William Jones () was an American criminal and member of the

Gas House Gang The Gas House Gang was a New York City street gang during the late nineteenth century. Founded in the 1890s, the Gas House Gang was based in the Gas House district of Manhattan and controlled the area along Third Avenue from 11th to 18th Street ...

. He was one of the New York City's more notorious career criminals to be arrested and convicted during the New York Police Department's four-year campaign against Manhattan's street gangs and other underworld figures between 1910 and 1914. In June 1911, he was tried and convicted for second-degree murder of two fellow Gas Housers during a gunfight at one of their hangouts at a saloon between Twenty-Second Street and

Third Avenue Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Square ...

. He had arrived at ''Pickett's saloon'' bringing a young woman with him, this having been generally prohibited in case of members being identified, and was quickly confronted by fellow members William Lysaght, John Tivnan and John Stephenson. He denied having a weapon when asked, the three men not finding one on him when searched, and began arguing over his violation of the gang's orders. All four went outside when asked by the bartender and, once out of the bar, the three men apparently attacked Jones. Falling to the ground, Jones pulled out a revolver he had concealed under his arm and fired at his attackers. Lysaght was shot and died at the scene while Tivnan was shot in the shoulder. Jones was arrested soon after, Lysaght identifying him as the man who shot before dying of his wounds at a nearby hospital. This was a rare occurrence for a gang member, even underworld rivals, to name the men responsible to authorities. After making his statement, Lysaght reportedly turned to a nurse and said "Just watch that bum suffer. He deserves it." Jones immediately became one of several gang members and underworld figures to be prosecuted by

Frank Moss Frank Edward "Ted" Moss (September 23, 1911 – January 29, 2003) was an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, he served as a United States Senator from Utah from 1959 to 1977. Early life and education Frank Moss was born in Holladay ...

and Edward R. O'Malley of the District Attorney's office. In the same week Jones was sentenced, high-profile criminals such as

Albert Rooney Albert "Al" Rooney (1892-?) was an American gang leader and founder of the Fourteenth Street Gang. One of the independent gangs allied with Monk Eastman, most of them former members of the Humpty Jackson gang, Rooney led the group from the mid-to ...

Biff Ellison James T. Ellison born (c. 1861-1920s), better known as Biff Ellison, was a New York City gangster affiliated with the Five Points Gang and later a leader of the Gopher Gang. He was noted for his propensity for physical violence as well as a dappe ...

, and

Johnny Spanish Johnny Spanish (1889 – July 29, 1919) was an American gangster who was a rival of former partner "Kid Dropper" Nathan Kaplan during a garment workers' strike which later become known as the Second Labor Sluggers War in 1919. He became inv ...

were also on trial. While Jones was awaiting trial at

The Tombs ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, he composed two letters which he sent to another gang member whose name was withheld. The first said simply, "You know I did the shooting. Rosa was there and saw me when the gang beat me up. I am only sorry I did not drop a few more of them." The second was a

love letter A love letter is an expression of love in written form. However delivered, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation and description of feelings. History One of the oldest references to a l ...

apparently written to the unidentified Rosa. It was the last letter that resulted in his conviction, particularly the line "I am getting along fine. There is nothing like a vacation to brace you up." While on the stand, angrily swore that he would kill the man responsible for turning the letters over to the District Attorney's office if he ever got out of prison. Among the witnesses he threatened during the trial, he also called out to John Tivnan when he appeared in court and said "If I had gotten you, I would have been better satisfied." Jones was reprimanded by Judge Warren W. Foster and sentenced to serve between 20 years to life imprisonment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, William Year of birth missing Year of death missing 1911 crimes in the United States Gang members of New York City 1911 in New York City