Saturday, August 31, 2024
PEOPLE
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If you think contract killers and hitmen are the stuff of Hollywood, think again.
2 stories follow . . .
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Murder Inc:
Murder Inc. (Murder Incorporated) was an organised crime group active from 1929 to 1941 that acted as the enforcement arm of the Mob.
The Syndicate was a closely connected criminal organisation that included and was started by the Irish Mob, and included Italian-American Mafia, the Jewish Mob, and other criminal organisations in New York City and elsewhere.
Murder Inc. is estimated to have killed as many as 1,000 people in less than 10 years but it wasn’t just about killing. The gang would also threaten or maim people, depending on what their bosses wanted. It was an “anything goes” business model, one that made them very, very wealthy.
It was initially headed by Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and later by Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia.
Lepke (1897 – 1944) was head of the Mafia hit squad Murder Inc., during the 1930s and one of the premier labor union racketeers in New York City during that era. He and Charles Birger are the only National Crime Syndicate bosses to be executed after being convicted of murder. Lepke was executed using the infamous "Old Sparky" electric chair.
Louis "Lepke" Buchalter flashes a smile as he's dragged, handcuffed, into a police van.
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (left) drags Lepke Buchalter (center) to the courthouse, the pair handcuffed together.
Umberto "Albert" Anastasia (1902 – 1957) was one of the founders of the modern American Mafia, and a co-founder and later boss of the Murder Inc. He also controlled New York City's waterfront for most of his criminal career, mainly through the dockworker unions. Anastasia was murdered on October 25, 1957, on the orders of Vito Genovese and Carlo Gambino; Gambino subsequently became boss of the family.
Anastasia was one of the most ruthless and feared organised crime figures in American history; his reputation earned him the nicknames The Earthquake, The One-Man Army, Mad Hatter and Lord High Executioner.
Anastasia's 1936 mugshot
Albert Anastasia (left) and his attorney Anthony Colendra leaving court.
Murder Inc. was established by notorious gangsters Meyer Lansky and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and was based in Rosie Gold's candy store in Brooklyn. The group had a number of members, although Harry Strauss was the most prolific killer, committing over 100 murders—and some historians put the number as high as 500.
The killers were paid a regular salary as retainer as well as an average fee of $1,000 to $5,000 per killing. Their families also received monetary benefits.
Nine members of Murder Inc. stand side-by-side in a police lineup.
According to the caption, while this photo was being taken, mobster Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro was snarling at the police, "You can't do nuttin' to us."
New York City. 1933.
Murder Inc killers were brutal. They didn't just shoot their targets — they aimed to leave a message. They hacked up the bodies of their victims with meat cleavers and ice picks. One man was set on fire. Another was strapped to a slot machine and left in public view.
Abe Reles was a high ranking member of Murder Inc who had been arrested 42 times, six of which were for murder. He managed to avoid being convicted for any of his hits, but that changed suddenly in 1940 when he was indicted for murder and looked likely to be convicted. He elected to inform on others. He allegedly had a photographic memory which enabled him to relate the details of some 70 unsolved killings committed by Murder Inc.
Reles' accomplices didn't receive any mercy when it came to their punishments. Many of them were sent straight to the electric chair, all thanks to Reles' testimony. Among those implicated by Reles' cooperation with authorities was Albert Anastasia himself, a blow which brought Murder Inc. to its demise. After 10 years of tyranny, Murder Inc. was coming to an end.
Reles now had a target on his back. Guards were assigned to watch over him at all hours of the day and night at the Half Moon Hotel on Coney Island. It didn't matter. On the morning of Nov. 12, 1941, Reles' dead body was found six stories down, twisted in his bedsheets. Investigators found wire tied to his hotel room's radiator, and The New York Times reported at the time that he'd been trying to escape when he fell. For some reason, the guards were all asleep. The official verdict was accidental death but some thought Reles' death was one last message from Murder Inc. — any canary who wanted to sing had better learn to fly.
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Charles Harrelson
Mugshot taken following arrest.
Charles Voyde Harrelson (1938 – 2007) was an American contract killer and organised crime figure who was convicted of assassinating federal judge John H. Wood Jr., the first federal judge to be assassinated in the 20th century.
Charles Harrelson briefly served in the U.S. Navy in the 1950s but after he was discharged, he turned to a life of crime. He was first charged with robbery in 1959 in Los Angeles, where he worked as an encyclopedia salesman.
According to prison memoirs he later wrote, he claimed to have been involved in dozens of murder-for-hire plots during this time before he left his family in 1968.
That year, Harrelson was arrested three times, including twice for murder. He was acquitted of one murder in 1970. But in 1973, he was convicted of killing a grain dealer named Sam Degelia Jr. for $2,000 and sentenced to 15 years behind bars, though he was released after just five years for good behavior.
Within months of his release, Harrelson was contracted to carry out his biggest hit ever — a sitting federal judge.
In the spring of 1979, Texas drug lord Jimmy Chagra hired Charles Harrelson to kill someone who stood in his way: U.S. District Judge John H. Wood Jr., who was scheduled to preside over Chagra’s drug trial. Defense attorneys nicknamed Wood “Maximum John” because of the harsh life sentences he handed down to drug dealers.
Judge John H Wood
Chagra paid over $250,000 to Harrelson because he faced a life sentence for narcotics smuggling. Harrelson used a high-powered rifle and scope to kill Wood outside his San Antonio home as the judge went to get into his car. Chagra was originally scheduled to go before the judge that very day in El Paso, Texas.
It was the first time in U.S. history that a sitting federal judge had been assassinated.
The FBI finally caught Charles Harrelson and arrested him in September 1980 for murder after a six-hour standoff during which Harrelson was high on cocaine and made increasingly erratic threats before surrendering.
Charles Harrelson (far right) in court on October 22, 1981, after his conviction for being a felon in possession of a gun. He would be convicted of murdering Judge John H. Wood Jr. a year later, in December 1982.
Chagra, the drug lord, was acquitted of conspiracy charges in connection with the assassination. He supposedly entered the witness protection program after helping the feds on other drug cases.
Charles Harrelson spent the rest of his days behind bars.
At one point during his incarceration, Charles Harrelson made the claim that he assassinated President John F. Kennedy. No one believed him, and he later recanted, however, Lois Gibson, a well-known forensic artist, identified Woody Harrelson’s father as one of the “three tramps,” who were three mysterious men photographed shortly after the JFK assassination. Their involvement in JFK’s death has often been linked to conspiracy theories.
Charles Harrelson died of a heart attack in prison in 2007.
One other thing: Charles Harrelson was the father of actor Woody Harrrelson.
Harrelson had left his family when Woody was aged 7 and had no knowledge of his father. Listening to the radio one day in 1981, Woody heard a news broadcast discussing the murder trial of Charles V. Harrelson. Curiosity got the better of the young man, and he asked his mother if the elder Harrelson was any relation. His mother confirmed that the man on trial for murdering a federal judge was indeed Woody’s father. Woody followed his father’s trial intensely from that point on.
He visited his father regularly in federal prison and spent over $2m trying to get him a new trial to overturn the conviction, unsuccessfully.
In April 2023, actor Matthew McConaughey claimed that he and Woody Harrelson, who have been long-time friends, could potentially be half-brothers, implying that Charles Harrelson could also be his father. According to McConaughey, his mother claimed to have known Woody's father around the time that she bore McConaughey, and the two actors have discussed taking a DNA test to be certain.
Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey
Friday, August 30, 2024
SYDNEY SUBURBS - DOLLS POINT
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DOLLS POINT
Location:
Dolls Point is a small suburb in southern Sydney, located 17 km south of the Sydney central business district on the shore of Botany Bay. It is part of the St George area, near Sans Souci.
Dolls 2
Aerial image of Dolls Point.
Name origin:
Dolls Point was originally a deserted landscape, which was considered uninhabitable. The origins of the name are unclear but legend has it that it was named for an escaped convict who took shelter in the dire landscape to hide from the authorities.[2]
About:
Dolls Point covers an area of 0.22 square kilometres and has a recorded population of 1661 residents.
Dolls Point is a quiet residential suburb that has managed to maintain an uncluttered landscape. Its village feel makes it a family friendly neighbourhood. It is home to fine sailing, water views and abundant parkland.
One of the main attractions is Doll Point Beach, which has the whitest sand in Sydney. Fishing and kite surfing are popular activities in the beach.
Dolls Point Beach
Cook Park
Cook Park is named after Samuel Cook who advocated it as a public pleasure area.
The area between Cooks River and Georges River was originally known as Seven Mile Beach. It was changed to Lady Robinsons Beach in 1874 to honour the wife of Governor Sir Hercules Robinson.
Hercules Robinson (1824 – 1897)
British colonial administrator who became the 5th Governor of Hong Kong, then 13th Governor of Ceylon, and subsequently, the 14th Governor of New South Wales, the first Governor of Fiji, and the 8th Governor of New Zealand. Later in his career he held various positions in Southern Africa, including two terms as Governor of the Cape Colony.
Lady Robinsons Beach is Sydney's longest beach. Dolls Point is situated in the southern periphery of Lady Robinsons Beach, on the mouth of Georges River:
Historic Primrose House became the Royal South Sydney Community Health Centre.
Gallery:
Oyster farmers David Corstorphine of Tuncurry, aged 78 and Fred Selmon of Georges River, aged 70, enjoy oysters at Dolls Point. Date unknown.
Dolls Point mural
Scarborough House at Dolls Point was opened by Dr Barnardo's in Australia in 1921 as a receiving home for children arriving in Australia under its child migration scheme.The Home could accommodate around 100 boys.It closed in 1924 when Dr Barnardo's moved to Ashfield.
Dolls Point Aboriginals, 1850
Thursday, August 29, 2024
FUNNY FRIDAY
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G'day readers.
Last week we had some canine humour; today it is feline.
Enjoy.
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SOME HUMOUR:
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Schrodinger took his cat to the vet.
The vet said, “I have good news and bad news.”
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There are two types of people,
1. People who can extrapolate from incomplete data
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What do libertarians and house cats have in common?
They both act like they are independent and self sufficient but in reality are utterly dependent on a system they can neither appreciate nor understand.
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A cat owner invited their neighbour over for dinner and introduced their four cats. "That's Alogue, Aract, Erpillar, and Astrophe," they announced. The neighbour was surprised and asked, Where on Earth did you get those names?
Oh, those are their last names, the owner said. Their first names are Cat.
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I asked a librarian if she had a book about Pavlov's Dog and Schrodinger's Cat
She said it rang a bell but wasn't sure if it was there or not.
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I remember learning about Pavlov in Psychology class thinking “those dogs are really stupid.” Then the bell went off and we went to lunch.
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Lady, walking down the street on her way to work, passes the same pet store every day.
One morning she notices a new parrot in the open store front. As she passes the store the parrot whistles and say ‘wow are you ugly’! She thinks little of it.
Next day and as she passes the store the bird whistles and say ‘jeeez you are butt ugly’!
Similar insults are hurled over the next two days.
Upset, the woman enters the pet store to speak with the owner. The owner is dumbfounded, he says they got the bird from an old man who passed about a year ago, the bird is very well trained and he doesn’t know much more. He says he will talk to the bird and keep an eye on it as she passes the next day.
The following day the woman walks by the pet store, the parrot is outside on its perch leering at her as she walks by. The bird remains quiet…until the woman has fully passed the store and makes the mistake of looking back at the bird. To this the bird looks at the woman, lifts his chin towards her and says ‘you know’.
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A teacher explained biology to her 3rd-grade students. She said, "Human beings are the only animals that stutter." A little girl raised her hand saying, "I had a kittycat that stuttered."
The teacher, knowing how precious some of these stories could become, asked the girl to describe the incident.
"Well,'' she began, "I was in the backyard with my kitty when the Rottweiler that lives next door got a running start and before we knew it, he jumped over the fence into our yard!"
The teacher exclaimed, "That must've been scary."
The little girl said, "It sure was. My kitty raised her back, went Sssss, Sssss, Sssss and before she could say 'Shit,' the Rottweiler ate her!"
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The pastor asked if anyone in the congregation would like to express praise for answered prayers.
A lady stood, walked to the podium and said, "I have a praise. Two months ago, my husband Tom had a terrible bicycle wreck, and his scrotum was completely crushed. The pain was excruciating and the doctors didn't know if they could help him."
You could hear a muffled gasp from the men in the congregation as they imagined the pain that Tom must have experienced.
"Tom was unable to hold me or the children," she went on, "and every move caused him terrible pain. We prayed as the doctors performed a delicate operation, and it turned out they were able to piece together the crushed remnants of Tom's scrotum and wrap wire around it to hold it in place."
Again the men in the congregation were unnerved and squirmed uncomfortably as they imagined the horrible surgery performed on Tom.
"Now," she announced in a quavering voice, "thank the Lord Tom is out of the hospital, and the doctors say that with time his scrotum should recover completely."
All the men sighed with relief. The pastor rose and tentatively asked if anyone else had something to say.
A man stood up and walked slowly to the podium.
He said "I'm Tom." The entire congregation held its breath..
"I just want to tell my wife that the word is sternum."
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There once was a child born missing an eye...
At birth the doctors decided it best to give the child a wooden eye until the family could afford to get the baby a nice glass eye.
Sadly the family could never afford it. And the boy was bullied a lot in school over it and eventually was taken out and home schooled. Everywhere he went he had stares from people all around.
Finally at age 21 his brother turning 19 begged him to come to a bar with him and some friends. He said "you're out of school now, people are more accepting of your eye and you won't get made fun of, I promise!" After enough convincing he decided he would go. Still a virgin he was very hopeful of meeting a nice young lady.
When they arrive at this dance bar the man with a wooden eye found a nice low lit spot in the corner. As he scanned the room he saw a girl in the opposite corner with a really big nose! He thought to himself, maybe she feels like me and is just tucking away herself. He really wanted to ask her to dance. After a few minutes he conjured up the courage to ask her to dance. He makes his way across the dance floor with his heart pounding and palms sweating he reaches her and says...
"Heyyy ahhh would.... Would... Would you like to go for a dance with me?"
The lady responds "Would’n I!"
He replies "Fuck you big nose!!"
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LIMERICK OF THE WEEK:
A superbly crafted limerick . . .
This limerick goes in reverse
Unless I'm remiss
The neat thing is this:
If you start from the bottom-most verse
This limerick's not any worse
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GALLERY:
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CORN CORNER:
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What’s the difference between a cat and a comma?
A cat has claws at the end of paws and a comma is a pause at the end of a clause.
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Accordion to scientists, you can insert the names of musical instruments into sentences without anyone noticing.
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Did you know the Bible says one of the 7 dwarfs is a murderer?
It says it right there in Psalm 137:9
“Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks”
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I found an old lamp. I rubbed it and out popped a genie. It gave me one wish.
I said I just wanted to be happy.
Now I'm stuck in a cottage with six other dwarves and I have to work in a mine every day.
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Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Tuesday, August 27, 2024
AESOP’S FABLES
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The Fisherman and the Little Fish
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Fable:
A poor fisherman, who lived on the fish he caught, had bad luck one day and caught nothing but a very small fish. The fisherman was about to put it in his basket when the little fish said:
“Please spare me, Mr. Fisherman! I am so small it is not worthwhile to carry me home. When I am bigger, I shall make you a much better meal.”
But the fisherman quickly put the fish into his basket.
“How foolish I should be,” he said, “to throw you back. However small you may be, you are better than nothing at all.”
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Moral
A small gain is worth more than a large promise.
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Alternative version:
It happened that a fisherman, after fishing all day, caught only a little fish. “Pray, let me go, master,” said the fish. “I am much too small for your eating just now. If you put me back into the river I shall soon grow, then you can make a fine meal off me.”
“Nay, nay, my little fish,” said the fisherman, “I have you now. I may not catch you hereafter.”
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The popularity of the fable in England was eventually overtaken by the similar story "The Hawk and the Nightingale" –
A Nightingale once fell into the clutches of a hungry Hawk who had been all day on the look-out for food. “Pray let me go,” said the Nightingale, “I am such a mite for a stomach like yours. I sing so nicely too. Do let me go, it will do you good to hear me.” “Much good it will do to an empty belly,” replied the Hawk, “and besides, a little bird that I have is more to me than a great one that has yet to be caught.”
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Alternative version:
The nightingale offers to reward the hawk for its clemency by singing to it. But the hawk answers pragmatically that 'I prefer that you soothe my stomach, for I can live without your songs, but I cannot live without food.'
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By the Middle Ages that sentiment had been encapsulated in the proverb 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the woods', modern day version ‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.’
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush means it’s better to have a lesser but certain advantage than the possibility of a greater one that may come to nothing.
A practical illustration: 'A hair on the head is worth two on the brush.'
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Of unknown origin:
Here’s to America, the land of the push,
Where a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Here’s to Australia, my own native land,
Where a push in the bush is worth two in the hand.
Monday, August 26, 2024
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