Michael Malloy

Michael Malloy
Born 1873
County Donegal, Ireland
Died February 22, 1933 (aged 59–60)
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Cause of death Carbon monoxide poisoning
Resting place Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum
Residence 1210 Fulton Avenue, Bronx[1]
Other names
  • Mike the Durable
  • Iron Mike
  • Iron Mike Malloy
Occupation Stationary engineer[1]

Michael Malloy (1873 – February 22, 1933), later known as either Mike the Durable or Iron Mike, was a homeless Irish man who lived in New York City during the 1920s and 1930s.[2][3] A former firefighter, he is most famous for surviving a number of murder attempts on his life by five acquaintances, who were attempting to commit life insurance fraud.[2][4]

Failed murder attempts

The events that led to Malloy's death began in January 1933.[2][3] He was, at the time, an alcoholic and homeless.[2][3] Five men who were acquainted with Malloy – Tony Marino, Joseph "Red" Murphy, Francis Pasqua, Hershey Green, and Daniel Kriesberg (later dubbed "the Murder Trust" by the headlines)[1] – deployed a ploy to destroy the unemployed Malloy by getting him to drink himself to death, in order to collect life insurance.[2][3] The first part of the plot was successful, presumably achieved with the aid of a corrupt insurance agent, and they stood to gain over $3,500 (more than $66,000 by 2017's standards according to the CPI) if Malloy died an accidental death.[2][3]

Marino owned a speakeasy and gave Malloy unlimited credit, thinking Malloy would abuse it and drink himself to death.[2][3] Although Malloy drank for a majority of his waking day, it did not kill him. To remedy this, Marino substituted Malloy's liquor with antifreeze, but Malloy would continue to drink with no problems.[2][3] Antifreeze was substituted with turpentine, followed by horse liniment, and finally mixed in rat poison.[2][5] Still, Malloy lived.

The group then tried raw oysters soaked in wood alcohol.[2][3] This idea apparently came from Pasqua, who claimed he saw a man die after eating oysters with whiskey.[2] Then came a sandwich of spoiled sardines mixed with poison and carpet tacks,[2][3][6] Malloy was fine. When that failed, they decided that it was unlikely that anything Malloy ingested was going to kill him quickly enough, so the Murder Trust decided to freeze him to death. On a night when the temperature reached −14 °F (−26 °C), Malloy drank until he passed out, was carried to a park, dumped in the snow, and had five gallons (19 liters) of water poured on his bare chest.[2][3] Nevertheless, Malloy reappeared the following day for his drink.

The next attempt on his life came when they hit him with Green's taxi, moving at 45 miles per hour (72 km/h).[2][3] This put Malloy in the hospital for three weeks with broken bones.[3] The gang presumed he was dead, but they were unable to collect the policy on him.[2] When he again appeared at the bar, they decided on one last approach.

Malloy's murder

On February 22, 1933, after he passed out for the night, the murderers took Malloy to Murphy's room, put a hose in his mouth that was connected to the gas jet, and turned it on.[2][3] This finally killed Malloy, with his death occurring within an hour.[2][3] He was pronounced dead of lobar pneumonia and quickly buried.[5][7] Despite this, the Murder Trust failed to divide the collected loot evenly.[2][3] Eventually, police heard rumors of "Mike the Durable" in speakeasies all over town, and upon learning that a Michael Malloy had died that night, they had the body exhumed and forensically examined.[2][3]

The five men were put on trial and subsequently convicted. Green went to prison, while the other four members were sentenced to death and executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing in Ossining, New York: Kriesberg, Marino, and Pasqua on June 7, 1934, and Murphy on July 5, 1934.[2][8][9]

  • "You Can't Kill Michael Malloy" is an instrumental piece by The Spent Poets. A clip of the song appears on the album Frizzle Fry by the band Primus.
  • In 1993, a play based on Malloy's murder was made, titled The Killing of Michael Malloy, by Erik Jendresen.
  • "Michael Malloy" is the name of a song by grindcore band Gob on their 7" split with Agoraphobic Nosebleed.
  • An episode, "The Durable Mike Malloy Case", of the 1952 television series Gang Busters seems to have been inspired by this incident.
  • The story of Malloy's murder was featured on an episode of the BBC series QI in 2011.[10]
  • An episode, "One for the Road", of Amazing Stories features bar patrons trying to murder a drunk named Mike Malloy for insurance money.
  • An episode "The Indestructible Mike Matter", of the radio series Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar seems to have been inspired by this incident. Howard McNear was Mike.
  • Malloy's death was featured in The Poisoner's Handbook as one of the cases investigated by the then newly established New York City Medical Examiner's Office under the pioneering Dr. Charles Norris.
  • Malloy's story was depicted with slight exaggeration on the YouTube channel "Sam O'Nella Academy"[11].
  • Malloy's story was told on Episode 8 of the podcast "Ma Yesh Beze"[12]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Keating, Isabelle (12 May 1933). "Doctor and Undertaker Held in 'Murder Trust'". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. p. 1 – via newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Simon Read. On the House: The Bizarre Killing of Michael Molloy, Berkley Books, 2005. ISBN 978-0-425-20678-2
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Deborah Blum. The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York, Penguin Press, Feb 18, 2010. ISBN 978-1-59420-243-8. The story of 'Mike the Durable' is retold in chapter 10 "Carbon Monoxide". See also Blum's article "The Strange Death of Mike the Durable" in Women in Crime Inc, March 23, 2010.
  4. ↑ "New York Gangs Murder Trust and Michael Malloy Part 1".
  5. 1 2 O'Connor, Michael (2007-10-07). "The Durable Mike Malloy". New York Daily News.
  6. ↑ "4 Men Go On Trial in Old Insurance Plot". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Oct 18, 1933. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
  7. ↑ "4 Murder Attempts Cited in Weird Insurance Plot". Altoona Tribune. Altoona, Pennsylvania. 13 May 1933. p. 4 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Trestrail, John Harris; Trestrail, John Harris III (2007). Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, And Attorneys. Humana Press. p. 15. ISBN 1-58829-821-3.
  9. ↑ Blanco, Juan Ignacio. "Executions in New York - 1926-1940". DeathPenaltyUSA, the database of executions in the United States.
  10. ↑ Video, QI XL - An Irishman Can't be Killed with Alcohol on YouTube
  11. ↑ The Tale of Michael Malloy on YouTube
  12. ↑ Chapter 08 - Michael Malloy refuses to die, retrieved 2018-09-17
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