Murder, Inc.

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Murder, Inc., Murder Incorporated or Brownsville Boys was the name given by the press for an organized crime group in the 1920s to 1940s that carried out hundreds of murders on behalf of the mob. The name Murder Incorporated was a journalistic invention. The credit for the title is usually given to Harry Feeney, a 1930s reporter for the old New York World-Telegram.^{[citation needed]} The members of this syndicate usually referred to it as the Combination.^{[citation needed]}

Notable members of Murder Inc. included Abe "Kid Twist" Reles, Frank "Dasher" Abbandando, Louis Capone, Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein, Harry "Happy" Maione, Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss, Allie Tannenbaum, Seymour "Blue Jaw" Magoon, Emanuel "Mendy" Weiss,Santo "Sonny Boy" Ricchiettore and Charles "Charlie the Bug" Workman.^{[citation needed]}

Most Murder, Inc., murders were unsolved. Very often the killers, and sometimes even their victims, were strangers to the city where the murder took place, making them difficult to trace. Police would concentrate on local suspects when the killers were already en route to their hometowns. Targets included informants (including civilian informants) or gang members who had embezzled mob money, but gang members, particularly Reles, were known for casual murder as well.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Methods 2 Founding 3 Dutch Schultz 4 Demise 5 The trials 6 The death of Abe Reles 7 After the trials 8 Known members 9 In the media 10 Notes 11 References 12 External links

[edit] Methods

Most of the killers were Italian and Jewish gangsters from the gangs of the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Brownsville, East New York and Ocean Hill. In addition to crime in New York City and acting as enforcers for New York mobster Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, they accepted murder contracts from mob bosses all around the United States. In his biography, "The Valachi Papers", Mafia turncoat Joseph Valachi indicated that Murder Inc. did not perform killings for the Cosa Nostra.

The killers were paid a regular salary as retainer, plus an average fee of $1,000 to $5,000 per killing. Their families also received monetary benefits. If the killers were caught, the mob would hire the best lawyers for their defense.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Founding

Murder, Inc., was established after the formation of the commission of the National Crime Syndicate, to which it ultimately answered. Largely headed by former mob enforcers Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and Meyer Lansky, it also had members from Buchalter's labor-slugging gang (in partnership with Tommy "Three-Fingered Brown" Lucchese) as well as from another group of enforcers from Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, of the late 1920s led by Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein and Abe "Kid Twist" Reles. Buchalter, in particular, and Joe Adonis occasionally, gave the outfit its orders from the board of directors of the syndicate. Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia was the troupe's operating head, or "Lord High Executioner", assisted by Lepke's longtime associate Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro.

It is alleged that a police bodyguard of Reles was involved in the disappearance of Judge Crater in 1930.

In 1932, Abe Wagner informed on the syndicate to the police. He fled to Saint Paul, Minnesota and adopted a disguise to evade possible pursuit. Two killers, George Young and Joseph Schafer, found and shot him but were later apprehended. Bugsy Siegel failed to get them released.

In the 1930s, Buchalter used Murder, Inc. to murder witnesses and suspected informants when he was investigated by crusading prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey. In one case, on May 11, 1937, four killers hacked loan shark George Rudnick to pieces, on the mere suspicion that he was an informant (see below). On October 1, 1937, they shot and seriously wounded Buchalter's ex-associate Max Rubin. Rubin had disobeyed Buchalter's orders to leave town and "disappear" in order to avoid being summoned as a witness against Buchalter.

[edit] Dutch Schultz

Probably their most well-known victim was Dutch Schultz, who made the mistake of openly defying the syndicate. In October 1935, Schultz insisted on putting a "hit" on Dewey, who was leading an all-out effort to put the mob out of business. The syndicate "Board" overruled Schultz; the board felt that killing law enforcement officers would bring too much "heat". They feared, with good reason, that Dewey's murder would inflame public outrage to new heights and result in an even greater campaign to shut down the rackets. Schultz vowed that he would ignore the Board's decision and kill Dewey himself. By doing so, he signed his own death warrant. The Board decided that it needed to act immediately to kill Schultz before he killed Dewey. Therefore, in an ironic twist, Buchalter actually saved Dewey's life, which allowed Dewey to continue his efforts to bring down Buchalter. This led Shapiro to suggest years later that Schultz should have been allowed to kill Dewey, although at the time he supported the syndicate's decision to overrule Schultz.

Hitmen Mendy Weiss and Charles Workman were given the assignment to kill Schultz. On the night of October 23, 1935, Weiss and Workman tracked down Schultz and his associates Otto Berman, Abe Landau, and Lulu Rosenkrantz and shot them at the Palace Chop House in Newark, New Jersey. Berman, Landau and Rosenkrantz died almost immediately, while Schultz clung to life but died the following day. As the thorough Workman stayed behind to make sure they had completed their assignment and finished off Schultz in the men's room of the restaurant, Weiss escaped the scene with their Murder, Inc. getaway driver, Seymour "Piggy" Schechter. Furious at being abandoned by his confederates, Workman had to make his way back to Brooklyn by foot. A day or two later, Workman filed a "grievance" with the Board against Weiss and Schechter. Although he had simply followed Weiss's frantic orders to drive away without waiting for Workman, the unfortunate Schechter ended up bearing the punishment, becoming a Murder, Inc. victim himself a short time later. In 1944, Weiss ended up in the electric chair for another murder (see below). Workman was eventually tried by the State of New Jersey for the Schultz murders, and served 23 years in prison (see below).

[edit] Demise

In January 1940, professional criminal and police informer Harry "Harry the Mock" Rudolph was held as a material witness in the murder of 19-year-old minor gangster Alex "Red" Alpert. Alpert was shot in the back on a street corner in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn on November 25, 1933.^[1][2] While in custody Rudolph talked with Brooklyn District Attorney William O'Dwyer. With Rudolph's testimony O'Dwyer secured first-degree murder indictments against Abe Reles, Martin Goldstein and Anthony the "Duke" Maffetore.^[1][2] After the three were indicted, O'Dwyer learned that Rudolph was reportedly offered a $5,000 bribe by another prisoner, on behalf of the syndicate, to "put Reles and Goldstein on the street".^[2] O'Dwyer stated that when Maffetore learned of the bribe offer to help clear Reles and Goldstein, and after several talks with New York City Detective John Osnato, he decided to turn state's evidence.^[2][3] Detective Osnato talked with Maffetore even though he had worked with Rudolph previously and did not put much credibility in his story since Rudolph was paid for information in other cases that turned out to be false.^[4] Eventually, Maffetore decided to cooperate, stating that he was not involved in the Alpert murder, but was the driver in six gangland murders.^[4] Maffetore then convinced Abraham "Pretty" Levine to talk. Reles was next to cooperate with the District Attorney's office.^[5] Soon after the trio started talking, numerous first-degree murder indictments were issued in Brooklyn, The Bronx, and in upstate Sullivan County (Catskills).^[6] Additional members of the 'Combination' then were added to the list of cooperating witnesses including, Albert Tannenbaum, Seymour Magoon and Sholem Bernstein. Ironically, Harry Rudolph's testimony was never used in any of the trials as he died of natural causes in the infirmary at Rikers Island in June 1940.^[7]

[edit] The trials

Main article: Murder, Inc. trials

[edit] The death of Abe Reles

Reles "fell" to his death from a room at the Half Moon Hotel in Coney Island on November 12, 1941, even though he was under police guard.^[8][9] The official verdict was accidental death by defenestration, but the angle of his trajectory suggests that he was pushed.

[edit] After the trials

With many of its members sent to the electric chair or prison, Murder, Inc. vanished within a few years.

• Duke Maffetore and Pretty Levine received suspended sentences after pleading guilty to petit larceny in the theft of an automobile used in a gangland murder.^[10]
• NYPD Lieutenant John Osnato, who convinced Duke Maffetore to cooperate with the Brooklyn District Attorney's office retired in June 1944 after 28 years on the police force. He died of a heart ailment at age 55 on November 25, 1945.^[11]
• Philip ("Little Farvel") Cohen was murdered in 1949, several months after being released from federal prison. Cohen had served seven years of a 10-year sentence for narcotics trafficking. News reports indicate he was killed on the Syndicate's belief that his first-degree murder indictment in the death of Joe Rosen was dropped due to cooperating with the police.^[12]
• In October 1950, 37 year old Anthony the "Duke" Maffetore was arrested for grand larceny as a member of a nationwide auto theft ring. He disappeared on March 7, 1951, missing a scheduled appearance in Queens County Court and was presumed murdered.^[13]
• Albert Anastasia, dubbed in the media the "Lord High Executioner of Murder Inc.", was himself killed in a barber's chair at the Park Sheraton Hotel on October 25, 1957 in Manhattan.^[14] Shortly after Anastasia's murder, east coast organized criminals held a meeting in Apalachin, N.Y. to, according to law enforcement, distribute Anastasia's rackets.^{[15][16][17][18]}

[edit] Known members

• Vincent Mangano- Boss until the Commission took it over
• Louis "Lepke" Buchalter-The boss and labor racketeer
• Albert Anastasia-Operating head
• Abe "Kid Twist" Reles
• Martin "Bugsy" Goldstein
• Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss
• Louis Capone
• Allie Tannenbaum
• Frank Abbandando
• Seymour Magoon
• Harry Maione- Leader of Italian faction (Formerly led the Ocean Hill Hooligans before it was assimilated into Murder. Inc)
• Mendy Weiss
• Charles ("Charlie the Bug”) Workman
• Johnny Dio
• Irving "Knadles" Nitzberg - Sentenced to death twice, convictions overturned twice.
• Vito "Socko" Gurino
• Jacob "Jack" Drucker
• Sholom Bernstein - Driver in Joe Rosen murder, testified against Buchalter in murder trial.
• Philip "Little Farvel" Cohen - Indicted in Joe Rosen murder, indictment dropped. Murdered in 1949.
• Louis "Dutch Goldberg" Shomberg

[edit] In the media

• The 1943 Merrie Melodies cartoon, Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs, features Murder, Inc. being summoned to kill the protagonist, So White.
• Burton B. Turkus wrote a 1951 book entitled Murder, Inc. (ISBN 0-306-81288-6). It was adapted into the 1960 film Murder, Inc., with Peter Falk winning an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Reles.
• In her 1980 autobiography Shelley: Also Known as Shirley, actress Shelley Winters claims that a number of her childhood schoolmates grew up to be members of Murder, Inc.
• The 1951 film The Enforcer with Humphrey Bogart was another fictionalized account of Murder Incorporated.
• The character of Moe Greene in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather as well as in Francis Ford Coppola's Academy Awards winning film on the same novel, is based on the Murder Inc.'s real life benefactor, aides and associate Bugsy Siegel. In the film Moe Greene was assassinated in the same fashion that had Siegel killed. Even some of others of Murder Inc. benefactors such as young Meyer Lansky, the character Hyman Roth is fully based on this Jew mobster.
• On the TV series The West Wing, in the episode entitled Holy Night, the character Toby Ziegler's father, Julie Ziegler, is revealed to have been a member of Murder, Inc.
• Murder, Inc. may have been an inspiration for the Bruce Springsteen song Murder Incorporated, intended for 1984's Born in the U.S.A. album, but not released until 1995's Greatest Hits album.
• In the first season of The Sopranos TV series, "Tony Soprano's" psychiatrist listens as another psychiatrist waxes about his family's ties through Buchalter to Murder, Inc. .
• Murder, Inc. is one of the gangs used by players in the card game Family Business.
• Hip- Hop producer Irv Gotti named his production company Murder Inc. in reference to the organization.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Murder, Inc. at the Crime Library
• Murder Inc. at Find-A-Grave