might serve as intermediaries in the ransom negotiations. If the man was a racketeer, as were most of the kidnap victims during the early days of the gang’s kidnapping activities, the Mob would make contact with the racketeer’s business associates or family through a name on the victim’s list. Often the person chosen was another racketeer or even someone associated with the kidnappers whose connection was unknown to the victim.
The person that was used as the go-between in the ransom negotiations was called the “Right O Guy.” He was often in a racket himself, but a different racket than the kidnap victim. Once the Right O Guy was chosen, the victim was forced to write a ransom note to his business associates or family. The letter would typically state that his life was in peril and that he would be killed or tortured if the ransom money was not forthcoming. After the ransom letter was delivered, one of the gang would contact the victim’s family and tell them how much the ransom would be. The original ransom request would always be for some ridiculous amount of money, which the gang knew that the kidnapped man’s family could never meet. This often ranged anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000. The high amount demanded for the ransom gave the kidnappers a lot of bargaining power in the negotiations. They would usually end up settling for between $5,000 and $10,000. The kidnap Mob usually knew how much money the victim was worth and often asked for what they considered to be a fair portion of it. The ransom was paid to the Right O Guy who would conduct the actual ransom negotiations with the victim’s family. The family or the man’s business associates would never see the actual kidnappers in most cases. The money would be paid to the apparent friend of the family who would take it to his confederates. The Right O Guy would be paid off, the gang would get their money, and the kidnapped wise guy would be released.
This system worked fine for the first couple of years, and these types of kidnappings were almost never reported to the police. Surprisingly, when a racketeer or gambler was kidnapped and paid off the gang once, he was usually never bothered again.
When Laman turned against his Mob and became a state’s witness in 1930, he described to a Wayne County Grand Jury the structure of his original kidnapping gang. According to Laman, in late 1926 he, Luke Hartman, Henry “Ray” Andrews, Stanley DeLong and his wife, Dude Manual, and a thug named Joe Mariano established a base of operations for their particular group. The original house was located in Dearborn, Michigan. Later, when things began to get hot for the gang, DeLong’s home in Ferndale, Michigan, was often used, along with a place in Detroit. Henry Andrews, his wife, and Mrs. DeLong were put in charge of operating the houses and preparing the meals for the victims. Hartman was used as the fingerman, identifying potential victims for the Mob. Laman was one of the pickup men. Mariano was used as the keeper and torturer and Dude Manual as a sort of handyman.
As long as the kidnapping gangs only “snatched” other underworld types, there seemed to be little interference from the police. The kidnapping of underworld characters was so successful that it wasn’t long before the Laman Gang got greedy and started abducting wealthy legitimate businessmen.
The gangsters who Detroit Police Department officials believed were responsible for changing the direction of the Laman Gang’s kidnapping activities from the “snatching” of local racketeers to wealthy businessmen were Harry Hallisey and Louis Ross. Hallisey operated a popular Detroit blind pig known as the Camel Club. Louis Ross was a Detroit handbook operator. Both men had many respectable, wealthy patrons among their clientele. As a blind pig operator, Hallisey befriended many wealthy legitimate people. When their inhibitions were loosened by Hallisey’s bootleg liquor and beer, they would often
The person that was used as the go-between in the ransom negotiations was called the “Right O Guy.” He was often in a racket himself, but a different racket than the kidnap victim. Once the Right O Guy was chosen, the victim was forced to write a ransom note to his business associates or family. The letter would typically state that his life was in peril and that he would be killed or tortured if the ransom money was not forthcoming. After the ransom letter was delivered, one of the gang would contact the victim’s family and tell them how much the ransom would be. The original ransom request would always be for some ridiculous amount of money, which the gang knew that the kidnapped man’s family could never meet. This often ranged anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000. The high amount demanded for the ransom gave the kidnappers a lot of bargaining power in the negotiations. They would usually end up settling for between $5,000 and $10,000. The kidnap Mob usually knew how much money the victim was worth and often asked for what they considered to be a fair portion of it. The ransom was paid to the Right O Guy who would conduct the actual ransom negotiations with the victim’s family. The family or the man’s business associates would never see the actual kidnappers in most cases. The money would be paid to the apparent friend of the family who would take it to his confederates. The Right O Guy would be paid off, the gang would get their money, and the kidnapped wise guy would be released.
This system worked fine for the first couple of years, and these types of kidnappings were almost never reported to the police. Surprisingly, when a racketeer or gambler was kidnapped and paid off the gang once, he was usually never bothered again.
When Laman turned against his Mob and became a state’s witness in 1930, he described to a Wayne County Grand Jury the structure of his original kidnapping gang. According to Laman, in late 1926 he, Luke Hartman, Henry “Ray” Andrews, Stanley DeLong and his wife, Dude Manual, and a thug named Joe Mariano established a base of operations for their particular group. The original house was located in Dearborn, Michigan. Later, when things began to get hot for the gang, DeLong’s home in Ferndale, Michigan, was often used, along with a place in Detroit. Henry Andrews, his wife, and Mrs. DeLong were put in charge of operating the houses and preparing the meals for the victims. Hartman was used as the fingerman, identifying potential victims for the Mob. Laman was one of the pickup men. Mariano was used as the keeper and torturer and Dude Manual as a sort of handyman.
As long as the kidnapping gangs only “snatched” other underworld types, there seemed to be little interference from the police. The kidnapping of underworld characters was so successful that it wasn’t long before the Laman Gang got greedy and started abducting wealthy legitimate businessmen.
The gangsters who Detroit Police Department officials believed were responsible for changing the direction of the Laman Gang’s kidnapping activities from the “snatching” of local racketeers to wealthy businessmen were Harry Hallisey and Louis Ross. Hallisey operated a popular Detroit blind pig known as the Camel Club. Louis Ross was a Detroit handbook operator. Both men had many respectable, wealthy patrons among their clientele. As a blind pig operator, Hallisey befriended many wealthy legitimate people. When their inhibitions were loosened by Hallisey’s bootleg liquor and beer, they would often
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