Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-11-19

III 8~0~ - ~ -
The average criminal is as Jeal-
ously proud of his alias as the actor
Is of his stage name. In the crimi-
nails world his alias is part OF MS
stock in trade. Usually it Is not OF MS
own choosing. In most cases 1t Is De-
slowed on him spontaneously, lndlan
fashion, by the tribe or gang ne
belongs to. The majority Of the per-
sistent lawbreakers in New York come
from the gangs. Sometimes the
"monaker." as the criminal calls MS
alias, is given him when he Is boy
and sticks to him through life. more
often. however. these youthful nick
names are dropped after the young
criminal grows up and begins to 90
something worth while in the under-
world.
TT he shows great physical prowess
with his fists, If he Is hard OF near
ing, If he has a cast in one OF his eyes,
II he dresses we'll or i'll, II he has any
REGULARITY in appearance or actlon'
his "monaker" is determined by IL.
His real name is unknown or forgotten
by most every one except himsei1'
When he is arrested he Is likely 10
give the police the first name that
comes into his head, for the purpose Oh
concealing his identity. If the police
recognize him his alleged ordinary
name is recorded, followed by his mo-
maker" and then by as many as the
other ordinary names he has used as
can he recalled. This would make MS
list of entitlements read something
like this: James Gardner, aias Ike
the Plug, alias Frank Clark, alias Geo.
Andrews, etc. But to his criminal as
sociates and to the police ne Is al
WAYS like the Plug
II you went wandering through tne
underworld six months ago inqulrins
for biographical details regardins
Frank Cirofico, people would Snake
their heads and reply that they didn't
know any such person. Dut II you
asked about "Dago Frank" they wouio
know Immediately whom you want.
"Daso Frank" is one Of the four gun
men now on trial for the murder OF
Rosenthal. Like his companions ne
is the ordinary type Of that class Oh
vicious and cowardly criminal. he
never has been eminent in any line
that required the exercise Of courage
or daring Therefore his "monaker'
origin relates only to Italian birth.
With "Gyp the Blood" the genesis
OF the criminal alias is more inyoly-
ed. "Gyp," for one thing, has a rep
utation as a killer" not Of the sWag-
gering, fearless kind that was a fea-
ture of the west a generation ago. but
of the ratlike type that takes no
chances and will not fight until corner
ed. "Gyp" gets his first name be-
cause he is credited with having Gyp-
sy blood in his veins. He Is dark
enough for a Romany, but so is "Da-
go Frank" When it comes to his ap-
pellation 1.-The Blood" there is diner
ence Of opinion both in Gangland ana
among the police. Some have it that
his sanguinary title comes from his
red record. The police scoff at this
any say it comes from the fact that ne
is a stylish dresser, "a blood which
word in that meaning has been in use
since the days of the English Georges.
It also is fair translation of an Italian
phrase by which dandy is described.
At any rate "Gyp the Blood does not
look murderous and he does not dress
flashy, which means fashionably In
the world where he used to move.
Whitley" Lewis got his ''monaker'
when he was a towheaded boy. His
hair is darker now, but the alias still
clings to him. Lefty Louie" is left
handed.
There is little that is interesting and
much that is repulsive about these
four gunner. They belong to class
that never fights in the open, that
shoot, cut and stab in the night, and
usually from ambush. They are not
gang leaders, simply members OF the
rank and file who obey the orders
of their chief.
The gang leader himself has to be
man of greater courage and daring
than his followers, else he would not
be leader. Louie the Lump Is the
only gangster who can boast Of having
killed a real gang leader. Louie the
Lump" got his criminal alias because
of his short, thickset frame. He is
supposed to have been christened
Louis Poggi. He has been fugitive
from justice for some time, and many
years in prison await him. His claim
to distinction was the numbering of
kid Twist" at Coney Island.
The late Big Jack" Zelig was
Twists successor as the leader of the
gang. Twists killing was the result
Of a dispute between the Kid and
Sirocco, the leader of the rival gang,
over the division of some money The
gang leaders and their followers
clashed in Surf avenue, in front of
soda water stand, and when the re-
yolver smoke had cleared away kid
Twist" was dead on the sidewalk. No
one knew his real name. He was not
much past 81, smooth-faced and boy
ish-looking. Therefore they called
him Kid" He was an expert "dip,"
or pickpocket, and had fine faculty
of twisting in and out of crowds So
they called him Twist"
incidentally it may be mentioned
that the killing Of big Jack" Zelig
a few weeks ago has left the gang
leaderless. Two of his trusted lieu
tenants are now striving for ascen-
dancy. One is Ike the Plug" and the
other is Jack the Runt." The Zelig
gang is an almost exclusively Jewish
organization, just as the Sirocco gang
is composed almost entirely of Italians
Ike the Plug" gets his name from
his fondness for plug tobacco. His
rival, Joe the Runt," is stunted
looking, but physically strong for one