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Johnny "Weyler" Spanish (1891-July 29, 1919) was an American gangster who was a rival of former partner "Kid Dropper" Nathan Kaplan and claimed to be related to Valeriano Weyler, the famous Cuban dictator.

He became involved in labor racketeering, holdups of saloons and other businesses, and murder before organizing his own gang.

In 1909 Spanish started working together with "Kid Dropper" Nathan Kaplan. They fell out because of a dispute over Spanish's then girlfriend, engaging in a vicious street fight in which the Dropper nearly stabbed his rival to death. Once he recovered, Spanish began taking over control of the Lower East Side "stuss games", a variant of faro.

Forced to flee the city after an accidental shooting, returning after several months, found out that his girlfriend had left him for Kaplan. Spanish abducted the pregnant woman, drove to a rural marsh, tied her up against a tree and shot her in the abdomen. The woman wgave birth to her baby who had three fingers shot off.

Spanish was arrested and sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 1911; coincidentally around the same time Kaplan was arrested for robbery. After being released from prison in 1917 Spanish rejoined Kaplan, as well as several other former Five Point Gang members, working as "labor sluggers".

Johnny Spanish became a drug dealer and was assisted by his brother "Joey Spanish". Spanish and Kaplan soon began fighting again. Spanish was shot and killed while entering a Manhattan restaurant by three unidentified men on July 29, 1919. Charges were brought against Kaplan, who had been identified at the scene, but were later dropped.

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 '''Johnny "Weyler" Spanish''' ([[1891]]-[[July 29]], [[1919]]) was an [[United States|American]] gangster who was a rival of former partner "Kid Dropper" [[Nathan Kaplan]] and claimed to be related to [[Valeriano Weyler]], the famous Cuban dictator.
-He became involved in [[labor racketeering]], holdups of saloons and other businesses, and murder before organizing his own gang.
+He became involved in labor racketeering, holdups of saloons and other businesses, and murder before organizing his own gang.
 In 1909 Spanish started working together with "Kid Dropper" Nathan Kaplan. They fell out because of a dispute over Spanish's then girlfriend, engaging in a vicious street fight in which the Dropper nearly stabbed his rival to death. Once he recovered, Spanish began taking over control of the [[Lower East Side]] "[[stuss]] games", a variant of [[Faro (card game)|faro]].
@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 Spanish was arrested and sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 1911; coincidentally around the same time Kaplan was arrested for robbery. After being released from prison in 1917 Spanish rejoined Kaplan, as well as several other former Five Point Gang members, working as "labor sluggers".
-However Spanish and Kaplan soon began fighting again as the gang split into two separate factions, as each attempted to gain dominance over the New York's "labor slugging" operations. Johnny Spanish became a drug dealer and was assisted by his brother "Joey Spanish". Spanish was shot and killed while entering a [[Manhattan]] restaurant by three unidentified men on [[July 29]], [[1919]]. Charges were brought against Kaplan, who had been identified at the scene, but were later dropped.
+Johnny Spanish became a drug dealer and was assisted by his brother "Joey Spanish". Spanish and Kaplan soon began fighting again.
+Spanish was shot and killed while entering a [[Manhattan]] restaurant by three unidentified men on [[July 29]], [[1919]]. Charges were brought against Kaplan, who had been identified at the scene, but were later dropped.
 == Further reading ==