Vincent Coll

Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll (* 20. July 1908 in Gweedore , Ireland , † 8. February 1932 in New York City ) was at the beginning of the 20th century, a contract killer and gangster in New York City during the US alcohol prohibition , which by his argument with Owney Madden and Dutch Schultz became known.

His nicknames "Mad Dog" (en: crazy dog), "The Mad Mick" (en: The crazy Irish ("Mick" as a derogatory expression of the Irish ethnicity)) and "The Baby Killer" (en: The baby Murderer) resulted from his reckless behavior in the pursuit of his deeds. In particular, the death of a young boy, which earned him the title "Baby Killer" in the press, was the result of an attempted kidnapping using a Thompson submachine gun on the street, regardless of bystanders.

Life

Childhood and youth

Vincent Coll was born in Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland in 1908. In 1909 his family emigrated to New York City and moved into a small apartment in the Bronx . His childhood was marked by the poverty of his parents and poor living conditions; Up to the age of twelve Vincent lost five of his siblings to illness or accidents. His mother died in 1915 and his father left the family early.

After the death of their mother, Vincent and his brother Peter ended up in the Mt. Loretto orphanage on Staten Island , where Vincent lived for about 3 years but made frequent escape attempts. Other historians believe that Coll lived in an apartment in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood with his brother Peter and sister Florence . As a teenager, he began to join the Gophers , one of New York City's five classic gangs. During this time he also met his mentor, George Couk, who, according to some historians, acted like a surrogate father figure for him.

Around 1926, the US alcohol prohibition had existed since 1919, he was introduced to Dutch Schultz through Owney Madden , whom he joined shortly afterwards and helped protect his vans with illegal alcohol cargo from kidnapping and loss of illegal alcohol cargo. Already at this time he was known for a quick-tempered, self-destructive behavior that would characterize him throughout his life. When he was 19, he was charged with the murder of a speakeasy owner who refused to buy alcohol from Dutch Schultz. In the process, however, Coll was acquitted, presumably due to the good political contacts of Schultz in the background.

Conflict with Madden and Schultz

The break with his boss Dutch Schultz came when Coll carried out a raid on the Sheffield Farms dairy , which was in his boss's sphere of influence.

Instead of accepting his boss's reprimand, Coll now demanded to be treated as an equal partner and to be involved in his business. Schultz gave Coll the ultimatum to either accept the old terms or to leave. Also Madden intervened and tried Coll to convince. A meeting at the Stork Club , of which Madden was silent partner with George DeMange and "Big Bill" Dwyer , did not lead to any result.

Around the summer of 1930, Coll and his supporters began increasingly carrying out raids in the Madden and Schultz area. Another ultimatum from Schultz to Coll , either to stay out of alcohol smuggling or to be killed, was also ignored. Rather, Coll presumably went on the attack himself and in the early months of 1931 at least ten members of the Seven Group were murdered; including Carmine Borelli , who refused to lure his boss Dutch Schultz into an ambush. However, the "Seven Group" struck back and murdered Coll's brother Peter .

Kidnappings

Coll resorted to kidnapping . A first attempt to kidnap Madden's friend Nils T. Granlund failed because the police had received an anonymous tip. The second attempt on June 15, 1931 was more successful. That evening, Madden's business partner George “Big Frenchy” DeMange was kidnapped in front of his club Argonaut . After Madden at Coll 35,000 dollars was paid for the release took place. The news of the kidnapping also worried Dutch Schultz , who went into hiding shortly afterwards, suspecting that he might be Coll's next victim . Madden and Schultz began hiring outside hit men to kill Coll , who was now in hiding himself.

Attempted murder of Joey Rao

Coll interrupted his hiding on July 28, 1931, as he was now after Joey Rao - business partner of Schultz - who looked after the gambling rackets in Harlem. He had already received information that he should be the next victim and therefore decided to carry more change with him so that he could give it to children around him. In this way he hoped to build a human shield around him that would prevent any attempt at kidnapping. However, Coll was not deterred and that day fire on Rao was opened from a car with a Thompson machine gun. He was uninjured, but many of the children standing around were hit by bullets and 5-year-old Michael Vengoli succumbed to his injuries. The act quickly became known throughout the city and Vincent Coll was nicknamed "The Baby Killer" by the media .

New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker called Coll a "Mad Dog" and offered a $ 10,000 reward that should lead to the gangster's capture. The criminal underworld also decided to continue to take action against Coll; Madden and Schultz put a $ 25,000 bounty each on Coll.

Contract killer for Salvatore Maranzano

Probably in the middle of 1931, Coll was contacted by Mafia boss Salvatore Maranzano , who wanted to recruit him for some murders. As a result of the Castellammare War in 1930/31, Maranazano tried to establish himself as Capo di tutti i capi (it: boss of all bosses) within the five families of La Cosa Nostra . In particular, the " Young Turks" around Lucky Luciano , who were used to the cooperative division of labor of the Seven Group , did not tolerate this claim to leadership by Mustache Petes Maranzano . Maranzano wanted to break this resistance and needed a killer outside of the "families" because Italian assassins would arouse too much suspicion to be successful. Maranzano wanted to discuss the attack in his new headquarters, the Grand Central Building, at a meeting with Coll .

When Coll wanted to meet Maranzano on September 10, 1931 , his client was already dead. Four assassins, including Bo Weinberg and Red Levine , two other killers from Meyer Lansky’s environment , and the fifth Gaetano Lucchese came up the stairs from Maranzanos Down the office and met the arriving Coll on their escape route . They warned him of a raid, which is why Coll also decided to flee. Coll kept his $ 25,000 advance payment .

Arrest and acquittal

In October 1931, the police succeeded in obtaining an arrest warrant for Coll in the Michael Vengoli case and arresting him because one of his accomplices revealed his whereabouts. This was arrested after an attack on the Schultz headquarters in the Bronx, along with another perpetrator, because witnesses had noted their license plates , and provided the information where Coll was in the city. Coll had returned to town and had begun reactivating his alcohol smuggling. He did not resist and was charged with attempted manslaughter of Joey Rao and the murder of Michael Vengoli . As a lawyer, Coll took Samuel J. Leibowitz , who managed to discredit the main witness for the prosecution through investigations , which led to the acquittal of Coll in December 1931.

Coll's murder

Financially weakened by high legal fees, Coll forced the fight against his opponents and competitors, who struck back. On February 1, 1932, police discovered three dead and three injured members of the Coll gang in an apartment in the Bronx neighborhood . Coll and his wife Lottie , whom he had only married in early January 1932, had escaped the attack, which was believed to have been carried out by the hit men Leonard Scarnici and Anthony Fabrizzo .

Coll now threatened Owney Madden by phone with kidnapping if he did not pay $ 100,000. Madden met with Dutch Schultz and several other members of the Seven Group ; including Frank Costello . The idea was developed to get one of Coll's bodyguards to convert. Coll's whereabouts were discovered shortly afterwards and from then on was shadowed by members of the "Seven Group". In consultation with Madden and Co. February 8, 1932 was set as the day of the attack.

Madden now apparently accepted Coll’s demand for money and arranged to meet Coll in a candy store in Hell’s Kitchen to discuss further details by phone. Coll appeared at the New London Pharmacy and Candy Shop after his bodyguard first checked the safety of the place. Only a few minutes later an unknown man, presumably either Leonard Scarnici or Anthony Fabrizzo, appeared in the shop, and Coll's bodyguard disappeared from the shop after a brief hand signal from the newcomer.

Coll , who was still talking to Madden over the phone, was hit by several volleys from a machine gun and was dead within seconds. Leonard Scarnici, Anthony Fabrizzo and driver Bo Weinberg are said to have escaped together in a car. Although a police car arrived shortly afterwards - Coll was monitored by the police - the perpetrators were able to shake off their pursuers.

Vincent Coll was buried in Saint Raymonds Cemetery in the Bronx .

Adaptations

• 1984: Cotton Club , directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
• 1991: The real bosses - a diabolical empire , staged by Michael Karbelnikoff.

literature

• TJ English: Paddy Whacked. The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster . HarperCollins 2005, ISBN 0-06-059003-3
• Graham Nown; The English Godfather. Born In Leeds, Raised In Wigan, Duke Of The West Side ; Headline Book Publishing 1988; ISBN 0-7472-3144-3