Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Owney Madden

Born December 18, 1891(1891-12-18)
Leeds, England
Died April 24, 1965 (aged 73)
Hot Springs, Arkansas

Owney "The Killer" Madden, (December 18, 1891-April 24, 1965) was a leading underworld figure in Manhattan, most notably for his involvement in organized crime during Prohibition. Events 218 BC - Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia - Hannibal 's Carthaginian forces defeat those of the Year 1891 ( MDCCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Leeds ( is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the US state of Arkansas, the County seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Events 218 BC - Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia - Hannibal 's Carthaginian forces defeat those of the Year 1891 ( MDCCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, also known as Noble Experiment, refers to a Sumptuary law which prohibits Alcohol He also ran the famous Cotton Club and was a leading boxing promoter, in the 1930s.

Contents

Early life and the Gopher Gang

Owen "Owney" Madden was born at 25 Somerset Street, in Leeds, England, on December 18, 1891. Leeds ( is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England His parents Francis and Mary (formerly O'Neil), were also born in Leeds, according to their birth certificates but were possibly of Irish ancestry. In search of work the family moved first to Wigan, England, and then to Liverpool, England. Wigan is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south of Preston, west-northwest of Manchester Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary It was Francis' intention to take the family to the United States but he died before this ambition could be fulfilled. In 1901 Mary Madden sailed to New York on the RMS Oceanic (1899), to stay with her widowed sister Elizabeth O'Neil, at 352 10th Avenue, in Manhattan. Beginning The Keel was laid in 1897, and the ship was built under the supervision of its designer Thomas Ismay, the shipwright and owner of the Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York Owen Madden and his older brother, Martin, were left at a children's home, at 36 Springfield Terrace, in Leeds, until 1902, when Mary could finally afford passage for them. Owen maintained a sentimentality for his native Yorkshire and England throughout his life, refusing to give up his British passport until in his 1950s, when he was threatened with deportation. Yorkshire is a historic county of Northern England and the largest in Great Britain. Unlike his elder brother Martin, who adopted a New York drawl, Owney kept his Northern English accent and saved clippings from the Yorkshire Post up until he died. The Yorkshire Post is a daily Broadsheet Newspaper, published in Leeds, England by Yorkshire Post Newspapers, a company

On June 4, 1902, Madden, together with Martin and his younger sister Mary, sailed from Liverpool, England, as steerage passengers on board the SS Teutonic (1889). Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The SS Teutonic was a steamship built for the White Star Line in Belfast and was the first Armed merchant cruiser. Settling in New York's Hell's Kitchen, Madden joined the Gopher Gang later that year. Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City that includes roughly the area between The Gopher Gang was an early 20th century New York street gang known for its members including Goo Goo Knox, James "Biff" Ellison, and Owney Described by associates as, "that banty little rooster from hell", Madden quickly became a fierce fighter known for his skill with a lead pipe and gun in fights with rivals the Hudson Dusters. The Hudson Dusters was a New York City street gang during the early twentieth century

Madden Gained the nickname, "the Killer," after gunning down an Italian gang member in the streets, after which he shouted, "Owney Madden, 10th Avenue!" Despite the public nature of the murder, no witnesses came forward linking Madden to the crime.

Gophers c1910, Madden back row, middle, leaning forward
Gophers c1910, Madden back row, middle, leaning forward

By 1910, at age eighteen, Madden had become a prominent member of the Gophers and was suspected in the deaths of five rival gang members. His reputation soon gained him leadership of one of the three factions of the Gophers. He was earning as much as $200 a day from the Gophers' criminal activities, such as the gang's protection racket which forced local businessmen to pay in the face of firebomb threats. A protection racket is an Extortion scheme whereby a powerful entity or individual coerces other less powerful entities or individuals to pay protection money

During this time Madden enjoyed an opulent lifestyle and he was often accompanied by several women. However, he became known for his violent jealousy when he shot and killed a store clerk named, William Henshaw, who had asked out one of Madden's girls while on board a trolley. Henshaw initially survived the attack and identified Madden as his assailant. When Henshaw later died of his wounds, police arrested Madden. Despite the attack having numerous witnesses, the case had to be dismissed after no corroborating witnesses came forward.

Over the next three years, the Gophers reached the height of their power as Madden recruited various gunmen into the gang. As Madden began encroaching into rivals' territory, particularly the Hudson Dusters, he was ambushed and shot eleven times outside of a 52nd Street dance hall by three members of the Dusters, on November 6, 1912. The Hudson Dusters was a New York City street gang during the early twentieth century 52nd Street is a 19 mile long one-way Street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan. Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting Madden survived the attack, however, and refused to identify his attackers to police, stating "Nothing doing. The boys'll get 'em. It's nobody's business but mine who put these slugs in me!". Within a week of his release, several members of the Dusters had been killed.

In 1914, Madden became involved in a dispute with Little Patsy Doyle, a prominent member of the Dusters, over a woman named Freda Horner. In a breach of Irish gangland 'ethics', Doyle informed police of Madden's operations. Following Doyle's assault on Madden's close friend, Tony Romanello, Madden arranged for Doyle's murder. Madden relayed a message to Doyle through a friend of Freda Horner's named Margaret Everdeane to meet him, supposedly in order to reconcile. As Doyle arrived on November 28, 1914, Madden ambushed Doyle and killed him. For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The police questioned Horner and Everdeane, who both confessed to their roles in the killing. Madden was eventually sentenced to twenty years at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York

Prohibition

After serving nine years of his sentence, Madden was released on parole in 1923. Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security Prison in Ossining, New York, USA. Ossining is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Gopher gang had broken up, and many members of his own faction were either in jail or working for bootlegging gangs. Rum-running is the business of Smuggling or transporting of Alcoholic beverages illegally usually to circumvent Taxation or Prohibition.

Upon his release he was given a job by an old friend, a former member of Madden's street gang who had moved up to better things. Larry Fay had a sharp mind for crime, however he was not the most physically imposing of gangsters and he needed Madden's muscle to help establish the taxi business he had set up from profits he had made running Canadian whisky across the border during the early days of Prohibition. Larry Fay (1888&ndash January 1, 1933) was one of the early rumrunners of the Prohibition Era in New York City Fay employed a gang of strong-arm men to help him gain control of the most profitable cab-stands along Broadway and Madden became their leader. Later Fay also became involved in New York's milk trade, attempting to turn its delivery into a racket. Owney Madden learned quickly and soon moved on to form his own organisation.

Fay had used Prohibition as a means to raise money for other ventures, but Madden saw it as too good an opportunity to pass up, and soon became heavily involved in bootlegging, establishing a territory in the Hells Kitchen area. In 1924 the Madden gang began highjacking liquor shipments belonging to Big Bill Dwyer, but rather than go to war Dwyer took Madden on as a partner, when Dwyer decided he needed to beef up the enforcement side of his own operations.

The Cotton Club

Madden and his former gang rival turned partner, Big Frenchy De Mange, began to open or acquire some of the flashiest speakeasies and nightclubs of the era, most notably the legendary Cotton Club.

Madden purchased the Club De Luxe from former Heavyweight Boxing Champion Jack Johnson and reopened it a year later as a, "Whites Only," nightclub serving vaudevillian-style black entertainment to the white patrons. Jack Johnson may refer to Jack Johnson (boxer (1878–1946 African-American boxer Jack Johnson (musician (born 1975 Hawaii-born singer-songwriter-director-surfer They flooded into Harlem from downtown Manhattan to catch performers such as Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Bill Bojangles Robinson and the Nicholas Brothers. Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major African American cultural and business center Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York Cabell "Cab" Calloway III ( December 25, 1907 &ndash November 18, 1994) was a famous American Jazz Singer Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29 1899 &ndash May 24 1974 was an American Composer, Pianist, and Bandleader. Louis Armstrong (August 4 1901 &ndash July 6 1971 nicknamed Satchmo or Sachimo and Pops, was an American Jazz Trumpeter Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (born June 30, 1917) is an iconic American singer and Actress. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson ( May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949) was a pre-eminent African-American tap dancer The Nicholas Brothers were a famous African-American team of dancing brothers Fayard ( 1914 &ndash 2006) and Harold Nicholas ( 1921 Owney and his partners, Big Bill and Big Frenchy, also muscled their way into a piece of the exclusive Stork Club, where the influential gossip columnist Walter Winchell held court and everyone who was anyone wanted to see and be seen. The Stork Club was a famous Nightclub in New York City from 1929 to 1965 Walter Winchell ( April 7, 1897 &ndash February 20, 1972) was an American newspaper and radio commentator

Boxing

In 1931, shortly before the end of Prohibition, Madden got out of bootlegging and entered into partnership with boxing promoters, "Broadway" Bill Duffy and George Jean "Big Frenchie" DeMange. Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, also known as Noble Experiment, refers to a Sumptuary law which prohibits Alcohol Boxing (sometimes also known as English boxing or pugilism) is a Combat sport in which two participants generally of similar weight, Bill Duffy is one of the best known agents representing players in the National Basketball Association. Between them, they controlled the careers of several boxing champions including Max Baer and Primo Carnera. Maximilian Adelbert "Madcap Maxie" Baer ( February 11, 1909 – November 21, 1959) was an American boxer of the This article is about the historical boxer for the wrestler having same nickname see Primo Carnera. As Carnera's manager, Madden arranged fixed fights which led eventually to Carnera's winning the NBA World Heavyweight Championship, in 1933. This is a chronological list of world heavyweight boxing champions since the introduction of the Marquess of Queensberry rules: Championship recognition Carnera held onto the title for nearly a year, until suspicions from reporters about fixed fights led to Madden's deserting the Italian strongman, setting up Carnera's famous defeat at the hands of Max Baer, on June 14, 1934. Events 1276 - While taking exile in Fuzhou in southern China, away from the advancing Mongol invaders, the remnants of the Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Hot Springs

In 1932, Madden was involved in the murder of Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, who had been extorting several mobsters including DeMange and Madden. Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll (born Uinseann Ó Colla, July 20, 1908 &mdash February 8, 1932) was an Irish mob hitman After being arrested for a parole violation that same year, Madden began facing greater harassment from police, until he finally left New York in 1935.

Leaving behind racketeering, Madden settled in Hot Springs, Arkansas where he opened the Hotel Arkansas, a spa and casino, in 1935. Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the US state of Arkansas, the County seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot A casino is in the modern sense of the word a facility that houses and accommodates certain types of Gambling activities He also became involved in local criminal activities. The Hotel Arkansas became a popular hideout for mobsters; Charles Luciano was apprehended there in 1935. Charles "Lucky" Luciano (born Salvatore Lucania; November 24 1897 – January 26 1962 was a Sicilian Mobster. Madden became a naturalized U. S. citizen in 1943, and eventually married the daughter of the city postmaster. Postmaster (or Postmistress) refers to the head of an individual Post office. He lived in Hot Springs until his death in 1965. At the time of his death he was said to have left $3 million in assets. The whereabouts of his fortune remains a mystery to this day.

In popular culture

Further reading

References

External links

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic