In the spring of 1931 Vincent Coll and a contingent of
disgruntled gunmen broke off from Dutch Schultz's gang and waged war
against their former boss. Over the course of the summer the Dutchman's
boys started popping up dead. On this date back in 1932 however, Schultz
gunmen delivered a crippling blow to their foe.
Coll
gang members Louis and Fiore Basile and Patsy Del Greco (center of
photo) were holed up in one of the gangs Bronx hideouts with a man named
Joseph Paronne (whether or not he was part of the gang is unknown) and a
couple of women and some children. At approximately 9:30pm the doorbell
rang. One of the gang answered the door and four or five gunmen pushed
their way into the apartment and opened fire. Del Greco and the Basile
Brothers were the main targets and took the majority of the lead. Patsy
was killed with three shots and Louis Basile with four. His brother
Fiore was severely wounded with bullets over the heart and in the left
arm. Trying to escape, one of the women ran into the line of fire and
was killed when a bullet pierced her head. The other woman and Paronne
received non-life threatening wounds. The killer’s main target however
had not been on the premises for two days. How the killers found out
where the Coll gang was has never been ascertained but chances are there
was a traitor in the midst.
More on the Schultz-Coll war can be found in Gangster City: The History of the New York Underworld 1900-1935
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