Owney Killer Madden example essay topic

for so many years. It was wasting away, but the Don Corleone from the UK would do everything he could to establish a name for himself, through a life filled with luck and crime. Liverpool, England, the birth to British and American Rock sensation, The beatles, was also the birthplace of one of the world's most notorious killer. It was in Liverpool, England, 1892, that Owney Madden was born. However, only in 1903, did he and his family emigrate to New York and settle in the slums of Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen.

At an early age, Owney joined the Gophers and despite his light build, he was renowned as a tough and crazy gangster. He was a crack shot with a pistol and he used his trademark weapon, a lead pipe concealed in a rolled-up newspaper, to great effect. He was nicknamed 'Killer Madden' at the age of 17 because by that time he already had two murders under his belt. Many more would follow. Madden moved out of his family's tenement apartment and rented a house with Tanner Smith. Smith had been leader of a relatively unsuccessful street gang known as the Marginal Gang, but became a Gopher when the Marginal split up.

Soon after they moved into the house, neighbors began to complain about the all-night parties that the two gangsters held. Members of the Gophers would often come over and spend the night drinking, gambling and brawling at Owney and Tanner's. When the landlord threatened to throw them out, Madden asked 'Mister, did you ever hear of Owney Madden?' The man replied that he had heard of him and Madden said: 'Well Mister, I am Owney Madden. ' Apparently, that was enough to intimidate the owner of the house, but the neighbors continued to suffer from their entertainment and one night, a number of policemen arrived to break up a party. When he spotted them Madden shouted through a window: 'We " ll shoot the gizzard out of any cop that tries to come in here. ' True to his word, when the sergeant knocked on the door, Madden aimed his pistol through the window and killed him.

The police retreated, waited for reinforcements and then stormed the house, handing out severe beatings to the gangsters they found inside. They never discovered which of the men fired the shot from the window and Madden, still a minor, was released the next day on a $500 bond. As a side note, when Tanner Smith was released he made a complaint to New York's Mayor William J. Gaynor about police brutality, resulting in Order Number 7 which banned New York police officers from using their night sticks unless it was in defense of lives. Of the many organizations that fell victim to the crimes of the Gophers, New York Central Railroad was struck particularly hard by the gang's and assaults. In the early 1910's, the company hired a force of armed railroad police to deal with the gang. The railroad police, which included many ex-cops with grudges against the Gophers started a vigilante war with Hell's Kitchen's most notorious criminals.

Known members of the gang were beaten on sight and it's power was effectively broken. When leader Newburgh Gallagher was imprisoned, the already weakened Gophers disbanded and the old members formed into 3 factions, the largest of which was lead by Owney 'Killer' Madden. The main leaders in Madden's gang were Eddie Egan, Bill Tammany and Chick Hyland. To celebrate his new status as a gang leader, Madden murdered a man. Never one to be worried about onlookers, he was promptly arrested, but when witnesses started disappearing the police were forced to release him. Not long afterwards, he shot a man during an argument over a woman.

He was apprehended after a dramatic chase across the rooftops of the clustered apartment buildings of Hell's Kitchen, but was once more saved by the phenomenon of disappearing witnesses. During his early career, he was arrested more than 50 times for burglary, armed robbery and assault, but the police found it was almost impossible to get convictions. Rival gangsters found it equally difficult to get Madden out of the way. On November 6 1914, he walked alone into the Arbor Dance Hall on 52nd street. By this time, he had such a reputation that people who saw him stepping onto the dance floor began to leave and the band actually stopped playing.

Madden insisted that they carry on with their merriment and reassured them that he wasn't there to 'bump off' anyone. He went up to the balcony and spent much of the night drinking whisky and talking to a woman he picked up. Then quite suddenly, 11 members of the rival Hudson Dusters gang surrounded him and drew pistols. Madden began insulting them, saying that they didn't have the courage to shoot anyone.

When he drew his gun, the eleven assassins opened fire, spraying the dance hall with bullets and hitting Owney 6 times. He was lucky to survive. In hospital, he refused to tell the police who had attacked him. He told them it was his own business and he would take care of it himself. During his first week in hospital, 3 of the Hudson Duster shooters were murdered.

Meanwhile, one of Madden's men was spreading rumours that Owney was paralysed. William Moore aka 'Little Patsy Doyle' was jealous because his girlfriend Freda Horner left him for Madden, and now Madden and Horner were engaged. Doyle wanted revenge and he want.