1939 in organized crime
Encyclopedia
See also:
1938 in organized crime
,
other events of 1939,
1940 in organized crime
and the
list of 'years in Organized Crime'
.
1938 in organized crime
1938 in organized crime
See also:1937 in organized crime,other events of 1938,1939 in organized crime and thelist of 'years in Organized Crime'.-----Events:*John Ginnola of "Green Ones gang" of East St Louis-died age 40 of natural Causes....
,
other events of 1939,
1940 in organized crime
1940 in organized crime
See also:1939 in organized crime,other events of 1940,1941 in organized crime and thelist of 'years in Organized Crime'.-Events:*James J. Hines, the leader of Tammany Hall, the New York City Democratic organization, goes to prison for arranging political protection for Dutch Schultz's policy and...
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...
.
Events
- Cleveland, OhioCleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
sportsman Arthur B. "Mickey" McBrideArthur B. McBrideArthur B. "Mickey" McBride was the founder of the Cleveland Browns professional football team. McBride was a real estate developer and operator, active in Chicago, Cleveland and Florida. He also operated taxicab companies in Cleveland, Akron and Canton, Ohio, a printing company, and a horse...
, the one time leader of the Mayfield Road Mob in Cleveland, purchases the Continental Press racing wire service from Moses AnnenbergMoses AnnenbergMoses "Moe" Louis Annenberg was an American newspaper publisher, who purchased The Philadelphia Inquirer, the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the United States. in 1936. The Inquirer has the sixteenth largest average weekday U.S...
. - The three year gang war between the Philadelphia crime familyPhiladelphia crime familyThe Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Scarfo crime family, Bruno crime family, Philadelphia Mafia, or Philly Mob, is an Italian American criminal organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of the most active American Mafia families outside of the Five Families of New York...
and the rival Lanzetti Brothers ends after the death of leader William Lanzetti. The remaining Lanzetti gang members leave the city soon after. - Chicago OutfitChicago OutfitThe Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
member Salvatore "Sam," "Mooney" GiancanaSam GiancanaSalvatore Giancana , better known as Sam Giancana, was a Sicilian-American mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957-1966...
is sentenced to three-years imprisonment. - After his arrest in 19371937 in organized crimeSee also:1936 in organized crime,other events of 1937,1938 in organized crime and thelist of 'years in Organized Crime'.-----Events:*Ciro Terranova, former leader of the Morello crime family, is arrested for vagrancy in New York....
for drug trafficking in New Orleans, Nicola GentileNicola GentileNicola Gentile , also known as Nick Gentile, was a Sicilian mafioso and an organized crime figure in New York City during the 1920s and 1930s. He was also known for publishing his memoirs which, violating the mafiosi code known as omerta, revealed many details of the Sicilian and American underworld...
flees the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
while out on bail. He later returns to 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,...
. - Vito GenoveseVito GenoveseVito "Don Vito" Genovese was an Italian mafioso who rose to power in America during the Castellammarese War to later become leader of the Genovese crime family. Genovese served as mentor to future mob boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante...
leaves the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, after being charged for the murder of Ferdinand BocciaFerdinand BocciaFerdinand "The Shadow" Boccia was a New York mobster and gambling racketeer who was killed by Vito Genovese, who would become a mob boss. Boccia's murder would force Genovese to flee the United States to Italy to avoid prosecution. He is the father-in-law of Andrew Ruggiano Sr...
, later arriving in 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,...
. - January 28 - Louis CohenLouis CohenLouis Cohen was a New York mobster who murdered labor racketeer "Kid Dropper" Nathan Kaplan and was an associate of labor racketeer Louis "Lepke" Buchalter...
and Isadore FriedmanIsadore FriedmanIsadore or Irving Friedman , also known under the alias Danny Field, was a New York mobster and an associate of labor racketeer Louis "Lepke" Buchalter. He later agreed to testify against Buchalter on behalf of District Attorney Thomas E...
, witnesses scheduled to testify against Louis "Lepke" BuchalterLouis BuchalterLouis "Lepke" Buchalter was a Jewish American mobster and head of the Mafia hit squad Murder, Inc. during the 1930s. After Dutch Schultz' request of the Mafia Commission for permission to kill his enemy, U.S. Attorney Thomas Dewey, the Commission decided to kill Schultz in order to prevent the hit...
, are murdered in New York City. - January 29 - George WeinbergGeorge Weinberg (mobster)George Weinberg was a New York mobster and, with brother Abraham Weinberg, an associate of Dutch Schultz as a mob accountant during the 1920s and 30s...
, a numbers runner for Dutch SchultzDutch SchultzDutch Schultz was a New York City-area Jewish American gangster of the 1920s and 1930s who made his fortune in organized crime-related activities such as bootlegging alcohol and the numbers racket...
, commits suicide while under police protection shortly before his scheduled testimony against Schultz. - April 28 - Abraham "Whitey" FriedmanAbraham FriedmanAbraham "Whitey" Friedman was a New York mobster and former associate of Nathan "Kid Dropper" Kaplan and later for labor racketeers Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro as an enforcer in New York's garment district during the 1920s and 30s. One of many former associates killed by...
is murdered by 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...
gunmen, on orders of Louis Butchalter. - May 10 - Tootsie Fienstein, a one time associate of Louis Buchalter, is murdered.
- May 25 - New York Teamsters Union President Morris Diamond, on orders of Louis BuchalterLouis BuchalterLouis "Lepke" Buchalter was a Jewish American mobster and head of the Mafia hit squad Murder, Inc. during the 1930s. After Dutch Schultz' request of the Mafia Commission for permission to kill his enemy, U.S. Attorney Thomas Dewey, the Commission decided to kill Schultz in order to prevent the hit...
, is murdered by members of 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...
. - SummerSummerSummer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
- Jack DragnaJack DragnaJack Ignatius Dragna was an American Mafia member and Black Hander who was active in both Italy and the United States in the 1900s. He was active in bootlegging in California during the Prohibition Era in the United States...
's gambling ships, in operation since ProhibitionProhibitionProhibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
, are closed by the federal authorities. - August 24 - Louis BuchalterLouis BuchalterLouis "Lepke" Buchalter was a Jewish American mobster and head of the Mafia hit squad Murder, Inc. during the 1930s. After Dutch Schultz' request of the Mafia Commission for permission to kill his enemy, U.S. Attorney Thomas Dewey, the Commission decided to kill Schultz in order to prevent the hit...
, leader of 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...
, turns himself in to federal authorities, where he arranges a plea bargain with Walter WinchellWalter WinchellWalter Winchell was an American newspaper and radio gossip commentator.-Professional career:Born Walter Weinschel in New York City, he left school in the sixth grade and started performing in a vaudeville troupe known as Gus Edwards' "Newsboys Sextet."His career in journalism was begun by posting...
. However, he is later indicted by New York District Attorney Thomas DeweyThomas DeweyThomas Edmund Dewey was the 47th Governor of New York . In 1944 and 1948, he was the Republican candidate for President, but lost both times. He led the liberal faction of the Republican Party, in which he fought conservative Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft...
and extradited 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...
where he is charged and later executed for murder. - September 6 - New York racketeer Irving "Puggy" FeinsteinIrving FeinsteinIrving "Puggy" Feinstein was a New York mobster involved in illegal gambling labor racketeering with Louis "Lepke" Buchalter. Puggy had made the mistake of attempting to move into turf which was not his own. He was later murdered by several members of Murder Inc...
is murdered by members of 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...
, including Abe RelesAbe RelesAbe "Kid Twist" Reles was a New York mobster who was widely considered the most feared hit man for Murder, Inc., the enforcement contractor for the National Crime Syndicate. Reles later turned government witness and sent several members of Murder, Inc...
and Harry MaioneHarry MaioneHarry "Happy" Maione was a New York mobster who served as a hitman for Murder, Inc. during the 1930s...
, after being tied to a chair and burned to death. - October 20 - Charles CarrolloCharles CarrolloCharles Vincent "Charlie the Wop" Carrollo was a Kansas City, Missouri crime boss during the 1930s.Born Carlo Carollo in Sandrigo a town in the Veneto region, birthplace of Baccalà, Carollo's family emigrated to the United States when he was twelve years old, initially settling in New York City...
, head of the Kansas City crime syndicate, is convicted of violating federal tax laws and imprisoned in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, KansasLeavenworth, KansasLeavenworth is the largest city and county seat of Leavenworth County, in the U.S. state of Kansas and within the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area. Located in the northeast portion of the state, it is on the west bank of the Missouri River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
. He is reportedly succeeded by Charles BinaggioCharles BinaggioCharles Binaggio was a Missouri gangster who became the boss of the Kansas City crime family and concocted a bold plan to control the police forces in Kansas City, Missouri and St...
. - November 16 - Due to ill health, Al CaponeAl CaponeAlphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
is granted an early released from Alcatraz, and committed to a hospital for treatment of paresisParesisParesis is a condition typified by partial loss of voluntary movement or by impaired movement. When used without qualifiers, it usually refers to the limbs, but it also can be used to describe the muscles of the eyes , the stomach , and also the vocal cords...
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Arts and literature
- Persons in Hiding (non-fiction book) by J. Edgar HooverJ. Edgar HooverJohn Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
. - Each Dawn I DieEach Dawn I DieEach Dawn I Die is a 1939 gangster film featuring James Cagney and George Raft in their only movie together as leads, although Raft had made an unbilled appearance in a 1932 Cagney vehicle called Taxi! in which he won a dance contest against Cagney, after which he and Cagney brawl...
(film) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031260/ starring James CagneyJames CagneyJames Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
and George RaftGeorge RaftGeorge Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
. (Note: Classic Gangster Films by Robert Bookbinder states a 1940 release date as opposed to IMDB.com) - King of the UnderworldKing of the UnderworldKing of the Underworld is a 1952 British crime film directed by Victor M. Gover and starring Tod Slaughter, Patrick Barr and Tucker McGuire. A master criminal is hunted by the police after committing a series of crimes. It was followed by a sequel Murder at Scotland Yard...
(film) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031536/ starring Humphrey BogartHumphrey BogartHumphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
. - The Roaring TwentiesThe Roaring TwentiesThe Roaring Twenties is a 1939 crime thriller starring James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart and Gladys George. The movie was directed by Raoul Walsh, and written by Jerry Wald, Richard Macaulay and Robert Rossen based on the story "The World Moves On" by Mark Hellinger...
(film) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031867/ starring James CagneyJames CagneyJames Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
and Humphrey BogartHumphrey BogartHumphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
. - You Can't Get Away with MurderYou Can't Get Away with MurderYou Can't Get Away with Murder is a 1939 crime drama starring Humphrey Bogart and Gale Page. The film was directed by Lewis Seiler and features "Dead End Kid" leader Billy Halop...
(film) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032153/ starring Humphrey BogartHumphrey BogartHumphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
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Births
- Pietro Alfano, drug trafficker and nephew-in-law to Gaetano BadalamentiGaetano BadalamentiGaetano Badalamenti was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Don Tano Badalamenti was the capofamiglia of his hometown Cinisi, Sicily, and headed the Sicilian Mafia Commission in the 1970s...
- Salvatore BonannoSalvatore BonannoSalvatore Vincent "Bill" Bonanno was the son of Cosa Nostra boss Joseph Bonanno. Although his father never intended for him to be the underboss of the Bonanno crime family, his appointment to high positions in the syndicate precipitated a "mob war" which led to the Bonanno family's exile to Arizona...
"Bill", Leader of the Bonanno crime familyBonanno crime familyThe Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
and son of founder Joseph BonannoJoseph BonannoJoseph Charles Bonanno, Sr. was a Sicilian-born American mafioso who became the boss of the Bonanno crime family. He was nicknamed "Joe Bananas," a name he despised.-Early life:... - Louis DeSorbo "Big Louie", associate of the Genovese crime familyGenovese crime familyThe Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
- Peter GottiPeter GottiPeter Gotti, also known as "One Eyed Pete", "Petey Boy", "One Eye" , is a New York mobster who is the former boss of the Gambino crime family and the older brother of deceased Gambino boss John Gotti.-Background:...
"One Eyed Pete", member and one time acting boss of the Gambino crime familyGambino crime familyThe Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963... - Gennaro LangellaGennaro LangellaGennaro Adriano Langella also known as "Gerry Lang", is a member of the Colombo crime family who eventually became underboss and acting boss.-Background:...
"Jerry Lang", 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 ....
, acting boss - Joseph LigambiJoseph LigambiJoseph Anthony "Uncle Joe" Ligambi is an American mobster and current boss of the Philadelphia crime family. Ligambi is known among law enforcement circles to have a more "old school" approach, in sharp contrast to the former boss, Joseph Merlino's, flamboyant, high-profile style...
"Uncle Joe", Philadelphia crime familyPhiladelphia crime familyThe Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Scarfo crime family, Bruno crime family, Philadelphia Mafia, or Philly Mob, is an Italian American criminal organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of the most active American Mafia families outside of the Five Families of New York...
, boss - Joseph D. PistoneJoseph D. PistoneJoseph Dominick Pistone, alias Donnie Brasco, , is a former FBI agent who worked undercover for six years infiltrating the Bonanno crime family and to a lesser extent the Colombo crime family, two of the Five Families of the Mafia in New York City...
"Donnie Brasco", undercoverUndercoverBeing undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
FBI infiltrator of the Bonanno crime familyBonanno crime familyThe Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia .... - April 23 - Stefano BontadeStefano BontadeStefano Bontade was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Some sources spell his surname Bontate. He was the capomafia of the Santa Maria di Gesù Family in Palermo...
"The Prince", PalermoPalermoPalermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
mafiaMafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
boss
Deaths
- Walter StevensWalter StevensWalter Stevens was a freelance enforcer and "hitman," popularly known as, "dean of the Chicago gunmen," during Prohibition. Although having the reputation of violent gangster, credited with the deaths of at least 60 men, Stevens was a devoted husband to an invalid wife and his three adopted children...
, Chicago gangster involved in labor slugging - January 28 - Louis CohenLouis CohenLouis Cohen was a New York mobster who murdered labor racketeer "Kid Dropper" Nathan Kaplan and was an associate of labor racketeer Louis "Lepke" Buchalter...
, government witness - January 28 - Isadore FriedmanIsadore FriedmanIsadore or Irving Friedman , also known under the alias Danny Field, was a New York mobster and an associate of labor racketeer Louis "Lepke" Buchalter. He later agreed to testify against Buchalter on behalf of District Attorney Thomas E...
, government witness - January 29 - George WeinbergGeorge Weinberg (mobster)George Weinberg was a New York mobster and, with brother Abraham Weinberg, an associate of Dutch Schultz as a mob accountant during the 1920s and 30s...
, government informant and former associate of Dutch SchultzDutch SchultzDutch Schultz was a New York City-area Jewish American gangster of the 1920s and 1930s who made his fortune in organized crime-related activities such as bootlegging alcohol and the numbers racket... - April 28 - Abraham "Whitey" FriedmanAbraham FriedmanAbraham "Whitey" Friedman was a New York mobster and former associate of Nathan "Kid Dropper" Kaplan and later for labor racketeers Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro as an enforcer in New York's garment district during the 1920s and 30s. One of many former associates killed by...
, 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...
victim - May 10 - Tootsie Fienstein, associate of Louis Buchalter
- May 25 - Morris Diamond, New York Teamsters Union President
- September 6 - Irving FeinsteinIrving FeinsteinIrving "Puggy" Feinstein was a New York mobster involved in illegal gambling labor racketeering with Louis "Lepke" Buchalter. Puggy had made the mistake of attempting to move into turf which was not his own. He was later murdered by several members of Murder Inc...
"Puggy", New York racketeer