In late August of 1930, the notorious gangster Jack “Legs” Diamond set sail for Europe aboard the Belgenland, armed with $200,000 in cash and lofty ambitions to procure narcotics. However, his grand scheme swiftly unraveled as he fell under the watchful gaze of law enforcement and media scrutiny. Despite his attempts to portray himself as a mere businessman seeking health abroad, he found himself intercepted by authorities in England and swiftly deported from both England and Germany. Jack’s misadventures only served to magnify his notoriety back in the United States, where tensions with his underworld investors reached a fever pitch. Eventually, he was escorted onto a freighter, surrounded by crates of canaries, marking a less-than-glamorous return from his ill-fated European escapade.
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