Hugh MacIntosh

Hugh "Apples" MacIntosh (or "McIntosh") (1927 - 6 November 1997) was a New York mobster and a close associate of Colombo crime family boss Carmine Persico.

Early life

Hugh MacIntosh was born to second generation Scottish-American parents from Moray, Scotland. Hugh is said to be a descendant of Seach MacDuff from his father's side. MacDuff was awarded the lands of Petty and Breachley in Invernesshire and was appointed Constable of Inverness Castle for his display of loyalty and support towards King Malcolm IV in the suppression of a rebellion in Morayshire in 1660. When his ancestors first left Scotland they settled in Virginia in 1668 and fought in the American War of Independence. Due to his ethnic background there was no way that he could ever become a "made man' in the Mafia. His last name MacIntosh comes from the son of a chieftain, with "in" standing for "the" and "tosh" which stands for "Toshack" which is derived from the Welsh word "tywysog" which stands for "prince." However, he served Persico for years as driver, bodyguard and enforcer. His work for Persico and enormous stature (he wore a size 52-inch suit), commanded a great deal of respect from the Cosa Nostra members he worked with.

In the 1960s, MacIntosh was caught up in the Gallo-Profaci War, a conflict that threatened to tear apart the Colombo family. In July 1963, he was ambushed and wounded by Joey Gallo's men, but managed to escape. MacIntosh's resilience was demonstrated on numerous occasions; he once drove himself to Coney Island Hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to the groin. In 1969, MacIntosh was imprisoned for six years for hijacking. but he was still considered a good man

RICO conviction

During the 1980s, the new RICO statutes were use to prosecute many crime families. In 1985 MacIntosh, along with Persico, his son Alphonse, Gennaro "Gerry Lang" Langella, and Andrew Russo were indicted on racketeering and related charges. MacIntosh's lawyers attempted to argue his case in a different way that that chosen by the other defendants; however their defense, which combined plea bargaining and a double jeopardy claim, proved fruitless. MacIntosh was convicted on the bribery of undercover Internal Revenue Service agent Richard Annicharico. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Later years

In December 1992, MacIntosh was paroled from prison. Suffering from numerous health problems, he apparently gave up the criminal lifestyle. However, in September 1997, MacIntosh violated parole by meeting with Persico's nephew, Daniel, and was sent back to prison.

On Thursday November 6, 1997, Hugh MacIntosh died of natural causes at a Springfield, Missouri hospital.

References

*Sifakis, Carl. "The Mafia Encyclopedia". New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3

External references

*http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.fc/qx/macintosh-family-crest.htm