Feb-22-1933 The Murder Of Iron Mike Malloy


Mike Malloy was born in a rural village in Co. Donegal and like many other Irish at the time he found himself making his way across The Atlantic, in search of a better life in America. While Malloy was a firefighter he fell upon hard times in the 1930s and found himself unemployed and homeless on the streets of New York City. What little money he had, he would spend in a small speakeasy bar called Marino's, located on Third Avenue. 

In 1933 a plot was developed by a group who knew Mike for being the local drunk. Tony Marino, Joseph Murphy, Francis Pasqua, Hershey Green, and Daniel Kriesberg would later be called The Murder Trust by the media. The plan was simple, they took out a life insurance policies on Mike's life to the value of $3,500 with the idea that they would let Mike drink himself to death at Marino's speakeasy. 

Marino had hatched a similar scheme in the past, taking out a life insurance policy on a woman, with himself named as the sole beneficiary. He had forced a woman to drink so much it caused her to pass out. She was left to sleep on a mattress soaked in ice cold water under an open window in the depths of winter. This led to her contracting pneumonia and dying as a result. Marino collected $2,000 from the death and he would often brag about this to friends. 

The Murfer Trust informed Malloy that he was free to drink as much as he liked and he took advantage of the offer. Prohibition in America had led to an increase in the price of alcohol and Malloy was unemployed at the time. Who wouldn't love a free drink or 40? The five men were amazed when every night they were sure Malloy had drank enough to kill himself, staggering out the door at closing time but he would arise every morning and knock on the door of the speakeasy, looking for another drink. 

Eventually, patience was wearing thin and the gang realised they would need to up their game if they were to succeed. They swapped the alcohol he was drinking for antifreeze, turpentine and even rat poison but Iron Mike, happily drank and drank some more. Wood alcohol was given to him instead of his regular whiskey and still, Mike would arrive the next day, a little hungover but in great spirits. 

One freezing winter night, when the temperature dropped to -26C, they waited for him to pass out, stripped him naked and dumped him in the snow. Then, they poured five gallons of water on his chest and face, and headed home only to find Mike waiting for them the following day. The Murder Trust realised Mike was maybe to Irish to drink himself to death. At this point they tried raw oysters and sandwiches filled with poison. This, as you can probably guess, did not have the desired result. One night, after filling Malloy with drink, they ran him over in a car. This left Malloy in the hospital for a few weeks with some broken bones. After three weeks, Iron Mike arrived back into the speakeasy, eager for a drink. 

On February 22nd 1933 The Murder Trust made one last attempt on Mike's life. 

After a night of drinking they took Malloy to Murphy's room, put a hose in his mouth that was connected to the gas jet, and turned it on. The death certificate was signed and finally, the deed was done. 

Rumours started flying between the speakeasies and police got wind of the situation. Mike's body was exhumed to be forensically examined and the story of The Murder Trust began to unravel. 

It is estimated that Iron Mike Malloy may have survived up to 20 attempts on his life. 

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