"He must have done something. They don't kill you for nothing." - Chicago Gangster Ted Newberry. Rubbed out January 7, 1933

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Curtains for Curto

Eighty-one years ago tonight at around 10:15pm the still warm body of Gandolfo Curto was found in Queens with bullet wounds to the head and neck. Curto was known all along Broadway and in the underworld as Frankie Marlow.

He was a first rank gangster involved in bootlegging, night clubs, boxing and all those things that gangsters like to get involved with, especially showgirls. But seemingly he was always behind the eight ball and owed large amounts of money.

One of those he owed was Joe “The Boss” Masseria and by 1929 the Boss had had enough of Signore Curto. This night in 1929 found Marlow dining with some friends and a showgirl whom he had knocked up and was causing a fuss. While at the restaurant he received a phone call and said he had to go meet somebody. He walked over to the corner of Broadway & 52nd where a sedan pulled up and he got in. Forty-five minutes later he was in Queens in the previous mentioned condition.

For more on Marlowe you are invited to check out Gangster City.

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