Spanish Louie
Encyclopedia
John Lewis better known by his alias Indian or Spanish Louie (Lewis), was an American criminal and member of the Humpty Jackson Gang, serving as the gang leader's longtime lieutenant from around the turn of the century
until his murder in either 1900 or 1910. His death was the first recorded use of a drive by shooting
as a means of gangland execution in New York City
.
, although his background remained a mystery to both the underworld and authorities for much of his life. Lewis did not have a criminal record with the New York City Police Department
and was one of the few underworld figures to have avoided being "booked" by the famed Central Office despite being investigated for an unsolved homicide. It was the Mulberry Police Precinct that investigated this claim, at the time mostly based on rumor but one which he had admitted to, yet was cleared after finding no evidence to substantiate these claims.
He first became known as an up-and-coming thug for hire from the Lower East Side
and began frequenting "Big" Jack Zelig
's club in Chatham Square around 1900. Lewis was also a regular at Barney Flynn's and Mike Salter
's establishments as well as the Chatham Club. He was nicknamed Spanish Louie by friends and associates to distinguish him from the many other East Side gangsters who shared that name. He was also called Indian Louie which was attributed to his "dark skin, black eyes, thin lips, high cheek-bones and high curved nose". This, along with his penchant for wearing a black sombrero
and similarly styled clothing, started the rumor that he had come from South America and was "of Spanish or Portuguese extraction". It was also said that he had served in the military but these rumors "failed to name the regiment or the ship".
Lewis never confirmed or denied the rumors although he occasionally made vague comments mentioning "his noble Spanish and Portuguese forefathers, and also let it be known that the hot blood of Indian chieftains flowed in his veins, and that he had inherited all the vices and none of the virtue of the red man". Tall tales
of his supposed "feats" were often told in dive bar
s throughout Chinatown
and the Bowery, and the New York Times once described him as "big bodied and muscular and could deliver more knockouts with his right than any man his size or double it for that matter", but there was always a certain degree of suspicion from his underworld contemporaries. He was never short on money, supposedly having "no fewer than three girls walking the streets for him", but was rarely known to engage in violent crime and his lack of a police record caused some to wonder if his personality was all an act. Sardinia Frank, a Mulberry Bend thug who killed celebrated bouncer
"Eat-'em-Up" Jack McManus
in 1905, said following his death that "he was a bluff; he wasn't th' goods. He went around wit' his hat over his eyes, bulldozin' everybody he could, an' lettin' on to be a hero. An' he's got what heroes get."
Lewis was sometimes referred to as "the best shot on the East Side" or "the deadest of dead shots", and he was often seen wearing a brace of Colt revolvers, although there is no record of his ever having used them. There is only one incident in which Lewis displayed his skill when he led a robbery of Valenski's stuss house
on Third Avenue near Fourteenth Street. Lewis single-handedly held the customers at bay while his accomplices looted the safe stealing $380 in all. The money was returned two days later, Lewis claiming the robbery was a practical joke
, but many thought Lewis had been forced to give back the money by "one high in politics and power" and his reputation suffered because of this belief.
near the Bowery
. Charlie had been brutally murdered, his throat having been slashed, and it was claimed by a police informer known as "the Ghost" that Lewis was responsible. This was highly doubted in the underworld, Lewis well-known for being a mercenary, and would have had no motive to kill a penniless drug addict. Nevertheless, Lewis was picked up by two plainclothes detectives from the Eldridge Police Precinct. Lewis was never told why he was arrested and neither was he officially booked, given their evidence relied mainly on hearsay
, investigators wanted to gather more evidence before pressing charges.
His revolvers and a seven-inch knife, found inside his waistcoat, were confiscated when he was brought in. The desk sergeant remarked that the gangster's knife could have been the possible murder weapon although it was later found that the knife had not been recently used. The detectives hoped to get a confession out of Lewis and, having yet to inform him as to why he had been arrested, they put him in the back of a paddy wagon and drove him to the city morgue. Once there, they took Lewis inside and showed him the mutilated body of Crazy Charlie hoping to frighten a confession from him. Yet Lewis "nether started nor exclaimed" and instead took out a cigarette and turned to one of the detectives for a match. When one of the detectives pointed out the body and asked "Do you see this?", Lewis replied "Yes. Also, I'll tell you bulls another thing. You think to rattle me. Say, for ten cents I'd sit on this stiff all night an' smoke a pipe." Seeing their attempt to bluff Lewis had failed, the detectives let him go.
In November 1909 a pickpocket named Jacob Lavine was drinking with a woman known to be "Spanish Louie's"; Louie wounded Lavine; when Lavine refused to appear against Louie, Louie was fined $10.00 {or $25.00} for carrying a concealed weapon December 30, 1909
.
Although killed in an underworld dispute, there seems to be some confusion as to the date and circumstances of his death. One account claims he was killed in 1900 by The Grabber, a fellow lieutenant of Humpty Jackson, after Lewis withheld his share from the proceeds of a Tammany Hall
fundraiser they had co-hosted. According to a second version, Lewis was shot to death in a drive-by shooting
by the Lenox Avenue Gang
, on the orders of Jack Zelig
, on the night of April 29, 1910. Lewis had been hired by Herman Rosenthal in 1909 to beat up one of his rivals, Bridgie Webber. Lewis was later targeted to be killed because of his association with Rosenthal and, after being lured to his East Eleventh Street apartment late one evening, several men in a passing Pierce Arrow called out to him as he stood on the doorstep. The men opened fire and Lewis was killed as he ran towards a side street.
"Spanish Louie's" April 2, 1910 Obituary at
s including Before My Life Began (1985) by Jay Neugeboren, Dreamland
(1999) by Kevin Baker
and Cityside (2003) by William Heffernan
.
Turn of the century
Turn of the century, in its broadest sense, refers to the transition from one century to another. The term is most often used to indicate a non-specific time period either before or after the beginning of a century....
until his murder in either 1900 or 1910. His death was the first recorded use of a drive by shooting
Drive by Shooting
Drive by Shooting is a hardcore punk solo E.P. by Henry Rollins, credited to "Henrietta Collins & The Wife-Beating Child-Haters", which served as a pre-cursor to the Rollins Band. This recording features a Wire cover, a re-vision of a Queen song and a parody of a Beach Boys style song...
as a means of gangland execution in 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...
.
Early years in the New York underworld
John Lewis was born in New York CityNew 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...
, although his background remained a mystery to both the underworld and authorities for much of his life. Lewis did not have a criminal record with the New York City Police Department
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...
and was one of the few underworld figures to have avoided being "booked" by the famed Central Office despite being investigated for an unsolved homicide. It was the Mulberry Police Precinct that investigated this claim, at the time mostly based on rumor but one which he had admitted to, yet was cleared after finding no evidence to substantiate these claims.
He first became known as an up-and-coming thug for hire from the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
and began frequenting "Big" Jack Zelig
Jack Zelig
"Big" Jack Zelig was a Jewish American New York City gangster and one of the last leaders of the Monk Eastman Gang.-Early years & the Eastmans:...
's club in Chatham Square around 1900. Lewis was also a regular at Barney Flynn's and Mike Salter
Mike Salter
Michael Salter was an American saloon keeper, ward heeler and underworld figure in New York City.-Biography:...
's establishments as well as the Chatham Club. He was nicknamed Spanish Louie by friends and associates to distinguish him from the many other East Side gangsters who shared that name. He was also called Indian Louie which was attributed to his "dark skin, black eyes, thin lips, high cheek-bones and high curved nose". This, along with his penchant for wearing a black sombrero
Sombrero
Sombrero in English refers to a type of wide-brimmed hat originating in Mexico. In Spanish, however, it is the generic word for "hat", which originates from "sombra", meaning "shade"....
and similarly styled clothing, started the rumor that he had come from South America and was "of Spanish or Portuguese extraction". It was also said that he had served in the military but these rumors "failed to name the regiment or the ship".
Lewis never confirmed or denied the rumors although he occasionally made vague comments mentioning "his noble Spanish and Portuguese forefathers, and also let it be known that the hot blood of Indian chieftains flowed in his veins, and that he had inherited all the vices and none of the virtue of the red man". Tall tales
Tall Tales
Tall Tales may refer to:* Tall Tales , 2004* Tall Tales , by American band The Hot Club of Cowtown* "Tall Tales" , an episode of the television series Supernatural-See also:...
of his supposed "feats" were often told in dive bar
Dive bar
A dive bar is a type of bar or pub. Dive bars generally have a relaxed and informal atmosphere—they are often referred to by local residents as "neighborhood bars," where people in the neighborhood gather to drink and socialize...
s throughout Chinatown
Chinatown, Manhattan
Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
and the Bowery, and the New York Times once described him as "big bodied and muscular and could deliver more knockouts with his right than any man his size or double it for that matter", but there was always a certain degree of suspicion from his underworld contemporaries. He was never short on money, supposedly having "no fewer than three girls walking the streets for him", but was rarely known to engage in violent crime and his lack of a police record caused some to wonder if his personality was all an act. Sardinia Frank, a Mulberry Bend thug who killed celebrated bouncer
Bouncer (doorman)
A bouncer is an informal term for a type of security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or attractiveness...
"Eat-'em-Up" Jack McManus
Jack McManus
Jack McManus , also known as "Eat 'Em Up", was a noted New York City gangster around the turn of the 20th century.Noted as one of the premier boxers of the underworld, rivaled only by Monk Eastman, McManus started off as a prize fighter only to begin work in as a bouncer in the dives of lower...
in 1905, said following his death that "he was a bluff; he wasn't th' goods. He went around wit' his hat over his eyes, bulldozin' everybody he could, an' lettin' on to be a hero. An' he's got what heroes get."
Lewis was sometimes referred to as "the best shot on the East Side" or "the deadest of dead shots", and he was often seen wearing a brace of Colt revolvers, although there is no record of his ever having used them. There is only one incident in which Lewis displayed his skill when he led a robbery of Valenski's stuss house
Stuss
Stuss is a card game, a variant of faro. In this version the cards are dealt from the dealer's hand, not from a shoe. Also, the house won all the money when drawing two equal cards, as opposed to half in traditional faro...
on Third Avenue near Fourteenth Street. Lewis single-handedly held the customers at bay while his accomplices looted the safe stealing $380 in all. The money was returned two days later, Lewis claiming the robbery was a practical joke
Practical joke
A practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or...
, but many thought Lewis had been forced to give back the money by "one high in politics and power" and his reputation suffered because of this belief.
Murder of Crazy Charlie
Soon afterwards, a "Bowery Bum" known as Crazy Charlie was found dead in the mouth of a passageway off Mulberry StreetMulberry Street (Manhattan)
Mulberry Street is a principal thoroughfare in Manhattan, New York. The street was listed on maps of the area since at least 1755. The "Bend" in Mulberry in which the street changes direction from southwest to northeast to a northerly direction was to avoid the wetlands surrounding the Collect Pond...
near the Bowery
Bowery
Bowery may refer to:Streets:* The Bowery, a thoroughfare in Manhattan, New York City* Bowery Street is a street on Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y.In popular culture:* Bowery Amphitheatre, a building on the Bowery in New York City...
. Charlie had been brutally murdered, his throat having been slashed, and it was claimed by a police informer known as "the Ghost" that Lewis was responsible. This was highly doubted in the underworld, Lewis well-known for being a mercenary, and would have had no motive to kill a penniless drug addict. Nevertheless, Lewis was picked up by two plainclothes detectives from the Eldridge Police Precinct. Lewis was never told why he was arrested and neither was he officially booked, given their evidence relied mainly on hearsay
Hearsay
Hearsay is information gathered by one person from another person concerning some event, condition, or thing of which the first person had no direct experience. When submitted as evidence, such statements are called hearsay evidence. As a legal term, "hearsay" can also have the narrower meaning of...
, investigators wanted to gather more evidence before pressing charges.
His revolvers and a seven-inch knife, found inside his waistcoat, were confiscated when he was brought in. The desk sergeant remarked that the gangster's knife could have been the possible murder weapon although it was later found that the knife had not been recently used. The detectives hoped to get a confession out of Lewis and, having yet to inform him as to why he had been arrested, they put him in the back of a paddy wagon and drove him to the city morgue. Once there, they took Lewis inside and showed him the mutilated body of Crazy Charlie hoping to frighten a confession from him. Yet Lewis "nether started nor exclaimed" and instead took out a cigarette and turned to one of the detectives for a match. When one of the detectives pointed out the body and asked "Do you see this?", Lewis replied "Yes. Also, I'll tell you bulls another thing. You think to rattle me. Say, for ten cents I'd sit on this stiff all night an' smoke a pipe." Seeing their attempt to bluff Lewis had failed, the detectives let him go.
In November 1909 a pickpocket named Jacob Lavine was drinking with a woman known to be "Spanish Louie's"; Louie wounded Lavine; when Lavine refused to appear against Louie, Louie was fined $10.00 {or $25.00} for carrying a concealed weapon December 30, 1909
Death
After less than a year in the Lower East Side, Lewis's bullet-riddled body was found in Twelfth Street near Second Avenue. He was found with $170 in his pocket, $700 in his shoe and had about $3,000 deposited in the Bowery Savings Bank. The murder was never solved and it was also revealed at his funeral, held as an orthodox Jewish burial by his father, that Lewis was in actuality from a Sephardic Jewish family in BrooklynBrooklyn
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...
.
Although killed in an underworld dispute, there seems to be some confusion as to the date and circumstances of his death. One account claims he was killed in 1900 by The Grabber, a fellow lieutenant of Humpty Jackson, after Lewis withheld his share from the proceeds of a Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
fundraiser they had co-hosted. According to a second version, Lewis was shot to death in a drive-by shooting
Drive-by shooting
A drive-by shooting is a form of hit-and-run tactic, a personal attack carried out by an individual or individuals from a moving or momentarily stopped vehicle without use of headlights to avoid being noticed. It often results in bystanders being shot instead of, or as well as, the intended target...
by the Lenox Avenue Gang
Lenox Avenue Gang
The Lenox Avenue Gang was an early 20th century New York City street gang led by Harry Horowitz, and was one of the most violent gangs of the pre-Prohibition era.-History:...
, on the orders of Jack Zelig
Jack Zelig
"Big" Jack Zelig was a Jewish American New York City gangster and one of the last leaders of the Monk Eastman Gang.-Early years & the Eastmans:...
, on the night of April 29, 1910. Lewis had been hired by Herman Rosenthal in 1909 to beat up one of his rivals, Bridgie Webber. Lewis was later targeted to be killed because of his association with Rosenthal and, after being lured to his East Eleventh Street apartment late one evening, several men in a passing Pierce Arrow called out to him as he stood on the doorstep. The men opened fire and Lewis was killed as he ran towards a side street.
"Spanish Louie's" April 2, 1910 Obituary at
In popular culture
Lewis has been appeared in several historical novelHistorical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
s including Before My Life Began (1985) by Jay Neugeboren, Dreamland
Dreamland (novel)
Dreamland is a young adult novel by the American author Sarah Dessen.-Part I: Cass:Caitlin O'Koren has just realized that on her 16th birthday, her 18 year old sister, Cass, has just run away. Everybody completely forget about Caitlin's birthday. Her parents are broken-hearted, since she was...
(1999) by Kevin Baker
Kevin Baker
Kevin Baker is an American novelist and journalist. He was born in Englewood, New Jersey and grew up in New Jersey and Rockport, Massachusetts....
and Cityside (2003) by William Heffernan
William Heffernan
William Heffernan is an American novelist born in New Haven, Connecticut. Before becoming a novelist, Heffernan was an investigative reporter for the New York Daily News.http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=atpHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CowDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6180,3971449&dq=william-heffernan+daily-news&hl=en For...
.
Further reading
- Arons, Ron. The Jews of Sing Sing. New York: Barricade Books, 2008. ISBN 1-56980-333-1
- Keefe, Rose. The Starker: Big Jack Zelig, the Becker-Rosenthal Case, and the Advent of the Jewish Gangster. Nashville: Cumberland House Publishing, 2008. ISBN 1-58182-602-8
- Sante, LucLuc Sante-Early life:Born in Verviers, Belgium, Sante emigrated to the United States in the early 1960s. He attended school in New York City, first at Regis High School in Manhattan and then at Columbia University.-Writing:...
. Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003. ISBN 0-374-52899-3