Hello. Was looking at some old newspaper articles about possible California mob murders in the 1940s and I was curious about a couple. The March 1947 murder of Thomas Buffa and the June 1947 murder of Sol Turkin. I was wondering if people had more information. I don't find anything saying anyone was ever charged with them.
But for Buffa, I get that he was from St. Louis, but some stuff online says he was the St. Louis mob boss until 1943. Not sure if that's accurate or not. I don't know St. Louis. And all I can find is that he was killed in his car in Lido CA, but I'm unclear on if he was driving at the time or if his car was stopped and he was killed. But for a possible former mob boss to be murdered in 1947 it really doesn't get a lot of attention. Nothing like the Nick DeJohn murder that year and that always seemed like a relatively minor thing to me.
For Turkin, I'm trying to figure out if it was a coincidence that he was killed the day after Siegel. But he was some kind of conman and he got killed in his apartment in LA(the day before he was supposed to get married which is a bit dark) and I don't find anything about anyone being charged. Some newspapers were calling it a gangland murder at the time, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it was. There is one mention that he possibly may have worked at the Flamingo for a time, but that wasn't verified as far as I can tell. The old LA Mafia website mentions Turkin but I've never come across any other place mentioning it other than really old news articles.
But I was curious as to what people had heard. The lack of attention they get is odd to me considering that Buffa was at one point important, and Turkin got killed the day after Siegel, but they get almost no mentions in mob literature.
Adam R.
Couple 1947 California Murders Question
Moderator: Capos
Re: Couple 1947 California Murders Question
Can't comment on the Buffa murder. Am not familiar at all with the St. Louis scene.
However, there is some possibility the Sol Turkin murder was in retaliation to the Siegel murder. The specifics, unfortunately, seem lost to history. Below I will write a biography of sorts on a long-forgotten Jewish-American crime figure, and let you all decide for yourselves what to make of it:
Immigrating from Russia in his childhood, Turkin grew up in southeast Cleveland near the Porello crime family home base of East 110th and Woodland, the site of several Prohibition-era hits. Making a name for himself to Cleveland police early on, Turkin was arrested several times for fraud and larceny in the 1920s, but did not serve any significant jail time during this period.
Around 1931, Turkin started working as a food truck driver, making produce deliveries across the United States. The FBI says Turkin, at some point, survived being shot in the left shin and right leg. The FBI also described Turkin as having a slice mark on his left cheek, most likely from a knife.
Turkin appears to have been in the business of selling stolen goods and may have been involved in drug running (heroin).
While traveling the country, Turkin racked up quite a criminal history for check fraud and impersonating federal agents. After pretending to be a government officer and defrauding a businessman of a moderate amount of merchandise, the Southern District of New York issued a federal arrest warrant for Turkin. He was on the lamb until approx. 1942/1943, and ended up serving three years at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, being released in May 1946.
Here's the part you might be interested in:
On the evening of June 20, 1947, Bugsy Siegel was shot through the window in his Beverly Hills home. The case was never solved, but Turkin, apparently an ex-employee at the Flamingo, was one of the first suspects to emerge after Los Angeles police received a tip from Las Vegas authorities.
Around 12:45 a.m. on June 22, 1947, after a night of dancing with his soon-to-be-bride, Sol Turkin also met his demise with a single gunshot to the balls. Turkin's face appeared to have been pistol-whipped. Turkin's wedding was scheduled for later on that very day. An unconfirmed report says Turkin had $630 on his person at the time his body was discovered, although this may just be a family legend, as I could not verify it.
The first mentions of Turkin hit the papers on June 23, 1947. The LA Examiner reported that a New York gangster paid 'two hoodlums' $10,000 for the murder of Siegel. One of those hoodlums is obviously Turkin.
In unwittingly referring to Tirkin,while describing the supposed Siegel hitmen, an LA Examiner excerpt found on lvstriphistory.com says,
"The two men, Las Vegas authorities believe, were tipped by a third character who had been tailing Bugsy in the Nevada City. The night Siegel left for L.A., they said, this 'character' made a long distance telephone call. The same night Bugsy lay dead ... One man [Turkin] was described as a former member of the Luciano mob and served three years in a federal prison for impersonating an officer. He was released last May."
(the authors of lvstriphistory.com appear not to know one of the hoodlums is Tirkin, as they also mention later on that police were looking into a connection between the Tirkin and Siegel murders)
The Examiner appears to have received this information before the Turkin murder, because at the end it says:
"Police believe the two left town, either by fast car or plane, immediately after the slaying."
With Turkin dying the next night, that appears to at least halfway not be the case.
Coincidentally, Siegel was said to have been reading an issue of the Examiner when he was shot.
Other papers report Turkin's murder for the first time on June 23, saying only that police suspect a link between the two murders.
Later that same day, June 23, a man named Russell Waterman was arrested for the Turkin murder. Waterman admitted to the crime, saying that he and Turkin had gotten into a physical fight over a $300 loan Turkin owed him, and he ended up shooting Turkin during the fight. Waterman said he had been holding onto three of Turkin's guns as collateral and ended up selling one. The third gun was not recovered.
If the report of the $630 being in Turkin's possession is true, Waterman's motive would seem unlikely. At the same time, I am not aware of any links between organized crime and Waterman.
So there you have it. The legend of Sol "Dutch" Turkin.
Was the report police received before his death that Turkin was the Siegel hitman legitimate? Or was it just another fraud to add to Turkin's legacy? We may never know.
However, there is some possibility the Sol Turkin murder was in retaliation to the Siegel murder. The specifics, unfortunately, seem lost to history. Below I will write a biography of sorts on a long-forgotten Jewish-American crime figure, and let you all decide for yourselves what to make of it:
Immigrating from Russia in his childhood, Turkin grew up in southeast Cleveland near the Porello crime family home base of East 110th and Woodland, the site of several Prohibition-era hits. Making a name for himself to Cleveland police early on, Turkin was arrested several times for fraud and larceny in the 1920s, but did not serve any significant jail time during this period.
Around 1931, Turkin started working as a food truck driver, making produce deliveries across the United States. The FBI says Turkin, at some point, survived being shot in the left shin and right leg. The FBI also described Turkin as having a slice mark on his left cheek, most likely from a knife.
Turkin appears to have been in the business of selling stolen goods and may have been involved in drug running (heroin).
While traveling the country, Turkin racked up quite a criminal history for check fraud and impersonating federal agents. After pretending to be a government officer and defrauding a businessman of a moderate amount of merchandise, the Southern District of New York issued a federal arrest warrant for Turkin. He was on the lamb until approx. 1942/1943, and ended up serving three years at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, being released in May 1946.
Here's the part you might be interested in:
On the evening of June 20, 1947, Bugsy Siegel was shot through the window in his Beverly Hills home. The case was never solved, but Turkin, apparently an ex-employee at the Flamingo, was one of the first suspects to emerge after Los Angeles police received a tip from Las Vegas authorities.
Around 12:45 a.m. on June 22, 1947, after a night of dancing with his soon-to-be-bride, Sol Turkin also met his demise with a single gunshot to the balls. Turkin's face appeared to have been pistol-whipped. Turkin's wedding was scheduled for later on that very day. An unconfirmed report says Turkin had $630 on his person at the time his body was discovered, although this may just be a family legend, as I could not verify it.
The first mentions of Turkin hit the papers on June 23, 1947. The LA Examiner reported that a New York gangster paid 'two hoodlums' $10,000 for the murder of Siegel. One of those hoodlums is obviously Turkin.
In unwittingly referring to Tirkin,while describing the supposed Siegel hitmen, an LA Examiner excerpt found on lvstriphistory.com says,
"The two men, Las Vegas authorities believe, were tipped by a third character who had been tailing Bugsy in the Nevada City. The night Siegel left for L.A., they said, this 'character' made a long distance telephone call. The same night Bugsy lay dead ... One man [Turkin] was described as a former member of the Luciano mob and served three years in a federal prison for impersonating an officer. He was released last May."
(the authors of lvstriphistory.com appear not to know one of the hoodlums is Tirkin, as they also mention later on that police were looking into a connection between the Tirkin and Siegel murders)
The Examiner appears to have received this information before the Turkin murder, because at the end it says:
"Police believe the two left town, either by fast car or plane, immediately after the slaying."
With Turkin dying the next night, that appears to at least halfway not be the case.
Coincidentally, Siegel was said to have been reading an issue of the Examiner when he was shot.
Other papers report Turkin's murder for the first time on June 23, saying only that police suspect a link between the two murders.
Later that same day, June 23, a man named Russell Waterman was arrested for the Turkin murder. Waterman admitted to the crime, saying that he and Turkin had gotten into a physical fight over a $300 loan Turkin owed him, and he ended up shooting Turkin during the fight. Waterman said he had been holding onto three of Turkin's guns as collateral and ended up selling one. The third gun was not recovered.
If the report of the $630 being in Turkin's possession is true, Waterman's motive would seem unlikely. At the same time, I am not aware of any links between organized crime and Waterman.
So there you have it. The legend of Sol "Dutch" Turkin.
Was the report police received before his death that Turkin was the Siegel hitman legitimate? Or was it just another fraud to add to Turkin's legacy? We may never know.
Re: Couple 1947 California Murders Question
Well thank you very much Jonkaro. I couldn't find any record of someone being charged/convicted for his murder. And this is why I post here. That was fascinating.
Re: Couple 1947 California Murders Question
After I posted, I verified through the June 23, 1947 edition of the Los Angeles Times that Turkin indeed did have $630, all 100s except for a few 5s, on top of his body when discovered by police. Turns out the claim isn't just legend after all.
The article quotes Det. Capt Bert Jones as saying there were four shell casings on the ground and blood smears all over the walls. One of the bullets went through the wall into the neighboring apartment. (That neighbor is probably who called 911, if I had to guess.) Jones believed at the time that the killer was hiding in the apartment waiting for Turkin.
Pretty peculiar that. These facts to me suggest Waterman's story for how Turkin ended up dead may not be entirely true. Perhaps Turkin had a hand in the Flamingo skimming, if the tip-off that he was Siegel's killer wasn't true.
In the '60s and '70s, leaving bodies with wads of cash (typically in the trunk of a car) would, for the Chicago descendants of the Flamingo operation, become a pretty common method of doing away with greedy individuals.
The article quotes Det. Capt Bert Jones as saying there were four shell casings on the ground and blood smears all over the walls. One of the bullets went through the wall into the neighboring apartment. (That neighbor is probably who called 911, if I had to guess.) Jones believed at the time that the killer was hiding in the apartment waiting for Turkin.
Pretty peculiar that. These facts to me suggest Waterman's story for how Turkin ended up dead may not be entirely true. Perhaps Turkin had a hand in the Flamingo skimming, if the tip-off that he was Siegel's killer wasn't true.
In the '60s and '70s, leaving bodies with wads of cash (typically in the trunk of a car) would, for the Chicago descendants of the Flamingo operation, become a pretty common method of doing away with greedy individuals.
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Geekgang666
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Re: Couple 1947 California Murders Question
Gaetano "Thomas" Buffa (1887-1947) was a member in the St. Louis crime family. Buffa was born in Partinsco, Italy on June 06, 1887 but other sources have him born in 1885. He immigrated to the USA on March 10, 1910. It's believe that Buffa might have came to St. Louis in the 1920's when he took over leadership of the Pillow Gang. In the mid-1940s the Kansas City crime family choose Thomas Buffa and Tony Lopiparo to oversee that rackets in St. Louis. Buffa was murdered in March 27, 1946 in Lodi, California after testifying against the girlfriend of a Kansas City mobster.
This link will provide you with information on why Buffa was in LA at the time of his murder:
https://books.google.com/books?id=KksrD ... ia&f=false
This link will provide you with information on why Buffa was in LA at the time of his murder:
https://books.google.com/books?id=KksrD ... ia&f=false
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Geekgang666
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Re: Couple 1947 California Murders Question
Also thank you Jonkaro for sharing that interesting story on Sol Turin. This my first time hearing about him.