Patsy Conroy Gang
Encyclopedia
The Patsy or Patsey Conroy Gang were a group of river pirates active along the New York waterfront of the old Fourth Ward during the post-American Civil War era. For nearly twenty years, the Patsy Conroys dominated the area of Corlears' Hook and were one of the last major waterfront gangs to remain in the district prior to the formation of the Steamboat Squad. The gang abruptly disappeared when their leaders Patsy Conroy
, Larry Griffin
and Denny Brady were imprisoned in 1874.
, an experienced river pirate who had previously "operated with great success" along the old Fourth Ward water front, and relocated his gang to the Corlears' Hook district in the early 1870s. Once establishing himself in the area, Conroy began recruiting many of infamous waterfront thieves and criminals including Socco the Bracer, Scotchy Lavelle, Johnny Dobbs, Kid Shanahan
, Pugsey Hurley
, Wreck Donovan
, Tom The Mick, Beeny Kane, Piggy Noles, Billy Woods, Bum Mahoney, Denny Brady and Larry Griffin. Brady and Griffin would later become joint leaders of the gang. Its headquarters was located at a basement
dive bar
in the Bowery
.
to Pier 27 where the brig Margaret was docked and waiting to be loaded with cargo. The three men boarded the ship and, while searching a sea chest, they woke up the captain and his mate. A fight then occurred with the crew and "the gangsters severely beaten and driven over the side into their boat". The skipper had fired several pistol shots into the air to alert police and Patrolmen Musgrave and Kelly, patrolling the river in a rowboat, attempted to catch up with the fleeing pirates but lost them in the fog and darkness.
Musgrave flashed a dark lantern out over the water, searching for any sign of the pirates, and saw a boat slowly pull out from underneath a nearby pier. Mahoney and Woods were both rowing while Socco the Bracer was "standing in the stern with a cocked revolver in his hand". Socco fired at the officer as soon as Musgrave shined his lantern at the pirates. When he missed his target, Mahoney and Woods stopped rowing and also began firing. A brief shootout ensued when police returned fire, Musgrave's first shot hitting Socco below the heart, and Mahoney and Woods "seized their oars and pulled rapidly mid-stream". They then tossed Socco overboard, hoping to lighten the weight of the small boat, but Socco was not yet dead and clung to the side. Through seriously wounded, the shock of the cld water had revived him. He tried to climb back into the boat, holding onto the gunwale
, and the pursuing officers could hear Socco begging his companions to take him back aboard.
Woods suggested "they crack him on the knuckles and leave him to drown" but Mahoney relented and dragged him back into the boat. Socco died "before the craft had gone fifty feet" and Mohoney tossed his body overboard once more. The two men managed to escape but Socco's body turned up floating at the foot of Stanton Street "within sight of the dead gangster's home".
, and preparing to sail for Liverpool, England the following day. The Mattan, after receiving its cargo, had sailed down the East River to the Battery where it set anchor off Castle Garden on the afternoon of November 30. The ship was manned by a skeleton crew
as Captain T.H. Connauton expected to take on additional men prior to leaving New York.
Shortly after midnight however, seven masked men approached the ship in a small boat and boarded the ship by using a rope which had been left hanging over the side. Once aboard, the river pirates headed aft
but one of them tripped over a coil of rope and fell onto the deck alerting the ship's first mate. When he went to investigate the noise, the mate was hit with a slung-shot then bound and gagged. The second mate
and the steward
were similarly captured.
The pirates then went to the captain's cabin where Connauton, his wife and three children were sleeping. Connauton was awoken by knocking at his door and the pirates, claiming they were members of the harbor police
, wished to talk to him. The captain slowly opened the door, but seeing the masked men armed with slung-shots and crowbars, quickly shut the door. One of the pirates fired his revolver at the door which passed through the panel and hit Connauton in the leg. Connauton fell to the floor, and although his wife and children briefly stalled the pirates by barricading the door with furniture, the invaders eventually broke their way inside the cabin.
Confronting Connauton, the men demanded $4,000 in cash which they believed was on board. When the captain refused, the pirates grabbed his wife and threatened to kill her if he did not tell them where the money was hidden. Connauton eventually convinced them that the ship was not carrying $4,000 and, offering $45 instead, the pirates released his wife and began ransacking the cabin. In all, the men had spent an hour on the brig and left having looted a diamond ring, two watches, three gold chains, a ruby ring, and three silk dresses. The dresses had been bought by Mrs. Connauton during her last visit to Liverpool.
The robbery of the Mattan was widely reported in the news. Two days following the robbery, the harbor police arrested two well-known river pirates, Tommy Dagan and Billy Carroll, who wrongly convicted and imprisoned for the crime. Six months later, police found out that Dagan and Carroll had spent the night at a Water Street dive bar and could not have participated. They were later pardoned.
and occasionally the island itself
. The Patsy Conroys relied on these raids more and more as business on the waterfront slowed and for two years "they kept these hamlets in a chronic condition of terror". In 1874, Brady was caught of robbing a house in Catskill
. That same year, Griffin and Patsy Conroy were also arrested for robbing the home of Robert Emmett in White Plans. All three were sentenced to twenty years imprisonment. With their leaders in jail, the gang quickly disappeared from the New York underworld.
Patsy Conroy
Patrick Conway , commonly known by his alias Patsy or Patsy Conroy, was an American burglar and river pirate...
, Larry Griffin
Larry Griffin
For the football player of the same name see Larry Griffin .Larry Griffin was sentenced to death for the murder of 19-year-old Quintin Moss. The crime occurred in St...
and Denny Brady were imprisoned in 1874.
Early history
The gang was originally formed by Patsy ConroyPatsy Conroy
Patrick Conway , commonly known by his alias Patsy or Patsy Conroy, was an American burglar and river pirate...
, an experienced river pirate who had previously "operated with great success" along the old Fourth Ward water front, and relocated his gang to the Corlears' Hook district in the early 1870s. Once establishing himself in the area, Conroy began recruiting many of infamous waterfront thieves and criminals including Socco the Bracer, Scotchy Lavelle, Johnny Dobbs, Kid Shanahan
Kid Shanahan
Joseph A. Shanahan , also known as Kid Shanahan or Thomas Lynch, was a New York City criminal, river pirate and member of the Patsy Conroy Gang. In May 1883, he was convicted with Thomas J. Reily, James McMann and James Moran of the attempted robbery of the sloop Victor while anchored at Flushing Bay...
, Pugsey Hurley
Pugsey Hurley
Michael "Pugsey" Hurley , also known by the aliases Pugsey Reilly or Hanley, was an English-born American burglar, river pirate and underworld figure in New York City during the mid-to late 19th century. An old time thief from the old Seventh Ward, he was also a well-known waterfront thug whose...
, Wreck Donovan
Wreck Donovan
Michael Mahoney, better known as Wreck Donovan or simply The Wreck, was a nineteenth century American sneak thief, river pirate and underworld figure in New York City...
, Tom The Mick, Beeny Kane, Piggy Noles, Billy Woods, Bum Mahoney, Denny Brady and Larry Griffin. Brady and Griffin would later become joint leaders of the gang. Its headquarters was located at a basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
dive bar
Dive bar
A dive bar is a type of bar or pub. Dive bars generally have a relaxed and informal atmosphere—they are often referred to by local residents as "neighborhood bars," where people in the neighborhood gather to drink and socialize...
in the Bowery
Bowery
Bowery may refer to:Streets:* The Bowery, a thoroughfare in Manhattan, New York City* Bowery Street is a street on Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y.In popular culture:* Bowery Amphitheatre, a building on the Bowery in New York City...
.
Death of Socco the Bracer
On the night of May 29, 1873, gang members Billy Woods, Bum Mahoney and Conroy's chief lieutenant Socco the Bracer stole a small boat from Jackson Street and sailed downstream along the East RiverEast River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
to Pier 27 where the brig Margaret was docked and waiting to be loaded with cargo. The three men boarded the ship and, while searching a sea chest, they woke up the captain and his mate. A fight then occurred with the crew and "the gangsters severely beaten and driven over the side into their boat". The skipper had fired several pistol shots into the air to alert police and Patrolmen Musgrave and Kelly, patrolling the river in a rowboat, attempted to catch up with the fleeing pirates but lost them in the fog and darkness.
Musgrave flashed a dark lantern out over the water, searching for any sign of the pirates, and saw a boat slowly pull out from underneath a nearby pier. Mahoney and Woods were both rowing while Socco the Bracer was "standing in the stern with a cocked revolver in his hand". Socco fired at the officer as soon as Musgrave shined his lantern at the pirates. When he missed his target, Mahoney and Woods stopped rowing and also began firing. A brief shootout ensued when police returned fire, Musgrave's first shot hitting Socco below the heart, and Mahoney and Woods "seized their oars and pulled rapidly mid-stream". They then tossed Socco overboard, hoping to lighten the weight of the small boat, but Socco was not yet dead and clung to the side. Through seriously wounded, the shock of the cld water had revived him. He tried to climb back into the boat, holding onto the gunwale
Gunwale
The gunwale is a nautical term describing the top edge of the side of a boat.Wale is the same word as the skin injury, a wheal, which, too, forms a ridge. Originally the gunwale was the "Gun ridge" on a sailing warship. This represented the strengthening wale or structural band added to the design...
, and the pursuing officers could hear Socco begging his companions to take him back aboard.
Woods suggested "they crack him on the knuckles and leave him to drown" but Mahoney relented and dragged him back into the boat. Socco died "before the craft had gone fifty feet" and Mohoney tossed his body overboard once more. The two men managed to escape but Socco's body turned up floating at the foot of Stanton Street "within sight of the dead gangster's home".
Mattan robbery
Though the death of Socco the Bracer had "frightened the Corlears' Hook thugs", six months later the gang made another outing. This time they targeted the Mattan, a brig carrying petroleumPetroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
, and preparing to sail for Liverpool, England the following day. The Mattan, after receiving its cargo, had sailed down the East River to the Battery where it set anchor off Castle Garden on the afternoon of November 30. The ship was manned by a skeleton crew
Skeleton crew
A skeleton crew is the minimum number of personnel needed to operate and maintain an item at its most simple operating requirements, such as a ship or business, during an emergency and, at the same time, to keep vital functions operating.- Uses :...
as Captain T.H. Connauton expected to take on additional men prior to leaving New York.
Shortly after midnight however, seven masked men approached the ship in a small boat and boarded the ship by using a rope which had been left hanging over the side. Once aboard, the river pirates headed aft
Aft
Aft, in naval terminology, is an adjective or adverb meaning, towards the stern of the ship, when the frame of reference is within the ship. Example: "Able Seaman Smith; lay aft!". Or; "What's happening aft?"...
but one of them tripped over a coil of rope and fell onto the deck alerting the ship's first mate. When he went to investigate the noise, the mate was hit with a slung-shot then bound and gagged. The second mate
Second Mate
A second mate or second officer is a licensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The second mate is the third in command and a watchkeeping officer, customarily the ship's navigator. Other duties vary, but the second mate is often the medical officer and in charge of maintaining...
and the steward
Chief Steward
A chief steward is the senior unlicensed crew member working in the Steward's Department of a ship. Since there is no purser on most ships in the United States Merchant Marine, the steward is the senior person in the department, whence its name...
were similarly captured.
The pirates then went to the captain's cabin where Connauton, his wife and three children were sleeping. Connauton was awoken by knocking at his door and the pirates, claiming they were members of the harbor police
Water police
Water police, also called harbour patrols, port police, marine/maritime police, nautical patrols, bay constables or river police, are police officers, usually a department of a larger police organisation, who patrol in water craft...
, wished to talk to him. The captain slowly opened the door, but seeing the masked men armed with slung-shots and crowbars, quickly shut the door. One of the pirates fired his revolver at the door which passed through the panel and hit Connauton in the leg. Connauton fell to the floor, and although his wife and children briefly stalled the pirates by barricading the door with furniture, the invaders eventually broke their way inside the cabin.
Confronting Connauton, the men demanded $4,000 in cash which they believed was on board. When the captain refused, the pirates grabbed his wife and threatened to kill her if he did not tell them where the money was hidden. Connauton eventually convinced them that the ship was not carrying $4,000 and, offering $45 instead, the pirates released his wife and began ransacking the cabin. In all, the men had spent an hour on the brig and left having looted a diamond ring, two watches, three gold chains, a ruby ring, and three silk dresses. The dresses had been bought by Mrs. Connauton during her last visit to Liverpool.
The robbery of the Mattan was widely reported in the news. Two days following the robbery, the harbor police arrested two well-known river pirates, Tommy Dagan and Billy Carroll, who wrongly convicted and imprisoned for the crime. Six months later, police found out that Dagan and Carroll had spent the night at a Water Street dive bar and could not have participated. They were later pardoned.
Final years
Patsy Conroy and his gang were eventually named as suspects in the Mattan robbery, although it was Denny Brady and Larry Griffin who led the group of masked men. As well as the waterfront, the gang also turned to raiding isolated suburban villages in Westchester County along Long Island SoundLong Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
and occasionally the island itself
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. The Patsy Conroys relied on these raids more and more as business on the waterfront slowed and for two years "they kept these hamlets in a chronic condition of terror". In 1874, Brady was caught of robbing a house in Catskill
Catskill (town), New York
Catskill is a town in the southeast part of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,775 at the 2010 census. The western part of the town is in the Catskill Park....
. That same year, Griffin and Patsy Conroy were also arrested for robbing the home of Robert Emmett in White Plans. All three were sentenced to twenty years imprisonment. With their leaders in jail, the gang quickly disappeared from the New York underworld.
Further reading
- Byrnes, ThomasThomas ByrnesThomas Byrnes may refer to:*Thomas Byrnes , Premier of Queensland*Thomas F. Byrnes, 19th century New York City Police inspector*Tommy Byrnes, American basketball playerSee also:* Thomas Byrne * Thomas Burns...
. 1886 Professional Criminals of America. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1969. - Costello, Augustine E. Our Police Protectors: History of the New York Police from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. New York: A.E. Costello, 1885.