Ellsworth Johnson

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Police photo of Johnson as an inmate in Leavenworth Federal Prison (1954)

Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Johnson (born October 31, 1905 in Charleston , South Carolina , † July 7, 1968 in Harlem , New York City ) was an African-American gang boss and drug dealer. He is considered one of the most notorious gangsters that the Harlem neighborhood produced.

Life

Early years

Ellsworth Raymond Johnson was born on October 31, 1905 in Charleston , South Carolina, the youngest of 7 siblings. His mother was a domestic servant and his father was a fisherman at the time. He was nicknamed "Bumpy" at a young age because of a deformation, as it were, a larger bump ( English bump ) on the back of his head.

When Bumpy Johnson was 10 years old and the lynch era was at its height, his older brother Willie was accused of killing a white man and was sent north to New York City to live with relatives out of concern for his safety . At school, Bumpy was good at numbers, top of the class at reading, and an interest in history. In addition to his school activities, he worked as a newspaper delivery man and regularly got into quarrels with white children. Due to his temperament and need for recognition towards whites, his parents worried about his safety, which is why he was sent to Harlem to his older sister Mabel in 1919 for his own protection and for a better future .

Rise in the underworld

On arrival in New York City, Bumpy dropped out of school and worked for a few months as a house painter, service worker and doorman. However, employment for wages did not appeal to him, which is why he began hanging around on the streets of Harlem with shady people. The gangster William "Bub" Hewlett took notice of Bumpy and hired him as a collector of protection money and as a guard in the offices of the illegal number game business, also known as the street lottery.

In 1925, Bumpy Johnson was admitted to the Elmira Reformatory Juvenile Detention Center for rehabilitation . Various articles erroneously reported that he had been placed in said institution at the age of 17. The reason for this fact is that when his mother was admitted in 1925, in a questionnaire that no one had read until the 1980s, he stated that he was born on October 31, 1908.

In 1932, after two and a half years in prison for robbery at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Bumpy was released and worked as an enforcer for Stephanie "Madam Queen" St. Clair , one of the most profitable Harlem companies since the 1920s Managed number game businesses.

War against Dutch Schultz

Police photo by Dutch Schultz (1931)

At this time the prohibition was coming to an end, which is why both Jewish gangs and the Italian-American mafia would record a large decline in profits and decided to enter the Harlem gambling scene , among other things . The Jewish mobster Dutch Schultz , who lives in the Bronx , was the first to demand percentages or protection money from Harlem number game operators on a large scale since 1931. Despite the unscrupulous violence and intimidation against Madam St. Clair and other number game operators by corrupt police officers, she refused to give Schultz a percentage of her company and got involved in a gang war with him. At that time, Bumpy, who knew how to act strategically against Schultz, became Madam St. Clair's chief executor and rose to be her "right hand".

Ulysses Rollins - one of Schultz's executors had an eyeball cut out by Bumpy during a fight when he stabbed him 36 times with a knife.

The gang war, which lasted until October 1935, ended with the death of Dutch Schultz after he planned the assassination of prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey and whose assassination was not approved by the " Commission " - the executive committee of the American " Cosa Nostra ".

King of Harlem

St. Clair's war with Schultz demanded three quarters of a million US dollars from her, as well as imprisonment and damage to her own image, which is why she finally left her illegal gambling operations to Bumpy in 1936 and remained under the wheel. Charles "Lucky" Luciano , who as head of the powerful " Luciano family " held a kind of position of chairman of the " commission ", took over the acceptance points of the number game business from Schultz in Harlem and agreed with Bumpy that one of those acceptance points Percentage go directly to Bumpy and in return he ensures the integrity of the Mafia's business in Harlem. Over the years, Bumpy expanded its gambling and protection money businesses, expanded into drug trafficking on a large scale, and became active in prostitution .

Bumpy married his lover named Mayme Hatcher in October 1948, with whom he later had their daughter Elease, whose daughter Margaret he and his wife raised as their own daughter in later years.

Critically injured

In June 1952, at the height of his criminal career, Bumpy got into an argument with a man named Robert "Hawk" Hawkins over his bad behavior at the Vets Club in Harlem one night Gunshot wounds in chest and abdomen admitted to Sydenham Hospital . His wife Mayme later wrote in her book that Bumpy was unarmed at the time as he was free on an ongoing bail charge and the drunken assailant returned with a revolver after the quarrel was over and on Bumpy lap. Just minutes after Bumpy was promoted to Sydenham Hospital, the hospital was full of people trying to see what had happened to Bumpy. Despite his critical condition, Bumpy recovered completely a few weeks later. The opponent went into hiding and was never brought to justice.

Imprisonment

Police photo of Johnson as inmate # 1117 on Alcatraz

A few months earlier, Bumpy had already been charged with conspiracy to sell heroin and was eventually sentenced to 15 years in prison, which he served until 1954 in Leavenworth Federal Prison in Kansas and then in the notorious Alcatraz , located in San Francisco Bay , California .

According to various sources, Bumpy helped Alcatraz prisoners Frank Morris , as well as John and Clarence Anglin , to facilitate their unique escape from Alcatraz on June 11, 1962. According to unconfirmed reports, he used his Mafia connections to guarantee the refugees a rubber dinghy to San Francisco . The inmate Allen West, who had wanted to flee with the fugitives, had repeatedly been interrogated about Bumpy's involvement.

Last years

1963 Bumpy was finally on probation released from prison and returned to the streets of Harlem, where the Italian-American Mafia had recently supplanted him during his detention from the bulk of its business. Various sources claim that he was greeted with a parade by the Harlem community on his return, but this has been questioned by some journalists such as Geoff Schumacher .

Malcolm X in March 1964

In a cunning move he joined Malcolm X - the spokesman for the “ Nation of Islam ” and muscled his power base. Johnson and Malcolm X had a friendship that dates back to the 1940s, a time when Malcolm X was known as a small street vendor under the name "Detroit Red". Bumpy also granted him protection when he separated from the leaders of the Nation of Islam in 1964. However, Bumpy's reputation as a gangster was unsustainable for him in public, which is why Bumpy had withdrawn his guards. Two weeks later, in February 1965, Malcolm X was murdered by members of the Nation of Islam.

In December 1965, Bumpy protested in a police station with a sit-in strike against his continued surveillance. He was eventually charged with "refusing to leave a police station" but acquitted by a judge.

On July 7, 1968, Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Johnson died of heart failure in the early hours of the morning at Well's Restaurant in Harlem, aged 62 . His wake was held four days later at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Harlem and he was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

At the time of his death, Bumpy Johnson was again charged with conspiracy to sell drugs and was free on bail of $ 50,000 at the time of his death.

Trivia
  • Although he was known to be a dangerous criminal, Bumpy was considered a benefactor in the Harlem community as he generally made the neighborhood safer, did people favors, and gave turkeys to the poor on Thanksgiving , or held an annual Christmas party.
Frank Lucas (police photo, 1975)
  • Frank Lucas , one of New York's most influential drug traffickers in the late 1960s and early 1970s , claimed to have been Bumpy's protégé, with Bumpy's widow Mayme Hatcher claiming that he had let Frank Lucas drive him a few times , but never saw him as more than someone he might let wear his coat. Especially since Bumpy got into an argument with him before his arrest in 1952.

In popular culture

literature

  • Mayme Hatcher Johnson, Karen E. Quinones Miller: Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson . Oshun Publishing Company, 2008, ISBN 0-9676028-3-1 .

Web links

Commons : Bumpy Johnson  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Playing the Numbers: Gambling in Harlem Between the Wars. In: Google Books . 2010, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e The True Story Behind Godfather of Harlem. In: TIME . September 26, 2019, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e The real Godfather of Harlem: How Bumpy Johnson went from enforcer who fought the mob to the chess-playing 'Robin Hood'-like kingpin who ran the neighborhood for decades. In: Daily Mail . November 22, 2019, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  4. ↑ a b c d Rise & fall of the Harlem kingpin who took on the mafia - and won. In: New York Post . September 23, 2019, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  5. ↑ a b c The Black Mafia Moves Into the Numbers Racket. In: The New York Times . April 4, 1971. Retrieved July 14, 2020 .
  6. ↑ a b c d Why Harlem Godfather Bumpy Johnson Is The Most Fearsome Gangster You've Never Heard Of. In: allthatsinteresting. August 14, 2019, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  7. ^ Gangs of old NY. In: New York Post. June 7, 2012, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  8. ^ Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. In: Google Books. 2014, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Mayme H. Johnson, 94, widow of Harlem gangster. In: The Philadelphia Inquirer . May 18, 2009, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, p. 113. In: Google Books. 2008, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Jet - June 19, 1952, p. 13. In: Google Books. July 19, 1952, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, p. 17. In: Google Books. 2008, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  13. ↑ CRIME BOSS 'SENTENCED; Bumpy Johnson of Harlem Gets 15 Years in Narcotics Case. In: The New York Times. July 13, 1953, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  14. ↑ No One Knew How They Escaped This Infamous Prison Until 50 Years Later. In: originol.com. Retrieved July 14, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Alcatraz Escape. In: originol.com. 2016, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  16. ^ Crime Files Exclusive: Bumpy Johnson Tries to Save Malcolm X. In: TV One. Retrieved July 14, 2020 .
  17. ↑ Godfather of Harlem is the new "based on a true story" series to add to your watch list. In: mamamia.com. September 16, 2019, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  18. ↑ Fact Not Fiction in Harlem. In: Google Books. 1980, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  19. ↑ BUMPY JOHNSON, 62; GAMBLER IS DEAD. In: The New York Times. July 10, 1968, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  20. ^ Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Johnson. In: Find a Grave . Retrieved July 14, 2020 .
  21. ^ Frank Lucas Dies at 88; Drug Kingpin Depicted in 'American Gangster'. In: The New York Times. May 31, 2019, accessed July 14, 2020 .
  22. ↑ American Gangster (2007). In: historyvshollywood.com. Retrieved July 14, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Johnson, Ellsworth
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johnson, Ellsworth Raymond; Bumpy; Professor, The (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American gang boss and drug dealer
DATE OF BIRTH October 31, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Charleston , South Carolina
DATE OF DEATH 7th July 1968
Place of death Harlem , New York, United States of America