1903 in organized crime
Encyclopedia
See also:
1902 in organized crime
,
other events of 1903,
1904 in organized crime
and the
list of 'years in organized crime'
.
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1902 in organized crime
1902 in organized crime
See also:1901 in organized crime,other events of 1902,1903 in organized crime and thelist of 'years in organized crime'.-----Events:*Black Hand leader Giuseppe Morello is released from prison and begins counterfeiting operations to smuggle counterfeit $5 US dollar bills from Sicily into New...
,
other events of 1903,
1904 in organized crime
1904 in organized crime
See also:1903 in organized crime,other events of 1904,1905 in organized crime and thelist of 'years in organized crime'.-----Events:*The headquarters of the On Leong Merchant Association is moved to N.Y, New York....
and the
list of 'years in organized crime'
Timeline of organized crime
This is a timeline of the history of organized crime.Note: Sources included are Carl Sifakis's The Mafia Encyclopedia, Herbert Asbury's The Gangs of New York and others. Online references also include Thomas P...
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Events
- New York Secret ServiceUnited States Secret ServiceThe United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
Chief William J. FlynnWilliam J. FlynnWilliam J. Flynn was the director of the Bureau of Investigation from July 1, 1919 to August 21, 1921.Born in New York City Flynn began his government career in 1897 after receiving a public school education. His first assignment was as an Agent in the United States Secret Service...
issues a statement regarding the Black HandBlack Hand (blackmail)Black Hand was a type of extortion racket. It was a method of extortion, not a criminal organization as such, though gangsters of Camorra and the Mafia practiced it.-Origins:...
as "the most secret and terrible organization in the world". - Spring - Backed by Monk EastmanMonk EastmanEdward "Monk" Eastman was a New York City Gangster who founded and led one of the most powerful street gangs in New York City at the turn of the Twentieth Century, the Eastman Gang. His other aliases included Joseph "Joe" Morris, Joe Marvin, William "Bill" Delaney, and Edward "Eddie" Delaney...
, the Cherry Hill GangCherry Hill GangThe Cherry Hill Gang was a New York street gang during the late nineteenth century.Formed in the 1890s, the Cherry Hill Gang were known as the "dandies" of New York's underworld...
and a new generation of WhyosWhyosThe Whyos, a collection of the various post-Civil War street gangs of New York, was the city's dominant street gang during the late 19th century. The gang controlled most of Manhattan from the late 1860s until the early 1890s, when the Monk Eastman Gang defeated the last of the Whyos...
under Bill "the Brute" Sanger begin fighting amongst each other resulting in hundreds being injured in gunfights. Crime in the area, particularly armed robbery and assault, dramatically increases as a result. - April 13 - New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
police find a body stuffed in a barrel, similar to the New Orleans "barrel murders" of the previous decade, who was later recognized by a US Secret Service agent as an associate of Black Hand leaders Giuseppe MorelloGiuseppe MorelloGiuseppe "the Clutch Hand" Morello , also known as "The Old Fox", was the first boss of the Morello crime family and later top adviser to Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria. He was known as Piddu and his rivals the Castellammarese knew him as Peter Morello...
, Tomasso "The Ox" PettoTomasso PettoTommaso "The Ox" Petto was a New York mobster and leading hitman in the Morello crime family during the early 1900s.Born around 1879, Petto lived in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. His nickname "The Ox" came from his massive head and frame. Petto's nominal profession was that of a suit...
, and Ignazio "the Wolf" Lupo. This would later lead to an investigation by New York police detective Joseph PetrosinoJoe PetrosinoGiuseppe "Joe" Petrosino was a New York City police officer who was a pioneer in the fight against organized crime...
. - August - A particularly violent gun battle between the EastmanEastman GangThe Eastman Gang was the last of New York's street gangs which dominated the city's underworld during the late 1890s until early 1910s. Along with the Five Points Gang under Paul Kelly, the Eastmans succeeded the long dominant Whyos as the first non-Irish street gang to gain prominence in the...
and the Five Points GangFive Points GangFive Points Gang was a 19th-century and early 20th-century criminal organization, primarily of Italian-American origins, based in the Sixth Ward of Manhattan, New York City. Since the early 19th century, the area was first known for gangs of Irish immigrants...
s, over an attempted raid by the Five Pointers of a local Rivington Street stussStussStuss is a card game, a variant of faro. In this version the cards are dealt from the dealer's hand, not from a shoe. Also, the house won all the money when drawing two equal cards, as opposed to half in traditional faro...
game, eventually involves over a hundred gangsters (including the GophersGopher GangThe Gopher Gang was an early 20th century New York street gang known for its members including Goo Goo Knox, James "Biff" Ellison, and Owney Madden...
who fired at both the Eastmans and Five Pointers alike) causing Tammany HallTammany HallTammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
to force leaders Monk EastmanMonk EastmanEdward "Monk" Eastman was a New York City Gangster who founded and led one of the most powerful street gangs in New York City at the turn of the Twentieth Century, the Eastman Gang. His other aliases included Joseph "Joe" Morris, Joe Marvin, William "Bill" Delaney, and Edward "Eddie" Delaney...
and Paul KellyPaul Kelly (criminal)Paul Kelly was an Italian immigrant who founded the Five Points Gang in New York City after starting some brothels with prize monies earned in boxing...
to make peace. - Winter - The truce between Monk Eastman and Paul Kelly ends after a barroom brawl in a Bowery dive bar between gang members Hurst and Ford, of the Eastmans and Five Pointers respectively, with Hurst seriously injured. Eastman, demanding Ford's life, threatens to invade Kelly's territory. With Kelly's refusal to turn Ford over to the Eastmans, both sides again prepare for war. However, a truce is again arranged by Tammany Hall politician Tom FoleyTom FoleyThomas Stephen Foley was the 57th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1989 to 1995. He represented Washington's 5th congressional district for 30 years as a Democratic member from 1965 to 1995....
, who threatens to withdraw political protection from the gangs if they did not comply. A prize fight is arranged between the two gang leaders which lasts over two hours until both men eventually collapse and the fight is declared a draw. Following the fight, both gang leaders continue preparing for war. - Giuseppe Masseria emigrates to New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA from SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
to escaped a murder charge.
Births
- Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, Irish AmericanIrish AmericanIrish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
, Prohibition eraProhibition in the United StatesProhibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
gangster - Thomas DiBello, Colombo crime familyColombo crime familyThe Colombo crime family is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
Underboss - Samuel LevineSamuel LevineSamuel "Red" Levine was an American mobster, described as head of Lucky Luciano's hit squad of Jewish gangsters. According to several sources, he was an observant Jew and refrained from killing on the Sabbath, if possible.Levine was born in Toledo, Ohio, and grew up on the Lower East Side of...
(Joseph Brown) "Red", New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
(BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
) mobster and Murder, Inc.Murder, Inc.Murder, Inc. was the name given by the press to organized crime groups in the 1920s through the 1940s that resulted in hundreds of murders on behalf of the American Mafia and Jewish Mafia groups who together formed the early organized crime groups in New York and...
member - David BermanDavid Berman (mobster)David "Davie the Jew" Berman was a Jewish-American organized crime figure in Iowa, New York City, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was also one of the pioneers of gambling in Las Vegas, Nevada...
, Murder, Inc.Murder, Inc.Murder, Inc. was the name given by the press to organized crime groups in the 1920s through the 1940s that resulted in hundreds of murders on behalf of the American Mafia and Jewish Mafia groups who together formed the early organized crime groups in New York and...
member and Las VegasLas Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
crime syndicate member - Russell BufalinoRussell BufalinoRussell A. Bufalino also known as "McGee" and "The Old Man" was the boss of the Northeastern Pennsylvania crime family from 1959 to 1989...
, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
crime syndicate leader - Frank WortmanFrank WortmanFrank L. "Buster" Wortman was a St. Louis-area bootlegger, gambler and a former member of the Shelton Brothers Gang during Prohibition. Wortman would eventually succeed the Sheltons and take over St. Louis's gambling operations in southwest Illinois until his death.-Early life:The son of an East St...
, St. LouisSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
crime syndicate leader and Shelton Gang member