Hogan gang

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The Hogan Gang was a gang active in St. Louis , which was essentially formed by people of Irish ethnicity . However, there were also Italian-Americans in her ranks and she cooperated with gangsters who are now part of the Kosher Nostra , such as Max "Big Maxie" Greenberg in particular .

The gang was mainly active during the alcohol prohibition in the United States and illegally sold the now banned substance; but they were also involved in labor disputes , electoral fraud and armed robbery. In the early 1920s, they found themselves in a bloody long-term feud with another Irish gang - the Egan's Rats .

history

founding

The gang was founded by Edward J. Hogan Jr .; he was the son of a senior St. Louis police officer. He was actually originally a bar owner who entered local and federal politics in 1910, earning himself the nickname "Jelly Roll". The headquarters were in Hogan's bar at the junction of Jefferson and Cass streets .

As an informed politician and bar owner, he immediately recognized the profit opportunities that could be achieved through prohibition. He gathered a few scoundrels around him and began the illegal trade on a large scale. So it was a good thing that he had also become an inspector for the State Beverage Department of Missouri , which gave him further influence in politics and the beverage industry.

Criminal activity

Some members were not satisfied with the opportunities offered by the illegal alcohol trade and they robbed banks or their messengers. On February 4, 1921, some members robbed the post office in St. Charles (Missouri) and captured bonds worth around 26,000 US dollars . On March 1, 1921, they struck Jefferson City , where they looted assets worth $ 34,400. As a result of these raids, there was a series of murders, behind which was usually Tommy Hayes, who later switched to the - albeit friends - Cuckoo Gang .

Another attack on April 4, 1921 in St. Louis led to the fact that James Hogan could be identified by the messenger Eris Pillow; in addition, this time the gang had caught registered mail. Pillow now received a few offers of bribes , one from the gang leader himself, all of which he declined; he was promptly shot on May 9, 1921 by Leo Casey and Dewey McAuliffe.

Gang war

In addition to the Italians in their own ranks, other Italian mobsters were also active in the city. B. a group that would later develop into the St. Louis family of the la Cosa Nostra . The Hogan were allied against them with the Russo Gang , another Italian gang, but - unlike these smaller gangs - it was the Irish of the Egan's Rats who were the main opponents of the Hogan Gang .

This dispute really got down to business between 1921 and 1923; The trigger was a fraud , which brought the Egan gang out of a whiskey load and which came from Max Greenberg. On March 11, 1921, Greenberg nearly was murdered, and he turned to members of the Hogan Gang - James Hogan, Luke Kennedy, and John Doyle - offering them $ 10,000 for killing Willie Egan.

He was shot dead in front of his own bar on Fourteenth and Franklin Streets on October 31, 1921 . That was the beginning of various shootings in the city, in which no consideration was given to bystanders.

On December 30, 1921, James Hogan, Luke Kennedy, and Abe Goldfeder - who were accompanied by their attorney Jacob Mackler - were attacked while leaving a police station. Kennedy was wounded in the leg, the attorney's hat was shot off the head with a shotgun and miraculously remained unharmed.

A week later, John Doyle was shot dead by police after a car chase in Old North St. Louis . Luke Kennedy was murdered on April 17, 1922 in Wellston , where he actually wanted to cure his injury; According to informant Ray Renard, he was mocked before the shots were fired.

Even drive-by shootings came to use; When the Hogan gang shot down Dint Colbeck's plumber's shop - successor to the dead William Eagan - on Washington Avenue , the next day they attacked Hogan's house at 3035 Cass Avenue .

In 1922, the Catholic Monsignor Timothy Dempsey intervened with an attempt to mediate to end the open street fighting. The two gangs came to an agreement in June 1922; Max Greenberg - as the cause of the dispute - was brought to the train station under the protection of the Hohan Gang and left the city for New York City .

However, that did not end the conflict, although the Egan's Council had prevailed; accused gang member David "Chippy" Robinson of anonymously robbing the Hogans at the police station, and Hogan and some of his people were actually arrested. However, there was no conviction.

On September 2, 1922, Dint Colbeck and three of his men accidentally stumbled upon Abe Goldfeder and Max Gordon on Locust Street and nearly killed them; Max Gordon lost an eye in the shooting. The June agreement was finally broken. On February 21, 1921 Colbeck and his men shot the lawyer Jacob Mackler and the open gang war broke out again in the city.

Hogan's home on Cass Avenue was attacked again on March 22, 1923. Hogan and Humbert Costello exchanged shots with members of the Egan gang when they were on North Grand Boulevard crippling a 12-year-old boy. Those responsible - Isadore Londe and Elmer Runge - were to be identified with the Hogan Police, to which he replied that he would identify them with a shotgun.

In order to end the clashes, proposals arose in the city to restore order through the use of Marines or the National Guard . Some local politicians, Monsignor Tim Dempsey and a reporter from the St. Louis Star “brought the war to an end. In September 1923, letters were published from the two gang leaders - Colbeck and Hogan - announcing the end of the conflict.

estate

The bottom line was that the Hogan Gang could not prevail against the Egan's advice , but when they were weakened by internal disputes (including murder) and criminal prosecutions for other crimes, the Hogans were actually able to move to the south of the city advance. After the end of Prohibition, Hogan pushed his political career and was elected four times to the Missouri Senate. He died in 1963 at the age of 77.

Members

  • Boss:
    • Edward J. Hoogan († August 11, 1963)
  • Members (among others)
    • Leo Casey
    • Humbert Costello
    • James Hogan; younger brother of Edward J, Hoogan
    • Luke Kennedy, the gang's top shooter
    • Charles Mercurio
    • Dewey McAuliffe
    • John "Kink" Connell
    • Abe gold pen
    • Patrick Scanlon.

literature

  • John Auble: A History of St. Louis Gangsters: A Chronology of Mob Activity on Both Sides of the River Ranging from the Egan Rats to the Last Mob Leader on Record . The National Criminal Research Society, 2002, ISBN 0-9713409-0-0 .
  • TJ English: Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster . HarperCollins, New York 2005, ISBN 0-06-059002-5 .
  • Albert Montesi, Richard Deposki Historic North St. Louis . Arcadia Publishing, Chicago 2003, ISBN 0-7385-2319-4 .
  • Daniel Waugh: Egan's Rats: The Untold Story Of The Gang That Ruled Prohibition-era St. Louis . Cumberland House, Nashville 2007, ISBN 978-1-58182-575-6 .
  • Daniel Waugh: Gangs of St. Louis: Men of Respect . The History Press, Charleston 2010, ISBN 978-1-59629-905-4 .