prior to permanent residence in los angeles, wattles headed the streetcar company in omaha. his strike-breaking efforts contributed to four days of violence in the city in 1909. the attempt to unionize failed and many of the strikers had to seek work elsewhere, but the incident damaged wattles' social standing and worsened relations between the city's rich and the general citizenry. a jury's refusal in 1906 to convict career criminal pat crowe for the kidnapping of omaha packing house scion edward cudahy was widely seen as an expression of contempt for the city's ruling elite. several millionaires fled the city, including the cudahy family. with his civic reputation damaged, wattles himself began to spend more time in los angeles after the strike and permanently relocated in 1920.