Louis Pioggi, affectionately called Louie the Lump, was a diminutive and dapper Italian member of the Five Point Gang, who rose to fame one starry night in Coney Island, when he took the life of Kind Twist, the former Monk Eastman’s boss. Jewish gang from the Lower East Side. Twist’s gang and the Five Pointers were in a constant battle for rackets on the Lower East Side, and under Twist’s reign, his gang had made extensive inroads into Five Pointer territory. The anger was so great between both gangs that they made the Hatfields and the McCoys look like choir boys singing in a church.
Born in 1889 on the Lower East Side, Pioggi was basically a footnote in American gangster history. He was a small time timer, who by a twist of fate, fell in love with the same girl from the ballroom, the most illustrious Kid Twist (Maxwell Zwerbach) was dating next door.
It was customary in the early 20th century for gangsters with more than a few dollars in their pockets to break free from the dumps and dives of the Lower East Side and “go out on the town,” to the wondrous expanses of Brooklyn’s Coney Island. On May 14, 1908, Pioggi took a trip to Coney to see Carroll Terry, a beautiful ballroom girl from Coney Island. who was Twist’s regular squeeze. Unbeknownst to Pioggi, Twist was also in Coney Island to see Miss Terry, and was accompanied by his bodyguard Cyclone Louie, real name Vach Lewis. Cyclone Louie was a killer for Twist, but he was best known as a strongman from the Coney Island Circus, who made his living bending large pieces of steel around Twist’s neck.
Pioggi went to the dance hall where Terry worked and asked her to dance with him, which was his job anyway. Pioggi fell hopelessly in love with her and before leaving, she begged Terry to promise that she would return to New York City with him after she finished her shift. Saying anything to get rid of Pioggi, Terry said that she would, but only if Pioggi left immediately, so that she could do her job without undue interference from her.
The real reason why Terry gave Pioggi hobo fever was because he expected to see Kid Twist dwarfed. And he did, when moments after Pioggi left, Twist and Cyclone Louie made their grand entrance. He joined them at a table and after a few drinks, his lips loosened and he told Twist about Pioggi’s amorous advances. Soon after, Pioggi returned to the ballroom to see Twist holding Terry’s hand and Cyclone Louie standing guard. Knowing he had been set up, Pioggi went into a dive on Surf Avenue to drown his sorrows in the second-floor saloon. Minutes later, Twist and Cyclone Louie stormed into the room and confronted Pioggi.
“I just saw Carroll,” Twist said. “And she said you’re on the biggest ass she knows. So she says you’re a rude top, always jumping around. Let’s see how top you are.” Twist pointed to the open window. “She throws out the window.”
Now Pioggi wasn’t in the mood for the twenty-foot dive, but when Twist made a move to pull out the revolver on his belt, Pioggi quickly jumped out the window. He landed on all fours and later discovered that he had fractured his ankle. Pioggi limped to a phone and called Paul Kelly, the head of the Five Points gang. Pioggi told Kelly what had happened with Kid Twist.
“I have to cook it,” Pioggi told Kelly.
Kelly agreed with Pioggi’s assessment. “You sure have to cook it,” Kelly said. “I’ll send a fleet. When my boys arrive, catch these bums in the street and open with your cannons.”
Kelly’s boys arrived an hour later and when they did, they saw Twist and Cyclone Louie having a great time in Terry’s ballroom, laughing and talking loudly about Pioggi’s daring dive. Terry had left the premises for a while and was nowhere to be seen. Pioggi senses a boy inside with a note telling Twist that Terry was waiting for him outside. As soon as they reached the sidewalk, Twist led a voice calling out to him from the side. “This way Kid,” Pioggi yelled. Before Twist could react, Pioggi shoved one into his head, killing him instantly. Cyclone Louie’s jaw dropped for a second, then he started to run. Pioggi and the Five Pointers gave chase, firing bullets at blinding speed. Finally, with five shots to the chest and back, Cyclone Louie fell dead like a rock to the pavement.
Pioggi, still outraged, refused to stop shooting. Luckily, Terry showed up seconds later and, just for fun, Pioggi punched him on the hip. Terry fell on top of the dead Twist, but lived to dance another day. As Pioggi jumped into a getaway car, a police officer appeared on the scene. Pioggi fired again. This bullet ripped the policeman’s helmet off his head, but otherwise caused no damage.
Pioggi ran away and went into hiding, while Kelly contacted Tammany Hall to see if he could negotiate a favorable deal with Pioggi.
A few days later, Pioggi turned himself in and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He also testified that he had acted completely alone, which was quite insincere of him, since dozens of people had seen the Coney Island executions.
Pioggi was sentenced to eleven months in Elmira State Prison. He left the court mocking. “What is eleven months?” Pioggi said. “I could do that standing on my head.”
