Egan's Rats was an American organized crime gang that exercised considerable power in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1890 to 1924. Its 35 years of criminal activity included bootlegging, labor slugging, voter intimidation, armed robbery, and murder. Although predominantly Irish-American, Egan's Rats did include a few Italian-Americans and some Jewish immigrants, most notably Max "Big Maxie" Greenberg.
Formed by Thomas "Snake" Kinney and Tom Egan, the gang became the dominant criminal organization in St. Louis around the turn of the 20th century, when they became noted as the worst political terrorists in the city. The Rats squeezed out the required number of Democratic votes at the polls. In addition to their election tactics, the Rats also engaged in union busting, armed robbery, and theft from railroads. By the mid-1910s, the gang had entered into bootlegging. By 1921, both Tom and Willie Egan were dead and leadership of the crew passed to William "Dint" Colbeck. Egan's Rats soon went to war with the rival Hogan Gang, whom they suspected of killing Willie Egan. After defeating the Hogans in a well-publicized war, the Rats turned to armed robberies rather than bootlegging as a chief source of income. In November 1924, nine key members of the Egan gang were sentenced to long terms in federal prison for a mail robbery at Staunton, Illinois. While a few lower-ranking members of Egan's Rats still operated in St. Louis, they were finished by the fall of 1925.
Those members of the gang who escaped imprisonment spread across the country. Some of the ex-Rats, led by Fred "Killer" Burke, were suspected of being involved in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. The gang later made headlines when gang member Leo Vincent Brothers was convicted of the murder of Chicago Tribune reporter Jake Lingle in June 1930.
History
Egan's Rats was founded around 1890 by Thomas "Snake" Kinney and Thomas Egan, two street toughs living in the riverfront "Kerry Patch" neighborhood of St. Louis. Recruiting other members from the neighborhood, the Rats started out as pickpockets, burglars, and armed robbers. The gang also aided the Democratic Party political machine by intimidating voters at polling places on Election Day. Kinney used the gang as a stepping stone into politics. He first served as the Fourth Ward’s delegate in to the Missouri House of Delegates and later served in the Missouri State Senate.
In contrast, Tom Egan stayed in the old neighborhood and became the main leader of the increasingly powerful Rats. By 1904, Egan's Rats was the most powerful street gang in St. Louis. The fabric of the gang were the Democratic political clubs scattered around the city. Most members of the Rats belonged to one club or another. Some Egan-affiliated clubs were the Jolly Five, Cross Keys, and Friendly Ten.
The Egan Gang's main rival at this time was the violent Bottoms Gang from the Twenty-second Ward. However, the Bottoms Gang made the mistake of assaulting police officers and were soon forced out of existence. Ruthless killers, the Rats Gang was willing to assassinate anyone, regardless of the consequences. On June 7, 1909, the Rats murdered rival gunman Fred "Yellow Kid" Mohrle in the Four Courts Building while he was on trial for killing Egan gangster Sam Young. The Rats got a little taste of their own medicine when John "Bad Jack" Barry, leader of the Cross Keys Club, was fatally shot in a North Side courtroom on February 24, 1910 by Henry Diederichsen.
By 1912, Tom Egan headed an organization of 300 to 400 men. That same year, he gave an astounding interview to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in which he flaunted his power and underworld status. The murder of auto mechanic Fred Hesse, in particular, underscored the Rats' blatant gangsterism. At high noon on November 7, 1913, dozens of witnesses saw Deputy Constable Harry Levin shoot and kill Hesse in front of 2647 Olive Street. Fred Hesse was suspected to have "snitched" on the Rats over a $15,000 railroad swindle. Despite the fact that numerous people saw the unprovoked murder, Levin was acquitted on April 23, 1914.
With Snake Kinney’s death from tuberculosis, Tom Egan moved the gang into more sophisticated rackets. Correctly suspecting that alcohol consumption would soon be prohibited in the United States, Tom Egan set up a liquor smuggling network in St. Louis.