On this day in 1965 the owner of the Cotton Club and Prohibition era bootlegger, Owney Madden passed away at the age of 73.

During 1912 Madden was set upon by 3 mobsters of the Dusters (a rival gang), he was lucky to survive having been shot at point blank range with several bullets entering his body as he lay bleeding at the table of a dance hall. He refused to name the hitmen, but a couple of years later he plotted a hit on the leader of the Dusters, the hit was successful.

Owney was later found guilty and was sentenced to 20 years at Sing Sing, he spent just 9 of them behind bars.

His nickname, was ‘The Killer’.

NCS
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