Timothy O'Bryan

popular name: James McLean

date_of_death: October 31, 1965

age: 35

cause_of_death: Gunshot wounds

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: James "Buddy" McLean was a feared and respected Irish-American mobster from Somerville, Massachusetts, best known as the original leader of the Winter Hill Gang. Born in 1930, McLean rose through the ranks of Boston's underworld in the 1950s and early 1960s, earning a reputation as a tough street fighter and savvy criminal strategist. Under his leadership, the Winter Hill Gang became a dominant force in Boston’s organized crime scene, engaging in activities like bookmaking, loan sharking, and extortion. His criminal career reached a turning point when he became involved in a deadly turf war with the rival McLaughlin Brothers gang from Charlestown, igniting the Irish Gang War—a brutal series of killings that gripped Boston’s underworld. On October 30, 1965, McLean was gunned down outside a Somerville bar by a McLaughlin associate, Stevie Hughes, marking a pivotal moment in the gang war. His death further escalated the violence, but it also solidified his status as a legendary figure in Boston mob history. After his murder, Howie Winter took over the Winter Hill Gang, continuing the legacy McLean had started. His funeral attracted over 4,000 mourners and James McLean's final resting place can be found at Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden, Massachusetts.

popular name: Lizzie Borden

date_of_death: June 1, 1927

age: 66

cause_of_death: Pneumonia

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Lizzie Borden is infamous for being the prime suspect in the double murder of their father and step-mother. She was tried and acquitted and no one else was charged in the murders. The murders and trial received widespread publicity throughout the United States and, along with Borden herself, they remain a topic in American popular culture to the present day. They have been depicted in numerous films, theatrical productions, literary works, and folk rhymes, and are still very well-known in the Fall River area.

popular name: Anthony Spilotro

date_of_death: June 14, 1986

age: 48

cause_of_death: Murdered - mob hit, blunt force trauma, asphyxia

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Anthony "Tough Tony" Spilotro started out as an enforcer for the Chicago Outfit. He later ran a burglary ring known as The Hole In The Wall gang and took over Outfit operations in Las Vegas. Things were problematic for Spilotro in Vegas. In addition to being blacklisted from all Las Vegas casinos by Harry Reid, he also had an affair with fellow Outfit Vegas controller Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal's wife, which is a big no-no according to mafia ethics (such as they are.) Tony's mishaps in Vegas piled up, creating all kinds of noise and attention that accumulated into a mess that eventually sent boss Joey Aiuppa and Jackie Cerone to prison. Plus, it's been reported that Aiuppa was incensed that Tony was sleeping with Lefty's wife. The Outfit boss decided it was time for The Ant to die. In 1986 Spilotro and his brother Michael were lured to a home in Bensenville, IL and murdered in the basement. They were buried in an Indiana cornfield.