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Murder, Inc., '''Murder Incorporated''' or '''Brownsville Boys''', was the name given by the press for an Organized Crime group in the 1930s and 1940s that carried out hundreds of murders on behalf of the mob. The name ''Murder Incorporated'' was a journalistic invention. The credit for the title is usually given to Harry Feeney, a 1930s reporter for the old New York World-Telegram . The members of this syndicate usually referred to it as the ''Combination''. HISTORY Murder, Inc., was established after the formation of the commission of the National Crime Syndicate , to which it was responsible. Largely headed by former Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky Mob enforcers, it also had members from the labor-slugging gang of Louis "Lepke" Buchalter (who partnered with Tommy Lucchese ) as well as from another group of enforcers from Brownsville, Brooklyn , New York , of the late 1920s led by Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein and Abe "Kid Twist" Reles . Lepke, in particular, and Joe Adonis occasionally, gave the outfit its orders from the commission, which were carried out under direct supervision of Gurrah Shapiro , who was assisted by Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia . It is alleged that a bodyguard of Reles was involved in the disappearance of Judge Crater in 1930. In 1932 , Abe Wagner informed on the syndicate to the police. He fled to Saint Paul, Minnesota and adopted a disguise to evade possible pursuit. Two killers, George Young and Joseph Schafer , found and shot him but were later apprehended. Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel failed to get them released. Most of the killers were Jewish and Italian gangsters from the Gang s of the Brooklyn Neighborhood s of Brownsville , East New York and Ocean Hill . In addition to crime in New York City and acting as enforcers for New York mobster "Lepke" Buchalter , they accepted murder contracts from mob bosses all around the United States . In his biography, "The Valachi Papers", Mafia turncoat Joseph Valachi indicated that Murder Inc. did not perform killings for the Cosa Nostra . Notable members of Murder Inc. included Reles, Frank "Dasher" Abbandando , Louis Capone , Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein , Harry "Happy" Maione , Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss , Allie Tannenbaum , Seymour "Blue Jaw" Magoon , Mendy Weiss , and Charles "Charlie The Bug" Workman . Most Murder, Inc. murders were unsolved. Very often the killers, and sometimes even their victims, were strangers to the city where the murder took place, making them difficult to trace. Police would concentrate on local suspects when the killers were already en route to their hometowns. Targets included Informant s (including civilian informants) or gang members who had embezzled mob money, but gang members, particularly Reles, were known for casual murder as well. The killers were paid a regular salary as retainer, plus an average fee of $1,000 to $5,000 per killing. Their families also received monetary benefits. If the killers were caught, the mob would hire the best lawyers for their defense. In the 1930s , Buchalter used Murder, Inc. to murder witnesses and suspected informants when he was investigated by crusading prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey . In one case, on May 11 , 1937 , four killers hacked loan shark George Rudnick to pieces, on the mere suspicion that he was an informant (see below). 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 avoid being summoned as a witness against Buchalter. Probably their most well-known victim was was gang boss Arthur " Dutch Schultz " Flegenheimer, who made the mistake of openly defying 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, deciding that killing Dewey would cause more problems than it would solve. That is, the syndicate feared, with good reason, that Dewey's murder would inflame public outrage to new heights 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. By doing so, he signed his own death warrant. The Board decided that it needed to act immediately to kill Schultz before he killed Dewey. Therefore, in an ironic twist, Buchalter actually saved Dewey's life, which allowed Dewey to continue his efforts to bring down Buchalter. Hit men Mendy Weiss and Charles Workman were given the assignment to kill Schultz. On the night of October 23 , 1935 , Weiss and Workman 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 . 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. 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" 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 (see below). Workman was eventually tried by the State of New Jersey for the Schultz murders, and served 23 years in prison (see below). DEMISE In January '' , June 4 , 1940 THE TRIALS
GURINO CONFESSES TO THREE MURDERS; Ring's 'Toughest Trigger Man' Implicates Himself in Four Others, O'Dwyer Says KILLED TWO IN APARTMENT Gained Access When Confederate, Now in Death House,Wore Woman's Clothes as Ruse , '','', April 4 , 1942 ,
OTHERS
THE DEATH OF ABE RELES Reles "fell" to his death from a room at the '', November 14 , 1941 . p.1 The official verdict was accidental death by Defenestration , but the angle of his trajectory suggests that he was pushed. AFTER THE TRIALS With many of its members sent to the electric chair or prison, Murder, Inc. vanished within a few years.
Hoodlum 'Convention' Viewed As Splitting Anastasia Rackets; GANG 'CONVENTION' TIED TO ANASTASIA ,'', December 22 , 1957 ,p.98 KNOWN MEMBERS
IN THE MEDIA
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