Death at Tammany Hall Read Online Free

in battle shortly afterward.
    Adversity seemed to spur Harry on. In the orphanage, he proved to be a good student and a resourceful worker. At eighteen, he joined the NYPD as a patrolman in the Five Points, the most crime-ridden and dangerous district in the city. Bright, inquisitive, and fearless, he showed a talent for investigation and worked his way up to police detective.
    As Harry walked into the office, Pamela put aside the notes and asked, “When did your problem with the law begin?”
    â€œEarly in January 1887,” he replied, sitting across from her at the desk. “Inspector ‘Clubber’ Williams assigned me to check the police report of a cabdriver’s death in the late afternoon outside a saloon in Chelsea. Eyewitnesses told Michael Malone, the investigating officer at the scene, that the cabdriver, Tony Palermo, had pulled out a knife and threatened Dan Kelly, a patron at the saloon, who then had drawn his own knife and killed Palermo. The officer accepted Kelly’s claim of self-defense and concluded that the killing was justifiable homicide.”
    â€œWhat kind of man was Tony Palermo?”
    â€œThat’s what I asked his aunt. He had boarded with her for two years and sometimes confided in her. She told me that he came from the Italian slum on Mulberry Bend but had learned to read and write and to seize an opportunity when it came his way. A big, rough man, he let everyone know that he carried a knife and knew how to use it.”
    â€œWhy did you suspect that Officer Malone’s report was wrong?”
    â€œThe cabdriver’s aunt planted a seed of doubt in my mind. She mentioned that, one morning, a gentleman from Tammany Hall had left a portfolio in her nephew’s cab. Palermo had come home afterward, hugging the shiny black portfolio as if it were precious. Its owner’s initials, H. C., were printed in gold in the leather. Palermo had said he would receive a large reward when he returned the portfolio.”
    â€œHow did he know it belonged to Tammany Hall?”
    â€œShe said he had looked inside, but he didn’t tell her what he found.”
    â€œDid the references to Tammany Hall and the reward make you feel uneasy?” Pamela understood that Tammany had a notorious reputation for cheating where money was involved.
    Harry nodded. “My suspicion grew when I learned that the killer, Dan Kelly, worked as a guard at Tammany Hall and had spent a few years in prison in his youth for manslaughter. Released, he was soon arrested again for assault with a knife. The charge was dismissed. The police had probably recruited Kelly to collect the proceeds in their protection rackets.”
    â€œDid you discover the gentleman H. C. and his lost portfolio?”
    â€œI inquired at Tammany Hall and hit a stone wall of denial. Alarm bells went off in my head. I reported to Inspector Williams that Palermo’s death looked suspiciously like a carefully planned killing involving Tammany Hall and deserved a thorough investigation. The inspector flatly refused and took me off the case.”
    â€œDid Williams give a reason for his decision?” Pamela asked.
    Harry shook his head. “Williams said my suggestion was foolish. Tammany Hall was a legitimate political club and wouldn’t countenance murder. I saw no point in arguing with him. Certain Tammany politicians had probably paid him to suppress the report.”
    â€œHow did you react?”
    â€œAt the time, I was outraged. Unwisely, I went over Williams’s head to Chief of Detectives Mr. Byrnes and complained of a cover-up. News of my protest leaked to the press. Shortly afterward, I was arrested and charged with secretly demanding a bribe from Tim Smith of Tammany Hall in return for dropping the investigation.”
    Harry poured himself a glass of water. For a moment, the room fell silent while he seemed lost in the past. With a sigh he resumed his story. “Smith gave the