Jewish immigrant Leon Haber founded Haber’s Department Store, and it became a landmark in downtown Tampa. The business started around 1919 as the Oriental Shop Ladies’ Ready to Wear at 815 Franklin Street, in what was then known as the Krause Building. In 1930, the store, then known as Haber’s, moved to 613 Franklin into a building called Matthew’s Corner. The new store featured a glass case window entrance and a petit striped awning. They were located directly across Franklin Street from popular Maas Brothers in the heart of the downtown retail district. For decades they had success selling women’s wear and shoes. So much so that in 1955, they remodeled and opened a brand new 3-story store, the one pictured. Albert Haber, Leon’s son, who started work with his father in 1945, was secretary and general manager then. They both lived on Davis Islands and were active in the community. Leon died in 1965 at the age of 70.

In January 1975, shock and grief consumed downtown businesses and Davis Islands residents when Albert was found bludgeoned to death in his home. An immediate investigation ensued, with police suspecting Haber had come home after work and surprised burglars since the house had been ransacked. After a gruesome exhumation, it was later determined that Haber was also shot in the mouth. Haber’s third wife, 39-year-old Betty Lou, a former fashion model, had left the home days before to go to their Treasure Island condominium. They were married in 1968. Betty Lou’s previous last name was Lazzara.

By the first week of February 1975, police had a composite sketch of two suspects with the help of a witness who saw the two men as they tried to cash a check stolen in the robbery. By mid-February, officials arrested Haber’s wife, nicknamed the Black Widow by the press and police, and charged her and mechanic James Joseph Brandt with first-degree murder. Betty Lou’s son from a previous marriage, Arnold Jefferson McEver III, would also be charged as an accomplice to Brandt. He helped line up the hitman.  

Brandt pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was given a life sentence instead of the electric chair through a plea agreement, including that he testify at the trial of his accomplices. Capacity crowds filled the courthouse during the two-week trial of Betty Lou Haner and her son. Hundreds of spectators would arrive at 7 a.m. to get a seat in the courtroom. Prosecutors presented evidence that the pair plotted to kill her husband for insurance money and suspected chicanery with Albert’s will. In July 1975, after hearing testimony from 35 witnesses, the six-man, six-woman jury found Betty Lou and McEver guilty of first-degree murder, and they were sentenced to life in prison. Brandt was found hanged in his prison cell soon after he started his sentence.

Betty Lou never confessed to the murder or showed any remorse. Against the wishes of the Haber family, she was released on parole in 2003 after serving 28 years. The stores went out of business in 1978. It was not until 1981 that the courts finally determined that Betty Lou was not entitled to any of the estate. The court battle cost more than Haber’s life insurance was worth. In 1979, The Exchange Bank acquired the property at 613 Franklin and demolished the building. Originally established as a park, a fenced-in courtyard sits in front of the Franklin Exchange where Haber’s National Shirt Shops, and Hardy Men’s Shoes once stood.

© Chip Weiner. Old Tampa Photos