BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: CRIME & PUNISHMENT

THE U.S. NAVY & CRIME BOSS LUCKY LUCIANO

"... during World War II, (MEYER) Lansky helped set up
 a deal between Luciano (then in prison) and the United
 States navy to help guard New York's docks, and weed out possible undercover enemies. In exchange, Luciano was 
released from prison and deported back to Italy -- 
where he was able to resume running his businesses. "

 Aria Darcalla. "Risky Business" in Avenue 
(January-February 2023)

* Meyer Lansky, known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the National Crime Syndicate in the United States. Wikipedia

Charles "Lucky" Luciano was an Italian-born gangster who operated mainly in the United States. Luciano started his criminal career in the Five Points gang and was instrumental in the development of the National Crime Syndicate. Wikipedia

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PLAYWRIGHT TOM STOPPARD & WALTER WINCHELL VISIT 
HOT CRIME SPOTS IN NYC

“Asked who he would most like to meet in New York,
(STOPPARD) opted for the legendary journalist’
Walter Winchell, and spent a strange night with 
the old man, being driven around in his car, which 
still had a siren on it, to crime hotspots in 
the city, and being met with some bewilderment ,
 who had no idea who Winchell was. “

Hermione Lee. Tom Stoppard: A Life (New York: Alfred
Knopf, 2020

**

CRIMINAL COURT IN 1724

Fara Dabhoiwala finds it strange that’ Julian the Black’ didn’t testify in court when he was tried on a capital charge in 1724 (LRB , 23 June) . It would have been stranger if he had done so, for until the Criminal Evidence Act 1898 was passed , accused individuals tried in England and Wales could not testify in their own defence. They were limited to cross-examining prosecution witnesses and making an unsworn statement, on which they themselves could not  be cross-examined from  the dock.
    “They could, however, call witnesses to give evidence of their good character and reputation, or factual evidence indicative  of their innocence – classically an alibi.”

Stephen Sedlet in a letter to London Review of Books
(7 July 2022)

**
MORE ABOUT CRIMINAL TRIALS AT THE OLD
BAILY, CIRCA 1724

“Criminal trials were very brief, often lasting only a few minutes. The same jury would listen to successive unrelated cases, then retire to consider them all, returning the verdicts as a batch. There were no lawyers. The judge acted as examiner of the victim, and any witnesses called on either side…”

Fara Dabhoiwala in a letter to London Review of Books
(24 July 2022)

**

WHY DID WILLIE SUTTON ROB BANKS

“Why did I banks ? Because I enjoyed it. I loved it. I was more alive when I  was inside a bank, robbing it, than at any other time in my life. I enjoyed everything about it so much that one or two weeks later I’d be out looking for the next job. But to me the money was the chips, that’s all. The winnings. I kept robbing banks when, by all logic, it was foolish. When it could cost me far more than I could possibly gain.”

Willie Sutton and Edward Linn. Where the Money Was
(New York:The Viking Press, 1976)

**

WITNESS AT A TRIAL

Witness: “No, I didn’t actually see him bite off the guy’s 
                  ear.’
Judge:   “What are you presuming to give evidence 
                   about?”
Wittness: “I saw him spit it out.”

From Culture is my Business by Marshall McLuhan

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THE BIRTH OF MODERN MOB BOSSES IN THE UNITED STATES

"Then there was the pitiless Benjamin Marks, a former Civil War courier who in 1867 at age nineteen, hiked from 
Iowa to Wyoming dealing (THREE CARD) monte on a wooden plank slung from his neck. An ancestor of the modern mob boss, Marks built a small empire out of con games and shady business deals. He erected his infamous Elks Grove casino and brothel, remains of which are still standing on the county line, so that dodging police raids was a simple matter of moving to a room in another jurisdiction."
                  

Alex Stone. Fooling Houdini. (New York: HarperCollins, 2012)
**

FRANKIE (SOMETIMES ALBERT) & JOHNNIE

"One Monday morning, October 16, 1899, the readers of the St. Lous Republic saw the following item:

                " NEGRO SHOT BY WOMAN"

"After midnight, Sunday, Allen (Albert) Britt, Colored, was shot and badly wounded by Frankie Baker, also Colored. The shooting occurred at the woman's home at 317 Targee Street, after a qusrrel over another woman named Nellie Bly. Britt had been to a Cakewalk at Stolle's Dance Halls, where he and Nellie Bly had won a prize. His condition at City Hospital is serious..."

The above shooting inspired any memorable song, with
many variations. In 1912, the first version of  "Frankie and Johnny" was published, but  " In 1942, Guy Lombardo used the famous lead line 'Frankie and Johnny were sweethearts' in a version written by Boyd Bouch and Bert Leighton."
                 
                 Frankie and Johnny were sweethearts.
                 Oh! What a couple in love;
                 Frankie was loyal to Johnny
                 Just as true as stars above
                 He was her man,
                 But he done her wrong.

Sean Willentz and Grell Marcus, editors. The Rose & the 
Briar: Death, Love and Liberty in the American Ballad
(New York: W.W.Norton & Company, 2004.

**
 MEMBERS OF AL CAPONE'S GAME
GO FOR A WALK IN CHICAGO
ON A RAINY DAY

What's the best thing to do with all this rain?
Pistol whip it.

Louis Phillips