- 1931 in organized crime
Events
*The
Castellammarese War continues as mob bossJoe Masseria offers to negotiate with his rival,Salvatore Maranzano . Maranzano and the Castellammarese faction refuse to end the war, demanding the death of Masseria ally Joe "The Baker" Catania. Although Catania would be murdered later in 1931, the war would continue.
*MobsterSalvatore Sabella is arrested forassault and battery using a motor vehicle; however, he receives a suspended sentence. During his indictment,New Jersey police discover that his address matches that ofStefano Magaddino , leader of theBuffalo crime family , following Magaddino's arrest in 1921. Shortly after his arrest, the 40 year old Sabella retires as leader of the Philadelphia crime syndicate in favor of lieutenantJohn Avena .
*Charles Entratta , a partner of New York gangster Jack "Legs" Diamond is gunned down in aBrooklyn neighborhood.
*February 3 -Joe Catania is killed as he leaves his home in New York. It is thought that Masseria ordered Catena's murder out of suspicion that he was hijacking Masseria's liquor shipments.
*April 15 - Mob bossJoe Masseria is killed byJoe Adonis ,Vito Genovese ,Albert Anastasia , andBugsy Siegel on the orders ofLucky Luciano .Ciro Terranova drives the getaway car. This effectively ends the longCastellammarese War in New York.
*May - Following Masseria's death,Salvatore Maranzano declares himselfCapo di Tutti Capi (boss of bosses) during a mob conference inChicago, Illinois . While the conference was to serve as a reconciliation withAl Capone 'sChicago Outfit , allyCharles Luciano and others conspire to eliminate Maranzano.
*September 10 - On orders ofCharles Luciano andFrank Costello , boss of all bossesSalvatore Maranzano is murdered in his headquarters onPark Avenue inManhattan by gangsters disguised as police officers. That same day, several of Maranzano's lieutenants, includingJames Marino , are killed by unknown gunmen including outside aBronx neighborhood barbershop. The bodies of Maranzano alliesSamuel Monaco andLouis Russo would later be recovered fromNewark Bay ; both corpses would show signs of torture. These events may or may not have been the basis for the beginning of the alleged "Night of the Sicilian Vespers " in which many old world Sicilian-born mafiosi are killed throughout the country by the Luciano-Lansky faction in the aftermath of theCastellammarese War .
*September 13 -Joseph Siragusa , leader of the Pittsburgh crime family, is shot to death in his home. He is succeeded byJohn Bazzano .
*September 17 -Meyer Shapiro , who controls bootlegging, illegal gambling and prostitution in New York's East Side, is murdered by former associates Abe "Kid Twist" Reles and Martin "Bugsy" Goldstein, who quickly take control of his criminal operations. His younger brother Irving was previously killed outside his Bronx apartment onJuly 11 . One year later, Willie Shapiro would also be killed, buried alive by Reles and his associates.
*October 6 -24 -Chicago Outfit bossAl Capone is convicted of tax evasion, fined $50,000, and sentenced to eleven years in a federal prison.
*October 15 -Joe Ardizonne , head of theLos Angeles crime family, disappears and is presumed murdered (possibly a victim of the "Night of the Sicilian Vespers"). MobsterJack Dragna would go on to succeed Ardizzone as leader of the Los Angeles family.
*December 18 -New York Prohibition gangster Jack "Legs" Diamond is shot to death while staying at a safe house inAlbany, New York by a number of unidentified gunman. Diamond is one of the last majorIrish-American gangsters in New York to be eliminated by theItalian-American "National Crime Syndicate ".
*December 22 - Irish-American mob bossFrankie Wallace , on the pretense of a sit-down with Italian-American mobsters, is ambushed and murdered inBoston 'sNorth End . TheGustin Gang would be the first victims in a three-year systematic elimination of Irish-American gangsters in the United States.Arts and literature
*"
Little Caesar " (film) [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021079/] starringEdward G. Robinson
*"The Public Enemy " (film) [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022286/] starringJames Cagney
*"Smart Money " (film) [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022403/] starringEdward G. Robinson andJames Cagney Births
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Vincent Napoli ,Gambino crime family member andBrooklyn drug smuggler
*Leonard Teperow , West Roxbury bookmaker and Mafia associate
*March 19 -Robert Trimbole ,Australia n drug baron andorganized crime leader.
*September 30 -Giuseppe Calò , Sicilianmafioso Deaths
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Charles Entratta "Charlie Green", New York mobster and associate of Jack Diamond
*February 3 -Joe Catania , New York mobster anf a lieutenant to Joe Masseria
*April 15 -Giuseppe Masseria , New York mobster,Boss of Bosses
*July 11 -Irving Shapiro , New York (East Side) mobster
*September 10 -Salvatore Maranzano , New York mobster,Boss of Bosses
*September 10 –James Marino ("James LaPore "), Salvatore Marranzano lieutenant
*September 10 -Samuel Monaco , Salvatore Maranzano ally and New Jersey Underboss
*September 10 -Louis Russo , Salvatore Maranzano ally and New Jersey Consigliere
*September 13 -Joseph Siragusa , leader of the Pittsburgh crime family
*September 17 -Meyer Shapiro , New York (East Side) mobster
*December 22 -Frankie Wallace , Boston mobster and leader of the Gustin Gang
*December 22 -Barney (Dodo) Walsh , Boston mobster and member of the Gustin Gang
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