Gophers (gang)

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The Gophers were a criminal organization in New York from around 1890 to 1920 and are counted among the five classic gangs in the city. The name comes from a family of rodents , which are called "gophers" in English and pocket rats in German .

territory

The gang controlled the mid-west of the city from about 14th Street to 42nd Street and from Seventh Avenue to Eleventh Avenue - in the middle of the notorious Hell's Kitchen district of Manhattan , which extends from 34th Street to 57th Street .

Since they always gathered on the ground floor and in basements, they named themselves after the ground squirrels gophers or after the so-called pocket rats , which are also called in the USA and also live underground. Headquarters was a pub on Battle Row on 39th Street between Tenth Avenue and Eleventh Avenue .

history

The leader in the gang's most influential period was Mallet Murphy , who also ran the pub on Battle Row . His nickname was Mallet , because he likes a Knüpfel used as a weapon. Gang members were predominantly of Irish origin, the highest level was reached in 1907 with around 500 people. The gang was made up of a few sub-groups such as the Gorillas , Rhodes Gang , Parlor Mob , as well as the women's groups Battle Row Ladies and the Social and Athletic Club . The latter was also called Lady Gophers and was led by Battle Annie .

Other leaders in the gang's brief history include Newburg Gallagher , Marty Brennan , Stumpy Malarkey , Goo Goo Knox , One Lung Curran, and Happy Jack Mulraney . The gang later allied with the Hudson Dusters . Both gangs could not prevail against the Italian Five Pointers and the Jewish Eastman Gang .

Jack Zelig

Apparently, in 1908, the Gophers came under the control of Jack Zelig , who controlled the largest faction of the Eastmans , after that gang split up after Monk Eastman's arrest in 1904.

Troublemaking, street robbery and theft were initially the main activities of the gang. Similar to the Hudson Dusters , they also served on the freight loads of the railroad.

Jack Zelig then apparently introduced a price list similar to the one that the Eastman Gang originally had. Single beating was $ 1-10, a shot in the leg 1-25, one shot in the arm $ 5-25. Bombings cost US $ 5-20, murders cost US $ 10-100.

estate

Member Owney Madden later became a partner with Dutch Schultz , who ruled Manhattan. When Schultz was murdered, the area fell back to the Irish mob ; especially to Michael J. Spillane , but then in 1957 to James "Jimmy" Coonan with his Westies . Both Spillane and Coonan cooperated with the Gambino family of the American Cosa Nostra .

Members

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hell's Kitchen Irish Mob ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on www.gangland.net @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gangland.net

Web links

literature