Gopher Gang
illegal gambling. | |
| Allies | Lady Gophers Parlor Mob Gorillas Rhodes Gang |
|---|---|
| Rivals | Hudson Dusters |
The Gopher Gang was an early 20th-century
History
Origins and early years
The Gopher Gang formed from various local street gangs in the 1890s, numbering around 500 members, into what later became a committee including Marty Brennan, Stumpy Malarkey, and
Murder of William Lennon
Gallagher [clarification needed] became involved in a three-year feud with local bartender William Lennon in 1907, their dispute being over a card game, which resulted in several violent altercations between them. The first incident between the two required Gallagher to have stitches after Lennon had repeatedly slashed his face with a knife. Gallagher later claimed that Lennon had threatened to shoot him on sight and engaged him in several gunfights including an incident in December 1909 when Lennon wounded him in a gunfight between the two.[2]
On May 17, 1910, he and Marty Brennan entered a saloon where Lennon was working. After another argument between the two, Lennon drew a revolver and shot Gallagher in the stomach (two of these bullets were still lodged in his body at the time of his trial). Gallagher and Brennan entered another saloon at Eleventh Avenue and Forty-Fifth Street where, according to Gallagher, they unexpectedly encountered Lennon who was now working there. Upon spotting the two gang members, he swore at them and apparently went for his hip pocket when Gallagher pulled his pistol and fired three shots, killing him. He and Brennan left the saloon and were arrested shortly after.[2]
Charged with manslaughter, Gallagher made a full confession, taking full responsibility for the killing, and claimed that Brennan had taken no part. The two were convicted and given long jail sentences. Gallagher, this being his first criminal offense, was sentenced to serve between 9 and 19 years imprisonment by Judge Foster on November 9, 1910. Despite his efforts, Brennan was also sentenced to 19 years due to a previous prison term in Elmira.[2]
One Lung Curran and decline
In the early 1910s the Gophers were led by One Lung Curran[3] who was notorious for his attacks on lone patrolmen. Although most police rarely patrolled Hell's Kitchen, and only then in large groups, Curran often stole officers' uniforms and, after taking them back to his girlfriend for alterations, would wear the stolen clothes around the neighborhood. This encouraged other gang members to steal uniforms for themselves, becoming a sort of trend among the prominent gang members.[4]
The gang began employing younger apprentice gang members such as the
Popular culture
The 2002 film Gangs of New York directed by Martin Scorsese provided a fictionalized history of the Civil War-era origin of the competing Irish immigrant crime crews which dominated Five Points. The film explains the social tradition of enduring, if not actually shielding, Irish gangs in Manhattan's Irish-American neighborhoods. The gang also features prominently in Clive Cussler's book The Spy.
References
- ^ ISBN 1-56025-275-8
- ^ a b c "Fails To Save His Pal; Long Term for Brennan, Though Gallagher Admits He Killed Lennon", New York Times. 24 Nov 1910.
- ^ Edwards, Jay. "From England to Hot Springs, the life of a gangster", Daily Record, March 4, 2019
- ^ ISBN 0-06-059002-5
- ^ Rosenberg, Bernard (1945). "Meet the Gang". Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. 36 (2): 98–102.