Irving Feinstein
Encyclopedia
Irving "Puggy" Feinstein (ca. 1910-September 5, 1939) was a New York mobster involved in illegal gambling labor racketeering with Louis "Lepke" Buchalter
. Puggy had made the mistake of attempting to move into turf which was not his own. He was later murdered by several members of Murder Inc. including Abe Reles
, Martin Goldstein
, and Harry Strauss
.
The murder occurred in the living room of Reles's own house on E. 91 St. in Brooklyn
. While Harry Strauss was icepicking Puggy Feinstein to death, Puggy fought back valiantly and took a few good chomps out of Strauss's finger. Irate over the turn of events, Strauss and a few of his coworkers decided to make Feinstein's demise more painful and lengthened. They did so by a process which incorporates a rope being looped around the victims neck and feet, so that as he struggled, he would slowly strangle himself. Still aggravated over the wound on his finger, Strauss and his associates took the body to a vacant lot and set it on fire.
Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss
was eventually indicted for his murder, due in part to the testimony of Reles, and sentenced to death on May 10, 1939. In his court testimony, Reles explained that the hit was carried out by Murder Inc for New York mobster, Albert Anastasia
. He also said that Puggy had doublecrossed Vincent Mangano
, the boss of the Mangano family
, which Anastasia belonged to.
Louis Buchalter
Louis "Lepke" Buchalter was a Jewish American mobster and head of the Mafia hit squad Murder, Inc. during the 1930s. After Dutch Schultz' request of the Mafia Commission for permission to kill his enemy, U.S. Attorney Thomas Dewey, the Commission decided to kill Schultz in order to prevent the hit...
. Puggy had made the mistake of attempting to move into turf which was not his own. He was later murdered by several members of Murder Inc. including Abe Reles
Abe Reles
Abe "Kid Twist" Reles was a New York mobster who was widely considered the most feared hit man for Murder, Inc., the enforcement contractor for the National Crime Syndicate. Reles later turned government witness and sent several members of Murder, Inc...
, Martin Goldstein
Martin Goldstein
Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein was a member of a gang of hitmen, operating out of Brooklyn, New York in the 1930s, known as Murder, Inc.....
, and Harry Strauss
Harry Strauss
Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss was a prolific contract killer for Murder, Inc. in the 1930s. He killed over thirty men using a variety of methods; shooting, stabbing with ice picks, drowning, live burial and strangling rope. Strauss never carried a weapon unless he was about to make a hit.Most...
.
The murder occurred in the living room of Reles's own house on E. 91 St. in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. While Harry Strauss was icepicking Puggy Feinstein to death, Puggy fought back valiantly and took a few good chomps out of Strauss's finger. Irate over the turn of events, Strauss and a few of his coworkers decided to make Feinstein's demise more painful and lengthened. They did so by a process which incorporates a rope being looped around the victims neck and feet, so that as he struggled, he would slowly strangle himself. Still aggravated over the wound on his finger, Strauss and his associates took the body to a vacant lot and set it on fire.
Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss
Harry Strauss
Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss was a prolific contract killer for Murder, Inc. in the 1930s. He killed over thirty men using a variety of methods; shooting, stabbing with ice picks, drowning, live burial and strangling rope. Strauss never carried a weapon unless he was about to make a hit.Most...
was eventually indicted for his murder, due in part to the testimony of Reles, and sentenced to death on May 10, 1939. In his court testimony, Reles explained that the hit was carried out by Murder Inc for New York mobster, Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia was boss of what is now called the Gambino crime family, one of New York City's Five Families, from 1951-1957. He also ran a gang of contract killers called Murder Inc. which enforced the decisions of the Commission, the ruling council of the American Mafia...
. He also said that Puggy had doublecrossed Vincent Mangano
Vincent Mangano
Vincent Mangano , born Vincenzo Giovanni Mangano, also known as "The Executioner" as he was named in a Brooklyn newspaper, was the head of the Mangano crime family from 1931 to 1951. His brother Philip Mangano was his right hand man and de facto, or substituto, underboss of the crime family which...
, the boss of the Mangano family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
, which Anastasia belonged to.
Further reading
- Block, Alan A. East Side-West Side: Organizing Crime in New York, 1930-1950. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1983. ISBN 0-87855-931-0
- Cohen, Rich. Tough Jews: Fathers, Sons, and Gangster Dreams. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. ISBN 0-684-83115-5
- Flowers, R. Barrie and H. Loraine. Murders in the United States: Crimes, Killers and Victims of the Twentieth Century. McFarland & Company, 2004. ISBN 0786420758
- Turkus, Burton B. and Sid Feder. Murder, Inc: The Story of "the Syndicate". New York: Da Capo Press, 2003. ISBN 0-306-81288-6