Gangsters, Mobsters, and other really bad dudes and dudettes...

[CallMeMaybe]

A little dark a topic but no less interesting. Hollywood has romanticized some but that doesn't excuse their deeds.

That said, Bonnie & Clyde have always fascinated me, as did Billy The Kid and Al Capone.

Add yours and to hear of some from across the pond or around the world that might not be as familiar to us here would be fun to read. I imagine Australia had some seriously bad dudes as did the UK.

Here is an overview of Bonnie and Clyde, I will profile them later.



Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910 – May 23, 1934) and Clyde Champion Barrow (March 24, 1909 – May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression, known for their bank robberies, although they preferred to rob small stores or rural gas stations. Their exploits captured the attention of the American press and its readership during what is occasionally referred to as the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1934. They are believed to have murdered at least nine police officers and four civilians. They were killed in May 1934 during an ambush by police near Gibsland, Louisiana.

The press' portrayal of Bonnie and Clyde was sometimes at odds with the reality of their life on the road, especially for Parker. She was present at 100 or more felonies during the two years that she was Barrow's companion, although she was not the cigar-smoking, machine gun-wielding killer depicted in newspapers, newsreels, and pulp detective magazines*of the day. Nonetheless, numerous police accounts detail her attempts to murder police officers (although gang member W.D. Jones contradicted them at trial). The picture of Parker smoking a cigar came from an undeveloped roll of negatives that police found at an abandoned hideout, and the snapshot was published nationwide. Parker did chain smoke Camel cigarettes, although she never smoked cigars. According to historian Jeff Guinn, the photos found at the hideout resulted in Parker's glamorization and the creation of myths about the gang.

The 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, directed by Arthur Penn and starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in the title roles, revived interest in the criminals and glamorized them with a romantic aura. The 2019 Netflix film, The Highwaymen, depicted the law's pursuit of Bonnie and Clyde.

[Estreeter]

Michael Franzese, son of Sonny Franzese who spent 50 years locked up and died at age 103.



Michael was a Captain in the Colombo family , did time but is now straight and has a YT channel, some real good Mob stories he tells a few times a week.

https://www.youtube.com/user/MichaelFranzese/videos

[Mal Hombre]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Schultz
"Dutch Shultz" Born Arthur Flegenheimer

Maverick New York Mobster, Murdered by His colleagues following an unauthorized attempt on the life of Prosecutor Thomas Dewey.
His death bed stream of consciousness ramblings were taken down by Police officers,
Including such lines as:

"Oh, mamma, mamma, please don't tear; don't rip...
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
Who shot me? No one.
I will be checked and double-checked and please pull for me.
The sidewalk was in trouble and the bears were in trouble and I broke it up.
I can't come; express office was closed.
Please crack down on the Chinaman's friends and Hitler's commander.
These native children make this and sell you the joint.
You can play jacks, and girls do that with a soft ball and do tricks with it.
A mother's boy has never wept, nor dashed a thousand kim.
Oh, oh, dog biscuit, and when he is happy he doesn't get snappy
Hey, Jimmie! The Chimney Sweeps. Talk to the Sword. Shut up, you got a big mouth! Please come help me up, Henny. Max come over here. French Canadian bean soup. I want to pay. Let them leave me alone."

[Paddy Bog]

The Everleigh Sisters



Bad is a relative term when one speaks of Ada and Minna Everleigh. From 1900 to 1911 they ran the one of the most exclusive gentleman's clubs in the United States which was also famous worldwide. Don't even think about calling it a whorehouse. It cost $50 ($1,300 in 2020) just to get in the building at 2131-2133 South Dearborn Street in Chicago's notorious "Levee" district. This Gomorrah south of downtown was where any type of vice could be purchased for as little as 50 cents in the cribs only two blocks away from the Everleigh Club. The Everleigh sisters wanted only well heeled gentlemen who were willing to spend more than $50. To prevent gawkers willing to spend the price of admission the sisters demanded that a perspective customer have a letter of recommendation, or an engraved card, or a formal introduction to one of the sisters - gregarious Minna was the best bet.

Daughters of an aristocratic Southern family reduced in wealth by the Civil War, the Everleigh sisters both left abusive husbands and became prostitutes. They used their experience and $35, 000 inheritances from their father’s estate to open a high class brothel in Omaha. It was a success. They took their profits and began looking for a new location with a larger population of wealthy men. The sisters bought Effie Hankins’ brothel in Chicago’s Levee. They redecorated the 50 room mansion in exorbitant style with color coded bedrooms glittering with gold trim, hung with silk drapes, and oriental rugs on the floors. The four parlors featured music by professionals with the piece d’or being a $15,000 gold plated piano played by a Black “Professor.” The staff was made up of 30 servants and cooks. Another major expense was protection from the law. Fortunately for the sisters Chicago’s old 1st Ward was run by two classic “boodler” politicians – Michael “Hinky Dink” Kenna and “Bathhouse John” Coughlin. These Democratic protectors of the Levee made sure there was no interference from the police and local gangsters. Of course this cost the sisters in hard cold cash. However there were benefits such as Minna, with Bathouse John on her arm leading the grand march that opened the yearly infamous and decadent First Ward Ball.

The Everleigh “Butterflies” had to be 18 or older, lovely, look good in an evening gown, be polite, be there of their own free will, not use drugs or alcohol, visit the brothel doctor, and be willing to accept instruction from the sisters on being a lady and sexual skills. When all of these requirements came together the sisters had professionals like Suzy Poon Tang working for them. She was so famous for her skills that her name has lived on. The Butterflies made between $100 and $600 per week depending on how much they brought in. Keep in mind that $6 per week was probably the best an average prostitute working only a few blocks away could make. (A steelworker might make $10 to $14 for a 72 hour week.) Only the men with money were able to pay the freight at the Everleigh Club. A visiting prince, politician, or captain of industry simply had to pay a visit to sample the delights.

The end came in 1911 when Chicago went through one of its occasional and unsuccessful fits of reform. The club was closed down and the sisters took their $1 million profit, changed their name to “Lester” and moved to New York living in comfortable surroundings. Minna died in 1948 at age 72. Ada died in 1960 at 95.

[jomama]

It's hard to find anyone that is sicker then this piece of shit

Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer , also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was an American serial killer and sex offender who committed the murder and dismemberment of 17 men and boys from 1978 to 1991. Many of his later murders involved necrophilia, cannibalism, and the permanent preservation of body parts—typically all or part of the skeleton.

[jomama]

Reginald “Reggie” Kray and Ronald “Ronnie” Kray


Reginald “Reggie” Kray and Ronald “Ronnie” Kray were twin brothers and English gangsters who orchestrated a series of organized crimes in East London. They were primarily involved in large-scale robberies, assaults, arson, protection rackets, as well as the murder of the notorious criminal, Jack “The Hat” McVitie, from London. Though they were among the most feared gangsters of their time, the twins became US celebrities in the 1960’s with their willingness to share their stories in interviews, books, and movies.

[CallMeMaybe]

Canada played a pivotal role in making bad dudes like Al Capone as powerful as they were. Most of what made them rich like liquor came from Canada and some of the most infamous held residences on this side of the 49th. Anyway we had our share of gangsters here to, the most infamous would probably be Vito Rizzuto who is associated with the Bonanno crime family. The movie Donnie Brasco was about that family ... the Quebec "underworld" is a place where nightmares are born and unleashed.

My William was a collector of memorabilia from that era and after 3 attempts he was able to buy one of the Tommie Guns used in the St Valentines Massacre. It is in perfect working order but that is a relative phrase because accuracy wasnt it's most endearing quality but if you spray enough rounds you will obliterate your target.

Speaking of good films, Edward Norton adapted the bestseller Motherless Brooklyn but deviated quite a bit from the book. Wonderful film but it didn't do anything in theaters.

Rizzuto crime family

The Rizzuto family is an Italian-Canadian organized crime syndicate based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The family territory covers most of southern Quebec and Ontario. The FBI considers the family connected to the*Bonanno crime family, but the Canadian law enforcement considers it a separate crime family. The Rizzuto family was part of the powerful Montreal Cotroni decina until an internal war broke out and the Rizzutos formed their own organization. Since the 1980s, the Rizzuto crime family controls all of Canada, and rules Montreal with an iron fist, and is the most powerful and dangerous crime syndicate in history of Canada, and in the late 1970s, the organization turned into a multi-million dollar international organized crime empire, raking in a staggering $100 billion a year. With over 3,000 made members and 25,000 associates, the Rizzuto crime family is the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful criminal organization in Canada, and one of the wealthiest and most powerful criminal organizations in the world. Since the early 1990s, The Rizzuto crime family has had a strong alliance with the*'Ndrangheta, which is the most powerful and dangerous Italian criminal organization in the world. The 'Ndrangheta would supply the Rizzuto crime family with hitmen, spies, muscle, security, weapons, bombs, fighting vehicles, equipment, drugs, money and women, and would help them against an enemy, in exchange for never defying them and always obeying and working for the 'Ndrangheta.

History

In the 1970s an internal war broke out in the Cotroni crime family between the Sicilian and Calabrian factions. The Sicilian faction was led by*Nicolo Rizzuto*and the Calabrian faction was led by family boss*Vic Cotroni*through his right-hand man*Paolo Violi. This led to a violent Mafia war in Montreal leading to the deaths of Paolo Violi (who was a capo and acting underboss for Vic Cotroni) and others in the late 1970s. The war ended when the Sicilian faction took control over the Montreal underworld with the blessing of the Bonanno crime family. Until recently, the family was considered the strongest crime family in Canada. Their leader is*Vito Rizzuto, the son of Nicolo Rizzuto. Vito Rizzuto's leadership

Vito Rizzuto's style of business was a striking contrast to flamboyant American Mafia bosses like*John Gotti. Rizzuto single-handedly built a multi-billion dollar international organized crime empire, and became a global superboss, ruled Canada's criminal underworld with an iron fist, and his vast criminal empire made him a billionaire, and he remained the most powerful man in Canada, and the undisputed king of Canada's criminal underworld and controlled the street gangs, biker gangs, and other mafia families thru fear, brute force, and ruthlessness, and for many years, he was untouched by the law by keeping a low profile and having countless police, judges, federal prosecutors, government officials, mayors, governors, federal agents, and prominent politicians all over North America, and working only with trusted people close to the family, and spreading the extraordinary wealth and power around. For decades, Vito Rizzuto was a multi-billionaire, he had a net worth of a staggering $10 billion, and he ruled virtually controlled the whole country, and Rizzuto displayed a great degree of his astonishing power to Canadian law enforcement officials by ordering the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine Motorcycle Clubs in Quebec to end the deadly war amongst each other, thus, both the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine's ended the war with each other and declared a truce, knowing that they were absolutely no match for Canada's most powerful and dangerous crime lord or his massive army of highly skilled assassins and vicious killers, and they knew that they wouldn't of stood a chance against Rizzuto's gigantic criminal organization of over 100,000 foot soldiers. The Rock Machine MC and Hells Angel's MC knew that defying Vito Rizzuto would be a death sentence. Thus, both criminal groups made peace with one another on Rizzuto's orders, and began working with each other. Canadian law enforcement officials were flabbergasted after hearing about Rizzuto ordering two powerful criminal gangs to make peace and end their war with one another showing his immense power. Vito Rizzuto transformed the*Rizzuto crime family*from a nationwide criminal organization into a multi-billion dollar international organized crime empire that had branches all over North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Rizzuto had strong alliances and relationships with several Italian, Italian-American and Sicilian organized crime syndicates, he had long-standing ties and a powerful relationship with the*Sicilian Mafia,*'Ndrangheta,*Camorra,*Sacra Corona Unita, and*American Mafia, he worked primarily with the the*Five Families*of New York,*Chicago Outfit,*Philadelphia crime family,*DeCavalcante crime family,*Trafficante crime family,*New Orleans crime family,*Buffalo crime family*and the*Bufalino crime family. Rizzuto was the mediator who oversaw the peace with the Hells Angels, the Mafia, street gangs, Mexican drug cartels, Colombian drug cartels, and the Irish mobs such as the West End Gang when the order of the day was co-operation.

The Rizzuto family had long been considered a part of the Bonanno family until the murder of*Gerlando Sciascia. It was discovered that he was murdered on orders of then Bonanno family boss Joseph Massino shattering the links between the Rizzuto’s and Bonanno’s. The Rizzuto family viewed the killing of one of their own as betrayal and its believed they broke away from any major connections to the New York mob refusing to pay any more tribute after the incident.

Project Colisee

After consolidation of their power in the 1990s, the Rizzutos became over-exposed and over-extended. Vito Rizzuto was arrested in January 2004 for his involvement in the 1981 gangland killings of three rival Bonanno crime family captains (Alphonse Indelicato,*Philip Giaccone*and*Dominick Trinchera) and was sentenced to ten years in May 2007. In November 2006 the senior leadership of the criminal organization was hit by a police operation, dubbed Project Colisee. Among the 90 people arrested were*Nicolo Rizzuto, father of Vito Rizzuto,*Paolo Renda, Vito Rizzuto's brother-in-law, and*Francesco Arcadi.

Internal War

While Rizzuto was in prison,*Salvatore Montagna, the former acting boss of the Bonanno family until his deportation to Canada in 2009, attempted to reorganize both families under his control. Montagna tried to form an alliance with anti-Rizzuto factions and Ndrangheta clans of the Calabrian Mafia in an attempt to over throw the Sicilian backed Rizzuto’s. This rival faction was reportedly backed by the Ndrangheta in an attempt to take over the drug trade in Canada. It is believed that because of his lack of respect and pull led to Montagna being murdered in November 2011 on the orders of his partner*Raynald Desjardins*after he attempted to double cross Desjardens in a failed hit.The rival anti Rizzuto faction continued its attack on Rizzuto loyalists to gain control of the criminal rackets in Montreal.


On December 28, 2009, Nick Rizzuto, Jr., son of Vito Rizzuto, was shot and killed near his car in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, a borough in Montreal. The killing of Nick, Jr. – the face of the organization on the street – illustrated the power vacuum within the upper ranks of Montreal organized crime. Since the slaying of Vito Rizzuto's son, the organisation suffered other major setbacks. Paolo Renda, Vito's brother-in-law disappeared on May 20, 2010. A month later*Agostino Cuntrera, the presumed acting boss who is believed to have taken control of the family, was killed together with his bodyguard on June 30, 2010. After three decades of relative stability, the face of the city's Mafia hierarchy is subject to a major management shuffle. On November 10, 2010, Nicolo Rizzuto was killed at his residence in the Cartierville borough of Montreal with a single bullet from a sniper's rifle punched through two layers of glass in the rear patio doors of his Montreal mansion.

Members of the old Cotroni family are among the suspects for the murders of Rizzuto crime family members. The Rizzutos have dominated organized crime activities in Montreal since its inception and now their weakened organization is being challenged for control of rackets in the area, most notability the drug trade.

Vito Rizzuto was released on October 6, 2012. Upon his release, Rizzuto ordered the executions of several members and associates of the rival faction.

On November 4, 2012 former Rizzuto family associate*Joseph Di Maulo*was executed outside his Montreal home. Di Maulo's brother-in-law*Raynald Desjardins*is currently awaiting trial for the murder of Salvatore Montagna.

On 11 November 2013,*Moreno Gallo, a once-influential member of the crime family, was killed by a gunman inside an Italian restaurant in the Mexican city of Acapulco, Guerrero. Though he was not as well-known as other mobsters of the Rizzuto crime family, Gallo was nonetheless influential among the Montreal mafia rings. He had lived in Canada throughout the 1950s but was deported in January 2013 after the Canadian government formally accused him of murder and organized crime charges.

Death of Vito Rizzuto

On December 23, 2013 Rizzuto died in Montreal from complications of lung cancer. Despite his death, attacks on the anti-Rizzuto faction are still being carried out by Rizzuto loyalists.

Current Status

According to sources the Rizzuto family is now being lead by longtime Rizzuto loyalist Stefano Sollecito, his father Rocco Sollecito, and other Rizzuto loyalists such as Nicola Spagnolo, Vito Salvaggio, Liborio Cuntrera, and Leonardo Rizzuto.

[CallMeMaybe]

Originally Posted by Paddy Bog

The Everleigh Sisters



Bad is a relative term when one speaks of Ada and Minna Everleigh.

.

It's a fascinating story and time in history and you know that the envelope that contained the monthly "protection money" that allowed them to become as powerful through being protected by the mob was very thick.

They are just now piecing together the real story of the Simms sisters because they were notorious for misdirection and most of what came out of their mouths was bullshit so as to protect innocent family elsewhere. The 1936 biography is full of erroneous information. The film The Golden Room is a decent worlk of fiction that took major "creative liberties" but is historically wrong. The book Sin In Second City got a lot of it right in the early 2000's after years of fact checking and investigation.

They made prostitution "glamorous" in a time when it was something decent folk didn't talk about. If you could afford to go in you knew you were "Everleighed" by the time you left.

[Sdn-Ldr]

From Wikipedia:



Ned Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police murderer. One of the last bushrangers, and by far the most famous, he is best known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout with the police.


Kelly was born in the then-British colony of Victoria as the third of eight children to Irish parents. His father, a transported convict, died shortly after serving a six-month prison sentence, leaving Kelly, then aged 12, as the eldest male of the household. The Kellys were a poor selector family who saw themselves as downtrodden by the Squattocracy and as victims of persecution by the Victoria Police. While a teenager, Kelly was arrested for associating with bushranger Harry Power, and served two prison terms for a variety of offences, the longest stretch being from 1871 to 1874 on a conviction of receiving a stolen horse. He later joined the "Greta mob", a group of bush larrikins known for stock theft. A violent confrontation with a policeman occurred at the Kelly family's home in 1878, and Kelly was indicted for his attempted murder. Fleeing to the bush, Kelly vowed to avenge his mother, who was imprisoned for her role in the incident. After he, his younger brother Dan, and two associates—Joe Byrne and Steve Hart—shot dead three policemen, the Government of Victoria proclaimed them outlaws.


Kelly and his gang eluded the police for two years, thanks in part to the support of an extensive network of sympathisers. The gang's crime spree included raids on Euroa and Jerilderie, and the killing of Aaron Sherritt, a sympathiser turned police informer. In a manifesto letter, Kelly—denouncing the police, the Victorian government and the British Empire—set down his own account of the events leading up to his outlawry. Demanding justice for his family and the rural poor, he threatened dire consequences against those who defied him. In 1880, when Kelly's attempt to derail and ambush a police train failed, he and his gang, dressed in armour fashioned from stolen plough mouldboards, engaged in a final gun battle with the police at Glenrowan. Kelly, the only survivor, was severely wounded by police fire and captured.



Despite thousands of supporters attending rallies and signing a petition for his reprieve, Kelly was tried, convicted and sentenced to death by hanging, which was carried out at the Old Melbourne Gaol. His last words were famously reported to have been "Such is life".



Historian Geoffrey Serle called Kelly and his gang "the last expression of the lawless frontier in what was becoming a highly organised and educated society, the last protest of the mighty bush now tethered with iron rails to Melbourne and the world". In the century after his death, Kelly became a cultural icon, inspiring numerous works in the arts and popular culture, and is the subject of more biographies than any other Australian. Kelly continues to cause division in his homeland: some celebrate him as Australia's equivalent of Robin Hood, while others regard him as a murderous villain undeserving of his folk hero status. Journalist Martin Flanagan wrote: "What makes Ned a legend is not that everyone sees him the same—it's that everyone sees him. Like a bushfire on the horizon casting its red glow into the night."




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Kelly





I first heard about Kelly in the pre-internet days when I read a book written by Lt. Jack Champ, called "Diggers in Colditz".



In the book, Champ writes of a fellow Australian named John Rawson; who had (with another officer) attempted to escape from his previous prison camp hidden under some foliage the Germans were hauling out of the camp in trucks. Both men were protected from pitchforks and sharpened steel rods by the camp-manufactured Ned Kelly-type armor the duo was wearing. They made it out of the camp, ditching their armor along the way; but were later picked up and returned to their camp for the customary two weeks in solitary, and earning for Lt. Rawson a spot in Colditz.

[jomama]

Vlad the Impaler
He was one evil bitch though some saw him as a hero for his efforts against Ottoman encroachment


Vlad the Impaler, in full Vlad III Dracula or Romanian Vlad III Drăculea, also called Vlad III or Romanian Vlad Țepeș, (born 1431, Sighișoara, Transylvania [now in Romania]—died 1476, north of present-day Bucharest, Romania), voivode (military governor, or prince) of Walachia (1448; 1456–1462; 1476) whose cruel methods of punishing his enemies gained notoriety in 15th-century Europe. Some in the scholarly community have suggested that Bram Stoker’s Dracula character was based on Vlad.

His penchant for impaling his enemies on stakes in the ground and leaving them to die earned him the name Vlad the Impaler (Romanian: Vlad Țepeș). He inflicted this type of torture on foreign and domestic enemies alike: notably, as he retreated from a battle in 1462, he left a field filled with thousands of impaled victims as a deterrent to pursuing Ottoman forces. That year he escaped Ottoman capture only to be intercepted by Hungarian forces and imprisoned by Matthias I of Hungary, whose assistance he had sought. Vlad regained his seat in 1476 but was killed in battle the same year. He remained a folk hero in the region for his efforts against Ottoman encroachment.