If time travel existed, we'd all have a long list of exciting times and places to visit: Gladiators battling in the colosseum, France on the brink of revolution, the future United States on the brink of revolution, Prince performing with The Revolution...
It's bigger on the inside.
But do you ever think about places you'd want to skip out on witnessing first hand?
There are the obvious ones, like, you know, Europe in the 1940s, those whole, messy Spanish Flu and Bubonic Plague periods, the year of our Lord 2020... But a sleeper hit, an "oh, let's not go there" option, one that's not top of many people's lists is... [drumroll, please]...
...post-Depression-era Pittsburgh. Is that too many hyphens?
To be clear, no one is throwing shade on Pittsburgh—a city rich in art, history, and culture. Go Steelers?
We literally just Googled "Steelers fan crying." There were a lot of options.
We're just saying that 1930 Pittsburgh wasn't the safest place to be.
Pittsburgh has long been a home to people from all kinds of backgrounds. The English and the French began to populate the area in the mid-18th century (following, of course, centuries of Native settlement). This was followed by Irish Catholics who largely worked for the railroads, Eastern European immigrants who joined the steel industry, and Black Americans fleeing the Jim Crow South during the Great Migration.
The extensive diversity that would ultimately shape Pittsburgh, however, was overshadowed in the early years of the 20th century by criminal activity and violence. The Ku Klux Klan was very much active in western Pennsylvania at the time, liquor was illegal (until 1933), and racketeering was rampant.
AND... one thing that was wildly popular at the time was murder. Individuals involved in all sorts of nefarious activities could keep competition at bay by simply offing the other guys. It just made sense.
Case in point. This unfortunate headless gentleman discovered in April of 1930 in a barrel in the woods was—according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette—the 78th racketeer murder victim in four years' time. Not only had the body been decapitated, but its tattoos had been cut off, seemingly to prevent or delay identification. It had then been placed into a potato sack and crammed into a cabbage barrel. It's shocking to learn how many produce-carrying items were involved in murder 100 years ago. A simpler time, indeed.
11-year-old Thomas Damp (his actual name, and, incidentally, no dry picture of him has been found) had been sent out by his mother to retrieve a barrel for kindling, but, unfortunately the one he found was, eh... occupied. His face (still firmly attached to his body, unlike our friend in the barrel) seems to say, "What do I have to do to find a barrel around here without a headless body in it?"
Despite the murderer's best efforts, the victim was quickly identified as William "Stuttering Bill" Gregory, a beer runner believed to have offloaded a delivery of contraband alcohol in Akron, Ohio to his own benefit, later alleging he had been hijacked. Within a week from the body's discovery, Allegheny County Detective George W. Murren declared to the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Evening News that the "solution of the murder was practically 'in the bag,'" his words either a fun coincidence or a meaningful double entendre, in reference to the potato sack into which Gregory's body had been stuffed.
Fellow beer runner James Moleno was soon picked up by Pittsburgh finest, and following "relentless grilling in police headquarters," sang like a canary, alleging that Phillip Fazio, one of the leaders of the bootleg operation with which he was employed had offered him $200 to take care of Gregory.¹ A survey of Fazio's property produced a bloody wrench and substantial amounts of lime, both of which Fazio claimed were his, but like, he used them to do stuff that wasn't murder-y. ²
Another suspect was soon apprehended: one Mr. Emil O. Wenning, who, whilst being interrogated by the police, claimed he could not recall his whereabouts between the dates of March 31 and April 1, adding, "You want I should remember every double-crossing, no-good weasel I decapitate, mutilate, shove into a cabbage barrel, and roll into the woods? What am I, a historian? Excuse me, schoolboy, an historian?"³
OK, we don't know that he said that, per se, but it could have happened that way. Don't take this from us.
When the case went to trial, the defense threw a wrench into the prosecution's case (though not the bloody wrench found on Fazio's property allegedly used to bludgeon Mr. Gregory to death). Turns out, William Gregory's widow Alberta was having an affair with surprise witness John P. Horne. Though Horne admitted to the affair, he denied killing Mr. Gregory, who, consequently, was also having an affair with one Mrs. Lightner. Defense witness Jennie Mitchell claimed she overheard Alberta Gregory state, "it will not be good for Bill and Mrs. Lightner if we get them."⁴
"Was I having an affair with a teamster's wife? Sure, OK. For many years, thank you very much. But I haven't murdered ANYONE other than my barber."
Fazio was ultimately acquitted.⁵ Perhaps he wasn't guilty, despite the murder weapon and large quantities of lime being discovered on his property. Or, perhaps the verdict may have been influenced by the fact that Fazio had been paying off Allegheny County politicians to the tune of $350,000 over the course of seven years to turn the other way while he ran liquor and committed various other crimes.⁶ It's hard to say.
Sadly, John Horne's barber was found guilty of massacring Mr. Fazio's eyebrows.
Fazio was later charged and convicted on liquor charges, sentenced to 15 months and fined $1,000. Fazio tried to get paroled midway through his sentence, but it looks like the politicians and local officials he outed as accepting payouts from him for nearly a dozen years felt pretty OK with him serving it out.⁷
Fazio wasn't done doing crimes, though. Bill Gregory's widow was abducted and assaulted by a group of five men just shortly after Fazio's release. Her assailants were found after having just looted a truck full of eggs and were mid-egg fight when arrested. We would like to make it clear that this is not a preposterous embellishment on our part—they literally stole five crates of eggs and were throwing them at one another when they were apprehended. The police claimed Mrs. Gregory's attack, which left her in serious condition, was unrelated to Fazio. Did we mention that Fazio was buddies with police chief Thomas Cummings? Seems relevant here.⁸
Then, in April of 1934, Fazio and his new best buddy Nick Sonsolo, kinda maybe bombed a councilman's house, just a little bit. To be fair, if the councilman had taken the threatening letters they sent in advance to heart, the bombing wouldn't have been necessary.⁹
Cool guys don't look at explosions.
Fazio was ultimately convicted of the bombing and sentenced to between 4.5–9 years in the state penitentiary in August of 1934.¹⁰
The following month, former Pittsburgh police chief (and friend of Fazio) Thomas Cummings was accused of murdering his wife. He claimed he had long been threatened by associates of Fazio, and he had receipts.¹¹
Doesn't seem friendly at all.
Thomas Cummings' defense was weakened, however, by the fact that he was ALSO allegedly having an affair. With this lady:
Loving the beret, Anna. Solid reminder that you never know when you're going to have your picture in the paper as the mistress of a former corrupt police chief who may or may not have offed his wife, and accessories matter.
Cummings was ultimately sentenced to 10–20 years for the murder of his wife.¹² Fazio's two brothers tried to break him out of jail, but were apprehended.¹³ He ended up serving four years and was released, after which he operated Rose's Hotel, a rowdy establishment regularly appearing in the paper for bar fights and general dumbassery. Rose's Hotel was officially managed under the name of his wife, Rose Fazio, as Phillip was repeatedly denied a liquor license, considering his extensive record.
Like a good mobster, Philip retired and died out west, in Mesa, Arizona, at the age of 65.
Remember: Just because an obituary makes no mention of the deceased's career, it doesn't mean there wasn't one to speak of. Adios, Philip Fazio. And also, we know what you did.
So if you ever get the chance to go back in time, try not to end up on the wrong side of a cabbage barrel. You're welcome.
Notes
"Racketeer Admits Headless Murder," Pittsburgh Journal Gazette, 10 Apr 1930, p.5.
"Racket Chief's Pal 'Squeals' in Killing," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10 Apr 1930, p. 1.
"Third Suspect Held in Gregory Slaying," Intelligencer Journal, 17 Apr 1930.
"Barrel Murder Case Goes Into Jury's Hands Today," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 13 Jun 1930, pp. 1, 9.
"Beer Runner is Acquitted," The Morning Herald, 14 Jun 1930, p. 14.
"Fazio Appears, Talks to Park and Walk Out," The Pittsburgh Press, 26 Jun 1930, p. 1.
"Fazio Refused Parole By Court," The Daily Courrier, 29 Apr 1931, p. 6.
"Widow of Slain Racketeer is Beaten By Gang," The Pittsburgh Press, 29 Apr 1932.
"'Barrel Murder' Figure Held in Blast," Pittsburg Sun-Telegraph, 25 Apr 1934.
"Fazio Gets Pen Term in Blast," Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, 1 Aug 1934, p.1.
"Notes Hold Solution of Cummings' Murder Trial Mystery," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 25 Feb 1935, pp. 1,8.
"Cummings Given 10-20 Year Term," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 13 Apr 1935, p. 15.
"Daring Plot to Free Prisoner is Uncovered," New Castle News, 23 Jan 1936, p. 1.
Sources
"Pittsburgh: The Dark Years," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Nov 2013 (https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/prohibition/ : 4 Sep 2024)
"Pittsburgh History," visitpittsburgh.com (https://www.visitpittsburgh.com/things-to-do/arts-culture/history/ : 4 Sep 2024).
William S. Dietrich, "A Very Short History of Pittsburgh," Pittsburgh Quarterly, Fall 2008 (https://pittsburghquarterly.com/articles/a-very-brief-history-of-pittsburgh/ : 4 Sep 2024).
"Young Wife to be Questioned About Murder," Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Evening News, 8 Apr 1930, p. 2.
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