Gangland Stories

06/15/2026

The Early Rumblings of Murder Inc.

By 1930, New York City streets were flooded with gang wars.The Brownsville section of Brooklyn was erupting with gunfire. The most dangerous time in gangland history was about to get more violent.

Vice in Brownsville at this time was controlled by the Shapiro gang. Brothers- Meyer, Irving and Willie were seasoned criminals, sitting at the top of the heap in Brownsville. They controlled slot machines, fifteen houses of prostitution, as well as loansharking and labor rackets.

Meyer Shapiro, the leader of the gang took great delight in his fierce notoriety, and more so in imposing it on his crew. However, this type of behavior as a leader comes with a price, and that price is hostility throughout the ranks.

A young Shapiro hood named Abe Reles realised that the street guys were taking all the risk without being rewarded fairly. So, Reles, and fellow Shapiro hoods Martin Goldstein and Harry Strauss decided to set up their own gang. They called themselves the Brownsville Boys. They immediately set up a tidy bookmaking operation competing against the Shapiros.

To make things more interesting, word came down from Meyer Lansky and Charlie Luciano. They said that if The Brownsville Boys could take out the Shapiro Gang, they would be rewarded with control of the Brooklyn rackets under the protection of the National Crime Syndicate.

Emboldened by this support, the newly formed combination began a brutal campaign against the Shapiro Gang. In a short space of time, violence erupted with casualties on both sides. The battle slowed down when the Shapiro’s went into hiding.

On an oddly quiet day, Reles and some friends were hanging out at a pool hall. Out of nowhere the sound of glass shattering, and the very familiar roar of gunfire ripped through the place. Reles managed to crawl to the window and saw the three Shapiro brothers shooting from a car. This raised things to a new level. The Brownsville Boys were about to get medieval on the Shapiro brothers.

First, Reles and Goldstein found out where the Shapiro’s kept an apartment. On July 11, 1931, Irving Shapiro entered the apartment building, and when he reached the 5th floor, he noticed the
hall light wasn’t on.

Suddenly, out of the dark Abe Reles and Martin Goldstein appeared. Reles fired a shot, staggering Irving. Reles quickly dragged Irving outside, and shot him another eight times, twice in the face.

Two months later, Meyer Shapiro was spotted by two of Abe Reles associates in a speakeasy in Manhattan. In a very brazen and dramatic manner, the two associates dragged Shapiro out of the speakeasy.

They took him to a nearby basement and tied him to a chair. After receiving a phone call, Abe Reles arrived and wasted no time. He held a pistol up to Meyer Shapiro’s ear and pulled the trigger, killing him instantly.

Three years later, on July 20, 1934, William Shapiro finally met his fate. It is believed William was tortured and then buried alive in a marshland near Jamaica Bay. He was buried at the hands of Reles, Goldstein, Harry Maione (Boss of the Ocean Hill Gang) and his lieutenant Frank Abbandando.

This would mark the early rumblings of the Combination, aka Murder Inc.

Pic 1. The Shapiro’s..L-R, Willie, Meyer, and Irving.

Pic 2. The Brooklyn Boys…L-R, Martin Goldstein, Abe Reles, and Harry Strauss.

06/11/2026

An Inch from Death: The Day Vito Genovese Survived an Assassination Attempt

On July 5, 1926, in the quiet early hours just before dawn, Vito Genovese was standing under the elevated train line in the Woodhaven section of Queens.

A car approached. Gunfire erupted from inside the vehicle. Shots ricocheted violently beneath the iron framework of the tracks, echoing through the still morning air. Genovese was ambushed, a bullet tore into his neck. He dropped to the sidewalk as the car sped away.

Unarmed and bleeding heavily, Genovese somehow managed to get back to his parents’ house. After stumbling for a block, Genovese made it inside and collapsed unconscious in the hallway. A trail of blood stretched from the front door all the way back to the spot under the elevated train line where the shooting took place.

His father Frances rushed him to a nearby hospital. Doctors performed emergency surgery to remove the bullet and repair the damage. The slug had come within an inch of severing his carotid artery and larynx. Genovese was lucky to survive.

Police quickly connected the attack to the ongoing bootlegging wars. The Queens Leader-Observer reported that investigators suspected a bootlegging feud was behind the ambush. The shooting bore a striking resemblance to an earlier attack on Genovese’s associate, Arnello Albertini.

Albertini had been ambushed from behind with a sh***un weeks earlier and killed. The similarities suggested escalating violence between rival underworld factions. When questioned, Genovese revealed very little to the police and was unable, or unwilling, to identify his attackers.

Pic. Vito Genovese, June, 1945.

06/09/2026

THE NIGHT FRANK UNDERSTOOD CHARLIE COULD TURN IN A HEART BEAT, EVEN ON HIM.

In the chaotic infancy of Prohibition, between 1920-1922, the Manhattan streets turned into a battlefield. Deals were made in whispers, reputations were built in blood, and every man with ambition was testing the limits.

One night in a smoke-choked speakeasy, beneath the low hum of jazz and the clink of glasses, Frank Costello and Charlie Luciano sat next to each other, locked in a tense debate about laying low. The city was heating up fast, and Frank argued it was time to cool off. Charlie didn’t see it that way. Their words grew sharper, tightening the air between them.

Frank got up to leave. In a blink, Charlie’s hand slipped inside his coat and came back with a switchblade. The steel snapped open and pressed cold against Frank’s throat, his world narrowed to the thin line of that blade. Charlie didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to. His eyes went still, flat as dark glass. That quiet moment was more dangerous than shouting.

Frank felt the metal against his skin, felt his pulse thudding beneath it, but he didn’t flinch. He kept his voice steady. He told Charlie this wasn’t the way, that violence was ignorance, and spilling blood over pride was small-time thinking. He spoke to the future Charlie wanted, not the temper he was feeding. Charlie stood there...motionless…nothing moved. Then something shifted. A faint curl of a smile touched the corner of Charlie’s mouth. The blade snapped shut and disappeared back into his coat as quickly as it had appeared.

In that moment, Frank saw it clearly. The charm and the danger. The ambition and the volatility. The rumors weren’t rumors at all. Charlie could turn in a heartbeat. And still, with his pulse hammering in his ears, Frank understood something else. If you wanted to reach the top of the volcano, you followed the man who wasn’t afraid to live on its edge.

Pic 1. Charlie Luciano
Pic 2. The youngest known mugshot of Frank Costello.

06/05/2026

Elliot Muggins was a nobody with a beef against a somebody: Meyer Lansky. Muggins demanded a sit-down with the Bug and Meyer mob. He wanted a bigger share of the profits. A sit-down was granted.
On January 29, 1928, at around 5:30 pm, Muggins arrived at the sit-down at a residence on Forty-Fourth Street in Sunnyside, Queens, to present his case for increased profits to the Bug and Meyer mob. To his dismay, upon entering the residence, he found the host was Lepke Buchalter.

Lepke, though technically from a separate gang, was known to be brought in by Meyer and Ben to arbitrate internal conflicts. This would signal to Muggins that he was in hot water.
After presenting his case to the panel, the tables were turned against Muggins. He was accused of skimming the till. Muggins defended himself and his actions. Lepke ordered Muggins out of the room so a verdict could be reached.

Just before 8:30 pm, Muggins was forced into a car and told to sit in the passenger seat. Ben Siegel was behind the wheel. Joe Benzolo was behind Siegel, next to him was Red Levine, and behind Muggins was Meyer. Only a few blocks away, Meyer drew a pistol and fired. The bullet hit Muggins in the back of the head. Realizing he was being targeted, Muggins kicked Siegel's foot off the gas and leaped from the vehicle.

Bleeding but alive, he ran for a taxi, which took him to his parents' home on Grand Street in Manhattan. Muggins' mother called an ambulance, and he was transported to Gouverneur Hospital on the Lower East Side. From his hospital bed, Muggins quickly spilled everything to the investigators.

He initially identified twenty-six-year-old Meyer Lansky as the shooter. He also named Benjamin Siegel as the driver, along with Joseph Benzola and Samuel 'Red' Levine as the other passengers.

By March 7, 1928, three of the four men Muggins named, Lansky, Benzola, and Levine, had already turned themselves in, on the advice of their attorneys. They faced charges of felony assault in a Long Island courtroom. At the trial, however, Muggins suddenly expressed doubt. He told the judge he didn't recognize his attackers and that it wasn't the men in front of him. The judge was stunned, even threatening perjury charges, but Muggins stubbornly refused to recant.

Pic 1. Meyer Lansky
Pic 2. Ben Siegel
Pic 3. Sam “Red” Levine.

At the time of this post, there are no pictures of Joe Benzolo or Elliot Muggins.

06/04/2026

On the morning of October 12, 1930, Jack “Legs” Diamond was holed up in Room 831 of the Monticello Hotel in Manhattan with his mistress, showgirl Kiki Roberts. Around ten o’clock, Diamond took a quick phone call. What was said didn’t require much discussion. When he hung up, he told Kiki he had a meeting across the hall in Room 829. He was still in his pajamas.

Close to noon, guests in neighboring rooms heard voices through the walls. An argument grew loud, sharp, and ugly, until it suddenly erupted in a hail of gunfire that shattered the corridor. Moments later, Diamond stumbled out of Room 829, soaked in blood. He had been hit multiple times, staggered toward the elevator, and collapsed. Two men were seen fleeing down the stairs and jumping into a waiting Chrysler before speeding off into Manhattan.

An ambulance rushed Diamond to Polyclinic Hospital. Doctors found five wounds. A bullet tore through his right thigh. Another struck his left torso. Two more pierced his chest near each armpit. The final shot grazed his forehead. The medical report stated that the angle of that last bullet suggested he had been falling backward when it was fired. The movement probably changed its path just enough to keep it from penetrating his skull. What could have been fatal instead left him miraculously alive.

Diamond survived, and in a surprising move that shocked many in the underworld, he broke the silence. He identified Salvatore Spitale and Irving Bitz as the gunmen. He claimed they had previously given him a large sum of money to buy “goods” during a trip to Europe. He returned empty-handed and never repaid the money. It was a story that matched his reputation.

Pic 1. Jack “Legs” Diamond

Pic 2. Salvatore Spitale & Irving Bitz

06/02/2026

Dutch Schultz Gets Blasted at Club Abby

On January 24, 1931 complete chaos broke out in Club Abby as Dutch Schultz’s gang and Waxey Gordon’s gang clashed violently. Club Abby was at 205 West 54th Street.

It’s alleged Dutch Schultz was dancing with Broadway’s famous little cigarette girl, Mavis King, when he and Charles “C***k” Sherman began arguing over her.

The two gangsters exchanged punches on the crowded dance floor. Sherman landed multiple punches, staggering the Dutchman causing him to stumbled into a table full of patrons.

Schultz picked up a broken b**r bottle from the scattered table and rammed it into Sherman’s face. Sherman, was Waxey Gordon’s lieutenant.

Waxey Gordon’s crew pulled out their guns and pumped lead into Dutch, but his bulletproof vest saved his hide, leaving him with only a shoulder wound. C***k Sherman and his crew quickly left Club Abby, leaving Dutch and his crew to explain the nights outburst of violence to the police.

Pic1. Dutch Schultz
Pic 2. Mavis King
Pic 3. Charles “C***k” Sherman

04/19/2026

In 1931, Charlie Lucania aka Charles Lucky Luciano was relatively unknown by the media. Only mentioned occasionally as a low-level gambler or a chauffeur, with occasional news reports hidden in the middle pages of a newspaper. The general public had no idea who he was. As far as they were concerned, he was just a quiet, kind businessman, going about his business.

As a criminal, Charlie was on the law enforcement radar, but they believed he was far from a major player. He wasn’t a concern for them. In just a few short months, Charlie would remove the two warring bosses Masseria and Maranzano, reorganize and modernize the surviving factions, and was no doubt the undisputed power of his era.

According to his Record of Arrest and Prosecution sheet (RAP sheet), on February 2, 1931, he was arrested for assault, using the alias Charles Reed.

NYPD Arrest Blogger:

Date: February 2, 1931
Name: Charles Reed
Police Department: NYC
Number: B-72321
Crime: Assault first degree
Occupation: Chauffeur

He was accused of participating in a street brawl in Manhattan. It’s stated that Charlie was involved in a violent street brawl with two off-duty New Jersey police officers. According to witnesses, the two aggressive men began to follow Charlie while trying to entice him to fight. Just as the busy Broadway district began to fill up with theatre goers and restaurant patrons, a street brawl erupted.

A large crowd of onlookers claimed that two men yelled vulgar obscenities at him. They began pushing him, and even spitting on him. In a matter of seconds, Charlie retaliated. Witnesses stated, “the young man was extremely violent and brutal, dishing out his retaliation, he gave the men a severe beating, and they screamed for help”.

Detectives Frank Phillips and Raymon Henshaw of NYPD’s elite “Confidential Squad” were the arresting officers.

He was charged with two first-degree felony assaults. On February 4, Judge Joseph F. Mulqueen in the Court of Common Sessions dismissed the two felony indictments. Quoting, “Trying to entice a private citizen into an illegal act is entrapment”.

Pic…February 2, 1931 NYPD mugshot.

04/11/2026

December 26, 1926, an attempted robbery of insurance broker Albert Levy turned into a shootout on the Upper West Side. Levy was carrying $8000 in cash as his chauffeur Charles Haffman pulled into West 105th Street from Central Park West, heading towards Broadway. Four men in another sedan pull up alongside and began shooting at the car with Levy and Haffman inside. Eyewitnesses reports claimed the unmistakable roar of gunfire and car engines filled the air, along with tires screeching as bullets tore through the victim's car. Some of the eyewitnesses stated it didn’t look as though they were trying to kill the occupants of the vehicle, more like trying to get the vehicle to stop.

Unfortunately for the victims, it seems the bullets found their mark with Insurance broker Levy being the only one injured, shot in the hand and arm. Somehow the chauffeur Haffman managed to avoid getting hit. Six days after the shooting, Albert Levy and Charles Haffman stated to police they know who the attackers were. The following day, Charles “Lucky” Lucania, Jack “Legs” Diamond, his brother Eddie Diamond, and Thomas “Fatty” Walsh were arrested.

The suspects were held in connection with the Levy shooting and also questioned about a December 11 incident at Broadway and 50th Street. Levy changed his mind in fear when the four suspects were paraded in front of him in the hospital stating "there is a mistake, these ain't the men". On December 29, Lucania, the Diamond brothers, and Walsh were discharged in magistrate’s court. There is more to the story than a simple robbery. The victim Albert Levy knew the alleged gangsters by name and the gangsters knew Levy was carrying $8000 in cash. By this time in their criminal careers Charlie, Jack, Eddie, and Fatty didn’t need to resort to sticking up citizens for cash.

04/08/2026

06/23/2024

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