Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll (July 20, 1908—February 7, 1932) was an Irish enforcer for the mafia in early 20th-century New York City. He was born in a Gaelic speaking region of County Donegal, Ireland, but emigrated to the U.S. only a year later. July 20 is the 201st day (202nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 164 days remaining. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) is a leap year starting on Friday. ... The Mafia, also referred to in Italian as Cosa Nostra (lit. ... The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: The Big Apple Motto: Official website: City of New York Location [[Image:|250px|250px|Location of City of New York, New York]] Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R... Gaelic as an adjective means pertaining to the Gaels, whether to their language or their culture. ... County Donegal (Irish: Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county in the northwest of Ireland. ... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ...

Coll earned the nickname "Mad Dog" because of the sheer pleasure he got from killing people. During the 1920s, he developed a risky but lucrative scam whereby he would kidnap powerful gangsters at gunpoint and extort a ransom from his captive's associates before releasing them. He knew that the victim would not report it to the police, especially because, being criminals, they would have a hard time explaining to the IRS how they happened to have such huge supplies of cash in order to pay for their release. The 1920s were a decade sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... IRS is short for U.S. Internal Revenue Service short for Indian Revenue Service short for Independent rear suspension, used in automobiles. ...

In 1931, a powerful mobster named Salvatore Maranzano decided to have his rival, Lucky Luciano, murdered, and he hired the infamous Coll to do the job. Coll insisted on a $25,000 payment in advance with the same amount to be paid on completion of the job. On September 9 that year, Luciano was invited to visit Maranzano at his office. The plan was that Coll would turn up and kill Luciano. However, Luciano had received a tip-off about this plan, so he instead sent over a squad of his own hitmen who stabbed and shot Maranzano to death. Coll turned up immediately after the murder, but Luciano had evidently not been informed that Coll was his intended killer. As such, Coll was left alone by the fleeing squad of hitmen, presumably delighted that he could keep his advance of $25,000 without having to do the job on Luciano. 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Salvatore Maranzano (1868-September 10, 1931) was an organized crime figure from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Mafia boss in the United States. ... Lucky Luciano. ... September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ...

Vincent Coll did not have much of a chance to advance further in the underworld ranks. He was machine-gunned to death in a drug store telephone booth in 1932 by henchmen working for Dutch Schultz in retaliation for the attempted murder of one of Schultz's associates. Coll had attempted to kill the associate in a drive-by shooting, missed, and ended up murdering a five-year-old boy. Schultz, who allegedly had children of his own by this time (his "legitimate" children would be born later), was furious about the murder and took special care to ensure that Coll died with overkill: The gunmen fired so many rounds into Coll's body that his legs were barely attached when it was retrieved by police. Schultz later sent a wreath to Coll's funeral, bearing a banner with the message, "From the boys." Only his widow actually attended the funeral, however. 1932 (MCMXXXII) is a leap year starting on Friday. ... Dutch Schultz (August 6, 1902–October 24, 1935) was a New York City-area gangster of the 1920s and 30s. ...

Two movies about Coll have been made, both named Mad Dog Coll. One was released in 1961, where he was played by John Davis Chandler, and the other in 1993, where he was played by Christopher Bradley. 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1993 (MCMXCIII in Roman) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

Coll was also portrayed by Nicholas Cage in the film The Cotton Club. The Cotton Club is a movie, released in 1984, centered around a popular real-life Harlem jazz club in the 1930s, the Cotton Club. ...

External links

• http://www.irishreader.com/Features/Coll.htm
• http://www.irishresistancebooks.com/reviews/coll.htm
• Find-A-Grave profile for Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll