Have been watching police/gangster movies and TV-series lately and have been thinking that it’s a little funny how gangsters in films are always brought down for “heavy” crimes while in reality (at least before RICO) it was difficult even to give them 4 years for tax evasion. It’s understandable that for “consolation/compensation” people in the 30s-60s made movies where the “bad guys” really paid for their crimes. But, while with RICO you can be put away for 20 years even for a gambling conspiracy if it’s large-scale enough, in the first part of the century the only way to really punish a gangster was to convict him for murder on state charges, just like in the movies. But how often did that actually happen in real life?

Here I listed all the cases I know of gang bosses, both mafia and others, that have been convicted for murder and the convictions weren’t overturned (the first half of the century only for now).

Please add your own examples if I missed something, but only BOSSES, big guys, not hired thugs and hitmen.


Rocco Racco - Hillsville, Pennsylvania (“Black Hand” gang boss; hanged in 1909 for the 1906 murder of Seeley Houk who stopped Racco and his brother-in-law poaching in the local woods and killed Racco’s hunting dog)

Owney Madden - New York (Independent gangster; sentenced to 20 years for ordering the 1914 murder of rival gangster "Little Patsy" Doyle; released in 1923)

Charles Becker – New York (Corrupt police lieutenant who protected gangsters; executed in 1915 for allegedly ordering the 1912 murder of gambler Herman Rosenthal who didn’t pay for protection and had conflicts with other underworld characters; however, he is alleged by many researchers to have been framed for the murder which was supposed to have in reality been ordered by the self-proclaimed “middleman” between Becker and the hitmen: Jacob “Baldy Jack Rose” Rosenzweig and 3 others; another theory indicates the gangster Jack Zelig as the one who paid Rose and others for organizing the hit)

Joseph Rosenzweig – New York (Independent racketeer; sentenced to 10 years in 1915 for ordering the 1914 murder of rival gangster Philip Paul for the control of the furriers’ union; released in 1925)

Pellegrino Morano - New York (Camorra boss; sentenced to 20 years to life in 1918 for ordering the 1916 murder of mafia boss Nicholas Morello and bodyguyard Charles Ubriaco)

Rosario Borgio - Akron, Ohio (“Black hand” boss; indicted for ordering the murders of 4 police officers in 1918, since the police refused to cooperate with him when he tried to expand his area of influence, but was convicted and executed in 1919 for only one, that of Gethin Richards; the prosecutors probably chose the Richards case as easier to prove because it was the only one where Borgia personally participated in the murder)

Sam Cardinelli - Chicago, Illinois (“Black Hand” boss; hanged in 1921 for the 1919 murder of saloon owner Andrew Bowman who was killed while Cardinelli’s men robbed his saloon; it’s not clear whether there was an explicit order to kill Bowman, but other members of Cardinelli’s gang were also convicted for the another robbery murder: that of Martin Kubalanza; also suspected in other murders, including the elimination of one of their own gang who could turn informant and asked for his part of the loot)

Dominic Benigno – Cleveland, Ohio (Considered the first leader of the Mayfield Road Mob in Cleveland; executed in 1922 for participating in the 1920 double murder/robbery in which a deranged yongster whom Benigno and Co. had the carelessness to take along killed the businessmen Wilfred Sly and George Fanner; it's quite strange such a high-profile racketeer personally participated in the action, therefore tying himself directly to the episode and becoming exposed to the informant's testimony)

John Patrick Looney - Rock Island, Illinois (Independent gangster; sentenced to 14 years in 1925 for ordering the 1922 murder of police informant William Gabel; released after serving 8,5 years)

Anthony Billburg – Rock Island, Illinois (Independent gangster, former underling of John Patrick Looney; sentenced in 1922 to 20 years for the same year’s murder of John’s son Connor, caught in the crossfire during the attempt on his father’s life; the ambush was planned by Billburg at request of a group of local business rivals of Looney, headed by the jeweler Jacob Ramser who were not prosecuted, even though Ramser allegedly personally participated in the attack; Billburg was released in the mid-30s)

Ben and Abe Gleeman - St.Paul, Minnesota (Co-leaders of the local bootlegging syndicate; sentenced to life for the 1925 murder of Burton Stevens who was hijacking their trucks. However, it's not clear whether they were really guilty: the shooter was somebody named Morrie Miller, while Ben Gleeman was simply present at the scene, and it's not clear whether Miller committed the murder at his request or was it his personal initiative; Abe Gleeman was involved only as accessory after the fact. Anyway, the trial seems to have been biased, because the prosecution even denied Miller's existence; he was later captured but released, and later killed by other gangsters; the Gleemans, feeling themselves framed, turned informants on the whole syndicate leading to mass arrests; I read the Gleemans were eventually released, but don’t remember when and the source)

Charles Birger - Harrisburg, Illinois (Independent gangster; hanged in 1928 for ordering the murder of Joe Adams, the corrupt mayor of West City, Illinois who was aligned to Birger’s rivals, the Shelton brothers)

Nick Sudovich - East Chicago, Lake County, Indiana (Al Capone ally; sentenced to 2 to 21 years in 1930 for ordering the 1929 murder of Uron Marovich, a rival bootlegger; deported after serving 2 years, later returned to USA, was imprisoned again and released in 1947)

Angelo Morreale – Rochester (Don’t know if independent or part of the mafia; sentenced in 1931 to 20 years to life for organizing the 1928 murder of Angelina Spitale, gang rival Sam Spitale’s wife who was caught in the crossfire during the attempt on her husband)

Raymond Bernstein - Detroit, Michigan (One of the co-bosses of the Purple Gang; sentenced to life in 1931 for organizing the same year the triple murder of Joseph Lebowitz, Herman Paul, and Isadore Sutker, gangsters from Chicago who tried to take over the Purple Gang’s territory; released after serving 33 years; however, his prison conditions must have been comfortable enough since he was allegedly allowed to leave prison at least once: to carry out the 1945 hit on Michigan State Senator Warren Hooper who was going to testify against corrupt politician Frank McKay)

Joseph Gelosi - Madison, Wisconsin (don’t know if independent of part of the mafia; sentenced to life in 1932 for ordering the murder of rival gangster Andrew Lo Presti, as revenge for a 1929 attempt on his life during which Gelosi’s 2-year-old son was killed; released in 1937 or 1939, then deported)

Thomas "Yonnie" Licavoli - Toledo, Ohio (Mafia boss; sentenced to life in 1934 for ordering the 1931 murders of rival bootleggers Abe Lubitsky and Norman Blatt , the 1933 murder of rival bootlegger Jack Kennedy, and 1932 murder attempt on Jack Kennedy during which his girlfriend Louise Bell was killed; released after serving 37 years)

John Rooney – Chicago, Illinois (Local racketeer, boss of the circular distributors’ union; sentenced to life in 1933 for the same year murder of Stanley Gross, a night watchman who guarded the stores belonging to business owners who refused paying protection money to Rooney; in 1949 Rooney was still in prison, don’t know if he was ever released)

John Anthoulis -Steubenville, Ohio (Lottery and slot machine racketeer; sentenced to life in 1937 for ordering the same year the murder of former robber and racketeer associate Roy Marino who in some way double-crossed him; it was never established how exactly; died in prison in 1956)

Edward Rollins – Los Angeles, California (Boss of the "Rollins mob", heading the cleaners and dyers association; sentenced in 1939 to life, later reduced to 10 years to life, for the 1931 murder of night watchman John Stockton; motive of the murder is unclear: probably to send a message to his employers)

Louis "Lepke" Buchalter - New York (Boss of the Murder Inc organization and mafia associate; executed in 1944 for ordering the 1936 murder of small-time businessman Joseph Rosen, extorted by Lepke and suspected of cooperating with the district attorney)

Percy Lynn Walden, aka Lynn Stephens – San Antonio, Texas (Chief local bootlegger, sentenced to 38 years in 1949, after 20 years on the run, for the 1929 murder of prohibition agent Charles Stevens who was bothering the whole local underworld for years)

John "Cockeye" Dunn - New York (Enforcer for racketeer Eddie McGrath, mafia associate; executed in 1949 for the 1947 murder of dock foreman Anderw Hintz who refused to pay protection money and to hire workers imposed by Dunn)