Talk:Murder, Inc.

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[edit] Inaccuracy

I never read so much missinformation and ignorance. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 162.83.158.189 (talk • contribs)

I agree with the above. Murder Inc. was NEVER the name of this group of men, hell, they weren't really a group. The media made up that title and if any of you woudl read the new york times archives you'd see how off the media was at all times in those days. Men like Workman and Red Levine had little to do with Reles, and Reles's jewish band was a seperate entity than Happy Maione's group, though the two often worked together.
This is my major pet peeve about wikipedia.. too many people repeating false information they read on other sites instead of researching themselves.. An example is on the Coll page where they mention the baby killing incident where Joey Rao was the target.. whereas if you read the actual news paper article it mistakenly recognized Mike Copolla as a Coll hitman and said he was trying to kill one Anthony Strobino, a narcotics dealer, when the children were hit.. thats why the Coll case fell apart. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.215.252.167 (talk • contribs)
"Berman, Landau and Rosenkrantz died almost immediately, while Schultz clung to life but died the following day. As the thorough Workman stayed behind to make sure they had completed their assignment and finished off Schultz in the men's room of the restaurant, Weiss escaped the scene with their Murder, Inc. getaway driver, Seymour "Piggy" Schechter"
But Schultz survived the night - so can thorough be used here? And "finished off" would imply killing. DeadMansShoes (talk) 15:03, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Harry Rudolph

In the 1940s, Murder, Inc. employee Harry Rudolph was framed for murder and sentenced to Rikers Island. He decided to talk to district attorney Burton B. Turkus. Turkus arrested Abe Reles, Martin Goldstein and Dukey Maffetore upon his information. When Reles and Maffetore learned that they had become the next targets lest they talk, they became informants. Allie Tannenbaum, arrested later, also decided to talk.

They knew they were going to be marked for death if they informed, so they decided to inform? I don't get it. Ground 01:59, 14 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Not to pick too fine a nit, but "lest" has the sense of "to prevent" rather than "if"--if Reles and Maffetore had "become the next targets lest they inform," they were going to be killed whether they informed or not on the suspicion that they might, and likely chose to inform hoping that the police could protect them. I can't vouch for the accuracy of that version, but it does make sense. Ground 04:03, 21 Aug 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Involvement of Meyer Lansky

Was it really led by Meyer Lansky? His biography says nothing about it. Neither other sources I've read, like crimelibrary.com 193.219.160.2 06:57, 3 Jun 2005 (UTC)

  • Have corrected this section, with references, and removed accuracy template. Lansky was one of the Bosses in New York at that time, but not the leader of the enforcement arm. redcountess 19:59, August 22, 2005 (UTC)
I agree with the above comments and might add that this article is still quite a mess. To begin with, I think the name of the article should be "Murder Incorporated" and not "Murder Inc.," as the former is a more common usage.
Anyway, I've substantially rewritten the piece to bring it into conformity with organized crime literature. It still needs work but I think the major problems are gone, as well as the annoying little stuff like the reference to such and such as an "employee" of Murder Inc.
Also I removed the reference to a character on the show West Wing having a father in Murder Inc. I don't believe a minor TV character's family history belongs in an encyclopedia article.--Mantanmoreland 23:53, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] not very good!

This information is slightly muddled and does not really give the true impression of the amercian mafia that other sources have given!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kimmyd (talk • contribs)

Please feel free to make whatever additions and fixes you feel are necessary, and other editors can of course chime in to as well as I. This is very much a work in progress. However, keep in mind that this is not an article about the American Mafia. Murder Incorporated was not part of the Mafia and, according to Valachi, didn't perform work for Mafia bosses. Also please sign your comments. Thanks.--Mantanmoreland 13:09, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 8th Airforce

Despite being a journalistic invention, the name 'Murder Incorporated' took root in America's popular imagination. During the Second World War, a B 17 crew used the name for their aircraft and also had the words painted on the back of their flight jackets.

When shot down over Germany, the National Socialist press used this as an illustration of the 'Yankee terror flieger', parading the crew in front of the cameras, in an effort to associate American involvement in the war as little more than large scale gangsterism. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.249.162.132 (talk • contribs)

[edit] Updated this Page to Reflect Historically Accurate Information

I added several sections "Gangsters Start Taking" and "The Trials" based on actual newspaper articles. Other sections wil be updated as more accurate information is discovered.—Preceding unsigned comment added by MileMarker651 (talk • contribs)

Outstanding work!--Mantanmoreland 19:06, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Source of the name

Anyone know the source for the source of the name? An internet search only returned Wikipedia information, so I'm curious to the source of the assertion that Harry Feeny coined the phrase Murder Inc which then got widespread use. I added a source needed to the relevant part of the article. Lomedae talk 14:03, 1 April 2007 (UTC)


I researched the NY Times and found one article (09/17/1947). The correct spelling is Harry Feeney, who is described as a crime reporter. No mention on starting the name. However, the "Combination" is mentioned in numerous articles.

- MileMarker651 4/6/2007

Someone should've tried reading the Burton B. Turkus book this article references. On pages 20 and 21, ADA Turkus asserts that Harry Feeney gave the organization the nickname, "Murder, Inc." There are also references to Harry Feeney and the nickname in the books, "The Business of Crime: Italians and Syndicate Crime in the United States," by Humbert S. Nelli (page 217), and "The Mafia's Greatest Hits," by David H. Jacobs, Jr. (page 65).—Preceding unsigned comment added by [[Special:Contributions/] ([[User talk:|talk]]) 01:09, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

There is lot of good info on various public figures/criminals on the FBI's website(FOIL Reading Room). For Lepke, I found an article from August 1939, New York Journal and American, written by George Carroll, which had his picture and a caption underneath that said "Louis Lepke, A Partner in "Crime Inc." - MM651 5/28/2007

http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/louislepkebuchalter.htm (See Part 4, Page 35)

In the sentence; ...Largely headed by former Bug and Meyer Mob enforcers..., which "Bug" is being referenced? Siegel or Goldstein. Thanks Mlwindsor 16:04, 29 May 2007 (UTC)mlwindsorMlwindsor

Should be Bugsy Siegel....I have not contributed/edited the "History" section other then correcting Harry Feeney's name. MM651 5/30/2007

[edit] "See below"...

Need to do something about all those "(see below)" comments. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.97.51.102 (talk) 20:27, 11 October 2007 (UTC)