Frankie Yale

Yale was born in Longobucco, Italy on January 22, 1893 to Domenico and Isabella (née DeSimone) Ioele. He had an older brother, John, and two younger siblings, Assunta and Angelo. He and his family arrived in the United States c. 1900. As a teenager, Ioele was befriended by John Torrio, who ushered him into the Five Points Gang and groomed him for a life of crime. Shortly after Torrio left for Chicago, in 1909, Ioele "Americanized" his last name to Yale. Despite his medium height and chubby build, Yale was a fearsome fistfighter and thief. In 1910, at age 17, Yale and a friend, a wrestler named Bobby Nelson, severely beat several men during a fight in the Coney Island pool hall, which involved cracking pool cues and hurling billiard balls. One of his early arrests, in October 1912, was on suspicion of homicide.

Like his mentor Johnny Torrio, Yale was one of a new breed of gangster who believed in putting business ahead of ego. After getting started with some basic racketeering, Yale took control of Brooklyn's ice delivery trade by selling "protection" and creating monopolies. With the proceeds from these rackets, Yale opened a bar on Seaside Walk in Coney Island known as the Harvard Inn in 1917. Hoping to capitalize on the collegiate name of his bar, he began using the name Yale. It was at the Harvard Inn that a young bouncer named Al Capone got his famous facial scars in a dispute with Frank Galluccio, in which Capone accidentally insulted Galluccio's sister. After two years in Yale's employ, Capone was shipped off west to Chicago by Yale, and joined Torrio's organization.

Conversely, Yale was a violent man who did not hesitate to inflict pain on others. When angered by his younger brother Angelo, Yale beat him so badly that he wound up in the hospital. When two extortionists attempted to shake down the popular hat-check operator of a neighborhood restaurant, Yale battered the two unconscious. In May 1920, Yale traveled to Chicago and personally killed longtime gang boss Big Jim Colosimo at the behest of Chicago Outfit friends Torrio and Capone. Colosimo was allegedly murdered because he stood in the way of his gang making huge bootlegging profits in Chicago. Although suspected by Chicago police, Yale was never officially charged.

The first known attempt on Yale's life occurred on February 6, 1921, when he and two of his men were ambushed in Lower Manhattan after they stepped from their car in order to attend a banquet. One of Yale's bodyguards was killed and the other wounded, with Yale himself sustaining a severe lung wound. Yale pulled through after an extended recovery.

Five months after Yale's injury, on July 15, 1921, he, his brother Angelo, and four men were driving on Cropsey Avenue in Bath Beach when another car filled with rival gunmen overtook them and opened fire. Angelo and one of Yale's men were wounded. This attack was believed to have been carried out in revenge for the June 5th killing of a Manhattan mobster named Ernesto Melchiorre, who had been murdered after a late-night visit to the Harvard Inn. Melchiorre's brother Silvio was believed to have been the driving force behind the unsuccessful attack. Eight days later, Yale's men gunned down Silvio Melchiorre in front of his Little Italy cafe.

Yet another attempt on Yale's life took place on July 9, 1923. Yale's chauffeur, Frank Forte, had taken the Yale family to a christening at a nearby church. While Yale decided to walk back to his 14th Avenue home, Forte drove Maria Yale and her two daughters back. As the women exited the vehicle a carload of four gangsters rolled past, mistook Frank Forte for his boss, and shot him.

In November 1924, Yale was asked once again to come to Chicago to assist Capone and Torrio, who needed another rival murdered. On November 10, 1924, Yale, John Scalise, and Albert Anselmi reportedly entered the Schofield Flower Shop and killed North Side Gang leader Dean O'Banion. Eight days later, the Chicago Police arrested Yale and Sam Pollaccia at Chicago's Union Station as they were about to depart for New York. Yale said he had come to town for the funeral of Unione Siciliana president Mike Merlo and stayed to see old friends. Yale further claimed to be having lunch at the time of O'Banion's murder. Police could not shake his alibi and were compelled to release him.

Soon after the Harvard Inn opened, Yale married Maria Delapia, with whom he would have two daughters, Rosa and Isabella. They later separated, he married a younger woman called Lucita in 1927 and they had a daughter, Angelina. Yale was also noted as a stylish dresser, favoring expensive suits and diamond jewelry. One newspaper reporter called him the "Beau Brummell of Brooklyn". Yale was also known for generosity toward the less fortunate people in his neighborhood, who often approached him and requested financial assistance. After a local delicatessen owner was robbed, Yale replaced his lost cash. When a fish peddler lost his cart, Yale gave him $200 with an admonition: "Get a horse, you're too old to walk". Yale was dubbed the "Prince of Pals".

In a last-ditch effort to mend the relationship with his longtime friend, Capone invited Yale to Chicago to view the Dempsey-Tunney heavyweight title rematch at Soldier Field on September 22, 1927. While their visit was civil enough, the pair's friendship began to rapidly deteriorate after Yale returned to New York. Distracted by a gang war with rival mobster Joe Aiello, a brief exile from Chicago, and the 1928 Republican primary election, Capone had to wait until the spring of 1928 to plan retaliation.

On Sunday afternoon, July 1, 1928, Yale was in his Sunrise Club, located at 14th Avenue and 65th Street, when he received a cryptic phone call. The caller said something was wrong with Yale's new wife Lucy, who was at home looking after their year-old daughter. Refusing Joseph Piraino's offer to drive him, Yale dashed out to his brand new, coffee-colored Lincoln coupe and took off up New Utrecht Avenue, where a Buick sedan carrying four armed individuals stopped next to him. While Yale's new Lincoln was fashioned with armor plating, the dealer had neglected to bullet-proof the windows. Recognizing his peril, when the light changed, Yale took off. After a chase up New Utrecht, Yale swerved west onto 44th Street, with the Buick close behind. Yale's car was soon overtaken by the Buick, whose occupants opened fire at close range. A shotgun blast struck the Brooklyn gang boss on the left side of the head while a submachine gun bullet sliced through his brain. Either wound would have killed Yale instantly. The now out-of-control Lincoln veered to the right, hopped the curb, and crashed into the stoop of a brownstone at No. 923. This was the first time a submachine gun had been used in a gangland killing in New York City. On August 2, 1928, was reported that two men were sought for the murder of Yale.