On May 11, 1920, Big Jim Colosimo, Chicago's "King of the Pimps" fell victim to a murder plot between his nephew Jim Torrio and an up-and-coming Al Capone.  Funeral services were held in Colosimo's home on 23rd Street http://members.aol.com/KSchessler/wizzm.html 

Torrio and Capone continued to expand on Big Jim's business.  Capone's career was born. 

September 23, 1927 – Sam Valente a Cleveland hood who tried to cash in on a bounty offered by Joseph Aiello to murder Al Capone. Valente was found in a field near Stickney, Illinois with his head crushed with blows from a hatchet. His murder was allegedly carried out by "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn. http://www.americanmafia.com/Mob_Report/9-17-01_Mob_Report.html

Nov. 20, 1927 – Bombs damage restaurant owned by gangster Jack Zuta at 323 North Ashland in Chicago. http://crimemagazine.com/chicago3.htm

Nov. 23, 1927 – Bomb damages headquarters of Jack Zuta/Billy Skidmore/Barney Bertsche vice syndicate, at 823 West Adams in Chicago. http://crimemagazine.com/chicago3.htm

1925 Hans Furhman, one of Gordon’s ship captains, was unhappy with the amount of money he received from one of the shipments. He decided to get even by going to the authorities and telling them about a Canadian steamer that was on its way to Queens with a hidden cargo of liquor consigned to Gordon. On Sept. 23, agents raided Gordon’s headquarters, arresting everyone there, including Maxey Greenberg. Gordon, who was on vacation with his family, was arrested when he returned. But before the trial began, Furhman mysteriously died in a guarded New York hotel room. The police ruled it a suicide and the case against Gordon was dropped. http://crimemagazine.com/waxey.htm

Gordon was sent to Sing Sing, but on March 8, 1952, he was transferred to Attica. On April 10, he was charged in another federal indictment for participating in a coast-to-coast heroin racket. A warrant for his arrest was issued in San Francisco and he was transferred to California on May 21 to be arraigned. Gordon pled not guilty to two counts of narcotics trafficking. He was one of 23 people indicted in the nationwide narcotics case.  http://crimemagazine.com/waxey.htm

"Little Caesar" Salvatore Maranzano

On September 10th, 1930, (9+1+0+1+9+3+0=23) Salvatore "Little Caesar" Maranzano waited in his office at 230 Park Avenue for Charles "Lucky" Luciano and Vito Genovese to arrive.  He had a little surprise for them - he'd hired Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll to be there too, to rub 'em out!  But Luciano was on to the plot, and had a little surprise too.  His own hit men showed up and that was the end of Maranzano.

Bugsy Siegel and Bo Weinberg, Dutch Schultz’s number two man, burst into Maranzano’s Unione Siciliano office and shot him dead. http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/lansky/jew_5.html?sect=15

Afterwards, as they left the building, they encountered Coll, who was just arriving, and told him what had happened.  Maranzano had advanced him $25,000 for the hit.  Coll left the building.  Easiest money he ever made. 

After the Maranzano hit, Luciano informed everyone that Maranzano's autocratic ideas had been buried with him.  The National Crime Syndicate was born.

Coll's grave

"Mad Dog" Vincent Coll

"Dutch Schultz" Arthur Flegenheimer

"Mad Dog" Coll and Dutch Schultz, once allies, now arch-enemies.  In July 1931, Coll's men accidentally shot 5 kids, while attempting a hit on Shultz man Joey Rao.  Coll  was arrested at the Cornish Arms Hotel on 23rd Street.  He stood trial for murder, but was acquitted.

On February 9, 1932, Coll was gunned down in a phone booth at the soda shop at 314 W. 23rd St. in Manhatten.  He was 23 years old.

"Lucky"  Charles Luciano

They were headquartered in Midnight Rose's, a candy store at 779 (7+7+9=23) Saratoga Ave., Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York. http://www.geocities.com/murdersrus/779Saratoga.html 

Murder Inc. had strict rules. No policemen, judges or district attorneys would be killed. This was an important rule that was carried down from previous generations of Mafiosi.(1) 

In July 1935, Special Prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey began to clean up New York. Dutch Schultz was one of the first hoodlums to get into Dewey’s cross hairs. When Schultz announced that he would kill Dewey himself if the dons didn’t take him out, Lucky Luciano, afraid the hit would draw too much legal heat, decided to do away with the Dutchman instead. http://crimemagazine.com/workman.htm

Sources (good URLS as of 7/03)

http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/luciano/inc_6.html?sect=15  
http://www.carpenoctem.tv/mafia/lansky.html  
Dewey: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAdeweyT.htm

Sources:
(1) http://www.geocities.com/murdersrus/MurderInc.html

October 23, 1935  

Emmanuel "Mendy" Weiss

Charlie "The Bug" Workman

Workman entered the Palace Chop House while Weiss provided cover, and “Piggy” stayed behind the wheel. 

Dutch and his men – Lulu Rosencrantz, Abe Landau and Abbadabba Berman - were all shot. 

All 4 men were transported to Newark City Hospital.

Berman died at 2:55 a.m. Landau died at 6:30 a.m. Rosenkrantz died at 3:20 a.m. on October 25.

Marty Krompier

Also shot this day was Schultz associate Marty Krompier.  "It's got to be one of them coincidences," he later told the police. http://www.paulsann.org/killthedutchman/chapter_IV.htm)

This hit took place at the Hollywood Barber Shop at Seventh Avenue and 47th Street.  Krompier survived.

http://home.eznet.net/~dminor/NYNY1934.html

October 23, 1935

Later that day, Emmanuel "Mendy" Weiss (who participated in the hit on Schultz) drove Amberg to his rendezvous with destiny, in the form of torture and finally murder by several Murder, Inc. goons.

Louis "Pretty Amberg" Amberg (Died 10/23/1935 age 38 Same day as Dutch Schultz - Block 2 Row 12R Grave 4) After finding out about his brother’s death on September 30th, he made threats against members of Murder Incorporated. He was murdered at Yiddel Lorber’s, a hangout for Jewish gangsters near the Williamsburg bridge and later burned.
http://www.geocities.com/vicnovella/thedead.html

October 23, 1935 – Louis "Pretty" Amberg was one of three brothers who ran a small gang in Brooklyn. One brother, Mickey, committed suicide in the "tombs," a nickname given to the city prison, while Joey Amberg was killed by members of Murder, Inc. "Pretty’s" mistake was swearing vengeance on Joey’s killers. The Murder, Inc. gang made an example of "Pretty." He was slowly hacked to death and then placed in a car that was set on fire. http://www.americanmafia.com/mob_report/10-22-01_Mob_Report.html 

On October 23,1935 (the same day Dutch Schultz was murdered) Louis Amberg's body was found in a burning car in Brooklyn. He was killed with an ax and a shotgun blast, put in a car and set on fire. The murder contract was carried out by Abe Reles and his men in "Murder Inc". http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6066&pt=Louis%20%27Pretty%20Amberg%27%20Amberg

THE DEATH OF DUTCH

The .45 bullet entered just below his chest on the left, passing through his large intestines, gall bladder, liver, spleen and stomach. Peritonitis had set in. Schultz was on the operating table for 90 minutes, at the Newark City Hospital.

By 2 p.m. on October 24, with a temperature of 106F, he became delirious. Stenographer Francis J. Long was brought in to record everything. His last words were spoken at 6 p.m. ("French Canadian bean soup. I want to pay.  Let them leave me alone." http://www.bway.net/~abbot/dutch4.html http://home.swipnet.se/~w-40977/coolpeople/lastwords.html)   At 8:35 it was over.

When he died, the Dutchman’s empire was divided up between, Luciano, Genovese and Buchalter.  http://www.geocities.com/murdersrus/MurderInc.html

Schultz’s deathbed statements were a cryptic, yet poetic, rambling in gangster jargon, so rich in form that scholars would later study them as a piece of American folk literature. Priceless among his incoherent uttering was the comment, “Mother is the best bet and don’t let Satan draw you too fast.” In 1969, writer William S. Burroughs, author of the Naked Lunch, wrote The Last Words of Dutch Schultz: A Fiction in the Form of a Film Script, based on the Dutchman’s last hours. http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/69jun/dutch.htm 

Charlie "The Bug" Workman

After Workman supposedly rifled the Dutchman’s pockets for cash, he ran back to the getaway car. Weiss, "Piggy" and the car were not in sight. This left Workman the task of making it back to the city alone, which he claimed to have accomplished by escaping through back yards and following the railroad tracks home.
http://crimemagazine.com/workman.htm

Workman was furious at Weiss. In a sit-down with Lepke Buchalter, each man pled his case. Weiss’s argument for leaving was that the shooting was mob business and when it was over it was time to split. Workman’s robbing of the dying Schultz was personal business and he and "Piggy" should not have put themselves in jeopardy by having to wait for Workman to profit from the kill. Buchalter sided with his lieutenant, Weiss. http://crimemagazine.com/workman.htm

Workman was sent to Trenton State Prison. A model prisoner, Workman was transferred to Rahway State Prison Farm in 1952. When he was paroled in 1964, after almost 23 years in prison, his brother Abe and his wife Catherine met him at the prison. He found work, of all places, in the garment district that Lepke once ruled.
http://crimemagazine.com/workman.htm

http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/crime/mafia/bugsy-siegel/

http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/siegel/bugs_8.html?sect=15

1 http://www.gamblingmagazine.com/articles/40/40-58.htm

2 http://www.gamblingmagazine.com/articles/40/40-61.htm

3 http://www.gamblingmagazine.com/articles/40/40-62.htm

4 http://www.gamblingmagazine.com/articles/40/40-63.htm

5 

"Kid Twist" Abraham Reles

Abraham Reles stole his nickname of Kid Twist from a gangster idol. (3) He grew up to become one of the most infamous contract killers ever hired by Murder Incorporated.  

In 1940, District Attorney William O’Dwyer had Reles picked up on a murder charge based on information supplied by an informant. (1)  Reles began ratting out Murder Inc. to O'Dwyer on March 23, 1940. (3)

O’Dwyer planned a trial on November 12th 1941, for Albert Anastasia,  based solely on the testimony of his star witness, Abe Reles. (2) 

"Kid Twist"  after landing

What O'Dwyer hadn't counted on was that his star witness would take a flying lesson in the early morning of the day of the trial, right out the window of Room 623 of the Half Moon Hotel in Coney Island.  Six officers were guarding him. (2) He would be forever known amongst other mob members as the "Canary that sung, but couldn’t fly." (1)

Buried Section 1 Line 12 Grave 23, Mt. Carmel Cypress Hills Road Ridgewood, Queens, NY 718-366-5900 http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5676&pt=Abraham%20%27Kid%20Twist%27%20Reles

Repercussions of Rele's blabbing:

Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss - electric chair (1) (2)
Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein - electric chair (1) (2)
Mendy Weiss - electric chair (1) (2)
Harry "Happy" Maione - electric chair (1) (2)
Louis ‘Lepke’ Buchalter - electric chair - 1944 for the murder of Joseph Rosen that Lepke planned in 1935 (1)

http://www.bostonmafia.com/ThomMurder.html

SOURCES:

(1)  http://www.geocities.com/murdersrus/MurderInc.html
(2)  http://www.geocities.com/murdersrus/Reles.html
(3) (1994 New Encyclopaedia Britannica, volume 9, page 1015)

90725 (=23)

Capone Headquarters Metropole Hotel 2300 S. Michigan Ave.

ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE CAR - On February 22, 1929, a fire broke out in a garage behind a house at 1723 N. Wood Street. Inside the garage, firemen found a black Cadillac touring car which had been partly demolished with an acetylene torch and a hacksaw. The Cadillac was later identified as the car used in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre on north Clark Street just eight days before. http://members.aol.com/KSchessler/wizzr.html 

Capone was subpoenaed to appear before a Federal Grand Jury in Chicago on March 12, 1929 (for what? St. Valentine's Day Massacre? I speculate).  His lawyers filed for a postponement, stating he'd been bed-ridden with pneumonia between January 13 and February 23, and was too ill to travel to Chicago.  He finally appeared on March 20 (3+20=23).  . http://users.nni.com/goodfellas/capone2.htm

On April 23, 1930, the Chicago Crime Commission issued its first Public Enemies List.  Al Capone was Public Enemy Number 1. 

Al Capone was finally nailed on - of all things - tax evasion.   The jury found him guilty on 5 of the 23 counts (Indictment No. 23232) and he was sentenced to a total of ten years in federal prison and one year in the county jail. http://www.alcatrazcam.com/cityinfo/alcatraz_history_%20al_capone.html 

He continued to run his crime empire from jail, so he was sent off to Alcatraz, where he arrived on August 23, 1934.

It was all downhill from there.  He'd picked up syphillis somewhere along the way, and it destroyed his brain.  He finally died, at home, in 1947.

Mae Coughlin also had a brother named Danny Coughlin and he was married to a woman named Winnie Mae.They operated a waffle shop named Winnie's and a club named Winnie's little club.First place at 233 23rd street and the other at 2218 Collins ave.

Aiello, Giuseppe b. 1891 d. October 23, 1930
Organized Crime Figure. Joe Aiello was born in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily and immigrated to Milwaukee circa 1912. He and his family eventually settled on the North Side of Chicago, where Aiello eventually got into a conflict with Al Capone. After several years and many deaths, Joe Aiello was elected president of the Unione Siciliane, but he was machine-gunned to death outside a friend's apartment on N. Kolmar Avenue. (bio by: Big D)
Mount Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinois, USA http://www.findagrave.com/php/famous.php?page=ctf&FSctf=17 
http://crimemagazine.com/chicago4.htm

Joey Aiello, the gangster who so badly wanted the seat of the Unione Siciliane, to the point that he dared openly threaten Capone's life, achieved that dream in 1930. But, he didn't live to enjoy it. Capone, who had meant it when he told Aiello to stay clear of Chicago, gunned him down outside his West Side apartment building on a calm October evening. http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/moran/chicago_8.html?sect=15

Sources (good links 7/03)

Metropole info http://www.chicagohs.org/history/capone/cpn2a.html
Public Enemies List: http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/american_originals/capone.html

BIRTHPLACE OF "BABY FACE" NELSON - Gangster George "Baby Face" Nelson was born (1908) and raised here at 942-44 (9+4+2+4+4=23) N. California, Chicago. http://members.aol.com/KSchessler/wizzr.html 

October 23, 1933, Baby Face Nelson robs the First National Bank of Brainerd, Minnesota, of $32,000 with Tommy Carroll, Homer Van Meter, John Paul Chase, and Charles Fisher
http://www.geocities.com/jdillinger34/chronology.html 

Nelson killed FBI Agent W. Carter Baum near Little Bohemia Lodge, Rhinelander, Wis., on April 23, 1934.
http://www.geocities.com/durobin2000/babyfacenelson.html

On June 23 1934 U.S. Attorney General Homer S. Cummings offered a reward for Nelson's capture or information leading to his arrest.
http://www.fbi.gov/fbinbrief/historic/famcases/babyface/babyface.htm

(Nelson died the following November.)

June 23: The U.S. Justice Department offers a $10,000 reward for the arrest of Dillinger, and a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dillinger/timeline/timeline2.html

Sept. 23, 1933, transferred to Allen County Jail, Lima, Ohio.  http://www.geocities.com/jdillinger34/chronology.html

October 23, 1933, robs Central National Bank of Greencastle, Indiana, with Pierpont, Makley, Clark, Copeland, Hamilton, and either Hilton Crouch or Leslie Homer.  http://www.geocities.com/jdillinger34/chronology.html

March 23, 1934
Dillinger drives to Leipsic, Ohio, and visits Harry Pierpont's mother to discuss the possibility of breaking him out of jail. http://www.geocities.com/jdillinger34/chronology.html

April 23, 1934
Near Hastings, Minnesota, attempting to drive into St. Paul, Dillinger, Van Meter and Hamilton engage in gun battle with police. Hamilton is wounded in back. Hamilton is brought to Chicago. Dillinger appeals to the crime syndicate for help. He is turned down. Dillinger next contacts Doc Moran, physician of the Barker-Karpis gang, where he is also refused help.  http://www.geocities.com/jdillinger34/chronology.html

Feature story on John Dillinger, bank robber, biblography, photos... on Monday, July 23. Perhaps he was sincere and really desired to end his hunted-animal existence, o...
URL: http://www.crimelibrary.com/ americana/ dillinger/ 9.htm - 19k

Many 23 sites state that the Biograph Theater, outside which Dillinger was shot, was located at 2323 Clark St., Chicago.  I have found no verification for this.  The Biograph Theater is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave.  Bummer.

Many 23 sites also state that John Dillinger robbed 26 banks, but only 23 for money.  I can find no verification for this either.  If anyone can provide a cite, please!

At 11:15 p.m., on July 22, 1933, Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Urschel were playing bridge with Mr. and Mrs. Walter R. Jarrett, on the porch of the Urschel residence in Oklahoma City. Two men opened the screen door and inquired which of the men was Urschel.  Receiving no reply, they remarked, "Well, we will take both of them."   Urschel and Jarrett were forced into the back seat of the Chevrolet sedan and covered by Bates. http://www.fbi.gov/fbinbrief/historic/famcases/kelly/kelly.htm and http://www.oklahombres.org/kelly.htm

The victims were driven to the outskirts of the city, where they turned right on a dirt road parallel to the 23rd Street Highway. Both men were searched for identification. Jarrett was robbed and released.  He stated that the "tall man" (Kelly) was addressed by his companion as "Floyd," perhaps to make them think he was "Pretty Boy" Floyd.  At 1:00 a.m., Sunday, July 23, 1933, Jarrett made his way back to the Urschel residence. http://www.fbi.gov/fbinbrief/historic/famcases/kelly/kelly.htm and http://www.oklahombres.org/kelly.htm 

Urschel remembered being blindfolded during the car ride.  He recalls that when they finally stopped, he asked one of the men the time and was told it was 2:30 p.m.   http://www.fbi.gov/fbinbrief/historic/famcases/kelly/kelly.htm

Urschel stated that he stayed in this house until the next day -- July 24 -- when he was to a house about 15 minutes driving distance.  http://www.fbi.gov/fbinbrief/historic/famcases/kelly/kelly.htm

Urschel stated that one of his kidnappers (later determined to be Bates) mentioned Bonnie and Clyde, referring to them as, "Just a couple of cheap filling station and car thieves.   http://www.fbi.gov/fbinbrief/historic/famcases/kelly/kelly.htm and http://www.oklahombres.org/kelly.htm

On Monday, July 31, at about 2:00 p.m., he was released near Norman, OK.
http://www.fbi.gov/fbinbrief/historic/famcases/kelly/kelly.htm

George R. and Kathryn Thorne Kelly, were indicted on August 23, 1933, on a charge of conspiracy to kidnap Charles F. Urschel.   http://www.fbi.gov/fbinbrief/historic/famcases/kelly/kelly.htm

On October 12, 1933, George and Kathryn Kelly were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.  http://www.fbi.gov/fbinbrief/historic/famcases/kelly/kelly.htm   http://www.oklahombres.org/kelly.htm

Kelly remained in Leavenworth until October 1934, when he was transferred to Alcatraz, along with Bates and Bailey (and Al Capone, this may be a 23 http://crimemagazine.com/alcatraz.htm). 

George was returned to Leavenworth in 1951. He died there of a heart attack on July (17 or 18?), 1954. It was his fifty-nineth birthday. http://www.oklahombres.org/kelly.htm

In October of 1938, Ness and his trusted Minute Men began their assault on the Mayfield Road Mob by raiding a huge numbers operation. Over the next few months, Ness continued his raids and sting operations, finally culminating in an indictment of 23 of the gangsters.
http://www.crimelibrary.com/ness/mid_life.htm

On the night of Aug. 23, the Democratic Party nominated Aurelio for Justice of the Supreme Court. At 8:35 the following morning, Aurelio telephoned Costello, a conversation the phone tap picked up and which would appear verbatim five days later in the Sunday edition of The New York Times under the headline, "Gangster Backed Auerlio for Bench":

Aurelio: "Good morning, Francesco. How are you, and thanks for everything."

Costello: "Congratulations. It went over perfect. When I tell you something’s in the bag, you can rest assured. Well, we will have to get together, you, your Mrs. and myself, and have dinner some night soon."

Aurelio: "That would be fine, but right now I want to assure you of my loyalty for all you have done. It’s undying."

The revelations forced both political parties to try to remove Aurelio from the ballot, but it was too late. http://crimemagazine.com/aurelio.htm

According to Luciano, in The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano, he and Carlo Gambino masterminded a plan to set up Genovese on a narcotics bust. He and Gambino agreed to pay a Puerto Rican hoodlum named Nelson Cantellops $100,000 to contact the Narcotics Bureau Strike Force in New York and carry out the plan. Luciano stated Meyer Lansky "paid into the kitty," and that Costello agreed to pay $25,000 of the fee if Gigante was part of the arrest. Gambino wanted Tommy Eboli included because he hoped to break up Genovese’s muscle, but Luciano claims he talked him out of it because of his friendship with Pat Eboli. After the trial in 1959, Genovese, Gigante and 23 others were convicted.

Still undeterred, Gingello continued his rounds making himself seen. At 1:15 a.m. on April 23, 1978, Gingello stopped at Ben’s Café Society on Stillman Street. Along with his two bodyguards and two young nephews, this had been their third club stop. Around 2 a.m. the nephews left, and 20 minutes later, Gingello and the two bodyguards walked out. Gingello got into the driver’s seat of a borrowed black Buick and closed the door. The two bodyguards got in but before they closed their doors, a bomb placed under the car was detonated by remote control.

Because they had not had time to close their doors, the two bodyguards were blown out of the automobile, the extent of their injuries being one broken foot. Gingello was not as fortunate. His right leg was blown off below the knee and his left leg was nearly severed at the thigh. His entire body was blackened from the powder of the explosion. He was rushed to Genesee Hospital where he died at 3:35 a.m. from shock and loss of blood. http://crimemagazine.com/gingello.htm

June 23, 1992:  John Gotti got a life sentence.
http://www.ganglandnews.com/

Nicholas (Little Nick) Corozzo, a Gambino capo who was primed to succeed Gotti as crime family boss was hit with federal racketeering charges and arrested on a sunny beach in Key Biscayne two days before Christmas in 1996. He was ordered held without bail and has been jailed ever since. The FBI says Corozzo was pushed for the position of boss by Gotti's imprisoned, younger brother Gene, and that Little Nick reluctantly agreed to accept it when Gotti's older brother Peter also backed him for the job. On Jan. 23, 1997 he was snared again, this time in a New York-based FBI sting, and it began to look like he would be following Gene and John Gotti to the joint for a long stretch.

Corozzo pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and was sentenced to eight years. He's doing his time in Fort Dix, N.J. and due out in 2004. 

SHULTZ-COLL WAR GOOD URLS 7/03
Paul Sann Site: http://www.paulsann.org/killthedutchman/schultz_3.htm
Shultz-Coll War http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/schultz/war_2.html?sect=15
http://www.mobsters.tv/famous_mobsters/fm_mad_dog_coll.htm
http://www.irishreader.com/Features/Coll.htm