1960s Timeline

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May 23

Two Members of NYPD Charged with Excessive Use of Force

May 23, 1962 - The New York Civil Liberties Union today asked New York Police Commissioner Michael J. Murphy to institute disciplinary proceedings against Captain Albert Seedman (pictured left) and Assistant Chief Inspector Raymond V. Martin for “excessive and improper use of force” against Anthony Portelli and Anthony Dellernia (pictured right). Portelli and Dellernia have been charged with the slaying last Friday of Detectives Luke Fallon, 56, and John P. Finnegan, 28, both

May 22

Gov. Rockefeller Backs Police

May 22, 1962 - New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller pledged last night his continuing support of measures needed by the police to combat crime. Addressing 600 delegates at the annual dinner of the Police Conference of New York in Monticello, the Governor declared, “The battle against crime requires constant vigilance and fresh effort.” “So long as the hoodlum makes the streets of our cities unsafe,” he said, “so long as the narcotics pusher conducts his evil business, so long

May 18

Hoffa Indicted by Federal Grand Jury

May 18, 1962 - James R. Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, was indicted today by a Federal grand jury. It charged that he had accepted more than $1 million in illegal payments from a Detroit trucking company. The trucking company, Commercial Carriers, Inc., was named as co-defendant. The two-count indictment was returned in Nashville, Tenn. The first count charged Mr. Hoffa and Commercial Carriers with conspiring to violate the Taft-Hartley Act pr

May 18

Hoffa Pleads Not Guilty to Assault Charge

May 18, 1962 - James R. Hoffa pleaded not guilty today to charges that he had assaulted Samuel Baron, a 59-year-old aide who talked back to him. The 49-year-old president of the Teamsters Union was arraigned in Washington before Municipal Court Judge Thomas C. Scalley along with a straggle of alleged thieves, wife-beaters, and the like. His lawyer, H. Clifford Allder, entered Mr. Hoffa’s plea and requested a jury trial, which was set for June 19. Later, four Teamster Union em

May 16

NYPD Commissioner Murphy Assigns Extra Police to Parks and Recreation Facilities

May 16, 1962 - New York Police Commissioner Michael J. Murphy (pictured left with Mayor Wagner) today called on the extra policemen who have been assigned to parks and recreation facilities to keep those areas free of muggers, molesters, and degenerates. The Commissioner addressed 600 policemen, part of the 1,087 reinforcements assigned to city recreation areas for the summer. Mr. Murphy said: “Certainly, if there is any group that has a prior moral claim to the services of t

Apr 27

Sonny Liston Denied License to Fight in New York

Apr. 27, 1962 - Sonny Liston (pictured) of Philadelphia, whose challenge for Floyd Patterson’s world heavyweight boxing championships has been accepted, was denied a license today to fight in New York State. The State Athletic Commission, in refusing to grant the license, cited Liston’s criminal record and his association with persons of unsavory background. Through 1961, Liston had been arrested 9 times. Twice, he was convicted and served time in prison — for first-degree ro

Apr 4

French TV Star Charged in Massive Brooklyn Heroin Bust

Apr. 4, 1962 - A prominent French television figure, a Parisian nightclub owner, and a Brooklyn father and son pleaded not guilty in Kings County Court today to charges of conspiring to possess $3.5 million worth of heroin. The defendants are Jacques L. Angelvin (pictured center with Detective Edward Egan), 34, a television performer; Francois Paul Scaglia, 34, a nightclub owner; Joseph Fuca, 60, and his 30-year-old son, Pasquale, both of Brooklyn. The four were described as

Mar 28

NYPD Confiscates Toy Guns That Look Too Real

Mar. 28, 1962 - New York police detectives will mosey up to toy gun counters during the next few weeks and figuratively give the order to “Draw!” If the gun that comes out looks too much like the real thing, the detective is authorized to confiscate it. Police Commissioner Michael J. Murphy today ordered the crackdown on the sale of toy pistols that look like real weapons because a number of recent robberies have been committed with toys. Notices went out to all precincts and

Mar 27

NYPD: Most Murders in 1961 Committed in Family Disputes

Mar. 27, 1962 - Most of the murders committed in New York City last year were not planned, nor were they associated with underworld activity. The majority were committed at home in family disputes. There were 483 homicides in 1961, an increase of 93 over 1960. Eighty-seven percent resulted in arrests. These were the highlights of a study of last year’s homicides released today by Police Commissioner Michael J. Murphy. A spokesman for Mr. Murphy said one reason for the rise in

Mar 6

NYPD Says Attacks on Policemen Increasing

Mar. 6, 1962 - New York Deputy Police Commissioner Walter Arm told an institute on police and community relations today that there had been 2,525 attacks on policemen in 1961, most of them of “the common garden variety of the individual being arrested and resisting arrest.” He said such attacks were “something which police everywhere contend with and which they generally regard as ‘part of the job.’” “However,” he continued, “there were 223 cases of attacks on police by group

Feb 25

Massive Heroin Bust in the Bronx

Feb. 25, 1962 - New York City detectives and Federal narcotics agents seized pure heroin worth $20 million last night after subduing a longshoreman in a Bronx tenement. Edward F. Carey, deputy chief inspector of the New York Narcotics Bureau, called the seizure “the second largest ever made by law-enforcement agencies in this country.” The heroin, weighing 88 pounds, was in 66 plastic packets in three plaid airline canvas bags. The suspect was identified as Anthony Fuca (pict

Feb 14

Gallo to Serve Time in Rikers

Feb. 14, 1962 - Joseph Gallo, Brooklyn racketeer, was ordered today to serve a three-year term at Rikers Island Penitentiary for coercion before returning to Attica Prison for a seven-to-fourteen-year sentence as a convicted extortionist. Kings County Judge Samuel S. Leibowitz directed that Gallo serve the shorter term at the request of District Attorney Edward S. Silver, who brought Gallo down from Attica on a habeas corpus writ. The Brooklyn racketeer had been arrested on t

Feb 7

Lucky Luciano Buried in New York

Feb. 7, 1962 - The Lucky Luciano story ended in New York City today. The body of the exiled gangster (pictured in 1931) was brought back from Italy for burial in his family’s vault in St. John’s Cemetery, Middle Village, Queens. He died two weeks ago of a heart attack in Naples, where he had lived for the past 16 years. An acknowledged leader of rackets in the New York area, he had had a career marked by violence and flamboyance that was halted in 1936, when Thomas E. Dewey p

Feb 7

Governor Rockefeller Spares Life of "Capeman" Killer Salvatore Agron

Feb. 7, 1962 - New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller today spared the life of 18-year-old Salvatore Agron (pictured in 1959), who had been scheduled to die in the electric chair for the gang killing of two 16-year-old boys in a New York playground two years ago. Agron, known as the Cape Man or Dracula because he had worn a red-lined nurse’s cape on the night of the killings, had been in the death house for more than a year. The Governor signed an order commuting the youth’s de

Feb 7

Charges Against Former Welterweight Champ Saxton Dismissed, Deemed "Legally Insane"

Feb. 7, 1962 - Burglary charges against Johnny Saxton (pictured in 1955 between Tony DeMarco and Carmen Basilio), twice welterweight boxing champion of the world, were dismissed today in Queens County Court after he had been declared “punch-drunk and legally insane” at the time of his arrest. District Attorney Frank D. O’Connor of Queens moved for the dismissal after studying a psychiatrist’s report. Defense counsel had contended that Saxton, 31 years old, had “been left penn

Jan 31

Gallo Gang Rescues Six Children from Brooklyn Blaze

Jan. 31, 1962 - Seven members of the Gallo gang rescued six children today in Brooklyn when a fire in a mattress filled a top-floor apartment at 73 President Street with smoke. The gang’s headquarters is at 51 President Street. The seven gangsters had just left a nearby restaurant when they saw smoke pouring from the apartment, which is occupied by Mrs. Sista Biaz and her six children (pictured with three members of the Gallo gang). Mrs. Biaz was shopping and the children app

Jan 31

D.A. Hogan Urges Governor Rockefeller to Stay Execution of "Capeman"

Jan. 31, 1962 - In an unexpected move, New York District Attorney Frank S. Hogan appealed to Governor Rockefeller today to spare the life of Salvatore Agron (pictured), the 18-year-old youth awaiting execution in Sing Sing. Agron, known sometimes as the Cape Man or Dracula because he wore a red-lined nurse’s cape, was convicted in the gang killing two years ago of two 16-year-old boys in a West Side Manhattan playground. The youth’s two lawyers asked that the death sentence t

Jan 29

Lavish Funeral for Lucky Luciano in Naples

Jan. 29, 1962 - A funeral service was held today in Naples for Charles (Lucky) Luciano. After the requiem mass, his body was put in a cemetery chapel to await a decision on whether burial in the United States would be permitted. Luciano’s brother Bartolo — who keeps the family name of Lucania — requested such permission of the U.S. Consulate. Luciano was deported from the U.S. in 1946 because of his criminal record. There were many Luciano friends at the funeral. Some had bee

Jan 28

Alvin "Creepy" Karpis Seeks Deportation Parole from Alcatraz

Jan. 28, 1962 - Alvin “Creepy” Karpis (pictured in 1936), once listed as United States Public Enemy No. 1, is seeking a deportation parole that would allow him to return to his native Montreal. Karpis, 53 years old, has been in Alcatraz Prison for 25 years. Karpis was a child when his parents migrated to Topeka, Kan., from Montreal. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiracy in the 1933 kidnapping of William Hamm, a brewer from St. Paul, Minn. The gang that did the

Jan 26

Lucky Luciano is Dead

Jan. 26, 1962 - Lucky Luciano (pictured on ground) died of an apparent heart attack at Capodichino airport in Naples today as U.S. and Italian authorities prepared to arrest him in a crackdown on an international narcotics ring. He had just met Martin A. Gosch, an American film and television producer, arriving for final talks on a movie about his life, when he collapsed and died. Luciano, overlord of the New York rackets in the pre-war years, had a longer career than almost