When Madden was paroled in 1923, Prohibition was in place, and "But Madden quickly adjusted to these new conditions and honed himself a cordial and smooth gangster. Despite his prison record and present activities, he numbered among his friends Walter Winchell, Damon Runyan, and Mark Hellinger. He also knew almost every ranking cop and politician in the city, including Mayor Jimmy Walker. By 1925, Madden had acquired the Phoenix Brewery on Tenth Avenue between 25th and 26th Streets. Prohibition agents often closed the plant, but time and again, like the legendary bird, it reopened for production. From this plant Madden's gang supplied the East Coast with several hundred thousand gallons of beer which bore the personalized name of Madden's #1. Allegedly, Madden had such good protection that when federal agents tried to raid the Phoenix the building was protected by a squad of city cops. Not only had he his own brewery, but he owned several nightclubs, including Harlem's Cotton Club, and held substantial interests in Broadway shows, such as Mae West's Diamond Lil, of which he held over fifty percent. In sports he later masterminded the complex career of Primo Carnera, who through devious means became heavyweight champion of the world and earned his backers almost a million dollars." What is obvious from this is that Madden had a very high profile on the New York scene. This strikes me as running counter to the mad dog killer stereotype, but of course is not definitive evidence, but then there is no convincing evidence for the mad dog killer image either.
"And another man named Madden moving around mysteriously." The man the authorities came to blame for something that he never done, but one time he could have been" Public Enemy Number !:yep
Do you think the fact that he was largely unmolested by the police in latter years, might have had something to do with $$$$$$?:think
"Public Enemy Number 1" Here are a few names-- Oscar Vogt, Vincenzo Campanelli, Robert Kane, Lee Dock, Eng Hing, Giuseppe Gino, Vincenzo Buoninsegno, Joseph Fern, David Dunn, Charles Becker, Samuel Haynes, Karol Draniewicz, William Perry, Lewis Roach, Antonio Selemne, Thomas Tarpey, Pasquale Vendetti, Worthy Tolley, Ludwig Marquardt What do they have in common? They were all executed in New York State in 1915, the year Owney Madden got 10 to 20 for manslaughter, of which he served eight years. When it comes right down to it, the real evidence falls quite a bit short of Madden being the Public Enemy #1, even if there had been such a term in 1915.
Oh, sure, but he wasn't the only guy with money. A crucial aspect was that Madden stayed within certain bounds--bootlegging and gambling, plus legit businesses like nightclubs. His big businesses seems to have been beer for the adults and milk for the kids. He was smart enough, or simply restrained enough, to stay away from killings which would have created a public demand for his head. He was not a foaming at the mouth out of control killer as the later hysterical hack writers imply.
i'm assuming the 5 killings mentioned was after he was shot in a club, whilst obviosly involved i wouldn't think it likely he was the shooter so soon after suffering such serious injuries himself. gangster and killer certainly, but that discribes don king too
[url]http://media.sinematurk.com/person/d/01/f57aa538a6c5/resolve.jpg[/url] Carnera was known for his bizarre sense of humor and readily lent himself to frivolity. He played a funny role in the movie "Mighty Joe Young" and furthered his image with that not-so-classic role. No real mystery here.