Methods
Most of the killers were Jewish gangsters from the gangs of the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Brownsville, East New York, and Ocean Hill. In addition to carrying out crime in New York City and acting as enforcers for New York mobster Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, they accepted murder contracts from mob bosses all around the United States. In his biography The Valachi Papers, Mafia turncoat Joe Valachi insisted Murder, Inc. did not commit crimes for the Mafia, but this is contradicted by other sources, and Albert Anastasia was also head of a Mafia crime family.
Based in part out of Midnight Rose candy store in Brooklyn, Murder Inc. hit men used a wide variety of weapons, including ice picks, to murder their victims. Though the group had a number of members, Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss was the most prolific killer, committing over 100 murders (some historians put the number as high as 500).
The killers were paid a regular salary as retainer as well as an average fee of $1,000 to $5,000 per killing. Their families also received monetary benefits. If the killers were caught, the mob would hire the best lawyers for their defense.
Read more about this topic: Murder, Inc.
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