Episode 27: Vincent “Mad Dog” Coll (St. Patrick’s Day)

Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll's story is a haunting testament to the dark underbelly of the American Dream during Prohibition. Born in 1908 in Gweedore County, Ireland, to a family seeking better opportunities, Coll's life was marred by tragedy from the start. After immigrating to the Bronx in 1909, he lost five siblings before age 12, and both parents by age eight – his father abandoning the family and his mother succumbing to tuberculosis in 1916, coinciding with the Irish Revolution.

This early trauma and disconnection set young Vincent on a troubled path. Without parental guidance or stable family attachments, he was sent to reform schools by age 12, institutions notorious for abuse, exploitation of child labor, and inadequate education. These reform schools, far from rehabilitating troubled youth, often functioned as punitive facilities where children were subjected to manual labor, industrial training, and harsh discipline. For an Irish immigrant child already dealing with prejudice and loss, these experiences only furthered his alienation from mainstream society and authority.

When Prohibition took hold of America in the 1920s, it created unprecedented opportunities for organized crime. Coll, now a teenager without positive attachments or legitimate prospects, found his place in New York's criminal underworld, joining the Gopher Street Gang. His violent tendencies and unpredictability caught the attention of Dutch Schultz, a prominent Jewish gangster who hired Coll as an enforcer. Under Schultz's employment, Coll's criminal activities escalated rapidly, with his first murder charge at age 19 – though the charges were dropped due to Schultz's influence over law enforcement and the judicial system.

The relationship between Coll and Schultz eventually deteriorated, leading to a bloody gang war. The event that cemented Coll's "Mad Dog" nickname occurred in July 1931, when during an attempted kidnapping of Schultz's associate, Coll and his gang opened fire on a crowded street, killing five-year-old Michael Vengali. This tragic incident drew national attention to New York's gang problem and marked Coll as a particularly dangerous criminal.

Despite going into hiding and altering his appearance, Coll was eventually captured and brought to trial. In a remarkable turn of events, he was acquitted when his defense attorney skillfully discredited the prosecution's main witness, exposing him as a paid informer with a history of perjury. The judge issued a directed verdict of not guilty – an extremely rare occurrence that highlighted the corruption and incompetence plaguing the criminal justice system during this era.

Coll's legal victory did not translate to success in the criminal world. His falling out with Schultz, combined with his targeting of other gangs for kidnapping and ransom, made him a pariah even among criminals. His final mistake came when he accepted a contract to assassinate Charles "Lucky" Luciano for $50,000. Luciano, well-connected and informed, had his target killed before Coll could carry out the hit and placed a bounty on Coll's head.

On February 8, 1932, Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll met his violent end at just 23 years old. Lured to a drugstore under the pretense of a truce meeting, he was gunned down in a phone booth by a hitman with a submachine gun. His brutal death, with at least 15 bullets found in his body, served as a stark illustration of the violence that defined the era.

Vincent Col1's short but violent life reflects the complex intersection of immigration, poverty, institutional failure, and organized crime during a turbulent period in American history. While his choices were undeniably his own, one cannot help but wonder how his life might have unfolded had there been intervention when he was orphaned at such a young age, or if the societal prejudice against Irish immigrants hadn't limited his legitimate opportunities. His story remains a cautionary tale about the destructive cycle of violence and the human cost of organized crime during Prohibition.

Reference

Wikipedia contributors. (2025). Mad Dog Coll. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Dog_Coll

McGinley, J. J. (2022, February 1). Vincent 'Mad Dog' Coll – The Gangster from Gweedore. The Irish Story. Retrieved from https://www.theirishstory.com/2022/02/01/vincent-mad-dog-coll-the-gangster-from-gweedore/

Goodreads. (n.d.). Mad Dog Coll: An Irish gangster by Breandan Delap. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/175085.Mad_Dog_Coll