Mike McGloin
Encyclopedia
Mike McGloin was a 19th century criminal and leader of the Whyos
, a New York City
street gang.
, Piker Ryan and others of the previous decade, McGloin terrorized New York's Westside, particularly Hell's Kitchen throughout the last years of the 1870s.
On the night of December 29, 1881, four members of the Whyos (presumably including McGloin) entered a local Hell's Kitchen
tavern owned by Louis Hanier. As one of the men asked to change a $10 bill, another man suddenly became ill and tried to get behind the bar. Asking the men to leave, there was no further incident until around midnight when Hanier closed the bar and went upstairs to bed. Sometime around 2:00 am, Hanier's wife reported hearing noises coming from downstairs. When Hanier attempted to investigate, he was shot and killed by an unidentified gunman.
Led by NYPD
police superintendent Inspector Thomas F. Byrnes, police investigation was able to trace the murder weapon, a 38. caliber pistol, to a pawn shop on Ninth Avenue, which had previously been owned by McGloin. However attempts to gain further evidence against him, including assigning a woman to live with the 19 year old gang leader in the hopes of gaining a confession, proved fruitless as further attempts proved inconclusive.
Byrnes, accompanied by Captain Williams and six other officers, raided the Whyos headquarters, arresting gang members Thomas Moran, Frederick Banfield, and Robert Morrisey on January 31, 1882. McGloin, convinced that the other members would testify against him, admitted to breaking into the tavern and killing Hanier, however, he claimed self-defense, believing Hanier was armed. On March 1, McGloin was tried alongside Moran and Morrisey and, after eleven minutes of discussion among the jury, McGloin was convicted by the General Sessions of first degree murder and sentenced to death while Moran and Morrisey received eight years imprisonment for burglary. Despite being granted a stay of execution after several pleas for appeal, McGloin was hanged
in The Tombs
on March 8, 1883.
Whyos
The Whyos, a collection of the various post-Civil War street gangs of New York, was the city's dominant street gang during the late 19th century. The gang controlled most of Manhattan from the late 1860s until the early 1890s, when the Monk Eastman Gang defeated the last of the Whyos...
, a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
street gang.
Overview
An early member of the Whyos, Michael McGloin would rise to become leader of the gang by the late 1870s. Continuing the ruthless tactics of his predecessors "Dandy" Jim DolanJohnny Dolan
"Dandy" Johnny Dolan was a New York City murderer and reputed leader of the Whyos street gang.-Inventive:...
, Piker Ryan and others of the previous decade, McGloin terrorized New York's Westside, particularly Hell's Kitchen throughout the last years of the 1870s.
On the night of December 29, 1881, four members of the Whyos (presumably including McGloin) entered a local Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
tavern owned by Louis Hanier. As one of the men asked to change a $10 bill, another man suddenly became ill and tried to get behind the bar. Asking the men to leave, there was no further incident until around midnight when Hanier closed the bar and went upstairs to bed. Sometime around 2:00 am, Hanier's wife reported hearing noises coming from downstairs. When Hanier attempted to investigate, he was shot and killed by an unidentified gunman.
Led by NYPD
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...
police superintendent Inspector Thomas F. Byrnes, police investigation was able to trace the murder weapon, a 38. caliber pistol, to a pawn shop on Ninth Avenue, which had previously been owned by McGloin. However attempts to gain further evidence against him, including assigning a woman to live with the 19 year old gang leader in the hopes of gaining a confession, proved fruitless as further attempts proved inconclusive.
Byrnes, accompanied by Captain Williams and six other officers, raided the Whyos headquarters, arresting gang members Thomas Moran, Frederick Banfield, and Robert Morrisey on January 31, 1882. McGloin, convinced that the other members would testify against him, admitted to breaking into the tavern and killing Hanier, however, he claimed self-defense, believing Hanier was armed. On March 1, McGloin was tried alongside Moran and Morrisey and, after eleven minutes of discussion among the jury, McGloin was convicted by the General Sessions of first degree murder and sentenced to death while Moran and Morrisey received eight years imprisonment for burglary. Despite being granted a stay of execution after several pleas for appeal, McGloin was hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
in 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...
on March 8, 1883.
Further reading
- Barton, George. True Exploits of Famous Detectives (True Stories of Celebrated Crimes), New York: McKinley Stone & MacKensie, 1909.
- Carey, Arthur A. Memoirs of a Murder Man. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran and Co., 1930.