Frank Abbandando
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Frank Abbandando | |
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| Born | 1910 Brooklyn, New York, USA |
| Died | February 19, 1942 New York, USA |
Frank "Dasher" Abbandando (1910 – February 19, 1942) was a New York City gangster and Mafia hitman. He was one of twelve children born to Lorenzo Abbondondola and Rosaria Famighetti. He was born on July 11, 1910 and executed on February 23, 1942.He came from a family of twelve, Filomena born December 10, 1907 and died December 6, 1970, Rocco born December 22, 1910 and died October 19, 1912, Anna born June 25, 1912 and died October 13, 1984, Carolina born 1914 and died September 16, 1915, Theresa born October 1, 1915 and died April 11, 1997, Carmela born 1917 and died April 30, 1924, Rocco (a mob associate) born September 7, 1918 and died March 31, 1976, Antonio born March 15, 1920 and died April 6, 1981, twins,Angelina & Archangelo, born August 1921 and died October 18, 1921 and Angelina born 1923 and died May 2, 1925. He had two sons of which his first son, Lawrence, was born out of wedlock. He was forced to marry, Jennie DeLuca, a hairdresser from Ocean Hill, Brooklyn. Lawrence , was born December 20, 1927. He was a mob associate and died on March 25th, 1995 in North Miami Beach, Fla of cancer. His brother Frank Jr, born on October 17, 1935. He was named "Frankie Fingers" after his middle fingers were removed by a not-too-sharp knife by a Colombo crime family capo after Frank Jr. gave him the middle finger in a bottle of vinegar. He continued to live by his father's ruthless reputation but was murdered in a hit and run by a distant relative of capo Dominick Napolitano in South Beach, Miami while crossing Biscayne Boulevard in 1996.
Abbandando was a hitman for so-called Murder, Inc. and is claimed to have killed 30 people in Brooklyn in the 1920s and 1930s. His nickname came from his running speed; in one case he reputedly ran around a house to shoot his victim from behind.
In his teens Abbandando began to extort money from shop owners by threatening to burn their shops if they did not pay. He spent time in a reform school in Elmira, New York, where he demonstrated skill at baseball.
In his twenties, Abbandando worked as a lieutenant for the crime boss Harry Maione in Ocean Hill, Brooklyn. He organized gambling and loan shark operations and extortion rackets. In 1932 he took part in the gang war against the rival Shapiro gang in Brownsville to take over their territory. Their gang became Brooklyn, Inc, a forerunner of Murder Inc.
During his stint as a Murder, Inc assassin, Abbandando fulfilled numerous murder contracts for an average fee of $500. In his "free" time he molested young women. He preferred fine clothes and fancy cars.
In the early 1940s, Abbandando was arrested due to testimony of his former boss-turned-informant Abe Reles and later sentenced to death for the murder of a loan shark George Rudnick in New York on May 25, 1937. He was executed in the electric chair on February 19, 1942.
His family name is cut to his tombstone with "Abbundando".
[edit] In popular culture
- Frank Abbandando may have been the inspiration for Mario Puzo's The Godfather character Genco Abbandando.
[edit] Further reading
- Davis, John H. Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family, New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
- Iannuzzi, Joseph and James Morton. Joe "Dogs" Iannuzzi: The Life and Times of a Real Life Mobster. Simon & Schuster, 1993. ISBN 0-671-79752-2
