Reasonable Doubt: Who Killed Legs Diamond?
The Unsolved Murder of a Legendary Gangster
Legs: The Early Years
Jack Diamond was born in Philadelphia in 1897. His early years were spent growing up on the streets of Philadelphia before moving to New York City at the age of 18. His adult life put him right in the middle of Prohibition, a time when the manufacture, sale and distribution of liquor was outlawed, creating a network of illicit avenues to fill the demand – and Diamond was in the center of it all.
According to author, Dr. Denis Foley who researched the history of Diamond and who once lived in the apartment next to where Diamond was killed, “Diamond was a fantastic dancer. He used to dance at the Kenwood Club in Albany.” But Foley said that Diamond’s “Legs” moniker was also attributed to his speed in fleeing from the crimes he committed during his youth in Philadelphia.
A Magnet for Bullets
Undoubtedly, it was his criminal lifestyle that made Diamond a target. He was shot in at least four separate incidents before the shooting that would ultimately claim his life in 1931. Let’s take a look at those previous incidents:
It was reported that in 1924, Diamond tried to hijack a liquor truck and was shot; a few years later, in 1927, he was working as a bodyguard for Jacob Orgen, known as Little Augie, another gangster of the day. Diamond was substituting that night for his brother Eddie Diamond. Two shooters attacked, killing Little Augie and injuring Legs.
In 1930, Legs was shot 5 times while at the Hotel Monticello in Manhattan. The news headline said, “Racketeer Near Death”, but he would pull through.[1] And then in 1931, he was shot while at the Aratoga Inn in the Catskills in New York. Diamond survived, but his days were numbered.
Kidnapping -Torture Trial and Acquittal
In December 1931, Diamond was on trial for the kidnapping of James Duncan and Grover Parks, two competitors of Leg’s liquor-peddling operation. Both were reportedly beaten and tortured. The victim’s claimed that they were assaulted by Diamond and two of his enforcers, John Scacchio and Jack Dalton. A trial concluded on December 17, 1931 finding Legs Diamond not guilty of kidnapping and torture.[2]
Assassination Follows Celebration
Diamond celebrated his acquittal at a party that night in the Ten Broeck section of Albany with his girlfriend Kiki Roberts, a famed Ziegfeld Follies starlet. After partying late into the night, Diamond took a cab to his apartment on Dove Street in Albany. Foley said that Diamond was drunk and sleeping it off when, from the darkness, he was shot three times in the head. Foley said that the landlady who lived downstairs told police that she’d overheard two men talking, one saying “did you think we killed him?” The Ogdensburg Republican Journal and The Daily News reported that one of the bullets that struck Diamond ripped through the base of his skull and that the other two were fired into the side of his head near the right ear.[3][4] The pair was reported to have rode away in a red Packard. Foley said that a newsboy in the neighborhood described them looking like detectives. “The detectives in Albany dressed impeccably in suits, with the beautiful fedoras.” The Glens Falls Times newspaper reported that a pearl-handled pistol was recovered a few blocks from Diamond’s apartment, wrapped in a handkerchief, along with a flashlight. Police indicated that three rounds had been fired from the pistol.[5]
Whodunnit – possible suspects (I moved this subtitle up one paragraph as the next para w/ Kiki was above it, not beneath it)
But, says Foley, the district attorney is suspicious of Diamond’s girlfriend, Kiki Roberts, who had reportedly fled to Boston to be with her mother after Legs’ death. But it appears that the investigation never linked Kiki to the death of her boyfriend.[6]
News reports of the day indicate that Diamond was at war with other gangsters, and anyone who he felt was in competition with his own illicit operations. But, says Denis Foley, Diamond was also at war with the police. In Albany, New York, politics ruled during the era of Prohibition and those in charge were not about to let gangsters intrude on their territory.
Retired police chief and author of two books on gangster life in upstate New York. Greg Veitch says there are two mobsters who should also be at the top of the list of suspects: Irving Bitz, and Salvy Spitale. “These guys fly under the radar, they’re not as prominent as Meyer Lansky or Lucky Luciano. But a lot of these guys are the ones who do the dirty work, and you don’t hear their names mentioned.” Veitch said that Diamond had scammed a significant amount of money from Bitz and Spitale in an overseas narcotics venture that never came to fruition. “They were not to be trifled with”, said Veitch about Bitz and Spitale, adding that Diamond never made any attempt to pay back the money.
Veitch said that another suspect to be considered is Little Auggie Carfano. “He’s another one that was implicated in a number of different murders and he’s that second-tier gangster. He was associated with Al Capone, and he was partners with Bitz and Spitale”, added Veitch. Carfano was likely responsible for a half dozen murders during his career, but said Veitch, was never captured, tried, or charged for any of those murders.
But Veitch does not dismiss the theory of the Albany Police Night Squad being implicated in Diamond’s murder either.
Other suspects mentioned included Dutch Schultz, an associate of infamous Arnold Rothstein, described as the godfather of modern organized crime; the Oley brothers, described as local thugs; and Red Cassidy, an Irish gangster of the day. But Veitch says you cannot discount Leg’s wife, Alice Diamond. “Alice was in the middle of breaking up with him over her jealousy of Kiki Roberts, and she (Alice) would certainly have connections to the gangsters,” said Veitch. “She would know his friends, and enemies”, he added. For a short time after Legs’ death Alice tried to cash in on her late husband’s fame, acting in a play and touring, said Veitch. But on July 1, 1933, a year and a half after Legs was murdered, Alice was found shot in her apartment, another death without an answer. There was speculation that this could have been a gang hit, but there is also a suicide theory. She was buried in Queens, NY alongside Legs. Curiously, thirty days after Alice’s death, her bodyguard was shot and killed in a New York City café.[7]
Politics and the Night Squad
Author Bill Kennedy wrote a book titled “O, Albany” a collection of stories of the city’s rich history and its infamous characters including Legs Diamond and political boss Dan O’Connell. Denis Foley said that Kennedy often spoke about Legs Diamond. In the book, said Foley, Kennedy places Diamond’s death in the hands of the Albany police Night Squad. To understand why the theory of police involvement would be plausible, it is necessary to understand the political dynamics of the 1920’s and 1930’s. “… the Democratic Party could tell you anything in Albany because it controlled the city”, said Denis Foley. “They controlled the illicit and a lot of the licit.” Kennedy reportedly interviewed Dan O’Connell, a powerful political party boss who was once described as the last of the old-time bosses[8], a man who survived state and federal gambling investigations, although he did serve a 90-day sentenced for contempt after refusing to testify before a grand jury.[9] O’Connell reportedly sent word to Diamond that he was not welcome in Albany. Foley said that “Dan O’Connell picked the detectives on the Night Squad, and they would report everything to Dan.” And, said Foley, “Dan didn’t want Legs in Albany.” Kennedy attributes a statement to O’Connell of a conversation between Legs Diamond and Albany police sergeant William Fitzpatrick telling Diamond he ‘would kill him if he didn’t keep going.’ Detective John McElveney was Fitzpatrick’s partner on the Night Squad, said Foley, and was also involved in warning Legs Diamond against operating in their city. Foley said that the theory of the police being responsible for Legs’ demise is somewhat validated by the fact of Fitzpatrick’s sudden rise in the ranks. “Fitzpatrick was the sergeant who becomes lieutenant,” said Foley. “And then, after Legs was killed, a little while later he becomes the chief. That’s a rise, right?” Foley said he spoke with a former Albany police department official who also indicated to him that “the Night Squad paid a visit to Legs that night,” referring to the night Legs was killed, though it is unknown whether that was based on knowledge or lore.
Night Squad Plot Twist?
In another twist, Police Chief Kennedy was killed in his office in 1945 by none other than Detective John McElveney. Reports say their relationship became contentious after the Chief allegedly punched McElveney in the jaw during an argument a few weeks before the shooting. One published report indicated there was disagreement over payment for dental bills.[10] Other reports indicate that a state grand jury investigation was underway, ordered by Governor Dewey at the time, over crime and corruption in Albany County. But a special prosecutor is quoted as saying there was no connection between the chief’s murder and the ongoing probe.[11] [12] McElveney was sentenced to state prison for the crime, but his sentence was commuted by the governor in 1957.
Epilogue
Marion “Kiki” Roberts faded from the headlines. In a newsreel interview[13] after Legs Diamond’s murder she said that she was going home to be with her mother in Boston[14]. We could not find any public report of her death.
And what ever happened to Legs’ co-conspirators in that kidnapping and torture trial from which Legs was acquitted? Newspapers at the time reported that Scacchio was convicted on the same evidence used to prosecute Legs. Scacchio was sentenced to 15 years. Dalton apparently fled, and there is no record about any prosecution for his role in the kidnapping.
As for Irving Bitz and Salvy Spitale, Bitz was 78 years old when he was kidnapped for ransom in 1981. It was reported that despite a payment of $150,000, Bitz was strangled and his body pulled from a Staten Island Beach about 3 weeks after his abduction. Newspapers at the time called him a prime suspect in the murder of Legs Diamond, on orders from Dutch Schultz. Spitale died at the age of 82 in Florida.
Eight years after Legs was gunned down, a man in Spokane, Washington claimed responsibility for the assassination of Legs Diamond. Arthur J. Dowling claimed to have served prison time in New York State, but reports of the day do not show that police had any interest in Dowling’s supposed confession.[15]
Reasonable Doubt
The unsolved murder of Jack “Legs” Diamond has become part of Albany, New York history. The speculation as to who killed Diamond began in the moments after someone pulled the trigger back in December 1931. Even if prosecutors had found evidence to charge someone in Diamond’s murder, with all of the prior attempts on Diamond’s life, the people who were his competitors, a jealous wife, people whom he had cheated, and others who simply wanted him dead, any trial would have certainly brought with it a lot of reasonable doubt.
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[1] Plattsburgh Sentinel; Oct. 14, 1930, p. 2
[2] Plattsburgh Daily Republican, July 15, 1931, p.1
[3] The Daily News, Tarrytown, NY; Dec. 18, 1931
[4] The Republican Journal, Ogdensburg, NY; Dec. 18, 1931
[5] The Republican Journal; Ogdensburg, NY; Dec. 19, 1931
[6] The Republican Journal, Ogdensburg, NY; Dec. 19, 1931
[7] Ogdensburg Journal, Ogdensburg, NY; Jul. 13, 1939
[8] New York Times, Mar. 1, 1977, p.32
[9] New York Times, Mar. 1, 1977, p.32
[10] Troy Record, Troy, NY; Jan. 29, 1946, p. 9
[11] Dunkirk Evening Observer; Jan. 6, 1945, p.10
[12] Salamanca Republican Press; Jan. 5, 1945, p. 9
[13] YouTube;
; Accessed 4/29/2024
[14] The Daily News; Tarrytown, NY; Dec. 21, 1931, p. 5
[15] Ogdensburg Journal; Ogdensburg, NY; Jul. 13, 1939