Joseph Aloysius Warren (April 19, 1882 - August 12, 1929) -

New York City Police Commissioner The New York City police commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is responsibl ...

(April 12, 1927 – December 18, 1928).

Biography

Warren was born April 19, 1882, in Jersey City, NJ, the eldest son of Joseph Warren, a successful Jersey City real estate businessman born in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

, Co. Meath, Ireland, and his wife Ellen (née Grady) Warren. A life-long friend and former law partner of Mayor

Jimmy Walker James John Walker (June 19, 1881November 18, 1946), known colloquially as Jimmy Walker and Beau James, was an American attorney, lyricist, and Democratic Party politician who served as the 97th mayor of New York City from 1926 until his resign ...

, Warren became the second of four police commissioners appointed by Walker during a turbulent period in New York City history marred by the proliferation of prohibition-linked organized crime. Initially hailed by Mayor Walker as the ideal man for the job."Warren Dies, Former N.Y. Police Head Succumbs in Greenwich Hospital, Broken by Cares of Office He Left Under Fire", The Hartford Courant, August 14, 1929. Warren's tenure was cut short after only 20 months, following a number of unsolved NYPD murder investigations, most notably including the highly publicized

Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 6, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler who became a kingpin of the Jewish Mob in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have orga ...

murder investigation of November 1928.Messing, Philip, "When cops were robbers: The early days of the NYPD". New York Post, April 12, 2015. In accepting Warren's resignation in December 1928 the mayor praised Warren as an honest public servant.

Death

Warren succumbed to mental illness only nine months later on August 13, 1929, in a Greenwich, CT sanitarium, an apparent victim to the rigors of his former office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, Joseph A 1929 deaths 1882 births New York City police commissioners People from Jersey City, New Jersey