SOLVEDListenMidtown Manhattan, New York City · 1990s
Murder of Howard Pilmar
Howard Pilmar was killed at his Manhattan business in 1996, and his wife and brother-in-law were convicted more than two decades later.
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What happened
Herman Rosenthal was a small-time bookmaker and gambler operating illegal casinos in Manhattan. In July 1912, the New York World named NYPD Lieutenant Charles Becker as one of three senior police officials implicated in Rosenthal's complaints that police were demanding a large share of his illegal profits in exchange for allowing his operations to continue. Two days after this article was published, at around 2 a.m. on July 16, 1912, Rosenthal was shot and killed on the street after leaving the Hotel Metropole at 147 West 43rd Street, near Times Square. Contemporary reports described the suspected gunmen as a Lower East Side gang.
Manhattan District Attorney Charles S. Whitman, who had an appointment scheduled with Rosenthal before the killing, stated his belief that the gangsters had acted at Becker's behest. An early witness, John J. Reisler ("John the Barber"), told police he saw "Bridgey" Webber fleeing the scene, but recanted his statement the following week, reportedly after being threatened; he was subsequently charged with perjury.
The case drew extensive newspaper coverage, including sustained front-page attention from The New York Times, as investigators uncovered links between the killing and organized gambling and police corruption. The NYPD recalled about 30 retired detectives to assist the investigation. One of them, Detective Frank Upton, formerly of the department's "Italian Squad," was involved in the July 25, 1912 arrest of suspect Francisco "Dago Frank" Cirofici, who was arrested along with a companion; both were reported to have been too affected by opium to resist arrest. Policewoman Mary A. Sullivan went undercover to gain the trust of women connected to the suspects, contributing to the investigation's progress.
The Becker–Rosenthal trial took place in New York City, running from October 7 to October 30, 1912, and resuming from May 2 to May 22, 1914, with additional procedural matters continuing into 1915. Five men were convicted of murder and sentenced to death: former Lieutenant Charles Becker, who was charged with ordering the killing and with protecting and extorting money from illegal gamblers, along with gunmen Francisco Cirofici ("Dago Frank"), Harry Horowitz ("Gyp the Blood"), Louis Rosenberg ("Lefty Louie"), and Jacob Seidenshner ("Whitey Lewis"). All five were executed at Sing Sing Prison.
Several other figures played roles in the case without being charged with the murder, including gambler-informants Jack Rose, Sam Schepps, Harry Vallon, and Louis "Bridgey" Webber, who testified against the defendants, and gang leader Jack Zelig, who was killed before he could testify for the prosecution. Charles Whitman, the prosecuting district attorney, was later elected Governor of New York in 1914.
