Right on the heels of the Durst and Brady murders another Gordon feller, William “Big Bill” Oppenheim, (so called because of his girth, 350 lbs. not because of his political or financial standings) caught a lethal dose of lead while his boss sat safely behind bars.
Seventy-seven years ago today Oppenheim was walking up the steps to his Patterson, New Jersey apartment when two men approached from behind and called to him. When Big Bill turned to see who it was five bullets slammed into his face. After Oppenheim dropped to the ground the shooters ran up and pumped five more shots into his chest for good measure.
Satisfied with their labors one of the shooters said, "Whew, TGIF huh? Thinning Waxy's ranks is hard work." to which his confederate replied, "Indeed. Say, I think we can still catch happy hour at Chi-Chi's. Raspberry margaritas are on me!"
"He must have done something. They don't kill you for nothing." - Chicago Gangster Ted Newberry. Rubbed out January 7, 1933
2 comments:
Patrick. Thanks for posting this summary of my Great Uncle’s Demise. A NYT article dated June 5th, 1933, recounts “Big Bill’s” execution in detail. So it was 6/5/33, not 6/10. My late Grandfather told my mom that around 8 years before, they moved the family from Brownsville to Paterson to “escape the gang violence”. Although Bill was an adult, the extended family moved. Yet he “quickly found new gang associates in NJ, & went back to his old ways”. Being a looming 6’1” 350lb experienced enforcer, his size alone would’ve gotten him recruited wherever he went IMO. I Have a copy of the NYT article. You can’t get it online: mine is a JPG. So, if you want a copy, send your info. I can’t send it via other means. Despite being an infamous part of our family history, it wasn’t buried(forgive the pun :)). If you scratch the surface, SO many American families have dark stories. Thx for the blog! -t
Thanks for your post and the family insight. I think you confused the year of this post with the date. He was killed on 6/4 which would account for the news article of the 5th. The original blog post was from June 4,2010.
I'm fairly certain I have the article in my files but thank you just the same. Be well!
Post a Comment