"That's the one that did it," replied Paul Steuer (not his real name) when reminded of the then-famous raid on the "window girls" of the West End. It was February 15, 1938 that became Austin J. Roche's own Ides of March. Because so many rooming houses' owners were adversely affected by the raid, pressure was on for the chief to be sent home. The window girls would endure for another 30 years or so before their territory would be sold to the state at fair market value and the property owners would move on to other interests. By the early 1960s, prostitution was well on the way to going underground. Gambling would be legalized and a newly-professionalized police force would have to learn to practice good behavior.

In 1938, however, corruption was the order of the day at all levels of municipal government. There was desire for reform, but not by those who could effect change, so the super cop from back east was reduced to footnote status. He was a glitch, a slip of the gears. His vision would not be realized until the late 1950s, when a pair of police chiefs would force change upon the department, bringing it in line with state regulations. This is not their story though. This is about a man who must have felt like Don Quixote with city manager James S. Dean as his Pancho. He was on his own. He ended up swallowed up by a beast with an insatiable appetite, only to be spewed back up and sent on his way.

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