Murder, Inc. (Murder, Incorporated) was an organized crime group, active from 1929 to 1941, that acted as the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicatea closely connected criminal organization that included the

Italian-American Mafia The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian American criminal society and organized crime group. The organization is often referred to by its mem ...

, the

Jewish Mob Jewish-American organized crime initially emerged within the American Jewish community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It has been referred to variously in media and popular culture as the Jewish Mob, Jewish Mafia, Kosher Mob, K ...

, and other criminal organizations in

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 ...

and elsewhere. Murder, Inc. was composed of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

and

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and indus ...

gangsters, and members were mainly recruited from poor and working-class Jewish and Italian neighborhoods in Manhattan (primarily the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally a ...

) and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, beh ...

(primarily the neighborhoods of Brownsville,

East New York East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough li ...

, and Ocean Hill). It was initially headed by Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and later by Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia. Murder, Inc. was believed to be responsible for between 400 and 1,000 contract killings, until the group was exposed in 1941 by former group member Abe "Kid Twist" Reles. In the trials that followed, many members were convicted and executed, and Abe Reles himself died after suspiciously falling from a window.

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: althou ...

first came to prominence as a

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal ...

of Murder, Inc. and other organized crime cases, before being elected to become the 47th

governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ha ...

Origins

The Bugs and Meyer Mob The Bugs (Bugsy) and Meyer Mob was a Jewish-American street gang in Manhattan, New York City's Lower East Side. It was formed and headed by mobsters Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky during their teenage years shortly after the start of Prohibition ...

was the predecessor to Murder, Incorporated. The gang was founded by New York Jewish American

mobsters A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

Meyer Lansky and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel in the early 1920s. After the

Castellammarese War The Castellammarese War () was a bloody power struggle for control of the Italian-American Mafia that took place in New York City, New York, from February 1930 until April 15, 1931, between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and those of Sa ...

and following the assassination of U.S. Mafia

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 ...

Salvatore Maranzano Salvatore Maranzano (; July 31, 1886 – September 10, 1931) was an Italian-American mobster from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss who led what later would become the Bonanno crime family in New York City. ...

and other so-called “ Mustache Petes” who had been reluctant to cooperate with non-Sicilian gangsters, the Sicilian mafioso Charles "Lucky" Luciano created the Commission and began to closely cooperate with his friend Lansky and the

in general, establishing a multi-ethnic (though largely Italian and Jewish) alliance that would eventually be deemed the “ National Crime Syndicate”. Soon after, Siegel and Lansky disbanded the Bugs and Meyer gang and helped form Murder, Incorporated.

Methods

Members of Murder, Inc. were Italian and Jewish gangsters from the

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collect ...

s of the

and the

neighborhoods of Brownsville,

, and Ocean Hill. In addition to carrying out crime in

and acting as enforcers for New York

Jewish mob Jewish-American organized crime initially emerged within the American Jewish community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It has been referred to variously in media and popular culture as the Jewish Mob, Jewish Mafia, Kosher Mob, K ...

ster Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, they accepted murder contracts from mob bosses all around the United States. In the book '' The Valachi Papers'' (1969) by Peter Maas, Mafia

turncoat A turncoat is a person who shifts allegiance from one loyalty or ideal to another, betraying or deserting an original cause by switching to the opposing side or party. In political and social history, this is distinct from being a traitor, as th ...

Joe Valachi is described as insisting that Murder, Inc. did not commit crimes for the Italian-American Mafia; but this is contradicted by other sources, and by the fact that Albert Anastasia was head of an Italian-American Mafia crime family. Based in part in Rosie "Midnight Rose" Gold's candy store at the corner of Saratoga and Livonia Ave in Brooklyn, Murder Inc. hit men used a wide variety of weapons, including ice picks, to murder their victims. Though the group had a number of members, Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss was the most prolific killer, committing over 100 murders (some historians put the number as high as 500). The killers were paid a regular salary as retainer as well as an average fee of $1,000 to $5,000 per killing. Their families also received monetary benefits.

Founding and early activities

Jacob Shapiro & Louis Buchalter 1937-11-08 wanted poster

Murder, Inc. was established after the formation of the commission of the National Crime Syndicate, to which it ultimately answered. It was largely headed by mob boss Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and Mangano Family underboss

Albert Anastasia Umberto "Albert" Anastasia (, ; ; September 26, 1902 – October 25, 1957) was an Italian-American mobster, hitman, and crime boss. One of the founders of the modern American Mafia, and a co-founder and later boss of the Murder, Inc. organizatio ...

, but also had members from Buchalter's labor-slugging gang (in partnership with Tommy "Three-Fingered Brown" Lucchese) as well as from another group of enforcers from

Brownsville, Brooklyn Brownsville is a residential neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn in New York City. The neighborhood is generally bordered by Crown Heights to the northwest; Bedford–Stuyvesant and Cypress Hills to the north; East New York to the east; Canarsie ...

, New York led by Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein and Abe "Kid Twist" Reles. Buchalter, in particular, and

Joe Adonis Joseph Anthony Doto (born Giuseppe Antonio Doto, ; November 22, 1902 – November 26, 1971), known as Joe Adonis, was an Italian-American mobster who was an important participant in the formation of the modern Cosa Nostra crime families in New Yo ...

occasionally, gave the outfit its orders from the board of directors of the syndicate. Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia was the troupe's operating head, or "Lord High Executioner", assisted by Lepke's longtime associate Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro. In 1932, Abe Wagner informed on the crime syndicate to the police. He fled to

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

, and adopted a disguise to evade possible pursuit. Two killers, George Young and Joseph Schafer, found and shot him but were later apprehended. Bugsy Siegel failed to get them released. In the 1930s, Buchalter used Murder, Inc. to murder witnesses and suspected informants when he was being investigated by crusading prosecutor Thomas Dewey. In one case on May 11, 1937, four killers hacked loan shark George Rudnick to pieces on the mere suspicion he was an informant. On October 1, 1937, they shot and seriously wounded Buchalter's ex-associate Max Rubin. Rubin had disobeyed Buchalter's orders to leave town and "disappear" in order to avoid being summoned as a witness against Buchalter. Three alleged victims of Murder, Inc. in 1935 were Morris Kessler and brothers Louis and Joseph Amberg.

Murder of Dutch Schultz

Probably their most well known victim was

Dutch Schultz Dutch Schultz (born Arthur Simon Flegenheimer; August 6, 1901October 24, 1935) was an American mobster. Based in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s, he made his fortune in organized crime-related activities, including bootlegging and the nu ...

, who had openly defied the syndicate. In October 1935, Schultz insisted on putting a hit on Dewey, who was leading an all-out effort to put the mob out of business. The syndicate board overruled Schultz. They feared that Dewey's assassination would incite public outrage and result in an even greater campaign to shut down the rackets. Schultz vowed that he would ignore the board's decision and kill Dewey himself. The board decided they needed to act immediately to kill Schultz before he killed Dewey. Therefore, in a twist, Buchalter actually saved Dewey's life, which allowed Dewey to continue his efforts to bring down Buchalter. This led Shapiro to suggest years later that Schultz should have been allowed to kill Dewey, although at the time he supported the syndicate's decision to overrule Schultz. Hitmen Mendy Weiss and Charles Workman were given the assignment to kill Schultz. On October 24, 1935, they tracked down Schultz and his associates Otto Berman, Abe Landau, and Lulu Rosenkrantz and shot them at the Palace Chop House in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.getaway driver Seymour Schechter. Furious at being abandoned by his confederates, Workman had to make his way back to Brooklyn by foot. A day or two later Workman filed a '

grievance A grievance () is a wrong or hardship suffered, real or supposed, which forms legitimate grounds of complaint. In the past, the word meant the infliction or cause of hardship. See also * Complaint system A complaint system (also known as a ...

' with the board against Weiss and Schechter. Although he had simply followed Weiss's frantic orders to drive away without waiting for Workman, the unfortunate Schechter ended up bearing the punishment, becoming a Murder, Inc. victim himself a short time later. In 1944, Weiss ended up in the electric chair for another murder. Workman was eventually tried by the

State of New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware R ...

for the Schultz murder and served 23 years in prison.

Demise

In January 1940, professional criminal and police informer Harry Rudolph was held as a material witness in the murder of 19-year-old minor gangster Alex Alpert. Alpert was shot in the back on a street corner in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn on November 25, 1933."Reles, Two of Gang, Indicted in Killing as O'Dwyer Acts; Prosecutor Says Case Against Racketeers, Reputed Immune to Conviction, Is 'Air-Tight' Slaying of 1933 Charged Mother of Young Victim Has Made Almost Daily Pleas Since to Get Action"
,''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', February 3, 1940, p.1Murder Witness Got Bribe Offer, O'Dwyer Charges; $5,000 Promised If He Would Clear Reles and Goldstein, Prosecutor Declares
, ''

'', March 20, 1940, p.1 While in custody, Rudolph talked with Brooklyn District Attorney

William O'Dwyer William O'Dwyer (July 11, 1890November 24, 1964) was an Irish-American politician and diplomat who served as the 100th Mayor of New York City, holding that office from 1946 to 1950. Life and career O'Dwyer was born in Bohola, County Mayo, Ir ...

. With Rudolph's testimony, O'Dwyer secured first-degree murder indictments against

Abe Reles Abraham "Kid Twist" Reles (; May 10, 1906 – November 12, 1941) was a New York Jewish mobster who was a hit man for Murder, Inc., the enforcement contractor for Meyer Lansky's National Crime Syndicate. Reles later turned government witne ...

, Martin Goldstein and Anthony Maffetore. After the three were indicted, O'Dwyer learned from Special Prosecutor John Harlan Amen that Rudolph was reportedly offered a $5,000 bribe by another prisoner, on behalf of the syndicate, to "put Reles and Goldstein on the street". O'Dwyer stated that when Maffetore learned of the bribe offer to help clear Reles and Goldstein and after several talks with New York City Detective John Osnato, he decided to turn state's evidence. Detective Osnato talked with Maffetore even though he had worked with Rudolph previously and did not put much credibility in his story since Rudolph was paid for information in other cases that turned out to be false.What Makes a Successful Detective; John Osnato, who cracked big cases, used his own formula: stool pigeons and common sense
,''

'', September 10, 1944, Sunday Magazine, p.SM18 Eventually, Maffetore decided to cooperate, stating that he was not involved in the Alpert murder, but was the driver in six gangland murders. Maffetore then convinced Abraham Levine to talk. Reles was next to cooperate with the District Attorney's office. After Reles agreed to cooperate, numerous first-degree murder indictments were issued in Brooklyn, (The) Bronx, and in upstate Sullivan County (Catskills). Additional members of the "Combination" then were added to the list of cooperating witnesses, including Albert Tannenbaum, Seymour Magoon, and Sholem Bernstein. Harry Rudolph's testimony was never used in any of the trials, as he died of natural causes in the infirmary at

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but ha ...

in June 1940. Abe Reles fell to his death from a room at the Half Moon Hotel in Coney Island on November 12, 1941, even though he was under police guard. The official verdict was accidental death, but the angle of his trajectory suggests

defenestration Defenestration (from Modern Latin ) is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window. The term was coined around the time of an incident in Prague Castle in the year 1618 which became the spark that started the Thirty Years' War. ...

Trials

Harry Maione and Frank Abbandando

Harry Maione and Frank Abbandando were the first members of the Brooklyn "Combination" to be put on trial for murder. In May 1940, the trial started for the May 25, 1937 ice-pick murder of George "Whitey" Rudnick in a Brooklyn parking garage.

Harry Strauss __NOTOC__ Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss (July 28, 1909 – June 12, 1941) was a prolific contract killer for Murder, Inc. in the 1930s. He reportedly killed over one hundred men (some historians put the number as high as 500)Carl Sifakis, ' ...

was also indicted for the murder, and, after initially agreeing to cooperate with the District Attorney's office, he was severed from the trial. On May 15, 1940, Abe Reles testified that Rudnick was marked for death after Strauss claimed he had obtained information that Rudnick was a "stool pigeon for the police." Reles also testified that he waited outside the garage while Maione, Abbandando and Strauss were inside with Rudnick. After Rudnick was believed to have been murdered, Abbandando called for Reles and summoned Angelo "Julie" Catalano to the garage to assist with moving the body. Since Rudnick was still alive, Strauss resumed his assault with an ice pick, and Maione used a meat cleaver to complete the murder. The next day, Catalano, who drove the automobile with Rudnick's body, corroborated Reles' account of the murder. "Dukey" Maffetore and Abe "Pretty" Levine testified that they stole the automobile that was used to dispose of the body. Maione and 14 witnesses testified that he was at his grandmother's wake when Rudnick was murdered. The funeral home undertaker and embalmer testified that Maione was not at the wake. Also, one of Maione's chief witnesses admitted that he committed perjury as ordered by Maione's brother, whom he feared. On May 23, 1940, Maione and Abbandando were convicted of first-degree murder, which meant a mandatory sentence of death in the electric chair. New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, overturned the conviction on a 4–3 vote in December 1940. The second trial started on March 10, 1941. At one point during the trial, Maione lost his temper and threw a glass of water at Reles. Maione and Abbandando were convicted of first-degree murder for a second time on April 3, 1941. Maione and Abbandando were formally sentenced to death for a second time on April 14, 1941. The Court of Appeals upheld the second conviction on January 8, 1942. Maione and Abbandando were executed at Sing Sing prison on February 19, 1942.

Harry Strauss and Martin Goldstein

and Martin Goldstein were put on trial for the September 4, 1939, strangulation murder of bookmaker Irving Feinstein, whose body was set on fire and left in a vacant lot after Feinstein had been strangled. The trial started in September 1940 with Strauss feigning insanity. Abe Reles, the chief prosecution witness, testified that Feinstein was murdered on orders of

, since he supposedly "crossed"

Vincent Mangano Vincent Mangano (born Vincenzo Giovanni Mangano; ; March 28, 1888 – disappeared April 19, 1951, declared dead October 30, 1961) was an Italian-born mobster also known as "Vincent The Executioner" as named in a Brooklyn newspaper, and the head o ...

. Reles testified that he, Goldstein and Strauss murdered Feinstein in his house. Reles's mother-in-law also testified that Reles and Strauss had asked her for an ice pick and clothesline earlier in the day and, while at the house, heard loud music masking a commotion in the living room. She also testified hearing Strauss say that he had been bitten. Goldstein's former bodyguard/driver Seymour Magoon corroborated the story, as he testified that on the night of the murder, Goldstein told him that he along with Reles and Strauss had murdered Puggy Feinstein and that shortly after the crime was committed, Goldstein and "Duke" Maffetore burned the body. Goldstein's attorney decided not to put up a defense. Strauss's attorney claimed his client was insane. Strauss was briefly allowed on the witness stand but refused to take his oath and was "babbling incoherently" as he was led back to the defense table. Strauss then began chewing on a leather strap of a briefcase. On September 19, 1940, Strauss and Goldstein were convicted of first-degree murder and a week later sentenced to death in the electric chair. On April 24, 1941, Strauss and Goldstein's convictions were affirmed by New York's Court of Appeals on a 4–3 decision. Strauss and Goldstein were executed in the electric chair on June 12, 1941.

Charles Workman

Charles Workman was indicted in New Jersey on March 27, 1940, for the October 23, 1935, murder of

and three members of his gang. Workman was extradited to New Jersey in April 1941. The trial, which opened in June 1941, featured testimony from

and Albert Tannenbaum as the primary underworld witnesses against Workman. The trial opened with two state witnesses, the restaurant bartender and a woman who was outside the restaurant, failing to identify Workman. The next day, Reles and Tannenbaum provided their testimony implicating Workman. Next, a female friend of slain gangster Danny Fields, who was described as a "collector for the payroll" of Lepke, testified that Workman showed up at her apartment the day after Schultz's murder and asked Fields to burn his clothes. The woman, who used a pseudonym on the witness stand, testified that Workman openly talked about the Schultz killing and how he was left behind in the restaurant. Workman's defense opened with testimony from Marty Krompier, a close associate of Dutch Schultz who was shot in Manhattan the same night Schultz was murdered in New Jersey. Krompier testified that Tannenbaum told him that he did not shoot him as he was in New Jersey and killed Schultz. Workman, in the middle of his defense, changed his plea from 'not guilty' to 'no contest' after one of his chief defense witnesses, a Manhattan funeral director who testified that Workman was employed by him during the time of the Schultz murder and who was the brother-in-law of the late Lepke associate Danny Fields, recanted his testimony that had provided Workman with an alibi. The same day Workman changed his plea, he was sentenced to life in prison. Workman was paroled on March 10, 1964, after serving 23 years in prison.

Irving Nitzberg

Irving Nitzberg, who was "imported" by the Brooklyn "Combination" from the Bronx, was put on trial for the January 9, 1939, murder of Albert Shuman in Brooklyn based on the testimony of three accomplices,

, Albert Tannenbaum and Seymour Magoon. Reles testified that Shuman was killed since he cooperated with the authorities who were conducting an inquiry of Lepke's involvement in labor racketeering. Reles also testified that he helped plan the murder of Shuman with Lepke, who was a fugitive at the time, and Mendy Weiss and that Lepke received approval from

to use a person who lived outside Brooklyn to help with completing the assignment. Seymour Magoon testified that he stole the car used in the murder on Reles's orders. Albert Tannenbaum testified that he was the driver that picked up Nitzberg and Shuman under the pretense of performing a robbery. Nitzberg, who was in the back seat, shot Shuman twice in the back of the head when Tannenbaum gave a predetermined signal. Tannenbaum and Nitzberg then exited the murder car to join Reles and another gangster in the getaway car and departed from the crime scene. Nitzberg was convicted of first-degree murder on May 23, 1941, and sentenced to death in the electric chair. However, on December 10, 1941, the conviction was overturned on a 4–3 vote by New York's Court of Appeals, which questioned the use of testimony of non-accomplice witnesses who were promised leniency to support the testimony of Reles, Tannenbaum and Magoon. Nitzberg was tried a second time in 1942 with the now-deceased Reles's testimony read to the jury. Nitzberg was convicted for a second time on March 12, 1942. The conviction was overturned again by the Court of Appeals on a 4–3 vote, but, this time, the court also dismissed the indictment as faulty since the only testimony presented to the Grand Jury was from accomplices without corroboration.

Louis Buchalter, Emanuel Weiss, Louis Capone, Harry Strauss, James Feraco and Philip Cohen

Louis Buchalter Louis Buchalter, known as Louis Lepke or Lepke Buchalter, (February 6, 1897March 4, 1944) was an American mobster and head of the Mafia hit squad Murder, Inc., during the 1930s. Buchalter was one of the premier labor racketeers in New York Ci ...

, Emanuel Weiss,

Louis Capone Louis Capone (September 5, 1896 – March 4, 1944) was a New York organized crime figure who became a supervisor for Murder, Inc. Louis Capone was not related to Al Capone, the boss of the Chicago Outfit. Capone was convicted of murder in 194 ...

, James Feraco [://www.nytimes.com/1941/08/05/archives/lepke-trial-opens-jurypicking-lags-blueribbon-talesmen-prove.html Lepke Trial Opens; Jury-picking Lags; Blue-Ribbon Talesmen Prove Reluctant to Serve in Brooklyn Murder Case], ''The New York Times'', August 5, 1941, p. 40. Cohen had his murder indictment dropped prior to the start of the trial after his conviction on a federal narcotics charge and received a 10-year sentence. James Feraco had vanished without a trace and was presumably killed in 1940 or 1941, and Harry Strauss had already been executed for the murder of Irving Feinstein. Jury selection for the trial began in August 1941. However, securing a jury for Lepke proved difficult. After enough jurors were finally selected, the trial actually started in October 1941. The trial featured the testimony of Rosen's wife and son, a teacher, and underworld turncoat Sholem Bernstein, who was marked for death after refusing to carry out a murder contract on Irving Cohen, who fled to California after the murder of Walter Sage in 1937. Lepke, Weiss and Capone were convicted on November 30, 1941. The Court of Appeals upheld the murder convictions of Lepke, Weiss and Capone in October 1942 on a 4–3 vote. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Lepke's appeal in February 1943. In March 1943, the Supreme Court reversed its earlier decision and granted a review to Lepke, Weiss and Capone. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction in June 1943. Before Lepke could be executed, New York State needed the federal government to turn Lepke over, as he was currently serving a 14-year sentence in federal prison. Lepke continued to appeal his death sentence vigorously in New York and transfer from federal custody. Lepke, Weiss and Capone were executed in Sing-Sing prison on March 4, 1944.

Vito Gurino

Vito "Socko" Gurino was sought for questioning in the Brooklyn murder investigation as the member assigned to eliminate witnesses against the "Combination".Gang Prison Call to Be Investigated; Queens Prosecutor Asserts if Crime Is Revealed He Will Take Definite Action; New Warden Appointed; Action Follows Report Gunman, Now Missing, Threatened Murder Ring Witness
''The New York Times'', April 24, 1940. p. 24. First, Gurino attempted to silence a small-time gangster and eyewitness to the George Rudnick murder.
''The New York Times'', March 29, 1940. p. 1. Police picked up Angelo "Julie" Catalano on the streets of Brooklyn shortly after he was bailed out by the syndicate, as Gurino tried to convince him to "hide out" on Long Island. Several days later, Gurino used a contact, corrupt Queens County Deputy Sheriff William Cassele, to enter the county's civil prison on the night of March 29, 1940. Cassele then forced Joseph "Joe the Baker" Liberto, who was being held as a material witness in the George Rudnick murder, to meet with Gurino. According to Liberto, he was pushed up against a wall in his cell and threatened with death if he cooperated with the District Attorney. Liberto was taken into custody shortly after an acquaintance drove him to a farmhouse on Long Island. Liberto quickly exited through a window, convinced he was going to be killed. Gurino, who was hiding out in New Jersey for much of 1940, was arrested on September 12, 1940, at the Church of the Guardian Angel in Manhattan, screaming hysterically in fear for his life. Shortly after being arrested, Gurino confessed to three syndicate murders and implicated himself in four others. In March 1942, Gurino pleaded guilty to three murders. In April 1942, Gurino was sentenced to 80 years to life in prison. He died of a heart ailment on April 22, 1957, at Dannemora Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

Jacob Drucker and Irving Cohen

Jacob Drucker and Irving Cohen were put on trial separately for the murder of racketeer Walter Sage in the Catskills. Sage was killed with an ice pick and had the frame of a slot machine tied to his body, which was found in Swan Lake on July 31, 1937. After the Sage murder, believing he was also going to be killed, Cohen fled to California and managed to secure small roles in films. He was identified two years later by the chief prosecution witness, Abraham Levine, who spotted Cohen in one of the ringside crowd scenes in the 1939 film '' Golden Boy''. According to Levine, Sage was riding in a car with Cohen and Drucker when he was stabbed 32 times with an icepick as Levine and

were following in another car. During the assault and struggle, Drucker stabbed Cohen once in the arm as Sage had grabbed the steering wheel and wrecked the car. Levine also testified that he observed Drucker wiping the icepick clean before helping dispose of the body. Cohen testified in his own defense, stating that Levine had stabbed him with an icepick as he was walking home from a casino. Cohen stated that he was assaulted by Levine and another man on Drucker's orders since he refused to pay 25% profit on a game of chance that he operated. Cohen was acquitted on June 21, 1940. Drucker, who was a suspect in four murders in the Catskills, was a fugitive for over three years, until the FBI located him in Delaware. Drucker was convicted of second-degree murder on May 5, 1944, and received a sentence of 25 years to life. Drucker died in Attica prison in January 1962.

Jack Parisi

Jack "the Dandy" Parisi was acquitted of two murders, Teamsters official Morris Diamond in Brooklyn and music-publishing executive Irving Penn in the Bronx. Penn was killed by mistaken identity, as the intended target, Philip Orlofsky, a Cutters Union official, left his home early to get a shave the day his killers waited for him. Parisi was a fugitive for 10 years, until he was captured in Pennsylvania in 1949. Albert Tannenbaum was brought in from Atlanta, where he was reportedly living, to testify for the prosecution. One accomplice in the Penn murder, Jacob "Kuppy" Migden, who provided the erroneous identification of Penn and who was also a fugitive for several years, pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree assault in the middle of his murder trial and was sentenced to a term of 5–10 years. Each of Parisi's murder trials ended with an acquittal, as the judges directed a verdict of not-guilty due to the lack of corroborating evidence, since the chief witnesses for the prosecution were accomplices. He died at home of natural causes on December 27, 1982, at the age of 85.

Others

Max "the Jerk" Golob was indicted with Frank Abbandando for first-degree murder in the slaying of gangster John "Spider" Murtha on March 3, 1935. With little evidence other than the eyewitness testimony of Murtha's female companion, Golob was permitted to plead guilty to second-degree assault and received a maximum term of five years. Sidney "Fats" Brown was the subject of a sealed first-degree murder indictment in Sullivan County, New York. The indictment was dismissed after the death of Abe Reles, the sole witness. Brown was never arrested, and the identity of the murder victim was never revealed.

After the trials

With many of its members executed or imprisoned, Murder, Inc. vanished within a few years. * In 1942, Duke Maffetore and Pretty Levine received suspended sentences after pleading guilty to petty larceny in the theft of an automobile used in a gangland murder. * In June 1944, NYPD Lieutenant John Osnato, who convinced Duke Maffetore to cooperate with the Brooklyn District Attorney's office, retired after 28 years on the police force. On November 25, 1945, he died of a heart ailment at age 55. * In 1949, Philip Cohen was murdered, several months after being released from federal prison. He had served seven years of a 10-year sentence for narcotics trafficking. * In October 1950, 37-year-old Anthony Maffetore was arrested for grand larceny as a member of a nationwide auto-theft ring. On March 7, 1951, he disappeared, missed a scheduled appearance in Queens County Court, and was presumed murdered. * On October 25, 1957,

, dubbed in the media the "Lord High Executioner of Murder Inc.", was shot and killed in a barber shop at the Park Sheraton Hotel, in Manhattan. Shortly after Anastasia's murder, East Coast organized criminals held a meeting in Apalachin, New York, to distribute Anastasia's rackets, according to law enforcement.

Known members

* Louis Lepke – original head of Murder, Inc. * Bugsy Siegel – a founder and leading member *

– Succeeded Buchalter until he became boss of the Gambino crime family * Frank Abbandando *

* Frankie Carbo * Louis Cohen * Philip "Little Farvel" Cohen * Aniello Dellacroce * Isadore Friedman * Martin Goldstein * Hyman Holtz * Louis Kravitz * Philip Kovolick * Ralph “Whitey” Tropiano * Samuel Levine * Seymour Magoon * Harry Maione *

* Jacob Shapiro *

* Albert Tannenbaum * Benjamin Tannenbaum * Emanuel Weiss * Whitey Krakow * Vito Gurino

In popular culture

;Fashion *Murder, Inc's name featured on the leather jacket of a crew member of a

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

B-17 that was shot down over

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

on 26 November 1943. The jacket's artwork was photographed and circulated around the world by German Propaganda Minister

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 194 ...

and

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, who condemned the use of "gangster language" on the uniform of a soldier. ;Films *In the ''

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 1970s to the ...

'' cartoon infamous for its darky iconography, ''

Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs ''Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs'' is a 1943 ''Merrie Melodies'' animated cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. The short was released on January 16, 1943. The film is an all-black parody of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale '' Snow White'', known to it ...

'' (1943), the Queen orders Murder Inc. to "blackout So White" (a pun on "Snow White"). When Murder Inc. arrives, their van reads: "We rub out anybody $1.00. Midgets— price. Japs—''FREE''." *The Twentieth Century Fox movie ''

Murder, Inc. Murder, Inc. (Murder, Incorporated) was an organized crime group, active from 1929 to 1941, that acted as the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicatea closely connected criminal organization that included the Italian-American Mafia, the ...

'' (1960), was written for the screen by Irve Tunick and Mel Barr from the book by Burton Turkus and Sid Feder, starred Stuart Whitman,

Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan ( cy, Harri Morgan; – 25 August 1688) was a privateer, plantation owner, and, later, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he raided settlements and shipping on the Spanish Main, becoming ...

, and Peter Falk, and was directed by

Stuart Rosenberg Stuart Rosenberg (August 11, 1927 – March 15, 2007) was an American film and television director whose motion pictures include ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), '' Voyage of the Damned'' (1976), ''The Amityville Horror'' (1979), and '' The Pope of Gre ...

. *The film '' The Enforcer'' (1951), starring Humphrey Bogart and based on the Murder Inc. trials with advice from Burton Turkus. *In the 2014 film '' Fury'', starring

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

and

Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf (; born June 11, 1986) is an American actor, performance artist, and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series '' Even Stevens'', a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and ...

, there is an M4A4 Sherman tank called Murder Inc. ;Music *" Murder Incorporated" is a Bruce Springsteen song from his ''Greatest Hits'' album (1995). The song was originally recorded in 1982 for the ''

Born in the U.S.A. ''Born in the U.S.A.'' is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, released by Columbia Records on June 4, 1984. It topped the charts in nine countries, including the US and UK, becoming his most commercially succ ...

'' sessions but was unused on that album. *

Murder Inc. Records Murder Inc. Records, LLC. (formerly The Inc. Records) is an American record label founded by brothers Chris and Irv Gotti in 1998. The label's flagship artist is Ja Rule. According to Chris Gotti, Murder Inc. had sold over 30 million units wor ...

, founded by

Irv Gotti Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (born June 26, 1970), professionally known as Irv Gotti, is an American DJ, music producer, record executive, and the CEO and co-founder of Murder Inc. Records. He is best known for producing multiple number-one re ...

, is named after the criminal collective. ;Television *In the 2017 television series ''S.W.A.T.'', Tre (played by Amin Joseph) a professional hitman for hire, names his modern-day service Murder LLC in honor of Murder, Inc. * In '' The Simpsons'' episode, " In the Name of the Grandfather" (2010), Grampa calls out the family for forgetting to visit him, saying: "I was as lonely as

Estes Kefauver Carey Estes Kefauver (; July 26, 1903 – August 10, 1963) was an American politician from Tennessee. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1939 to 1949 and in the Senate from 1949 until his de ...

at a meeting of Murder Incorporated." The family stares at him blankly, and he replies: "That actually makes sense! Look it up!" *In the 2020 television series '' Penny Dreadful: City of Angels'' Murder, Inc. is referred to as the organisation to which the recurring character Benny Berman belongs. Meyer Lansky is referred to by name. *In the TV show

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...

Toby Ziegler's father is portrayed as a former member of Murder Inc. Books * ''Murder Inc – The Story of the Syndicate'' (1951), Burton Turkus and Sid Feder

References

{{Authority control Organizations established in 1929 1929 establishments in New York (state) Organizations disestablished in 1941 1941 disestablishments in New York (state) American Mafia Mafia hitmen Secret societies related to organized crime Italian-American organized crime groups Jewish-American organized crime groups Former gangs in New York City Jewish-American history