The Downtown Gang was one of the two gangs that dominated the

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 ...

world in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, United States, mainly 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 ...

. The gang was founded by

Johnny Jack Nounes Johnny Jack Nounes, also known as the "Beau Brummell of Galveston", was a mob boss in Galveston, Texas, United States, during the 1920s and 1930s. He, with one-armed George Musey, led the Downtown Gang, one of the two gangs which controlled most o ...

around 1920. The gang became a large profiteer and leader in the Galveston's crime syndicate while fighting for control of the island. The gang operated many night clubs, gambling establishments, and

speakeasies 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 ...

along the island.

Origins and Pre-Prohibition

Johnny Jack formed the Downtown Gang around 1920 after

came into effect. They were the rival gang of

Ollie Quinn Ollie Johnson Quinn (26 May 1893 – 23 August 1949) was a mob boss in Galveston, Texas in the United States, who was involved in bootlegging, illegal gambling, numbers racket, prostitution and other criminal activities from the 1910s up until th ...

and

Dutch Voight Oscar Ernest "Dutch" Voigt was an American mob boss in Galveston, Texas in the United States, who was involved in bootlegging, illegal gambling, numbers racket, prostitution and other criminal activities during the early 1900s. Voight was called ...

's Beach Gang. Before prohibition, Dutch and Ollie usually controlled gambling on the island. The two gangs decided to use Broadway to set the boundaries of their territories. As prohibition was approaching Johnny Jack looked for a partner to get in with him, and so he found a Houston boy by the name of

George Musey George Musey, also known as "one-armed George Musey", was a mob boss in Galveston, Texas, during the Prohibition era. Along with Johnny Jack Nounes, he led the Downtown Gang, one of two gangs which controlled the Galveston underworld until the e ...

. Musey, a

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

who was not even old enough to take drink, was also, like Nounes, from family of immigrants. As the roaring 20s boomed, the gang began to rake in a profit with bootlegging as their main source of income.

Prohibition

Among the gang's suppliers were schooners from

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, and the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. They had money overflowing the cash registers from speakeasies owned up and down Downtown Galveston. The gang was making more money than ever, encouraging them to buy fancy clothing, cars, houses, and food. Some of the gang's popular business partners were the

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, tha ...

Frank Nitti Frank Ralph Nitto (born Francesco Raffaele Nitto, ; January 27, 1886 – March 19, 1943), known as Frank Nitti, was an Italian-American organized crime figure based in Chicago. The first cousin and bodyguard of Al Capone, Nitti was in charge of ...

and allegedly New York Jewish mob boss

Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 4, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have organized corruption in professional athleti ...

. Therefore, Nitti became a good business partner of Johnny Jack which created a good connection with the Downtown Gang and the Chicago Outfit. Gangland shootouts was something that came around every once in a while since the gain of the island led to more business. The Downtown Gang sold bootleg hooch and had connections from

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, all the way up to

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, Canada. Furthermore, Johnny Jack wouldn't take any nonsense from anybody, he wasn't afraid of a fight. He would even lead the gang into hijacking the Beach Gang's liquor trucks and so gang shootouts were common. Also, George Musey became the gang's top enforcer. He was also a person you didn't want to cross paths with, apparently somebody crossed him and found themselves with their head buried in the ground covered with

quick lime Calcium oxide (CaO), commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline, crystalline solid at room temperature. The broadly used term "''lime''" connotes calcium-containing inorganic ...

. Every now and then for business purposes the gangs would negotiate like the majority of the mob does with their counterparts.

would bring some guys and go on rum-runs with

. However, if business was shady or unreal, they would be back to fighting and war would be declared.

Decline of the Downtown Gang

However, as Nounes served his time in federal prison and Musey was on the run from the law in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, the gang was headed at the moment by Big Jim Clark. However Big Jim betrayed the gang by giving the Beach Gang shipments Musey had scheduled. It is assumed that there was a woman involved between the two men which is likely to have caused the tension. However, after Big Jim's betrayal, Fatty Owens took control of the gang and a few weeks later a shootout occurred between the Downtown and Beach Gangs. Members of each gang died in the shootout on Tremont Street. Furthermore, not long after, Fatty Owens would go on to 23rd Street with his assistant Jimmie Crabb to kill Kye Gregory and Mitch Frankovitch, also betrayers of the gang, however Frankovitch survived the shootout with Gregory dying from gunshot wounds. With Nounes in prison, Musey in Canada, Big Jim's betrayal, and Fatty Owens' court trial, there was nobody to lead the Downtown Gang. With all these chaotic incidents happening, it's most likely George's younger brother, Fred Musey, stepped up to the plate as acting boss.

Post-Prohibition and Defunction

After prohibition ended, the long-running organized crime gang eventually fell apart. They operated some night clubs, and continued with gambling, but it eventually came to an end around the mid-1930s. George Musey was assassinated through orders by the Beach Gang's successors, the

Maceo Syndicate The Maceo Organization, also known as the Maceo Syndicate, was a criminal organization, that ran Galveston, Texas politically and criminally throughout most of Galveston's open era. The organization's bosses, Sam and Rosario Maceo, operated ...

, which took over much of the island and wielded much more power than the Nounes-Musey mob. The Downtown Gang did not wield the strength like they did back in the old days, and so it eventually deceased. However,

would go on to make a living operating different clubs and restaurants.

Historical Leadership

Bosses * c. 1920 – 1930s –

* 1920s - 1935 -

, (his death) ** ''Acting'' 1930 - 1931 – Marvin "Big Jim" Clark ** ''Acting'' 1931 - Theodore "Fatty" Owens ** ''Acting'' 1931 - Fred Musey Lieutenants *1920s - 1931 - Marvin "Big Jim" Clark *1920s - 1930s - Theodore "Fatty" Owens *1920s - 1930s - Harry Giddy *1920s - 1930 - Mitch Frankovitch *1920s - 1930 - Kye Gregory Associates *Francis Nonus *Fred Musey *Sam Musey *J.J. Davis *H.J. Kriger *Joe Marrero *Chris Paul *Robe Owen *Lawrence “King Coal” Balkey *Tom Lera *Joe Varnell *Morris "Kid" Ross *Otis Skains *Jimmie Crabb *Harry G. *T.R. Davis *George Etie *Douglas Etie *Tony Vadello *Asia Stein *R.R. Owen *Charlie Mushmach *Joe Rees *Marshall Ballard *Marion Ballard *Sam Alena *Harry Evelt

References