Silas Jayne

popular name: Dutch Schultz

date_of_death: October 24, 1935

age: 34

cause_of_death: Mob hit - gunshot wounds

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Dutch Schultz was a New York based mobster who made his fortune bootlegging rum during Prohibition, followed by gambling, the numbers racket and the restaurant racket afterwards. Schultz was known for his extreme brutality and the accumulation of a frightening body count of those opposed to him including Legs Diamond, Arnold Rothstein and Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll. By 1935 he was in open conflict with US attorney Thomas Dewey. Schultz was arrested, then freed (to the utter surprise of everyone) when he bribed the venue of his trial, but as Dewey continued to pursue he started hemorrhaging money and power. Afterwards, Schultz called an emergency meeting of the Mafia Commission for permission to kill Dewey. Worried that there would be immense law enforcement pressure on the Commission if such a popular public official was murdered, the members refused. Schultz was furious, blaming the commission for "feeding him to the law", and vowed to kill Dewey himself. After Schultz stormed off, after six hours of deliberations the Commission ordered Louis Buchalter of Murder Inc. to eliminate "The Dutchman. A few days later, Schultz along with 3 of his henchmen were shot at The Palace Chophouse Restaurant (his headquarters at the time) by two hit men (Charles "The Bug" Workman and Emanuel "Mendy" Weiss) from Murder Inc. All 4 of the shooting victims died within a day of the ambush. He was laid to at Gate of Heaven Cemetery Hawthorne, New York.

popular name: Paul Vario

date_of_death: May 3, 1988

age: 73

cause_of_death: Lung cancer

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Paul Vario was a prominent New York mobster and high-ranking member of the Lucchese crime family. Born on July 10, 1914, in Brooklyn, he became involved in organized crime at a young age, eventually rising to become a caporegime (captain) in the family. Vario controlled a crew based in Brooklyn that was involved in a wide range of criminal activities, including extortion, loan sharking, illegal gambling, and hijacking. Vario was also involved in legitimate businesses that included a flower shop, a bar, a restaurant, and a taxi stand. One of his businesses, Vario's Bargain Auto Parts Inc., located at 5702 Avenue D, is where Vario conducted illegal business with his associates. At his height, Vario was earning an estimated $25,000 a day from his illegal activities. He gained notoriety through his association with Henry Hill, whose life was chronicled in the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi and later dramatized in the film Goodfellas, where Vario was portrayed by actor Paul Sorvino. Despite his power and influence, Vario was ultimately brought down by law enforcement, thanks in part to Hill's cooperation with authorities. He was convicted on multiple charges in the 1980s, including extortion and fraud. Paul Vario died of respiratory failure in prison on May 3, 1988, at the age of 73. Paul Vario was laid to rest in the Vario Family plot at St. John Cemetery in Middle Village, New York.

popular name: Sunny Von Bulow

date_of_death: December 6, 2008

age: 76

cause_of_death: Cardiopulmonary Arrest

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Martha "Sunny" Von Bulow was an American heiress, socialite, and philanthropist. Upon her utilities magnate father's death, she was the heiress to his ~ $100 million fortune. After divorcing her first husband, Prince Alfred von Auersperg, she married Claus von Bulow, a former aide to J.P. Getty. Claus was accused of twice trying to murder his wife for her fortune, by injecting Sunny with Insulin. The second coma left Sunny in a persistent vegetative state for the next 28 years until her death from cardiopulmonary arrest in 2008. Claus was initially found guilty of attempted murder, but his conviction was overturned on appeal. Her children from her first marriage remained convinced that Claus had tried to murder her, and established the Sunny von Bulow National Victim Advocacy Center, now known as the National Center for Victims of Crime. They also established the Sunny von Bulow Coma and Head Trauma Research Foundation in New York in their mother's honor.