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

Thursday, June 19, 2008

A two-fer

A number of pedestrians were walking in Brooklyn on this date in 1926 when they heard what sounded like a car back firing. Moments later a Ford sedan appeared, the door was opened and out tumbled Zito Blandi who was associated with the International Lathers and Wirer’s Union. He had been shot six times. Why he was taken for a ride was not learned.


While Blandi was being tossed out of a car in Brooklyn, in Manhattan, George Smolen , twenty-one, was standing on a lower Eastside corner talking with friends when gun shots suddenly went off. Everyone ran for cover except for Smolen who dropped to the ground with non-life threatening wounds to the left side and arm. Smolen was taken to the hospital and questioned by police. He admitted knowing who shot him but refused to give the name saying, “ He’s a brave guy with a gun but I’ll handle this matter myself.”

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