In January 1930, Vincent “Mad Dog” Coll was engaged in a war with former mentor and rival Dutch Schultz. To finance his new gang, Coll kidnapped rival gangsters and held them for ransom. There were many other kidnappings that received no publicity, but all of them added to the growing wealth of Coll. Coll craved the notoriety of Owney Madden and Dutch Shultz and became frustrated that his terror tactics were not making him a superstar in the New York nightclubs. Vincent failed to realize that his fellow mobsters would pay journalists to promote them in a positive light. Coll’s criminal activities, whilst newsworthy, didn’t generate any feelings of respect or adulation.
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