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

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

DGIS in Cincinnati



Back when the 1920s were roaring George “Fat” Wrassman was a big wheel in the Cincinnati underworld, operating there and in nearby Hamilton, in fact some said he was the biggest wheel of Southern Ohio. Like most wheels of any respectable size he was able to beat a number of raps over the years, including murder. “It was self-defense your Honor, honest. Cross my heart, hope to die squirt some seltzer in my eye.” 

Well as the mobsters would have it, a handful of gangland killings took place in the spring of 1929, out around the rural areas of Butler County where people liked to take it easy in a cabin, you know, fish, swim, relax and oh yeah, drink at night in the many roadhouses.

Anyways, detectives wanted to talk to Wrassman about the recent uptick in dead guys in suits in the vicinity but Wrassman didn’t want to be talked to, savvy? Thus, the authorities had to go looking for him. It was on the night of June 10, that detective Joe Schaefer and his partner Walter Fricke were cruising downtown Cinncy and they saw Wrassman’s car parked. The detectives took to the streets in search of the rotund gangster. Fricke perched himself in a doorway while Schaefer loitered across the street. A handful of minutes into the new day, Schaefer was getting ready to call it quits when he heard someone holler, “I’m going to kill you, you dirty--”* It was Wrassman and he saw Schaefer before the detective saw him. The gangster pulled his pistol and fired off two shots, both of which missed. Schaefer un-holstered his piece and fired off five shots all of which hit.  Wrassman collapsed muttering, “Joe, you got me at last.” Then he said no more, forever.

* Newspaper editors didn’t want to offend the reading public with gangster cursing so we don’t know exactly what Wrassman followed up “…you dirty—“with. Therefore I would like to hear from anyone else as to what they believe the edited blaspheme was. I’m going with “I’m going to kill you, you dirty birdy!”

9 comments:

John DuMond said...

From what I've heard, it was “I’m going to kill you, you dirty... Oh, look, you have a gun too. Maybe we an just talk this out.”

Wrassman gets off two quick shots. And misses. "Oh, Joe, sorry about th--"

Schaefer draws his pistol and blazes away at Wrassman, who stops talking and falls dead.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Schaefer says, "did I break you concentration?"

Wrassman says nothing in response. His concentration is completely broken at this point.

Patrick Downey said...

Interesting take. I can easily see an editor cutting all that out with a simple -. If you'll vouch for your source will go with that.

Jeni said...

Hi Pat. Fat George was my great grandfather. I'd love to find out more about him. If you have any resources to offer I'd be grateful!!!

Patrick Downey said...

Hi Jeni,
Thanks for stopping by. The only suggestion I can make would be to (assuming you are in the Cincinnati region) hit the public library and read the old newspapers. Start of with this date and go from there. Stories will mention other trials and what not and you can continue from there. If you are not in that area, I would say a trip to your local library and see if they have an online subscription to an old newspaper site and search from there. Best of luck!

Unknown said...

Fats was also my great grandfather. My uncle found a few newspaper articles on him. There is also a book that mentions him.

Unknown said...

He was also my great grandfather. I had a few newspaper articles I can send you. Feel free to email me at sarahslmt@yahoo.com.
Or find me on Facebook. Sarah Sumner Renner.

Unknown said...

He was also my great grandfather. I had a few newspaper articles I can send you. Feel free to email me at sarahslmt@yahoo.com.
Or find me on Facebook. Sarah Sumner Renner.

Unknown said...

Fats was also my great grandfather. My uncle found a few newspaper articles on him. There is also a book that mentions him.

Patrick Downey said...

Thank you for stopping by Sarah, hopefully Jeni will see your post.