MPB

Anyone out there in DGIS land related to or know anybody who knew New York Daily News journalist John O'Donnell? Worked for the paper from the 1920's-1950's?

La Barbera La Bootlegger

Eighty-seven years ago today forty-year old Ignacio La Barbera was walking down his street with another man about a block away from where mafia boss Umberto Valenti was killed the month before. As the duo strolled along two men fell into step behind them. When the two trailing men got close enough they each pulled out a pistol and fired into La Barbera’s neck and back. Mortally wounded La Barbera fell to the sidewalk. The man who was with La Barbera ran away as did the gunmen.
The police found a key on La Barbera and used it to open the store over which he lived and found a large copper still and thirty-nine five-gallon jugs filled with alchohol. Since La Barbera lived and died in the same proximity as Umberto Valenti, let's start a rumor that he was bumped off on orders from Joe Masseria as well.

That's for taking my cab!

Way, way back in 1921, on a day very much like today, ok, actually it was the same date. A cab pulled up in front of the house of a young Irish feller named Vincenzo Verducci*. Inside the cab were three of Verducci's friends, one of whom was toting a bottle of champagne. Verducci climbed into the cab to join his partying compadres when suddenly a man darted out of a nearby doorway, jumped onto the cab's running board and fired two shots. One hit Verducci in the cheek, and even worse, the other blew apart the bottle of bubbly. The gunman and everyone else without a bullet hole in their face jumped from the taxi and ran away leaving the driver to transport Vincenzo to the hospital. Apparently the only fatality was the Champagne, sniff sniff.

* I don't know if he really was Irish, I was just judging by the name.

Dropper gets dropped

Eighty-six years ago today. New York City lost it's most notorious gangster of the time. Nathan Kaplan a.ka. the Cisco Kid...wait thats not right, it's Kid Galahad...no that's an Elvis movie; let me check my notes....ah, there it is Kid Dropper! That's it, the prime suspect in yesterdays murder, and the terror of the Lower Eastside, was gunned down as the exited the Essex Market Courthouse by a young punk named George M. Cohan...wait thats not right. It was singer/author Leonard Cohen...hold on let me check my notes....Louis Cohen, thats it! Louis Cohen was put up to the job by Kid Droppers arch nemesis Little Feet, I mean the Little Rascals, oh hold on, I really should prepare myself better....Little Augie Orgen thats it. With the demise of the Dropper, Little Augie rose to the top of the lower Eastside gangster heap, but you already knew that.

Dropped by the Dropper?

Eighty five years ago this evening Seventeen-year-old Alex Schnite told his father that he had a date and left the family flat at dusk. Around 11:00pm he was standing against a wall on the lower eastside when three men approached him. While Schnite was looking in the opposite direction one of the trio shot the teen twice in the back and the side. Schnite fell to the ground and another of the guys unclasped a knife and slashed his jugular vein. Schnite rolled over to shield himself from another blow and the knifeman stabbed him in the back before escaping with the others in a waiting taxi.

Numerous people were in the vicinity when the crime took place and some ran to Schnite’s home and informed his parents. Alex was removed to the hospital where he arrived DOA. His father said that his son had told him he was going on a date and then breaking down he mentioned that Alexander had told him that he had had some trouble with members of “Kid Dropper’s” gang.

Felix' folly

Felix Deegan's family said he wasn't a gangster but when he was found dead 85- years ago today they said that the two bullets pumped into his head and the other two fired into his chest were the result of a gang feud. Odd? Oh, and he also had a .38 on him.

Deegan was last seen alive at 10:30pm when a cop came across him and five other guys and they were all arguing. Deegan was drunk so the cop told him to go home whilst shoeing away the other guys. Deegan didn't go home though, instead Felix the cat hungout and regrouped with the five men. An hour later the cop responded to four gunshots and saw the five amigos pile into a cab and drive off leaving Deegan knocking on Heaven's door. Heaven answered on the way to the hospital.

Standing on the corner watching all the girls go by.

Twenty-five year old Peter Whalen was a Brooklyn rum runner with a police record dating back to when he was eleven. When he was fifteen he got busted for stealing pigeons (even back then the bird was the word) before moving up to grand larceny by the time Prohibition rolled around. Eighty-seven years ago today Peter was standing on a corner when a man appeared in a doorway and unleashed a volley of bullets at him. With one of those bullets in his heart Peter ran a block before dropping dead.