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{{Short description|American mobster (1891–1965)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox person
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|birth_date = {{Birth date|1891|12|18}}
|birth_place = [[Leeds]], England
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1965|
|death_place = [[Hot Springs, Arkansas|Hot Springs]], Arkansas, US
|occupation = [[Gangster]]
|other_names = The Killer
}}
'''Owen Vincent''' "'''Owney'''" '''Madden''' (December 18, 1891 – April 24, 1965) was
==Early life==
Owen Vincent Madden was born into
Madden’s mother left for New York to become a maid, leaving Owen and his sister Mary and brother Martin in a British orphanage. On June 4, 1902, Madden, together with his brother Martin sailed from Liverpool as steerage passengers on board the SS Teutonic. He re-joined his mother and sister in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen, yet another immigrant in the city’s long established Irish community.<ref name="Irishstory"/>
The young Madden grew up on the streets New York where he learned how to use [[Blackjack (weapon)|blackjack]]s, [[knuckleduster]]s, bats, pipes, [[knife|knives]], and [[Stiletto|stilettoes]]. By the age of 21 years old, Madden had become the leader of a feared New York street gang known as the [[Gopher Gang]]. He earned the nickname, "The Killer" for getting away with two brazen murders. On September 6, 1911, he shot dead a gang member of the rival [[Hudson Dusters]] in the heart of Dusters' territory around 30th Street. In February 1912, Madden was on a crowded street trolley, arguing with a store clerk named William Henshaw about a woman, and Madden shot Henshaw in the face. Henshaw was not a gang member, and as he was dying, he named Owney Madden as his killer. Despite the police having his name, and there being eyewitnesses to the crime, Madden never went to trial—witnesses in both killings were intimidated, and disappeared.<ref name="boxing"/>▼
In 1915, he eventually went to prison for ordering the killing of William “Little Patsy Doyle” Moore, who had been waging a three-year vendetta campaign against Madden and the Gopher Gang.<ref name="boxing"/>▼
His father, an abusive alcoholic, died in 1932.<ref name="Irishstory"/>
His early childhood was spent among the city’s immigrant Irish population, where he relied upon an established migrant Irish network to further his career in organised crime. <ref name="obit" /> <ref name="boxing">{{cite web|url=https://hannibalboxing.com/the-duke-of-the-west-side-owney-the-killer-madden/|title=The Duke of the West Side: Owney "The Killer" Madden|website=hannibalboxing.com|date=August 8, 2019 |accessdate=9 May 2022}}</ref><ref name="Irishstory"/>
▲
▲In 1915, he eventually went to prison for ordering the killing of William
==Prohibition==
[[File:OMadden.jpg
After serving seven years of a 10-to-20-year sentence for Moore's manslaughter,<ref name=bbb>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aEdXAwAAQBAJ&q=owney+madden+rap+sheet&pg=PA87|title = Bootleggers and Beer Barons of the Prohibition Era|isbn = 9781476616193|last1 = Anne Funderburg|first1 = J.|date = April 4, 2014}}</ref> Madden was released on parole in 1923. The [[Gopher Gang]] had broken up, and many members of his own faction were either in [[Sing Sing]] or working for [[rum-running|bootlegging]] gangs. <ref
During this time, Madden employed a young friend as a personal driver. The driver, [[George Raft]], later became a film star noted for his authentic portrayals of gangland figures.<ref>[[Jim Beaver|Beaver, Jim]] "George Raft", Films in Review, April 1978.</ref><ref>Yablonsky, Lewis George Raft, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1974. {{ISBN|0-07-072235-8}}.</ref>
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Madden and his partners, Big Bill and George Jean "Big Frenchy" DeMange, also muscled their way into a piece of the exclusive [[Stork Club]], where the influential gossip columnist [[Walter Winchell]] held court and everyone who was anyone wanted to see and be seen. As a celebrity with ownership in more than twenty night clubs, Madden became well-known and glamorized for his Prohibition-era activities.<ref name="five families book">{{cite book|title=The Five Families|date=May 13, 2014|publisher=MacMillan|isbn=9781429907989|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5nAt6N8iQnYC|access-date=June 22, 2008}}</ref> He also gained recognition for his revenge tactics and payoffs of City Hall.<ref name="five families book"/>
==
In 1932, Madden was involved in the murder of [[Mad Dog Coll|Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll]], who had been extorting money from several mobsters, including DeMange and Madden.<ref name="five families book"/> After being arrested for a parole violation that same year, Madden began facing greater harassment from police and encroachment on his territory by Italian-American [[American Mafia|Mafia]] families, until he finally left New York in 1935.<ref name="five families book"/>
Leaving behind racketeering, Madden settled in [[Hot Springs, Arkansas|Hot Springs]], Arkansas, which had become known as a haven for various criminals, with a corrupt city government and police force.<ref name="five families book"/> He also became involved in local criminal activities, especially illegal gambling.<ref name="five families book"/> The Southern Club became a popular nightspot for mobsters; [[Lucky Luciano|Charles "Lucky" Luciano]] was apprehended there in 1936. Madden became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1943 and eventually married the daughter of the city [[postmaster]]. He lived in Hot Springs until his death in 1965.<ref name=obit>{{cite news|title=Owney Madden, 73, Ex-Gangster, Dead; Owney Madden, Ex-Racketeer, Dead in Hot Springs at 73|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0910FA345C147A93C6AB178FD85F418685F9|newspaper=[[Associated Press]] in the [[New York Times]] |quote= Owen Vincent (Owney) Madden, whose blazing underworld career terrorized two states in the Prohibition era, died in a hospital here early today. He was 73 years old. ...|date=April 24, 1965|page=1|access-date=November 12, 2010}}</ref>
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==References==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
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* [http://www.americanmafia.com/Allan_May_1-3-00.html Gophers, Goose Chasers, and the Early Years of Owney Madden] by Allen May
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060428023855/http://www.mindspring.com/~bhusted/gang.html |date=April 28, 2006 |title=Louis Quincy Morse: Gangland Connection ? }}
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9159216930751982971 Gangland Tours Owney Madden Video] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714172914/http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9159216930751982971 |date=July 14, 2011 }}
* [http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1702 Madden's entry at Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture]
* {{Find a Grave|15821852|Owen Vincent "Owney" Madden|work=Organized Crime Figure|date=September 20, 2006|access-date=March 17, 2018}}
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[[Category:1891 births]]
[[Category:1965 deaths]]
[[Category:American gangsters of Irish descent]]
[[Category:British crime bosses]]
[[Category:British gangsters]]
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