"Dapper" Danny Hogan (c. 1880 - December 4, 1928) was an

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

figure, political fixer, and the

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

Irish Mob The Irish Mob (also known as the Irish mafia or Irish organized crime) is a collective of organized crime syndicates composed of ethnic Irish members which operate primarily in Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia, and have been in ...

both before and during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

. Following Hogan's 1928 murder by

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...

, his former position as leader of

in St. Paul was taken over by

Lithuanian Jew Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent areas o ...

ish gangster and former Hogan associate Harry Sawyer and his ally, corrupt police chief Big Tom Brown. They did not share Hogan's distaste for unnecessary violence. Their collusion with both the

Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dill ...

and Barker-Karpis Gangs resulted in some of the most infamous crimes of the

Depression era The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and in the rise of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

under

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation � ...

Early life

According to his death certificate, Daniel Hogan was born c. 1880 to

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...

parents in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Hogan was first arrested in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

for "room prowling" in 1905 and accordingly served a sentence at

San Quentin San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the o ...

. He went on to also serve prison terms in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

for

bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank- ...

and stealing furs.

Criminal career in Saint Paul

Around 1909, Hogan permanently settled in Saint Paul, where, "he discovered his true calling - organizing major crimes from the sanctuary of St. Paul, selecting the criminal personnel for the job, and laundering stolen merchandise, particularly hard-to-fence Government bonds." During the same era, Hogan's close ally, mobbed up St. Paul Police Chief John O'Connor, allowed criminals and fugitives to operate in the city as long as they checked in with Hogan, paid a small

bribe Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corr ...

, and promised not to kill, kidnap, rape, or rob within the city limits. Even though Hogan himself often skirted this rule, according to Paul Maccabee, "Hogan's robberies, unlike those of

Bonnie Parker Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...

Clyde Barrow Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...

, and other better-known bandits, nearly always reaped substantial profits and seldom resulted in gunplay." Hogan became a fixer so closely connected to the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

political machine In the politics of Representative democracy, representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a hig ...

that ran St. Paul that police officers not only feared him, but actively protected his organization. The

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

made repeated attempts to prosecute him, but always failed. Hogan also acted as an "ambassador" for Chief O'Connor and visiting mobsters from the

National Crime Syndicate The National Crime Syndicate was the name given by the press to the multi-ethnic, loosely connected, American confederation of several criminal organizations. It mostly consisted of and was led by the closely interconnected Italian-American Mafia ...

. Hogan himself owned the Green Lantern saloon on Wabasha Street, Saint Paul, which was also an

illegal gambling Gaming law is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, c ...

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

, and became a

speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...

during Prohibition. Hogan was involved in planning armed robberies in the towns surrounding the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

, and also in

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

and casino gambling in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. In an interview with Paul Maccabee, retired journalist Fred Heaberlin recalled, "Danny Hogan... today he'd probably be called a Godfather, sort of a father figure for hoods who were climbing the world of hoodlumism." In a 1927 memo, the U.S. Justice Department alleged, "Hogan is a nationally know character as a 'fence' for the disposal of stolen property and undoubtedly hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen stamps and bonds and other valuable property have come into his hands... He is doubtless one of the most resourceful and keenest criminals in the United States and has always been able to cover his tracks so as to avoid detection." In his memoir ''Robbing Banks was my Business'',

Harvey Bailey Harvey John Bailey (August 23, 1887 – March 1, 1979), called "The Dean of American Bank Robbers", was an American criminal who spanned a long career and was one of the most successful bank robbers during the 1920s, walking off with over $1 mill ...

described how he regularly went to Hogan, who regularly laundered the money and bonds from Bailey's armed robberies. Bailey praised Hogan as a trustworthy, principled, and honorable gangster. According to Bailey, Danny Hogan's word, once given, was good.

Murder

On December 4, 1928, Dapper Dan got behind the wheel of his Paige

coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

and turned on the ignition. A bomb located beneath the floorboards detonated and blew off his right leg. He slipped into a coma at the hospital and died nine hours after the blast. Accompanied by $5,000 worth of lilies, roses, and gold and white chrysanthemums sent by criminal associates from the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Hogan received a funeral worthy of Prohibition-era

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul's North End. Following the funeral, Chicago

North Side Gang The North Side Gang, also known as the North Side Mob, was an Irish-Polish-American criminal organization within Chicago during the Prohibition era from the early 1920s to the mid-1930s. It was the principal rival of the South Side Gang, also ...

leader

Bugs Moran George Clarence "Bugs" Moran (; Adelard Leo Cunin; August 21, 1893 – February 25, 1957) was an American Chicago Prohibition-era gangster. He was incarcerated three times before his 21st birthday. Seven members of his gang were gunned dow ...

personally stood guard outside the Hogan family residence at West Seventh Street, apparently to protect his fallen friend's family from further attacks. The boss' widow, Leila Hogan, was heard to say, however, "I am sure there will be justice. If Danny had lived, he would have gone on the one leg they left him and taken care of it himself." Although the murder is still considered unsolved, recently declassified

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

files reveal that the most likely person responsible was Jewish-American mobster and longtime Hogan associate Harry Sawyer. According to declassified FBI interviews with his ex-wife Rita Gladys Sawyer, Harry Sawyer believed that Hogan had cheated him out of a $36,000 cut from an

they jointly ran at the Hollywood Inn in

Mendota, Minnesota Mendota is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The name is derived from the Dakota language, meaning "mouth or junction of one river with another. The population was 198 at the 2010 census. History The town was one of the first p ...

. In addition, Harry Sawyer had contributed $25,000 to Hogan's bail in 1927, after the boss had been

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

for masterminding the 1924

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

of $35,000 from the

Chicago Great Western Railroad The Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. It was founded by Alpheus Beede Stickney in 1885 as a regional line between St. Paul and the Iowa state line called the Minnesota a ...

station at

South St. Paul South St. Paul is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota County, Minnesota, United States, located immediately south and southeast of Saint Paul, Minnesota, St. Paul. It is also east of West St. Paul, Minnesota, West St. Paul. The population ...

. To Sawyer's undying fury, Hogan had never repaid him. In an interview with Paul Maccabee, Hogan's niece, Anne Michaud, recalled, "Uncle Danny knew who had killed him, but he'd never tell his family, because he was afraid the gangsters would come after ''us''."Paul Maccabee (1995), ''John Dillinger Slept Here: A Crooks Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul 1920-1936'',

Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehoo ...

Press. Page 18. Hogan's death is especially notable because it was one of the first instances in the

of a

crime boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...

being murdered by a

. After the funeral, Sawyer took over Hogan's former position as boss of St. Paul's underworld and, with the help of mobbed up police chief Big Tom Brown, masterminded a violent crime spree that, according to Paul Maccabee, would have horrified Danny Hogan.

References

External links

StarTribune.com "St. Paul gang figure slain"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hogan, Danny 1880s births 1928 deaths 1928 murders in the United States American crime bosses American gangsters of Irish descent Criminals from Minnesota Deaths by car bomb in the United States Irish-American culture in Minnesota Murdered American gangsters of Irish descent Organized crime in Minnesota People from Saint Paul, Minnesota People murdered by Jewish-American organized crime People murdered in Minnesota Prohibition-era gangsters Unsolved murders in the United States

Early life

Criminal career in Saint Paul

Murder

References

Further reading

External links