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350:'s, everything to the east. Tammany Hall wanted a neutral area between them to be off-limits. When the gangs fought openly over the territory, attracting police attention and civic outrage when civilians were wounded, Tammany Hall called Kelly and Eastman to a sit-down meeting. Officials ordered them to have a boxing match to settle the issue. The winner would take control of the prized neutral territory, and the war would end. Both parties agreed, and Kelly and Eastman duked it out, but the fight ended in a draw. The gangs resumed warfare.
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374:, tried to kill him at his New Brighton headquarters. Kelly, drinking with bodyguards Bill Harrington and Rough House Hogan, returned their fire. Harrington died protecting Kelly. Riley and Ellison escaped, and a wounded Kelly was taken to a private hospital before he could be arrested. Kelly turned himself in a month later, but charges were dropped due to his political connections.
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335:, whose gang of more than 2,000 controlled New York's Lower East Side. Eastman, an old-fashioned thug of the 19th century, was the opposite of the "cultured" Kelly. While both gangs were under the control of Tammany Hall, the gangs frequently had armed conflict among their members for control of the "neutral" territory along the Bowery.
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Eastman was arrested for robbing a man on the West Side who was being tailed by
Pinkerton detectives hired by his family to protect him. Eastman was convicted of robbery, and Tammany Hall, eager to end the warfare between the gangs, declined to provide protection. Eastman was sentenced to 10 years in
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Foley was the challenger, not the incumbent. The Second
District already had numerous houses of prostitution as Divver, a judge and longtime Tammany leader had to know. Divver was reported to have drawn a pistol on a personal enemy. Kelly later gained control of the vice districts of the Fourth and
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in the early twentieth century, which also had ties with
Tammany Hall, Kelly and Eastman were ordered by the politicians to end their competition with a boxing match. It ended in a draw. Tammany Hall politicians finally withdrew protection for Eastman, who was convicted and imprisoned on larceny
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During a brawl between members of the two factions, Kelly punched Jack
Shimsky in the nose. Shimsky, one of Eastman's best subordinates, sought revenge by challenging Kelly to a boxing match. Despite his short stature (5' 2") and slender build, Kelly won the fight. He knocked out Shimsky (a 6',
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out of the Fourth Ward during the 1901 Second
Assembly District primary elections. On the day of the primary on September 17, Kelly's gang of over 1,500 men assaulted Divver supporters, blocked polling booths, and committed numerous acts of voter fraud to win the election for Foley. Some voted
201:, to Michele Vaccarelli and Angela LaCava. His family moved back and forth between Italy and the United States, before finally settling in New York City. He worked as a longshoreman in the early 1890s and later as a clerk in an Italian bank. He spent his nights frequenting
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Kelly/Vaccarelli was expelled from the ILA in 1919, but returned to it later that year. He took leadership of a spontaneous port-wide strike begun in protest against a wage increase of only five cents an hour, which management had agreed to. With the support of Mayor
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newspaper as one of the "fastest and cleanest little boxers in the business". He used his boxing earnings to open brothels and athletic clubs, growing a number of followers. The clubs served as front organizations for young hoodlums, forming the nucleus of the
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Known for his high culture and gentle manners, Kelly is considered the first in the United States to organize crime on a business model. He cultivated a distinguished and sophisticated image, in contrast to the brutish attitude of his peers.
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and served nine months in jail. On release, Kelly formed the Paul Kelly
Association, an athletic club which he used to recruit younger men for his criminal organization. The headquarters were located at 24 Stanton Street.
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division. Around this time he changed his name to Paul Kelly, for association with the politically dominant, ethnic Irish politicians. His career was short and quite successful. In 1897 he was described by the
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Ellison was arrested in 1911, convicted, and sent to prison. He became mentally ill and was placed in an asylum, where he died. Riley was found by police, dead from pneumonia, in his basement hideout in
283:(between Lafayette and Bowery). Kelly charmed socialites and other prominent citizens who frequented his club. Always well dressed, Kelly spoke Italian, French and Spanish fluently, and appreciated
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Tammany Hall also put pressure on Kelly to lower his profile as it sought to clean up the Bowery. After Kelly closed the New
Brighton, he moved operations to the Italian immigrant communities in
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251:, Kelly was alleged to have used his gang to help elect Tom Foley against Tammany Hall incumbent Paddy Divver. The latter was a local saloon owner campaigning to keep the
291:. His educated and sophisticated persona impressed many of New York's elite. During that time, Kelly's organization expanded into other parts of Manhattan and parts of
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With
Eastman's arrest, Kelly completely controlled New York. He had internal competition, and in November 1905, Kelly's former lieutenants, Pat "Razor" Riley and
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in 1912 as "perhaps the most successful and the most influential gangster in New York history". Kelly was said to support election of
Democratic
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closing the New
Brighton for the protection of its socialite regulars. This marked the decline of Kelly's dominance in the New York underworld.
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charges in 1904. Kelly lost support when politicians wanted to clean up the Bowery. Gradually he became involved in rackets of the
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in New York City. He had started some brothels with prize money earned in boxing. Five Points Gang was one of the last dominant
430:, Kelly was appointed to a commission to resolve the strike. He ended it but did not achieve any concessions for the strikers.
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Kelly became a labor racketeer, providing muscle in labor disputes during the 1920s. He died of natural causes in 1936.
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refers to him as "the real father of organized crime in America" and "the first modern-day underworld boss".
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451:(1969), features Kelly in the first third of the novel. He explores a young super-criminal who invented
127:. The Five Points Gang included some who later became prominent criminals in their own right, including
382:. The negative publicity from the attempted assassination resulted in the New York Police Commissioner
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230-pound man) in the third round. An unconscious Shimsky was carried out of the ring by his seconds.
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history. Kelly recruited young, poor men from the ethnically diverse immigrant neighborhoods of
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Thomas Hunt, Justin Cascio, Patrick Downey, Michael O'Haire, Steve Turner, Matt Ghiglieri,
213:, where he reportedly became involved in gang fights. Vaccarelli started as a boxer in the
111:; December 23, 1876 – April 3, 1936) was an Italian-born American mobster, who founded the
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Sixth Wards, including prostitution, and controlled a virtual criminal monopoly in the
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He soon opened the New Brighton Athletic Club, a two-story cafe and dance hall at 57
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Reds or Rackets? The Making of Radical and Conservative Unions on the Waterfront
418:(ILA) under his Americanized birth name of Paul Vaccarelli. He was based in the
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several times during the day; one gang member claimed that "I got in 53 votes."
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The New Brighton/Little Naples Cafe, main clubhouse of Kelly's Five Points Gang
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Gangster City: The History of the New York Underworld 1900-1935
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features Kelly as a character in his historical crime novel
648:"The Alienist: Antonio Magro to Recur on TNT's New Series"
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At the peak of his criminal career, Kelly was ranked by
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Manhattan Mafia Guide: Hits, Homes & Headquarters
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Manhattan Mafia Guide: Hits, Homes & Headquarters
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politicians with his gang's activities at elections.
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The Great Pictorial History of World Crime, Volume 2
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The Great Pictorial History of World Crime, Volume 2
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The Great Pictorial History of World Crime, Volume 2
624:, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2010, p.104-105
346:controlled the area to the west of the Bowery, and
523:American Gangsters, Then and Now: An Encyclopedia
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622:Monk Eastman: The Gangster Who Became a War Hero
536:"The Real Father of Organized Crime in America"
692:American Mafia: A History of Its Rise to Power
295:. Some of his top gunmen, such as "Kid Twist"
327:(left) at the Kelly's dive bar "New Brighton"
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455:and organized crime for his private profit.
416:International Longshoremen's Association
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680:, University of California Press, 1988.
496:Gangsters of New York's Lower East Side
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471:, Kelly is portrayed by Antonio Magro.
760:American gangsters of Italian descent
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303:, became alienated, defecting to the
197:, a village in the Italian region of
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323:Paul Kelly (right) and his henchman
765:People from the Province of Potenza
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163:After open street warfare with the
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770:People from Five Points, Manhattan
755:American people of Italian descent
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512:, Infobase Publishing, 2006, p.168
109:Francesco Paolo Antonio Vaccarelli
45:Francesco Paolo Antonio Vaccarelli
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267:In 1903 Kelly was arrested for
687:, Barricade Books, 2004, 2009.
637:, Scarecrow Press, 2004, p.474
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578:, Scarecrow Press, 2004, p.472
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398:Paul Kelly, illustration by
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565:, Arcadia Publishing, 2011
315:Rivalry with Monk Eastman
311:, went out on their own.
243:Offering his services to
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35:Paul Kelly in early 1900s
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694:, Holt Paperbacks, 2004.
525:, ABC-CLIO, 2009, p.123
368:James T. "Biff" Ellison
331:Kelly's main rival was
63:April 3, 1936 (aged 59)
510:The Mafia Encyclopedia
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469:TV series adaptation
467:(1994). In the 2018
676:Kimeldorf, Howard,
253:red-light districts
94:Assault and robbery
652:tvseriesfinale.com
437:In popular culture
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301:Richie Fitzpatrick
281:Great Jones Street
249:"Big" Tim Sullivan
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153:The New York Times
690:Repetto, Thomas.
683:Downey, Patrick.
633:Jay Robert Nash,
607:Jay Robert Nash,
574:Jay Robert Nash,
540:annalsofcrime.com
400:William Oberhardt
220:Bridgeport Herald
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16:American criminal
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170:longshoremen
165:Eastman Gang
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145:Frankie Yale
141:Meyer Lansky
117:street gangs
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745:1936 deaths
740:1876 births
545:January 22,
453:Prohibition
390:Final years
372:Gopher Gang
262:Five Points
247:politician
734:Categories
721:Paul Kelly
476:References
459:Caleb Carr
293:New Jersey
199:Basilicata
189:Early life
172:'s union.
105:Paul Kelly
23:Paul Kelly
448:Mile High
445:'s novel
380:Chinatown
211:Manhattan
203:dive bars
184:Biography
133:Al Capone
412:Brooklyn
342:Kelly's
285:fine art
121:New York
658:May 28,
420:Chelsea
348:Eastman
273:robbery
269:assault
205:in the
54:, Italy
499:, 2023
422:area.
408:Harlem
402:, 1909
207:Bowery
107:(born
69:, U.S.
660:2018
547:2020
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