"He must have done something. They don't kill you for nothing." - Chicago Gangster Ted Newberry. Rubbed out January 7, 1933

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Bad luck Chuck

On this day back in 1926 a Chrysler sedan was parked in a west Harlem neighborhood and since no one on the block recognized it, after a number of hours had passed some one looked inside and there in the back seat was the body of Charles Caffrey with two bullets in his chest.
Caffrey was a twenty-five year old ex-convict with a record of about ten arrests. The police were fairly certain that he was killed in a Harlem apartment house because they received a call saying that shots were fired and a resident of the building told police that he saw three men supporting a fourth and when he asked what was wrong, was told that the man was sick and they were helping him get a cab. The only problem was that the witness said the victim was about 6 ft tall and was wearing a blue suit when Caffrey was only about 5’6 and was wearing a brown suit. Police however felt that the witnesses made an error and that the victim was indeed Caffrey because they found two spent cartridges in the upper apartment and a hat out front fit his head perfectly. The cops called the murder a ‘Thieves fight”.

** This date also marks the passing of Charles "Vannie" Higgins in1932. Gangster City owners can open a Brooklyn Lager and check out Chapter 20 in rememberance.

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