Lenox Avenue aisle

The Lenox Avenue Gang was a street gang from New York City , which was active in the early 20th century. It was led by the criminal Harry Horowitz (aka Gyp the Blood ). The gang was among the most brutal in the pre- prohibition era .

history

The Lenox Avenue Gang was founded by Horowitz in the early 20th century. Horowitz was the son of Orthodox Jews from the Lower East Side . The gang had about 20 members. Most of them were burglars and pickpockets under the command of Jack Zelig's Eastman Gang . They essentially operated around 125th Street in Manhattan . Most of the time the gang committed thefts, robberies and robberies. Occasionally, however, she also committed murders. Under Horowitz's leadership, the gang spawned some of the top criminals of the early 20th century, such as Jacob Seidenschner, Louis Rosenberg and Francesco Cirofisi. The prominent New York police officer Val O'Farrell called Cirofisi one of the toughest criminals in the world. The police linked him to six murders. However, he could not be convicted. One of his friends, Dutch Sadie, allegedly assisted him in his murders. The gang's decline began when they were hired to assassinate the gamer Herman Rosenthal, a police informant. Horowitz, Seidenschner, Rosenberg and Cirofisi drove to the Metropole Hotel (147 West 43rd Street near Times Square ) on July 16, 1912 and shot Rosenthal in the street. Dozens of witnesses saw them and they were quickly arrested. They confessed that they were hired by NYPD officer Lieutenant Charles Becker .

Horowitz, Jacob Seidenschner, Lefty Louis Rosenberg, Becker and Francesco Cirofisi were sentenced to death for the murder of Rosenthal. Except for Becker, they were all executed on the electric chair on April 13, 1914 . Becker was executed a day later. After the execution, the gang disbanded over the next few months.

additional

The Lenox Avenue , in addition to this name and the name Malcolm X Boulevard leads, is located in Harlem (in Upper Manhattan ).

literature

• Herbert Asbury , The Gangs of New York (New York: Alfred A. Knopf , 1927) ISBN 1-56025-275-8
• Carl Sifakis, The Encyclopedia of American Crime: Second Edition Vol. II (KZ) (New York: Facts on File, 2001)

Web links

• Killer Cop. Mark S. Gado's Story of the Murder of Rosenthal

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jay Robert Nash : Bloodletters and badmen 1973, ISBN 0-87131-113-5 : "Harry" Gyp the Blood "Horowitz headed up the Lenox Avenue gang just after the turn of the 20th century. The gang was composed of professional pickpockets and burglars who centered activities on 125th Street in Manhattan. ... "