Joseph Filkowski
Encyclopedia
Joseph Filkowski (died 1931) was a Polish-American gangster in Cleveland, Ohio
.
A longtime figure in Cleveland's underworld, Joseph Filkowski led the Polish bootlegging gang, the Flats Mob. In October 1930, he and two other gang members held a police officer captive during the gangs hold up of the Dixie Shoe Company, relieving him of both his gun and uniform.
Although successfully escaping, the incident resulted in gaining the attention of local law enforcement and, although escaping from a police trap on December 6, Filkowski associate Joseph Stazek
was killed by Cleveland detectives the following day. Two days later, on December 9, a Patrolman Patrick McNeely accidentally shot Joseph Fortini, a district circulation manager of the newspaper The Plain Dealer, who McNeely had mistaken for Filkowski. The Fortini shooting would begin a lengthy, yet ultimately unresolved, inquiry into the use of police firearms.
The majority of the gang were eventually captured by authorities and sentenced to life imprisonment with the exception of Filkowski, who was sentenced to death. Filkowski's death mask
is on display in the Cleveland Police History Museum.
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
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A longtime figure in Cleveland's underworld, Joseph Filkowski led the Polish bootlegging gang, the Flats Mob. In October 1930, he and two other gang members held a police officer captive during the gangs hold up of the Dixie Shoe Company, relieving him of both his gun and uniform.
Although successfully escaping, the incident resulted in gaining the attention of local law enforcement and, although escaping from a police trap on December 6, Filkowski associate Joseph Stazek
Joseph Stazek
Joseph Stazek was a Polish-American mobster.He was a friend of fellow Cleveland criminal Joseph Filkowski. Joseph Stazek was shot dead by police on December 7, 1930.-References:...
was killed by Cleveland detectives the following day. Two days later, on December 9, a Patrolman Patrick McNeely accidentally shot Joseph Fortini, a district circulation manager of the newspaper The Plain Dealer, who McNeely had mistaken for Filkowski. The Fortini shooting would begin a lengthy, yet ultimately unresolved, inquiry into the use of police firearms.
The majority of the gang were eventually captured by authorities and sentenced to life imprisonment with the exception of Filkowski, who was sentenced to death. Filkowski's death mask
Death mask
In Western cultures a death mask is a wax or plaster cast made of a person’s face following death. Death masks may be mementos of the dead, or be used for creation of portraits...
is on display in the Cleveland Police History Museum.