How Did Jack 'Legs' Diamond Die?
Mobsters DailyJack "Legs" Diamond was shot to death in a rented room in Albany, New York, in the early hours of December 18, 1931 — hours after celebrating an acquittal, ending a decade in which he survived so many shootings that newspapers dubbed him "the clay pigeon of the underworld." His murder, like so many of his era's, was never solved.
The man who would not die
Diamond — born John Diamond in 1897 — was a bodyguard to Arnold Rothstein before becoming a bootlegger, nightclub figure and torture-happy extortionist in his own right. Rivals shot him in 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927 and 1930; he survived every time, along with the tuberculosis and the drinking. Each survival made the legend bigger and the target brighter. He was, in the taxonomy of the era, the opposite of the quiet operators like Dutch Schultz: a gangster whose fame was the product.
November is here and the holidays are closing in, which makes this the season of the Tony Soprano Ugly Christmas Sweater — the black-and-white Tony stencil on a proper Christmas sweatshirt. Diamond's legend was surviving the unsurvivable; the sweater's legend is considerably cozier and involves no gunfire at all.
Albany, the last hangover
By 1931, Albany's political machine — the O'Connell organisation that ran the city — had decided Diamond's upstate racketeering ambitions were a problem, and local police harassment squeezed him hard. Acquitted on a kidnapping charge on December 17, Diamond drank through the night with friends, then went back to a rooming house on Dove Street. In the morning, gunmen entered and shot him in the head. Suspects have included Albany police acting for the machine, rival gangsters and aggrieved partners; the case file, like Rothstein's own, simply ends.
Frequently asked questions
Why was he called 'Legs'? The nickname is usually credited to his days as a dancer and his quick footwork — both on dance floors and escaping trouble.
How many times was Legs Diamond shot before he died? He survived at least five separate shootings between 1924 and 1930 before the fatal 1931 attack.
Who killed Legs Diamond? The murder was never solved. Albany's political machine, local police and rival gangsters have all been named as suspects.
Keep reading: Who Was Johnny Torrio? · What Happened to Bugs Moran? · Who Was 'Machine Gun' Jack McGurn? Capone's Favorite Shooter · Who Was Michele Greco? The 'Pope' of Cosa Nostra
From the shop: Shadows of the Underworld — the real mob history behind the movies, in one book.
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