Ocean Hill hooligans

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The Ocean Hill hooligans were a criminal gang in New York City in the 1930s, which mainly composed of people with Italian-American background and the infamous , Murder Inc. was recorded.

Was named the band after their location in the district of Ocean Hill in Brownsville (New York City) in the district of Brooklyn . Even today, the area is one of those with the highest murder rate in the city.

history

The gang was led by Harry "Happy" Maione (1908–1942); his deputy was Frank Abbandando (1906–1942). The gang's brutal activities got around in gang circles and established the gang's reputation. After the Mafia war, the so-called War of Castellammare (1930-1931), the La Cosa Nostra restructured and founded the National Crime Syndicate . This should create a balance of power and mediate in the event of a dispute. The National Crime Syndicate founded a homicide department and hired the Ocean Hill Hooligans, among others .

When the Ocean Hill Hooligans helped the neighboring Brownsville Boys around Abe Reles and Bugsy Goldstein in their fight against the Shapiro brothers, the murder command for the National Crime Syndicate was almost complete. The contact between the two gangs was established by Louis Capone . In return, Abbandando and Maione promised themselves a share of the lucrative gaming machine business by eliminating the Shapiro brothers.

For leading mobsters like Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano , gangs like the Italian Ocean Hills Hooligans and the " Kosher Nostras " of the Brownsville Boys were ideal allies to gain influence in the poorer areas of Brooklyn. Together with Louis Buchalter's killers such as Albert Tannenbaum and Harry Strauss , they now formed the core of the murderers of Murder, Inc.

Maione was - among many murders - on September 5, 1939, a participant in the murder of Irving Feinstein , who was abducted to Abe Reles' house at E.91 St. in Brooklyn and tortured to death there. Feinstein is said to have betrayed Vincent Mangano , the boss of the clan later known as the Gambino family .

When Abe Reles finally became the Pentito , he also incriminated his cronies of the Ocean Hill Hooligans .

“Pep has an ice ax. Happer has a meat cleaver. The way they chop, you know, a butcher's cleaver. Abby grabs (the unconscious) Rudnick by the feet and pulls him over to the car. Pep and Happy grab his head. You put him in the car. One says, "It doesn't fit". Just as they press the body into it, it gives a slight moan or something. Pep immediately starts stabbing Whitey with the ice pick. Maione says, "Let me give the bastard a hit!" And he hits him on the head with the meat cleaver. "

- From the confession of Abe Reles, with which he incriminated Frank Abbandando (Abby), Harry Maione (Happy or Hap) and Harry Strauss (Pep) as the murderers of George Rudnicks (Whitey).

When Murder, Inc. was broken up in 1940, the story of the Ocean Hill Hooligans that had merged with it ended .

Harry Strauss was executed on the electric chair on June 12, 1941 in Sing Sing , Ossining . On February 19, 1942, the death sentence against Harry Maione and Frank Abbandando was carried out at the same place.

literature

  • Cohen, Rich: Murder Inc .: Not exactly kosher stores in Brooklyn . Fischer Verlag, 2000, ISBN 3-10-010215-0 .
  • Burton B. Turkus and Sid Feder: Murder Inc. . Farrar Straus and Young, 1952, 1992, ISBN 978-0-306-80475-5 .
  • Burton B. Turkus and Sid Feder: Murder Inc. . Da Capo Press, 2003, ISBN 0-306-81288-6 .

Web links