15. The plot to kill Michael Malloy, Part Four
After seven months of plying Michael Malloy with alcohol, serving him poisoned food, and attempting to kill him via an automobile, the old man was found dead in a flat near the bar, his face thoroughly wrapped in a towel from which ran a rubber tube to a nearby gas fixture. When the conspirators attempted to collect the insurance money the companies balked at payment, and an investigation into the death of Michael Malloy was initiated. As part of the investigation the conspiracy began to unravel, as each of the four main participants failed to keep their story’s straight. Gradually the truth of what occurred was exposed to light. Each of the conspirators tried to turn state’s evidence in order to receive a lighter sentence.
As they had in their attempts to kill Malloy, at least for the seven months in which they plied him with alcohol, the conspirators failed. The finger pointing and expressions of innocence fell on deaf ears, and the jury was not amused at the tale. Four conspirators were found guilty of several crimes, including first degree murder, and all four were sent to the electric chair at the New York State Prison at Ossining, known to posterity as Sing Sing. They were dispatched with considerably more celerity than the late Michael Malloy, who had proven himself exceptionally hard to kill.
