When was bumpy johnson born

Johnson and St. The fight between St. Clair and Johnson against Dutch Schultz and other organized crime factions in the early s resulted in over 40 murders and several kidnappings. With control over police protection and influence at City Hall, Shultz and his allies in the Mafia eventually dominated the Harlem numbers rackets. The arrangement lasted for four decades. In December , frustrated by police surveillance of him, he staged a sit-down strike at a police station and refused to leave.

Skip to content Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson, U. Penitentiary, Leavenworth, Kansas, January 11, Do you find this information helpful? At a young age, he sold newspapers, swept floors, shot craps, and shot pool, and he later charged local stores protection money. After the murder of Dutch Schultz and Lucky Luciano 's takeover of Schultz's rackets, Johnson paid tribute to the American Mafia and maintained his own gambling operation.

He was soon the toast of Harlem, as he won respect among the African-American community for cutting a deal with the American Mafia. Johnson became the de facto crime boss of Harlem, and he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison in for selling heroin. In , he was released from Alcatraz, and he was greeted with an impromptu parade in Harlem. Johnson was arrested over 40 times, and he was under a federal indictment for drug conspiracy when he died of congestive heart failure in while at a large store.

Frank Lucas succeeded him as the boss of Harlem. Clair was a bonafide underworld boss. She had an impenetrable numbers-running operation. This made her very wealthy. However, she faced a serious threat from a hot-headed and dangerous Jewish mobster known as Dutch Shultz born Arthur Flaggenheimer.

Needing a personal bodyguard who could blast fast and shoot first with the best of them, St. Clair helped Johnson get back on his feet. She brought him into her illegal gambling organization. Johnson quickly became a very feared enforcer who killed at will. When Shultz a trigger-happy cash cow and pure psychopath kept trying to extort and kill St. Clair, Johnson forged an alliance with the Italian mob, a group Shultz was also a threat to. Clair preferred to run her organization quietly.

She maintained her lean but lucrative socio-economic network without shedding any blood.