1890s in organized crime

List of years in organized crime
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This is a list of organized crime in the 1890s, arranged chronologically.

1890

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Events

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China

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  • The Catholic Church in Lungshui, Sichuan province is attacked by a mob of 30,000 people. Supposedly supported by the Big Sword and White Lotus Societies, the attack would be the last of the societies' anti-foreigner campaigns as several of their leaders are executed and the remaining members return to daily lives.

United States

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  • January 25 – After the capture of two burglars the previous week in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, police close in on the remaining members of the Oak Street Gang who had been committing burglary over the past several months in the city of New Haven, Connecticut arresting five more members.[1]
  • May 5 – Members of the Provenzano faction of the New Orleans Mafia ambush several longshoremen belonging to the Matranga faction, wounding three members of the Matrangas, including Anthony "Tony" Matranga (who eventually will have his leg amputated).
  • October 15 – New Orleans Police Chief David C. Hennessy is shot by unknown assailants, believed to be an Italian extortionist organization, while investigating a gang war between rival factions. Claiming that "the dagoes did it," the critically wounded Hennessey is taken to the hospital where he dies the next day (Oct. 16). His murder and the acquittal of 17 suspects cause a lynch mob to storm the jail house and hang 11 of the men on March 14, 1891. The later anti-Italian riots would leave a long lasting resentment toward immigrants for decades.
  • December 22 - Frank Lyons is pardoned by Louisiana Governor Francis T. Nicholls and again re-forms the Yellow Henry Gang.[2]

Births

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Deaths

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1891

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Events

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  • March 14 – After the acquittal/mistrial (on the previous evening) of Charles Matranga and 8 of his associates for conspiracy in the murder of New Orleans Police Chief David C. Hennessy, a lynch mob enters the jail and murders 11 of the 19 suspects in the murder. Matranga himself survives by hiding within the prison. For the first time the possibility of an Italian secret criminal organization operating in New Orleans is discussed in the United States. A New Orleans grand jury investigating the incident would later report:
"..our research has developed the existence of the secret organization styled 'Mafia'.... Officers of the Mafia and many of its members were not known. Among them are men born in this city of Italian origin.... The larger number of the society is composed of Italians and Sicilians."[3]

Births

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Deaths

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Eleven people were lynched on March 14, 1891, for their alleged role in the murder of David Hennessy, which was widely believed at the time to be a Mafia assassination. This claim has since been disputed by some historians. Several of the lynch victims had been tried and acquitted, and some had not been tried. See March 14, 1891 lynchings.

1892

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Events

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  • May 19 - Frank Lyons is convicted of the murder of police officer John Hurley.[4][5]

Births

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1893

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Events

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  • August 24 - A gambling den belonging to "Big Jim" O'Leary is raided and thirteen suspects, including O'Leary, are arrested.[6]

Arts and literature

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Births

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1894

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Events

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Births

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1895

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Events

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Births

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1896

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Events

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Births

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1897

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Events

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Births

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Deaths

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  • January 23 – Little Pete (Fung Jing Toy), Sum Yop Tong leader

1898

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Births

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Deaths

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1899

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Events

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Births

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References

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  1. ^ Five In Jail, New Haven Police After the "Oak Street Gang". Boston Daily Globe. 26 January 1890
  2. ^ "The Southern States," The Daily Picayune, December 23, 1890.
  3. ^ "Chronological History of la Cosa Nostra in the United States 1920–1987". Archived from the original on 2006-11-13.
  4. ^ "Lyons Convicted," The Times-Democrat, May 20, 1892
  5. ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (1892-04-09). "The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, April 09, 1892, Image 2". ISSN 2377-7990. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  6. ^ "Items," The Chicago Tribune, August 26, 1893.
  7. ^ "Fred Killer Burke". The Outlaw Journals. 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  8. ^ "immagine 316". Antenati (in Italian). Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  9. ^ Hunt, Thomas. "What do we know about Frankie Yale?". The American Mafia. Retrieved May 5, 2020. Yale apparently was born Jan. 22, 1893, in Longobucco [...] His father, Domenick Ioele, was born about 1860. Census records indicate the birth year of his mother, Isabella DeSimone Ioele, was between 1863 and 1865. The couple's first son, John, was born in Longobucco, about 1891-92. Frank's birth and the birth of a sister, Assunta, quickly followed, and two years later another brother, Angelo, was born.
  10. ^ "Five More Heads Fall," The Evening World, August 31, 1894.
  11. ^ "Shot by an Angry Crap Player," The Chicago Tribune, March 18, 1896.
  12. ^ "Little Pete Sent to His Death," The Examiner, January 24, 1897.
  13. ^ Levine, David (22 October 2021). "Legs Diamond: A History of Kingston's Most Notorious Gangster". Hudson Valley Magazine. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  14. ^ Berger, Meyer (5 March 1940). "Lepke's Reign of Crime Lasted Over 12 Murder-Strewn Years". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  15. ^ "Profaci Dies of Cancer". The New York Times. 8 June 1962. p. 32. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  16. ^ "Vincent "The Schemer" Drucci". Herald-Review.com. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  17. ^ "Roger the Terrible Was, After All, a Suburbanite (part 1)". The Daily Herald. 1972-09-04. p. 58. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  18. ^ "The man that Al Capone feared". ampoleagle.com. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  19. ^ "Soapy Smith's Last Bluff Called by Frank Reid". Skaguay News. 9 July 1898. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  20. ^ Ferrara, Eric (2011). Manhattan Mafia Guide: Hits, Homes & Headquarters. Arcadia Publishing. p. 97. ISBN 9781614233510.