration|Department of Immigration]] had been "under some pressure" from his "proposed employer" to "make an early decision," and that "checks were not made with the [[New Zealand Ministry of Energy|Ministry of Energy]] and other Government departments." The real Stokowski later confirmed that the transcript was his.[^1] The *Philadelphia Daily News* reported at Horsch's sentencing in April 1985 that while on the run he had "helped design and build an ethanol plant for the New Zealand government."[^5]
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Rutherford told *[[The Press]]* in 1984 that he had contacted "Stokowski" "after reading American advertisements about new technology," and that the man was "brilliant and hard working" and "trained unskilled men in skills from welding to more complex tasks." Horsch had obtained the post with a forged [[Stanford University]] transcript in Stokowski's name.[^1][^2] A New Zealand government investigation into his admission to the country found that his papers included a transcript of a university degree, that the [[New Zealand Department of Immigration|Department of Immigration]] had been "under some pressure" from his "proposed employer" to "make an early decision," and that "checks were not made with the [[New Zealand Ministry of Energy|Ministry of Energy]] and other Government departments." The real Stokowski later confirmed that the transcript was his.[^1] The *Philadelphia Daily News* reported at Horsch's sentencing in April 1985 that while on the run he had "helped design and build an ethanol plant for the New Zealand government."[^11] He was described in 1984 as a director of the plant who also ran a computer software exchange at [[Washdyke]]. Rutherford said the man had trained unskilled workers and that about eight jobs had been created, and that the company had not performed as well as expected late in 1983. Horsch said in 2013 that he had owned 80 percent of the distillery and signed his share over when he left.[^3][^12][^13]
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In March 1984 Horsch returned from a trip to the [[United States]] carrying several passports and on March 17 left New Zealand on another passport, which police believed had been stolen in a burglary at [[Temuka]]. Rumors followed that he was a Soviet or Bulgarian spy or was sought by the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]. Rutherford told *The Press* that his partner might have had trouble in the United States "perhaps of the scale of being a draft dodger during the [[Vietnam War]]," dismissed the suggestion that he was a spy, and said of the company: "As far as I am concerned, it is business as usual."[^1]
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In March 1984 Horsch returned from a trip to the [[United States]] carrying several passports and on March 17 left New Zealand on another passport, which police believed had been stolen in a burglary at Temuka. Rumors followed that he was a Soviet or Bulgarian spy or was sought by the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]. Rutherford told *The Press* that his partner might have had trouble in the United States "perhaps of the scale of being a draft dodger during the [[Vietnam War]]," dismissed the suggestion that he was a spy, and said of the company: "As far as I am concerned, it is business as usual."[^1] At police request the Fire Service drained a well at the plant in late May 1984, and Detective Superintendent [[R.N. MacDonald]] would not comment on reports that firearms and drugs had been found in it.[^14] [[Westpac]] put the company into receivership, with [[K.N. Curnow]] of [[Deloitte Haskins & Sells]] appointed receiver on May 22, 1984; Rutherford arranged to pay the bank about 170,000 dollars, and said the business made "a modest profit." Preferential tax debts remained.[^3][^12] In October 1984 he told *The Press* that business was booming, with protein and acetone planned, and that Horsch "had trained everybody up before he left."[^15] In 1986 the company was still producing alcohol from whey at Clandeboye and had grown Jerusalem artichoke varieties under quarantine for three years on Rutherford's farm at Moncks Spur on the [[Port Hills]], as a possible feedstock.[^16]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Leask, Anna. "Man linked to multiple missing women in US had fled NZ 40 years ago after posing as scientist," *The New Zealand Herald,* September 23, 2026 (quoting *The Press* of 1984 and the New Zealand immigration investigation report). https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/raymond-horsch-man-linked-to-philadelphia-house-of-horrors-lived-near-timaru-under-stolen-name/BVQSWBL3LZDL3GIXFEHHBFY6RY/
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[^2]: "How a pornographer's violent fantasies blurred fact and fiction as cops searched Olney house for missing women," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* August 2, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/news/a/raymond-eugene-horsch-olney-philadelphia-missing-women-history-20260802.html
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[^3]: New Zealand Companies Office, Companies Register, "Chemical Technology Ltd," company number 141090 (incorporated May 26, 1981; status "In Receivership" May 26, 1981, to December 17, 1984; "Removed," updated November 3, 2013), accessed September 23, 2026. https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/141090
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[^4]: Hamilton, Ron. "The Manufacture of Ethanol from Whey," ed. Heather Wansbrough, Bioenergy Association of New Zealand, undated. https://www.bioenergy.org.nz/documents/resource/Reports/Manufacture-of-Ethanol-from-Whey-3H.pdf
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[^5]: Smith, Jim. "Fugitive's Luck Runs Out With 4-Year Jail Sentence," *Philadelphia Daily News,* April 27, 1985, p. 8. https://www.newspapers.com/image/185948055/
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[^3]: "Where has 'Dr Stokowski' gone?," *The Press* (Christchurch), June 9, 1984. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19840609.2.9
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[^4]: New Zealand Companies Office, Companies Register, "Chemical Technology Ltd," company number 141090 (incorporated May 26, 1981; status "In Receivership" May 26, 1981, to December 17, 1984; "Removed," updated November 3, 2013), accessed September 23, 2026. https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/141090
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[^5]: "Ethanol plant at Temuka," *The Press* (Christchurch), July 15, 1981. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19810715.2.31
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[^6]: "Ethanol by September," *The Press* (Christchurch), July 20, 1981 (Press Association, Wellington). https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19810720.2.23
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[^7]: "Impostor: immigration cleared of blame," *The Press* (Christchurch), October 3, 1984. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19841003.2.23
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[^8]: "Ethanol study beyond council," *The Press* (Christchurch), December 11, 1981. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19811211.2.98
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[^9]: "Dr Shearer wants extra effort in biotechnology," *The Press* (Christchurch), April 23, 1982. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19820423.2.96.9
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[^10]: Hamilton, Ron. "The Manufacture of Ethanol from Whey," ed. Heather Wansbrough, Bioenergy Association of New Zealand, undated. https://www.bioenergy.org.nz/documents/resource/Reports/Manufacture-of-Ethanol-from-Whey-3H.pdf
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[^11]: Smith, Jim. "Fugitive's Luck Runs Out With 4-Year Jail Sentence," *Philadelphia Daily News,* April 27, 1985, p. 8. https://www.newspapers.com/image/185948055/
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[^12]: "Police look for U.S. chemist," *The Press* (Christchurch), June 6, 1984 (Press Association, Timaru). https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19840606.2.48
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[^13]: West, Ashley. "Ray Horsch: Sociopathic Villain," *The Rialto Report,* Podcast 27, 2013, audio at 1:05:45 to 1:09:27 (audio preserved in a Wayback Machine capture of March 31, 2019). https://web.archive.org/web/20190331064614/http://traffic.libsyn.com/therialtoreport/27_Rialto_Report_027_-_Ray_Horsch__Sociopathic_Villain.mp3
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[^14]: "Police seek wife, child," *The Press* (Christchurch), June 13, 1984 (Press Association, Timaru). https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19840613.2.7
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[^15]: "Ethanol plant's business booms," *The Press* (Christchurch), October 4, 1984. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19841004.2.21
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[^16]: "Jerusalem artichokes as dual-purpose crop?," *The Press* (Christchurch), February 14, 1986. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19860214.2.93.1
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