1936 in organized crime
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
See also: 1935 in organized crime, other events of 1936, 1937 in organized crime and the list of 'years in Organized Crime'.
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[edit] Events
- U.S. Attorney Thomas Dewey successfully prosecutes mobster Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro for violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Shapiro receives a two-year sentence.
- Syndicate numbers runner and bookie Lester "Binny" Binion is forced to flee Dallas, Texas. Binion eventually opens Binion's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- January 4 - Ciro Terranova, a former boss of the New York Morello crime family, is arrested by New York City police on vagrancy charges as he was entering Manhattan.
- February 14 - "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn, a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit and the reported organizer of Chicago's St. Valentine's Day Massacre, is murdered in a Milwaukee Avenue bowling alley, in Chicago.
- May 19 - Nicholas Longo, the sister of Buffalo, New York mobster Steve Magaddino, is killed by a bomb explosion in an attempt on Maggadino's life.
- June 6 - As part of his crusade against organized crime, U.S Attorney Thomas Dewey prosecutes New York mob leader Charles "Lucky" Luciano for pandering. On this day, Luciano is convicted. He would later be sent to the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York.
- July 15 - President Franklin Roosevelt orders the arrest of "Lupo the Wolf" Ignazio Saietta for violating the terms of his parole to serve the remaining sentence stemming from a counterfeiting charge in 1918.
- August - While again attempting to return to Manhattan, Ciro Terranova is arrested on a second vagrancy charge and is held in custody.
- August 17 - "Big Nose" John Avena, leader of the Philadelphia crime family, is gunned down by the rival Lanzetti Brothers. This would begin a five-year gang war lasting until the death of William Lanzetti in 1939. After Avena's death, underboss Joe Bruno assumes control of the Philadelphia organization from his headquarters in New Jersey.
- September 12/13 - Joseph Rosen, a Brownsville, Brooklyn candy store owner and government witness against Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, is murdered by Emmanuel Weiss, James Ferraco and Harry Strauss. The crime would remain unsolved until 1940, when mobster Abe Reles became a government informant and implicated Buchalter.
[edit] Arts and literature
- Bullets or Ballots (film) [1] starring Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart.
- Dead End (broadway play written by Sidney Kingsley)
- Fury (film) [2] starring Sylvia Sidney and Spencer Tracy.
- The Petrified Forest (film) [3] starring Humphrey Bogart.
[edit] Births
- James Basile "Duke", Chicago Outfit bookmaker and later government informant
- John DiGilio "Johnny Dee", Genovese crime family member involved in New Jersey waterfront labor racketeering and loansharking
- Gaetano Mazzara "Tommy", business partner and cousin of Frank Castronovo involved in the Pizza Connection
- Salvatore Mazzurco, brother-in-law of Giuseppe Lamberti and drug trafficker involved in the Pizza Connection
- Carmine Persico "the Snake"; "Junior", Colombo crime family Underboss
[edit] Deaths
- John Avena, Philadelphia crime family leader
- February 14 - Jack McGurn "Machine Gun", Chicago Outfit member
- August 17 - John Avena "Big Nose", Philadelphia crime syndicate leader
- September 12/13 - Joseph Rosen, Brownsville candy store owner and government witness
