In the past, some button men have gained notoriety for the sheer sensationalism and number of murders they had committed. Perhaps the most well known of these - at least to anyone who has studied organized crime in America - was Murder, Inc. This hit squad comprised of Italian and Jewish gangsters was headed by Albert Anastasia shortly after the Castellamarese War which toppled the Black Hand and established the American Mafia. [Fans of Boardwalk Empire should take note that the current season is the set up for the Castellamarese War. Of all the historical characters in this series, Lucky Luciano was the most dangerous and most feared. Contrary to popular belief, Capone was not considered a major player by other high ranking mobsters. Moreover, Capone feared Luciano. It will be interesting to see how this will play out in the series once the "war" is over]. It was Salvatore Lucania, a.k.a. Charles "Lucky" Luciano who established what has become known as "The Commission." This entity is comprised of five New York families - actually the proper term is "borgata." They are: Gambino, Lucchese, Genovese, Bonanno, Colombo. The Commission also includes high ranking bosses from major cities around the United States and Canada.
Murder, Inc. was a "murder for hire" outfit. They did not align themselves directly with any single borgata. When Luciano formed the foundation for what we know today as Cosa Nostra, he realized that a a group of men would be needed to enforce the orders of the newly created syndicate. It was the job of Murder, Inc. - so dubbed by the press at the time - to carry oiut these actions. It's members included:
Mendy Weiss, a vicious killer with eyes of stone.
Abe (Kid Twist) Reles, a name he took from a vicious killer of an earlier generation.
Frank (The Dasher) Abbandando, who got his nickname from a botched job where he ran around the block from his victim so fast he caught up with him from behind and pumped three bullets into him.
Seymour (Blue Jaw) Magoon, a killer who always looked like he needed a shave.
Martin (Buggsy) Goldstein, earned his name the same way Bugsy Siegel did, by being a a little crazy, or "buggy."
Vito (Chicken Head) Gurino, earned his moniker because he used chickens for target practice.
Harry (Happy) Maione, a man who wore a perpetual scowl.
Harry (Pittsburgh Phil) Strauss who, as far as anyone knew, never spent time in Pittsburgh. He killed so callously that he didn't know who his victims were. Often, he would pick up the paper after a job to find out who he had killed and why.
Oscar the Poet, so called because he was arrested while reading poetry in the park.
Make no mistake, these were the baddest of the bad. "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss was an especially vicious killer and employed creative, gruesome methods for pushing the button. It is estimated that during its existence, Murder, Inc. was responsible for 400-700 murders.
As time went on, Anastasia had grown in power and sought to topple Luciano and Genovese. Anastasia had seized control over the Gambino borgata but he was hated by rival boss Vito Genovese. On 25 October 1957, Anastasia was whacked as he was getting a shave in the Grasso Barber Shop located in the Sheraton Park Hotel in New York. This hit was rare and was sent a clear message to members of Anastasia's crew. The hit took place in broad daylight in a public place; most mob jobs are done in isolated areas and frequently at night. Anastasia's killers were never found. Scholars believe that Luciano played a part in giving the order even though he had been deported to Italy years earlier. Others argue that it was Vito Genovese - a stone cold killer - who ordered the hit. Obviously we will never know for sure.
NINE men committed between 400-700 murders, so in one new thread we have nine serial killers by strict definition.
The fates of these men are as follows:
Mendy Weiss: Executed 4 March 1944 at Sing Sing
Abe "Kid Twist" Reles: found dead after an apparent "fall" from a New York hotel room where he was being protected by law enforcement as a result of Reles testifying against Murder, Inc. and other mobsters. Investigators have argued that judging from the trajectory between the window and Reles' body that Reles was almost certainly pushed from the window. Because of his mob status as a "stool pigeon" and the circumstances surrounding his death, Reles gained another moniker after his death. Reles became known in a newspaper article as, "The Canary Who Could Sing, But Couldn't Fly."
Frank (The Dasher) Abbandando: executed at Sing Sing on 19 February 1942
Seymour (Blue Jaw) Magoon: There is no record of the time and cause of his death. But in 2003, more than 60 years after he turned canary along with Reles, Magoon’s skeleton was found in a desert near Las Vegas.
Martin (Buggsy) Goldstein: executed 12 June 1941 at Sing Sing
Vito (Chicken Head) Gurino: fate unknown
Harry (Happy) Maione: executed at Sing Sing on the same night as Abbandando
Harry (Pittsburgh Phil) Strauss: executed at Sing Sing on the same night as Goldstein.
None of these killers were high ranking mobsters. In fact, only one high ranking mobster has ever been executed in the United States, Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, executed 4 March 1944.
With the downfall of Murder, Inc, individual borgati largely began using their own made members to perform hits.
Bookmarks