Carleton O'Brien (1903

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

May 1952) was an organized crime figure involved in bookkeeping and policy operations in Rhode Island. Formerly listed as Public Enemy No. 1 by state officials, O'Brien was one of the last independent racketeers as the

Patriarca crime family The Patriarca crime family (, ), also known as the New England Mafia, the Boston Mafia, the Providence Mafia, or The Office is an Italian-American American Mafia, Mafia crime family, family in New England. It has two distinct factions, one based ...

began establishing themselves in Providence. He was also an associate of bank robber Joseph "Specs" O'Keefe and was involved in the planning of the

Great Brinks Robbery The Great Brink's Robbery was an armed robbery of the Brink's building in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1950. The $2.775 million ($ million today) theft consisted of $1,218,211.29 in cash and $1,557,183.83 in checks, m ...

during the early 1950s. On the evening of May 1952, after returning from a local roadhouse, his body was found in the backyard of his Cranston home (although other accounts claim he was gunned down during the afternoon in a street in PawtucketEnglish, T.J. ''Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster''. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. ) after being shot and killed by an unidentified gunman.

References

O'Brien was found murdered in the yard of his West Warwick, Rhode Island, home near the Cranston line.

External links

WhiteyWorld.com - Carleton O'Brien
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Carleton 1903 births 1952 deaths American gangsters Murdered American gangsters of Irish descent People murdered in Rhode Island Deaths by firearm in Rhode Island People from Providence, Rhode Island Criminals from Rhode Island