Philip "Red Phil" Davidson (born 1882) was a New York City criminal responsible for the murder of gang leader "Big" Jack Zelig. The City of New York "Big" Jack Zelig ( May 13, 1888 - October 5, 1912) was a New York gangster and one of the last leaders of the Monk Eastman Gang Although at the time of his arrest police were unable to find a police record, he was a known associate of Jack Sirocco. Jack Sirocco (1882 - 1954 was a New York gangster involved in labor Racketeering and Strikebreaking.

A retired Russian Jewish fruit peddler living on East Seventh Street, Davidson shot and killed New York gang leader "Big" Jack Zelig while on a Thirteenth Street trolley on October 5, 1912 following an altercation during a card game at a local cafe. Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople 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 It has been suggested that Zelig's murder was an attempt to keep Zelig from testifying against Charles Becker in the Rosenthal murder case involving the Lenox Avenue Gang. The Lenox Avenue Gang was an early 20th century New York Street gang led by Harry Horowitz (better known as Gyp the Blood) and was one of the most violent He later turned himself into authorities, freely telling police that he had been attacked with a blackjack and robbed by Zelig earlier that day for which he had gotten his revenge. Blackjack (also known as Twenty-one, Vingt-et-un (French for Twenty-one or Pontoon) is the most widely played casino banking

Among several underworld figures, Davidson was a petty thief and informer for which he had gotten into an altercation with Zelig on the afternoon of October 5, 1912. Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople 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

Although Zelig was scheduled to testify during the trial of Lieutenant Charles Becker regarding his connection to the Rosenthal murder case, police were unable to find any connection between Davidson and Becker. Charles Becker ( July 26, 1870 - July 30, 1915) was a New York City police officer in the 1890's and 1910's and who was tried convicted and

The Becker trial would be interrupted by Davidson's own trial for which he would be sentenced to twenty years imprisonment on November 6 after pleading guilty to second degree murder. Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries While imprisoned in Sing Sing Prison, he came forward to offer to testify for the defense claiming that Zelig had paid him $500 to murder Herman "Beansie" Rosenthal however he himself chose not to participate in the murder. Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security Prison in Ossining, New York, USA. His statement, which he had first told to his cellmate, was hoped to be used by Becker's lawyers to prove the money used to hire the Lenox Avenue Gang did not come from Becker but rather the deceased Jack Zelig. The Lenox Avenue Gang was an early 20th century New York Street gang led by Harry Horowitz (better known as Gyp the Blood) and was one of the most violent

Davidson's testimony was refuted by police and prison officials however as Sheriff Julius Harburger referred to Davidson as "the most cowardly prisoner he had ever seen".

Further reading

• Asbury, Herbert. Herbert Asbury ( September 1, 1889 — February 24, 1963) was an American Journalist and Writer who is best The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the New York Underworld. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. ISBN 1-56025-275-8
• Fried, Albert. The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Gangster in America. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980. ISBN 0-23109683-6
• Kohn, George C. Dictionary of Culprits and Criminals. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1986.
• Logan, Andy. Against the Evidence: The Becker-Rosenthal Affair. New York: McCall Publishing Company, 1970.
• Mackenzie, Frederick Arthur. Twentieth Century Crimes. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1927.
• O'Kane, James M. The Crooked Ladder: Gangsters, Ethnicity and the American Dream. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1994. ISBN 0-7658-0994-X
• Pietrusza, David. Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003. ISBN 0-7867-1250-3
• Root, Jonathan. One Night in July: The True Story of the Rosenthal-Becker Murder Case. New York: Coward-McCann, 1961.
• Schiavo, Giovanni Ermenegildo. The Truth about the Mafia and Organized Crime in America. New York: Vigo Press, 1962.

References

• "Gunman From Whose Gang Rosenthal Assassins Came Shot in 2d Ave. Car. ; Weapon Of Choice A Police Revolver. Man Who Used It Says Zelig Blackjacked and Robbed Him and He Killed in Revenge". New York Times. 06 Oct. 1912
• "Zelig's Slayer Gets Long Term In Prison; Justice Golf Sends Davidson to Sing Sing for Not Less Than Twenty Years. " New York Times. 07 Nov. 1912
• "Gunmen Hear To-Day The Death Sentence; Sheriff Will Take Them to Sing Sing at Once, Guarding Against Attack". New York Times. 26 Nov. 1912