Captan Jack Wyly
Encyclopedia
Captan Jack Wyly, Sr. was a colorful attorney in Lake Providence
, Louisiana
, who in the 1960s and 1970s was a leader of conservatives within his state's dominant Democratic Party
. He was known for his 1960s-style suits and hats. His massive wealth enabled him to act as a power broker over nearly every aspect of Lake Providence affairs.
in far northeastern Louisiana. He attended public schools there but graduated at the age of fifteen from high school
in Clinton
in eastern Iowa
. He lived with the Clark family, friends in Iowa who had temporarily spent time in Lake Providence when Mr. Clark had worked on the levee
s of the Mississippi River
. Wyly first attended Louisiana Tech University
in Ruston
but transferred to Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge
, where he was president of the fraternity, Kappa Alpha Order
. He graduated from both LSU and the Louisiana State University Law Center. He enlisted in the United States Navy
on the day of his graduation. He was present at the World War II
battle of Iwo Jima
. He returned to East Carroll Parish after serving five years and set up his law practice.
Wyly was active in the American Legion
, and he was an organizer of the Lake Providence Country Club, having served as its first president. He was also a president of the Louisiana Bar Association. He was an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Lake Providence, where he taught Sunday school
to young people and to adult men.
magazine
, the poorest city in the United States. Wyly found that Lake Providence had "no colored
leadership. When I came home from the Army in 1945, 20 to 25 percent of our land was owned by blacks. But the welfare system has just undermined the incentive to work. When [their fathers] die, they sell their property, buy a Buick
and go out west to Las Vegas
or somewhere. They lost their discipline with all this gimme stuff. Who would have thought that Negro girls would get pregnant to get on food stamps? Now they do it all the time...If we have two races exploding, that's the end of America!"
Attempts to promote tourism in Lake Providence, despite the proximity of attractive lakes, have fallen flat. Wyly blamed mosquito
es in part for the lack of tourism in the hot, humid summer months, when temperatures are often stinging and overpowering to most individuals. Similarly, consideration of an enterprise zone, an idea championed by the late Jack Kemp
, seems grandiose and unlikely to yield results for Lake Providence.
, not from the Fifth Congressional District which includes East Carroll Parish but from inter-city New Orleans. He was defeated for reelection in 2008 and indicted and convicted in 2009 of receiving a bribe. Jefferson was sentenced to thirteen years imprisonment
, the longest time ever meted to a congressman or former congressman for extensive public corruption.
Wyly himself was convicted of bribery as a result of a business deal with Dale Sanders Rinicker (born ca. 1939), then the East Carroll Parish sheriff
. As a result, Wyly spent time in a minimum security facility in Texas
and was disbarred. He was released on October 26, 2001.
In 1990, Rinicker asked Wyly to finance the construction of a private prison to house inmates for whom reimbursements would come to the parish from the state. Wyly agreed to do so and to lease the facility to the sheriff's office. Rinicker testified that Wyly offered him 38 percent (later reduced to 30 percent) of the profits from housing the inmates. Wyly established ECCS as a corporation to run the jail, with himself as president and his legal secretary, Dorothy Morgel, then sixty-two, as secretary-treasurer. Thirty-five of the one hundred shares of ECCS were issued in her name (five for her, and thirty for the sheriff). The remainder went to Wyly, his family members, and a local businessman, Jack Hamilton. An attempt was undertaken to keep Rinicker's name out of the financial arrangements, which involved making deposits in a bank in Oak Grove
in neighboring West Carroll Parish. As the scheme was unveiled, Rinicker pleaded guilty to mail fraud, money laundering
, and conspiracy to launder money. He was sentenced to sixty months imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. Rinicker was released on May 19, 2000, first to a halfway house in West Monroe
. He is forbidden to seek office again.
It is rumored that Wyly and Rinicker were responsible for drug trafficking and even the murder of Cheryl Reed, the sister of Dr. Fred L. Reed, Jr. Sources claim that Wyly and Rinicker orchestrated the indictment and conviction of Dr. Reed to conceal their "Good Ol' Boy" operation. A witness allegedly claimed that Dr. Reed had incriminating evidence and testimony from a key witness to the murder of his sister.
, who stepped down after eight years. He lost 69-50 to the national Democratic choice, Leon Irwin, III (1938–2006), a New Orleans insurance
agent who enjoyed the backing of Governor-elect Edwin Washington Edwards, Mayor
Moon Landrieu
of New Orleans, Alexandria
lawyer Camille F. Gravel, Jr.
, and AFL-CIO
President Victor Bussie
. Most of the members of the Democratic State Central Committee from north Louisiana and the Florida parishes
supported Wyly, who had previously been allied with the candidacies of the 1964 Republican
presidential nominee, Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona
, and then Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama
, who ran in 1968 as the nominee of the American Independent Party
. Wyly said that he sought the position only because he considered himself "the average Louisiana Democrat." He had sought the support of party chairman Arthur C. Watson
of Natchitoches
, who remained uncommitted but predicted that Irwin would win if Edwards worked actively for Irwin's candidacy. In the same meeting, the Democratic committee named Mary Lou Winters (born 1935) of Columbia
, a favorite of outgoing Governor John J. McKeithen, as the national committeewoman.
. His wife, the former Elaine Harris, preceded him in death. The couple had two daughters and a son: Honda W. Killen and husband Ken of Waterproof
in southern Tensas Parish
and Bahia W. Brown and husband Paul, and Jack Wyly, Jr., and wife Kristi, all of Lake Providence. The Wylys had five grandchildren. Wyly was also predeceased by two brothers, James Grady "Bub" Wyly, Jr. (1912–2001) of Tallulah
in neighboring Madison Parish
and William N. "Bill" Wyly (1920–2006) of Lake Providence, and two sisters, Martha Wyly Brown (1910–1984) and Anne Ethel Wyly. Bill Wyly died one month before his brother. Wyly's obituary does not indicate his place of death or the cemetery of interment.
Wyly is apparently unrelated to the wealthy businessmen brothers Sam Wyly
and Charles Wyly, Jr.
, who were also born in Lake Providence.
Some often mistakenly referred to Wyly as "Captain Jack" because of his unusual first name.
Lake Providence, Louisiana
Lake Providence is a town in and the parish seat of East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,104 at the 2000 census.-Civil War:...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, who in the 1960s and 1970s was a leader of conservatives within his state's dominant Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. He was known for his 1960s-style suits and hats. His massive wealth enabled him to act as a power broker over nearly every aspect of Lake Providence affairs.
Background
Wyly was born to James Grady and Mattie Wyly in Lake Providence, the seat of East Carroll ParishEast Carroll Parish, Louisiana
East Carroll Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lake Providence and as of 2010, the population was 7,759.-Law and government:In the 2004 presidential race, East Carroll gave the George W. Bush - Richard B...
in far northeastern Louisiana. He attended public schools there but graduated at the age of fifteen from high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Clinton
Clinton, Iowa
Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 26231as of 2010. Clinton, along with DeWitt, Iowa , was named in honor of the seventh governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton. Clinton is the principal city of the Clinton Micropolitan Statistical...
in eastern Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. He lived with the Clark family, friends in Iowa who had temporarily spent time in Lake Providence when Mr. Clark had worked on the levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
s of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Wyly first attended Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
in Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
but transferred to Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, where he was president of the fraternity, Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order is a social fraternity and fraternal order. Kappa Alpha Order has 124 active chapters, 3 provisional chapters, and 2 commissions...
. He graduated from both LSU and the Louisiana State University Law Center. He enlisted in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
on the day of his graduation. He was present at the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
battle of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
. He returned to East Carroll Parish after serving five years and set up his law practice.
Wyly was active in the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
, and he was an organizer of the Lake Providence Country Club, having served as its first president. He was also a president of the Louisiana Bar Association. He was an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Lake Providence, where he taught Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
to young people and to adult men.
The poverty of Lake Providence
Lake Providence is arguably, according to TimeTime (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, the poorest city in the United States. Wyly found that Lake Providence had "no colored
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
leadership. When I came home from the Army in 1945, 20 to 25 percent of our land was owned by blacks. But the welfare system has just undermined the incentive to work. When [their fathers] die, they sell their property, buy a Buick
Buick
Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
and go out west to Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
or somewhere. They lost their discipline with all this gimme stuff. Who would have thought that Negro girls would get pregnant to get on food stamps? Now they do it all the time...If we have two races exploding, that's the end of America!"
Attempts to promote tourism in Lake Providence, despite the proximity of attractive lakes, have fallen flat. Wyly blamed mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
es in part for the lack of tourism in the hot, humid summer months, when temperatures are often stinging and overpowering to most individuals. Similarly, consideration of an enterprise zone, an idea championed by the late Jack Kemp
Jack Kemp
Jack French Kemp was an American politician and a collegiate and professional football player. A Republican, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, having previously served nine terms as a congressman for Western New York's 31st...
, seems grandiose and unlikely to yield results for Lake Providence.
Legal troubles
Perhaps the best known Lake Providence native is former U.S. Representative William J. JeffersonWilliam J. Jefferson
William Jennings "Bill" Jefferson is a former American politician, and a published author from the U.S. state of Louisiana. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for nine terms from 1991 to 2009 as a member of the Democratic Party. He represented , which includes much of the...
, not from the Fifth Congressional District which includes East Carroll Parish but from inter-city New Orleans. He was defeated for reelection in 2008 and indicted and convicted in 2009 of receiving a bribe. Jefferson was sentenced to thirteen years imprisonment
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is a legal term.The book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:This passage was approved by Atkin and Duke LJJ in Meering v Grahame White Aviation Co....
, the longest time ever meted to a congressman or former congressman for extensive public corruption.
Wyly himself was convicted of bribery as a result of a business deal with Dale Sanders Rinicker (born ca. 1939), then the East Carroll Parish sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
. As a result, Wyly spent time in a minimum security facility in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and was disbarred. He was released on October 26, 2001.
In 1990, Rinicker asked Wyly to finance the construction of a private prison to house inmates for whom reimbursements would come to the parish from the state. Wyly agreed to do so and to lease the facility to the sheriff's office. Rinicker testified that Wyly offered him 38 percent (later reduced to 30 percent) of the profits from housing the inmates. Wyly established ECCS as a corporation to run the jail, with himself as president and his legal secretary, Dorothy Morgel, then sixty-two, as secretary-treasurer. Thirty-five of the one hundred shares of ECCS were issued in her name (five for her, and thirty for the sheriff). The remainder went to Wyly, his family members, and a local businessman, Jack Hamilton. An attempt was undertaken to keep Rinicker's name out of the financial arrangements, which involved making deposits in a bank in Oak Grove
Oak Grove, Louisiana
Oak Grove is a town in, and the parish seat of, West Carroll Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,174 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Oak Grove is located at ....
in neighboring West Carroll Parish. As the scheme was unveiled, Rinicker pleaded guilty to mail fraud, money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
, and conspiracy to launder money. He was sentenced to sixty months imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. Rinicker was released on May 19, 2000, first to a halfway house in West Monroe
West Monroe, Louisiana
West Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,250 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area....
. He is forbidden to seek office again.
It is rumored that Wyly and Rinicker were responsible for drug trafficking and even the murder of Cheryl Reed, the sister of Dr. Fred L. Reed, Jr. Sources claim that Wyly and Rinicker orchestrated the indictment and conviction of Dr. Reed to conceal their "Good Ol' Boy" operation. A witness allegedly claimed that Dr. Reed had incriminating evidence and testimony from a key witness to the murder of his sister.
Democratic politics
In February 1972, Wyly sought the position of Louisiana Democratic national committeeman to succeed J. Marshall Brown (born 1924) of New OrleansNew Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, who stepped down after eight years. He lost 69-50 to the national Democratic choice, Leon Irwin, III (1938–2006), a New Orleans insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
agent who enjoyed the backing of Governor-elect Edwin Washington Edwards, Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Moon Landrieu
Moon Landrieu
Maurice Edwin "Moon" Landrieu is a Democratic politician from Louisiana who served as Mayor of New Orleans from 1970–1978. He also is a former judge...
of New Orleans, Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
lawyer Camille F. Gravel, Jr.
Camille Gravel
Camille Francis Gravel, Jr. , was a Louisiana, Democratic politician.Gravel spent much time and money supporting the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII honored Gravel with the "Order of St. Gregory" for his outstanding service to the church.-Education:Gravel graduated in 1935 from the University...
, and AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
President Victor Bussie
Victor Bussie
Victor V. Bussie was until his retirement in 1997 the 41-year unopposed president of the Louisiana AFL-CIO, having first assumed the mantle of union leadership in 1956. Journalists often described him as the most significant non-elected "official" in his state's politics...
. Most of the members of the Democratic State Central Committee from north Louisiana and the Florida parishes
Florida Parishes
The Florida Parishes , also known as the North Shore region, are eight parishes in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana, which were part of West Florida in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Unlike much of Louisiana, this region was not part of the Louisiana Purchase, as it had been...
supported Wyly, who had previously been allied with the candidacies of the 1964 Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
presidential nominee, Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, and then Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, who ran in 1968 as the nominee of the American Independent Party
American Independent Party
The American Independent Party is a right-wing political party of the United States that was established in 1967 by Bill and Eileen Shearer. In 1968, the American Independent Party nominated George C. Wallace as its presidential candidate and retired Air Force General Curtis E. LeMay as the vice...
. Wyly said that he sought the position only because he considered himself "the average Louisiana Democrat." He had sought the support of party chairman Arthur C. Watson
Arthur C. Watson
Arthur Chopin Watson was an attorney, state legislator, civic leader, philanthropist, and chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party from 1968–1976. He was afflicted with polio in infancy and lost the use of both legs, and his mother died when he was only seven...
of Natchitoches
Natchitoches, Louisiana
Natchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...
, who remained uncommitted but predicted that Irwin would win if Edwards worked actively for Irwin's candidacy. In the same meeting, the Democratic committee named Mary Lou Winters (born 1935) of Columbia
Columbia, Louisiana
Columbia is a town in and the parish seat of Caldwell Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 477 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Columbia is located at ....
, a favorite of outgoing Governor John J. McKeithen, as the national committeewoman.
Death and family
Wyly died of Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. His wife, the former Elaine Harris, preceded him in death. The couple had two daughters and a son: Honda W. Killen and husband Ken of Waterproof
Waterproof, Louisiana
Waterproof is a town in Tensas Parish, Louisiana, United States with a population of 834 as of 2000 census. Waterproof is approximately seventeen miles north of Ferriday, one of the two principal communities of Concordia Parish...
in southern Tensas Parish
Tensas Parish, Louisiana
Tensas Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is St. Joseph. In 2010, the population of Tensas Parish was 5,252; it is the least-populous of all sixty-four parishes....
and Bahia W. Brown and husband Paul, and Jack Wyly, Jr., and wife Kristi, all of Lake Providence. The Wylys had five grandchildren. Wyly was also predeceased by two brothers, James Grady "Bub" Wyly, Jr. (1912–2001) of Tallulah
Tallulah, Louisiana
Tallulah is a city in and the parish seat of Madison Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 9,189 at the 2000 census...
in neighboring Madison Parish
Madison Parish, Louisiana
-National protected areas:* Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge * Vicksburg National Military Park -Demographics:-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S...
and William N. "Bill" Wyly (1920–2006) of Lake Providence, and two sisters, Martha Wyly Brown (1910–1984) and Anne Ethel Wyly. Bill Wyly died one month before his brother. Wyly's obituary does not indicate his place of death or the cemetery of interment.
Wyly is apparently unrelated to the wealthy businessmen brothers Sam Wyly
Sam Wyly
Samuel "Sam" Wyly is an American entrepreneur and businessman, philanthropist, and major contributor to conservative campaigns and candidates. In 2006, Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at $1.1 billion...
and Charles Wyly, Jr.
Charles Wyly
Charles Wyly Jr. was an American entrepreneur and businessman, philanthropist, civic leader, and a major contributor to Republican causes and Dallas art projects. This included $20 million to build a performing arts center in Dallas. In 2006, Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at $1 billion...
, who were also born in Lake Providence.
Some often mistakenly referred to Wyly as "Captain Jack" because of his unusual first name.