Richard Fitzpatrick (1871https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2023/147/UNCEM_64107_befac32b-0c9e-4ce0-9a87-9d8aa2f061ec.jpeg?v=1685832358 – November 1, 1904) was a top gunman in the

Monk Eastman Edward "Monk" Eastman (1875 – December 26, 1920) was an American gangster who founded and led the Eastman Gang in the late 19th and early 20th century; it became one of the most powerful street gangs in the city. His aliases included Joseph " ...

gang in New York City. He had defected from the

Five Points Gang The Five Points Gang was a criminal street gang, initially of primarily Irish-American origins, based in the Five Points of Lower Manhattan, New York City, during the late 19th and early 20th century. The gang had its origin in the various I ...

in the early 1900s; he was active during the late 1890s until his murder in 1904. Fitzpatrick had joined the Five Points Gang under Paul Kelly (born Paolo Antonio Vaccarelli) in the late 1890s. During the Kelly-Eastman gang war in 1903, Fitzpatrick defected to the

Eastman Gang The Eastman Gang was a predominately Jewish-American organized crime, Jewish-American street gang that dominated parts of the underworld in New York City during the late 1890s until the early 1910s. Along with the increasingly Italian-American a ...

, along with "Kid Twist"

Max Zwerbach Max Zweifach (born Maximillian Zweifach; March 14, 1884 – May 14, 1908) also known as "Kid Twist" and occasionally referred to as Zwerbach was an American gangster active in the early 1900s. Early life Born Maximillian Zweifach in the Austro ...

; they both became top lieutenants. After Monk Eastman was arrested and imprisoned in 1904, Fitzpatrick and Zwerbach began fighting over leadership of the Eastman gang, eventually splitting the gang into separate factions. On November 1, 1904, while attending a peace conference at a Sheriff Street saloon in the New York Chrystie Street neighborhood, Fitzpatrick was shot to death before the peace talks began. His killer was suspected of being Harris Dahl, aka Kid Dahl, friend of arch-rival Kid Twist. Several weeks later, "Kid Twist" lieutenant Vach "Cyclone Louie" Lewis led an attack that resulted in the murders of the remainder of the Fitzpatrick faction.

Popular culture

Fitzpatrick was said to use a strategy of ambushing opponents by setting up meetings and claiming to be ready to turn against his leader. After being searched, he would excuse himself to use the restroom, where he had stashed a gun. Returning to the main room, he would kill his opponent. Such a tactic was used by

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino ( ; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Known for his intense performances on stage and screen, Pacino is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. His career spans more than five decades, duri ...

's character

Michael Corleone Michael Corleone is a fictional character and the protagonist of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather''. In the The Godfather (film series), three ''Godfather'' films, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Michael was portr ...

in ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

''.

References

* Asbury, Herbert. ''The Gangs of New York''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. *English, T.J. ''Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster''. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. *Sifakis, Carl. ''The Encyclopedia of American Crime''. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001.

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References

Further reading