Tanner Smith
Encyclopedia
Thomas F. "Tanner" Smith (c. 1887-July 26, 1919) was an American criminal and gang leader in New York City during the early 20th century. He was the founder and leader of the Marginals
, or "Irish Paddy Gang", which was active in Greenwich Village
and along the Hudson River waterfront
from around the turn of the century
until his murder in 1919. He was closely associated with Owney Madden
and the Gophers
, he and Madden briefly running the Winona Club together until the New York City Police Department
closed the clubhouse around 1910.
" for much of his adult life. He was reportedly related to local ward district politicians and, in an editorial by the New York Tribune
, "acquired his leadership of this gang because of petty political influences". Tanner Smith and the Maginals, sometimes allied with the Pearl Buttons and later the Gopher Gang
, battled the Hudson Dusters
for control over the Hudson River waterfront
and eventually took over when the Hudson Dusters disappeared from the district. Tanner eventually made the Pearl Buttons junior partners of the Marginals.
, then leader of the Gopher Gang
, had been allies against the Hudson Dusters
and eventually formed a close working relationship. Together they opened the Winona Club, a clubhouse intended to serve as a joint rendezvous and headquarters, located on West Forty-Seventh Street
near Tenth Avenue. The gang's unruly behavior at the club soon disrupted life in the relatively well-to-do neighborhood as its members regularly "engaged in drunken revels and made the night hideous with the sound of their bickerings and brawlings".
The owner of the building, Dennis J. Keating, was a blacksmith
by trade and apparently had no knowledge of his tenants identities. Keating lived with his family on the ground floor and, when neighbors began complaining to him about the noise, he confronted the gang warning that he would have to evict them if they could not keep the noise down. Tanner and Smith, who had been "discussing affairs of state over a bottle of whiskey", were surrounded by a half dozen gang members from both sides "lounging about the room listening to the music of a piano thumbed by a gifted thug". Upon being confronted by their landlord, Madden turned around and replied "You'll put "me" out of your house? Mister, did you ever hear of Owney Madden? Yes? Well, Mister, I am Owney Madden!"
Keating retreated to his home downstairs and was afraid to report the gangsters to the police fearing for his family's safety. The Gophers were especially known for their violence against police informers. Instead, a tenant from a neighboring boarding house
ended up making a noise complaint and a police officer, Patrolman Sindt, from a local precinct were dispatched. Sindt quickly returned to the precinct when he discovered the occupants. He requested reinforcements from the precinct captain and a reserve squad under Detective Sergeant John J. O'Connell
was sent out. Madden's spies informed their leader of their approach and by the time of O'Connell's arrival, the gangsters had already barricaded themselves inside. O'Connell's demand that they allow the police to enter the clubhouse was "greeted by threats and curses". O'Connell then walked up to the front door and banged on the front door with his club to which one of the gangsters fired out a window "and grazed a policeman's skull". Madden then called out to police threatening "We'll shoot the gizzard out of any cop who tries to get in here!".
O'Connell then ordered his men to withdraw around a corner and sent two patrolmen to gain entry to the building from the rear. The rest of the squad were then marched across the street, in full view of the gang, and O'Connell approached the club once again and started an argument with Madden and Tanner. While the rest of the gang crowded around the front windows to watch their leaders taunt the police, a rear window was left unguarded allowing the two patrolmen to sneak into the building. The two officers crept through the house until reaching the front room here the gang had gathered. They then rushed the gangsters in a surprise attack and the startled men were forced back momentarily. O'Connor immediately had his men break down the doors and within 15 minutes had placed all of the men under arrest and put them "handcuffed and bleeding" in a paddy wagon to a nearby precinct.
William J. Gaynor where he showed his bruises to Gaynor and accused the arresting officers of police brutality
. It was this meeting that resulted in the passage of "Order No. 7", a directive issued by Mayor Gaynor which prohibited the use of a billy club unless the officer could prove his life was in danger.
In March 1910, Tanner made a formal complaint against Patrolmen William H. Noll, Charles G. Flaherty and Andrew Brown who were accused of violating "Order No. 7". He claimed that he had been celebrating New Year's Day
at a dance hall
on Forty-Second Street
and Eighth Avenue when the three officers, all on the staff of Inspector George W. McClusky
of the Third District, threw him down a stairway while being ejected from the building. All three officers denied the allegation and claimed Smith fell down the stairs himself.
A number of people testified as character witnesses on the officers' behalf, several of them fellow police officers, however all three were fined on April 12, 1911. Noll and Flaherty were both fined 15 days pay while Brown was fined a full month. This case was part of a major grand jury investigation headed by First Assistant District Attorney Frank Moss
. Smith was later tried and convicted for shooting a police officer.
. Much of this was due to the NYPD's campaign against the city's street gangs, but also for some members connection to the First Labor Slugger War involving labor racketeers Benjamin "Dopey Benny" Fein and Joseph "Joe the Greaser" Rosenzweig
against a coalition of independent gangsters headed by Philip "Pinchy" Paul
.
Following his release, Tanner decided to retire from crime in late 1914 and spent the next five years as a boss stevedore and contractor. In early 1919, he opened the Marginal Club above an Eighth Avenue saloon and apparently returned to his former criminal activities. On the night of July 26, 1919, Smith was playing poker
at the Marginal Club when he was shot in the back and killed by an unknown assailant. It was speculated by police that Smith had been murdered in an underworld "gang feud".
In the days following Smith's murder, Smith's followers went on a violent rampage in the underworld. George Lewis, a 21-year-old gang leader who had been feuding with Smith, was viciously attacked in Hoboken, New Jersey
on July 31. Robert "Rubber" Shaw, an underworld rival and last leader of the Hudson Dusters
, was killed shortly thereafter. On August 1, the District Attorney's office began rounding up members of Smith's organization and was prepared to charge at least two members with murder. Authorities in Hoboken followed suit taking several suspects in for questioning. Both the NYPD and the District Attorney's office believed that Shaw, Lewis and Link Mitchell, who had since fled the state, were responsible for Smith's murder and that friend's of Smith had retaliated by going after Lewis and Shaw. Under the direction of District Attorney Edward Swann
, Assistant District Attorney John F. Joyce stated that he intended to seek indictments and said "We have at least three persons who saw Shaw, Lewis, and a third man enter the Marginal Club, walk up behind Smith and begin shooting. Our records show that Lewis was released from Elmira Reformatory three months ago. He had been sent away for "sticking up" United Cigar Stores
. In some respects, the case may be similar to the Baff murder in West Washington Market five years ago."
The next day, a joint search was organized by both New York and New Jersey police to apprehend Lefty Curry and Michael Costello, a suspect in the then recent murder of underworld figure Rubber Shaw. Curry, according to Joyce, was seen leaving the Marginal Club shortly after Smith had been shot and that he had been shot in the leg.
Tanner was worth about $25,000 (although other sources claim he had as much as $100,000) at the time of his death, or so his mother claimed, however he left no will and an application for letter of administration was made on her behalf on August 14. The following day in Surrogate's Court, his brother applied to become temporary administrator of Tanner Smith's estate until his widow could appear in court. His brother claimed that Smith's widow had previously left him to marry another man and was living in South Brooklyn
under the name Mary O'Brien McGuire. Of the $25,000, about $15,000 had been deposited in Liberty Bonds and used as bail for Link Mitchell, then accused of robbery. Mitchell was later charged as an accessory to the murder of James Shore in Hoboken, New Jersey
, a suspect in the murder of Smith.
was declared by Judge Thomas C.T. Crain on July 1. The District Attorney's office announced that George Lewis would be tried again. Shortly before his third trial, in which he was to be charged with first degree murder, he instead pled guilty to manslaughter
on October 19 and was remanded to The Tombs
by Judge Otto A. Rosalsky.
Lewis was sentenced on November 4, 1920, having had initially been convicted and sentenced to serve between three to six years imprisonment by Judge Rosalsky, the maximum sentence allowable by law (as pertaining to his plea bargain
). However, Lewis protested the court's ruling and said "Your Honor, you can't do that. I've been in prison before. Only first offenders get the benefit of an indeterminate sentence. I'll have to take a flat sentence." Judge Rosalsky, having been unaware that Lewis had been previously convicted, promptly sentenced him to three years in Sing Sing
.
s Very Old Bones: The Albany Cycle Series (1992) by William Kennedy
, And All The Saints (2003) by Michael Walsh
and Firecrackers: A Realistic Novel (2007) by Carl Van Vechten
.
Marginals
The Marginals, also called the "Paddy Irish" gang, was a New York street gang during the early 1900s which, under stevedore Thomas F. "Tanner" Smith, succeeded the longtime Hudson Dusters from their territory of New York's Lower West Side....
, or "Irish Paddy Gang", which was active in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
and along the Hudson River waterfront
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
from around the turn of the century
Turn of the century
Turn of the century, in its broadest sense, refers to the transition from one century to another. The term is most often used to indicate a non-specific time period either before or after the beginning of a century....
until his murder in 1919. He was closely associated with Owney Madden
Owney Madden
Owney "The Killer" Madden was a leading underworld figure in Manhattan, most notable for his involvement in organized crime during Prohibition. He also ran the famous Cotton Club and was a leading boxing promoter in the 1930s.-Early life:Owen Vincent Madden was born at 25 Somerset Street, in...
and the Gophers
Gopher Gang
The Gopher Gang was an early 20th century New York street gang known for its members including Goo Goo Knox, James "Biff" Ellison, and Owney Madden...
, he and Madden briefly running the Winona Club together until the New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
closed the clubhouse around 1910.
Early life and the Marginals
Thomas F. Smith was born in Manhattan, New York around 1887, and worked as a "boss stevedoreStevedore
Stevedore, dockworker, docker, dock labourer, wharfie and longshoreman can have various waterfront-related meanings concerning loading and unloading ships, according to place and country....
" for much of his adult life. He was reportedly related to local ward district politicians and, in an editorial by the New York Tribune
New York Tribune
The New York Tribune was an American newspaper, first established by Horace Greeley in 1841, which was long considered one of the leading newspapers in the United States...
, "acquired his leadership of this gang because of petty political influences". Tanner Smith and the Maginals, sometimes allied with the Pearl Buttons and later the Gopher Gang
Gopher Gang
The Gopher Gang was an early 20th century New York street gang known for its members including Goo Goo Knox, James "Biff" Ellison, and Owney Madden...
, battled the Hudson Dusters
Hudson Dusters
The Hudson Dusters was a New York City street gang during the early twentieth century. Formed in the late 1890s by Circular Jack, Kid Yorke, and Goo Goo Knox the gang began operating from an apartment house on Hudson Street. Knox, a former member of the Gopher Gang, had fled after a failed attempt...
for control over the Hudson River waterfront
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
and eventually took over when the Hudson Dusters disappeared from the district. Tanner eventually made the Pearl Buttons junior partners of the Marginals.
Winona Club shootout
Tanner and Owney MaddenOwney Madden
Owney "The Killer" Madden was a leading underworld figure in Manhattan, most notable for his involvement in organized crime during Prohibition. He also ran the famous Cotton Club and was a leading boxing promoter in the 1930s.-Early life:Owen Vincent Madden was born at 25 Somerset Street, in...
, then leader of the Gopher Gang
Gopher Gang
The Gopher Gang was an early 20th century New York street gang known for its members including Goo Goo Knox, James "Biff" Ellison, and Owney Madden...
, had been allies against the Hudson Dusters
Hudson Dusters
The Hudson Dusters was a New York City street gang during the early twentieth century. Formed in the late 1890s by Circular Jack, Kid Yorke, and Goo Goo Knox the gang began operating from an apartment house on Hudson Street. Knox, a former member of the Gopher Gang, had fled after a failed attempt...
and eventually formed a close working relationship. Together they opened the Winona Club, a clubhouse intended to serve as a joint rendezvous and headquarters, located on West Forty-Seventh Street
47th Street (Manhattan)
47th Street is an east-west running street between First Avenue and the West Side Highway in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Traffic runs one way along the street, from east to west, starting at the United Nations Headquarters....
near Tenth Avenue. The gang's unruly behavior at the club soon disrupted life in the relatively well-to-do neighborhood as its members regularly "engaged in drunken revels and made the night hideous with the sound of their bickerings and brawlings".
The owner of the building, Dennis J. Keating, was a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
by trade and apparently had no knowledge of his tenants identities. Keating lived with his family on the ground floor and, when neighbors began complaining to him about the noise, he confronted the gang warning that he would have to evict them if they could not keep the noise down. Tanner and Smith, who had been "discussing affairs of state over a bottle of whiskey", were surrounded by a half dozen gang members from both sides "lounging about the room listening to the music of a piano thumbed by a gifted thug". Upon being confronted by their landlord, Madden turned around and replied "You'll put "me" out of your house? Mister, did you ever hear of Owney Madden? Yes? Well, Mister, I am Owney Madden!"
Keating retreated to his home downstairs and was afraid to report the gangsters to the police fearing for his family's safety. The Gophers were especially known for their violence against police informers. Instead, a tenant from a neighboring boarding house
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
ended up making a noise complaint and a police officer, Patrolman Sindt, from a local precinct were dispatched. Sindt quickly returned to the precinct when he discovered the occupants. He requested reinforcements from the precinct captain and a reserve squad under Detective Sergeant John J. O'Connell
John J. O'Connell
John J. O'Connell was an American law enforcement officer and police inspector with the New York City Police Department...
was sent out. Madden's spies informed their leader of their approach and by the time of O'Connell's arrival, the gangsters had already barricaded themselves inside. O'Connell's demand that they allow the police to enter the clubhouse was "greeted by threats and curses". O'Connell then walked up to the front door and banged on the front door with his club to which one of the gangsters fired out a window "and grazed a policeman's skull". Madden then called out to police threatening "We'll shoot the gizzard out of any cop who tries to get in here!".
O'Connell then ordered his men to withdraw around a corner and sent two patrolmen to gain entry to the building from the rear. The rest of the squad were then marched across the street, in full view of the gang, and O'Connell approached the club once again and started an argument with Madden and Tanner. While the rest of the gang crowded around the front windows to watch their leaders taunt the police, a rear window was left unguarded allowing the two patrolmen to sneak into the building. The two officers crept through the house until reaching the front room here the gang had gathered. They then rushed the gangsters in a surprise attack and the startled men were forced back momentarily. O'Connor immediately had his men break down the doors and within 15 minutes had placed all of the men under arrest and put them "handcuffed and bleeding" in a paddy wagon to a nearby precinct.
Legal battle against the NYPD
In court the next morning, both men were given light sentences. Madden, then still a minor, was "lectured by a benevolent judge" and placed under a $500 bond for six months. Tanner had also received minimal punishment and later gained an audience with then Mayor of New YorkMayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
William J. Gaynor where he showed his bruises to Gaynor and accused the arresting officers of police brutality
Police brutality
Police brutality is the intentional use of excessive force, usually physical, but potentially also in the form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer....
. It was this meeting that resulted in the passage of "Order No. 7", a directive issued by Mayor Gaynor which prohibited the use of a billy club unless the officer could prove his life was in danger.
In March 1910, Tanner made a formal complaint against Patrolmen William H. Noll, Charles G. Flaherty and Andrew Brown who were accused of violating "Order No. 7". He claimed that he had been celebrating New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
at a dance hall
Dance hall
Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub...
on Forty-Second Street
42nd Street (Manhattan)
42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known for its theaters, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square. It is also the name of the region of the theater district near that intersection...
and Eighth Avenue when the three officers, all on the staff of Inspector George W. McClusky
George W. McClusky
George W. McClusky or McCluskey was an American law enforcement officer and police inspector in the New York City Police Department...
of the Third District, threw him down a stairway while being ejected from the building. All three officers denied the allegation and claimed Smith fell down the stairs himself.
A number of people testified as character witnesses on the officers' behalf, several of them fellow police officers, however all three were fined on April 12, 1911. Noll and Flaherty were both fined 15 days pay while Brown was fined a full month. This case was part of a major grand jury investigation headed by First Assistant District Attorney Frank Moss
Frank Moss
Frank Edward Moss was a Democratic United States Senator from Utah. He represented Utah in the United States Senate from 1959 until 1977....
. Smith was later tried and convicted for shooting a police officer.
War with the Gophers
On June 19, 1914, Tanner was arrested by police during a running gunfight with a member of the Gopher Gang. A local officer, Patrolman Krozer, had heard four gunshots fired in West Twentieth Street, near Tenth Avenue, and went to investigate. When he reached West Twentieth Street, Krozer witnessed the gang leader, with a revolver in his hand, chasing after a rival Gopher. Krozer pursued Tanner to a vacant lot on Twentieth Street where Smith proceeded to fight with the officer. A second officer, Patrolman Derleph, arrived to help Krozer subdue Smith and place him under arrest. As they took him away, members of his gang showed up and threatened the officers but were kept at bay. Tanner, while being booked at the West Twentieth Street Precinct, challenged the desk lieutenant to fight and was later charged with felonious assault. It was believed by police that Tanner and his gang were at war with Madden and his Gophers for control of lower Westside Manhattan. Smith was sent to prison for carrying a revolver and served a year sentence.Retirement and murder
While in jail, many of the Marginals were arrested and imprisoned in The TombsThe Tombs
"The Tombs" is the colloquial name for the Manhattan Detention Complex, a jail in Lower Manhattan at 125 White Street, as well as the popular name of a series of preceding downtown jails, the first of which was built in 1838 in the Egyptian Revival style of architecture.The nickname has been used...
. Much of this was due to the NYPD's campaign against the city's street gangs, but also for some members connection to the First Labor Slugger War involving labor racketeers Benjamin "Dopey Benny" Fein and Joseph "Joe the Greaser" Rosenzweig
Joseph Rosenzweig
Joseph "Joe The Greaser" Rosenzweig was a Jewish American and New York labor racketeer in the early 1900s as an ally of "Dopey" Benny Fein during the labor slugger war from 1914-1917.-Biography:...
against a coalition of independent gangsters headed by Philip "Pinchy" Paul
Philip Paul
Philip "Pinchy" Paul was an early New York labor racketeer who led an alliance of independent labor sluggers in an attempt to break the monopoly long held by Joseph "Joe the Greaser" Rosenweig and Benjamin "Dopey Benny" Fein resulting the first labor sluggers war...
.
Following his release, Tanner decided to retire from crime in late 1914 and spent the next five years as a boss stevedore and contractor. In early 1919, he opened the Marginal Club above an Eighth Avenue saloon and apparently returned to his former criminal activities. On the night of July 26, 1919, Smith was playing poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
at the Marginal Club when he was shot in the back and killed by an unknown assailant. It was speculated by police that Smith had been murdered in an underworld "gang feud".
In the days following Smith's murder, Smith's followers went on a violent rampage in the underworld. George Lewis, a 21-year-old gang leader who had been feuding with Smith, was viciously attacked in Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
on July 31. Robert "Rubber" Shaw, an underworld rival and last leader of the Hudson Dusters
Hudson Dusters
The Hudson Dusters was a New York City street gang during the early twentieth century. Formed in the late 1890s by Circular Jack, Kid Yorke, and Goo Goo Knox the gang began operating from an apartment house on Hudson Street. Knox, a former member of the Gopher Gang, had fled after a failed attempt...
, was killed shortly thereafter. On August 1, the District Attorney's office began rounding up members of Smith's organization and was prepared to charge at least two members with murder. Authorities in Hoboken followed suit taking several suspects in for questioning. Both the NYPD and the District Attorney's office believed that Shaw, Lewis and Link Mitchell, who had since fled the state, were responsible for Smith's murder and that friend's of Smith had retaliated by going after Lewis and Shaw. Under the direction of District Attorney Edward Swann
Edward Swann
Edward Swann was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:...
, Assistant District Attorney John F. Joyce stated that he intended to seek indictments and said "We have at least three persons who saw Shaw, Lewis, and a third man enter the Marginal Club, walk up behind Smith and begin shooting. Our records show that Lewis was released from Elmira Reformatory three months ago. He had been sent away for "sticking up" United Cigar Stores
United Cigar Stores
United Cigar Stores was the largest chain of cigar stores in the United States. Though initially specializing in cigars, it eventually sold many other items, such as Mickey Mouse watches and shoe trees. The chain was founded in 1901. The chain represented the interests of the Consolidated Tobacco...
. In some respects, the case may be similar to the Baff murder in West Washington Market five years ago."
The next day, a joint search was organized by both New York and New Jersey police to apprehend Lefty Curry and Michael Costello, a suspect in the then recent murder of underworld figure Rubber Shaw. Curry, according to Joyce, was seen leaving the Marginal Club shortly after Smith had been shot and that he had been shot in the leg.
Tanner was worth about $25,000 (although other sources claim he had as much as $100,000) at the time of his death, or so his mother claimed, however he left no will and an application for letter of administration was made on her behalf on August 14. The following day in Surrogate's Court, his brother applied to become temporary administrator of Tanner Smith's estate until his widow could appear in court. His brother claimed that Smith's widow had previously left him to marry another man and was living in South Brooklyn
South Brooklyn
South Brooklyn is a region or composite neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, encompassing areas of Cobble Hill, Red Hook, Gowanus, Park Slope, and Boerum Hill. Thus it is roughly encompassed by Brooklyn Community Board 6, which in turn approximates the southern half of the 18th...
under the name Mary O'Brien McGuire. Of the $25,000, about $15,000 had been deposited in Liberty Bonds and used as bail for Link Mitchell, then accused of robbery. Mitchell was later charged as an accessory to the murder of James Shore in Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
, a suspect in the murder of Smith.
Aftermath
In 1920, George Lewis was arrested and charged with the murder of Smith. The first case had been ruled a mistrial by Judge William H. Wadhams when one of the jury members died after an illness on February 2. A second trial was held that summer, but after a week's deliberations, a hung juryHung jury
A hung jury or deadlocked jury is a jury that cannot, by the required voting threshold, agree upon a verdict after an extended period of deliberation and is unable to change its votes due to severe differences of opinion.- England and Wales :...
was declared by Judge Thomas C.T. Crain on July 1. The District Attorney's office announced that George Lewis would be tried again. Shortly before his third trial, in which he was to be charged with first degree murder, he instead pled guilty to manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
on October 19 and was remanded to The Tombs
The Tombs
"The Tombs" is the colloquial name for the Manhattan Detention Complex, a jail in Lower Manhattan at 125 White Street, as well as the popular name of a series of preceding downtown jails, the first of which was built in 1838 in the Egyptian Revival style of architecture.The nickname has been used...
by Judge Otto A. Rosalsky.
Lewis was sentenced on November 4, 1920, having had initially been convicted and sentenced to serve between three to six years imprisonment by Judge Rosalsky, the maximum sentence allowable by law (as pertaining to his plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
). However, Lewis protested the court's ruling and said "Your Honor, you can't do that. I've been in prison before. Only first offenders get the benefit of an indeterminate sentence. I'll have to take a flat sentence." Judge Rosalsky, having been unaware that Lewis had been previously convicted, promptly sentenced him to three years in Sing Sing
Sing Sing
Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services in the town of Ossining, New York...
.
In popular culture
Smith is portrayed in the historical novelHistorical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
s Very Old Bones: The Albany Cycle Series (1992) by William Kennedy
William Kennedy (author)
William Joseph Kennedy is an American writer and journalist born and raised in Albany, New York. Many of his novels feature the interaction of members of the fictional Irish-American Phelan family, and make use of incidents of Albany's history and the supernatural...
, And All The Saints (2003) by Michael Walsh
Michael Walsh
- Sportspeople :* Michael Walsh , retired English soccer player* Michael Walsh , English football player with Bangor City who played professionally for Chester City...
and Firecrackers: A Realistic Novel (2007) by Carl Van Vechten
Carl van Vechten
Carl Van Vechten was an American writer and photographer who was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary executor of Gertrude Stein.-Biography:...
.
Further reading
- Thompson, Craig and Allen Raymond. Gang Rule in New York: The Story of a Lawless Era. New York: Dial Press, 1940.