How Did Frankie Yale Die? America's First Tommy-Gun Drive-By
Mobsters DailyFrankie Yale was killed on July 1, 1928, in Brooklyn, when gunmen in a passing car raked his Lincoln with Thompson submachine-gun fire — the first Tommy-gun drive-by killing in New York gangland history.
Brooklyn's boss, Capone's headache
Born Francesco Uale, Yale ran Brooklyn's Unione Siciliana and its bootlegging waterfront. He had once employed the young Al Capone — the scars on Capone's face date from a Yale bar fight — but by 1928 the pupil suspected the teacher of hijacking his whiskey shipments and siding with his enemies, grievances in the same underworld web as Johnny Torrio's Chicago empire.
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The drive-by that announced a new era
Yale was chased through Brooklyn streets and killed in a hail of bullets, his car crashing as the gunmen escaped. A Thompson abandoned in the getaway car was traced toward Chicago, and suspicion settled permanently on Capone — never charged, never cleared. The method mattered as much as the murder: the machine-gun drive-by had arrived in New York.
Yale got a gangland funeral worthy of a king. His killing warned every East Coast boss that Chicago's war could now reach any street in America.
Frequently asked questions
When was Frankie Yale killed? July 1, 1928, in Brooklyn, New York.
Who is suspected of ordering Yale's murder? Al Capone is the long-standing suspect — Yale was accused of hijacking Capone's liquor — but no one was charged.
Why is Yale's death famous? It is regarded as New York's first gangland killing carried out with a Thompson submachine gun in a drive-by.
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From the shop: Shadows of the Underworld — the real-mafia history behind the bosses, hits and betrayals in this story.
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