Rub a dub dub, a dead man in a tub

There used to be a saloon in the Bowery known as the “Tub of Blood”. Guess what happened there one hundred years ago tonight? Go ahead guess...alright I'll tell ya. Five men entered and blew past the bartender and two women patrons (ah to meet a gal who would hang out at the T.O.B.) and entered the rear room. A moment later the women and bartender heard one of the men yell, “You’re a squealer! You sent him to Dannemora! (a prison in upstate NY)” the yelling was followed by a series of shots. The shots in turn were followed by the quick exit of four of the five men who entered.

The police were summoned and in the back room they found the body of Thomas Murphy. There was also a trail of blood leading out of the saloon so police figured some one else had been injured in the shooting. A short time after the killing a man named Michael Matera walked into the Mulberry Street Police station and said that he had been shot in the leg while exiting the subway but the police decided that he was probably the wounded guy who made a separate exit and held him for the Murphy slaying.