"Big" Mike Abrams (died 1898) was an American criminal and a longtime figure in the underworld of
New York's Chinatown.
Criminal career
A criminal for hire on the streets of
New York's
Chinatown
Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
, Mike Abrams was one of many employed by the Tongs and others for assault and murder for hire among other criminal activities. He also operated opium dens on
Pell Street as well as on
Coney Island
Coney Island is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...
and, during his later years, took in protection money from similar establishments.
However, despite his business activities, he had a violent and dangerous reputation among the residents of Chinatown particularly the decapitations of three men in front of dozens of witnesses on Pell Street.
Altercations
Although feared by many Tong hatchetmen, Abrams was attacked by a drunken Hip Sing hatchetman
Sassy Sam who chased the unarmed Abrams with a ceremonial sword down Pell Street. Despite the murder and decapitation of Hip Sing chief
Ling Tchen, Abrams lost a considerable amount of respect from the Tongs after the embarrassing incident and soon began plotting against him.
Death
Less than a month after Ling Tchen's murder, police found the body of Abrams whose room had been filled with gas while he was asleep. A further investigation found the door and windows of his room had been blocked off and a thin hose from a gas jet in the hall had been stuffed into the keyhole.
Although credited in the underworld for Abram's murder, the
Hip Sing Association never claimed responsibility (possibly fearing retribution from Abrams associates elsewhere in New York).
See also
*
Hui
*
Tong Wars
*
Tiandihui
The Tiandihui, the Heaven and Earth Society, also called Hongmen (the Vast Family), is a Chinese fraternal organization and historically a secretive folk religious sect in the vein of the Ming loyalist White Lotus Sect, the Tiandihu ...
*
List of Chinese criminal organizations
References
Further reading
*
Lewis, Alfred Henry (October 13, 1912)
"The Gunmen of New York: Apaches of the New World" ''The Charlotte News''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrams, Mike
Year of birth missing
1898 deaths
American murder victims
Gangsters from New York City
People murdered in New York City
Tongs (organizations)
People murdered by Chinese-American organized crime
People murdered in 1898