William J. "Wild Bill" Lovett (15 July 1894-1 November 1923) was an Irish-American gangster and bootlegger from New York City.
Biography[]
William J. Lovett was born on 15 July 1894 in Lixnaw, County Kerry, Ireland, and his family came to the United States while he was just a child. Lovett served in a machine gun battalion of the US Army during World War I, and he became involved in organized crime upon returning to New York City. Lovett took over the White Hand Gang after murdering his rival, Dinny Meehan, and Lovett was nicknamed "Wild Bill" for his alcoholic's temper. Lovett killed one of his own men for pulling a cat's tail, as Lovett loved animals; he also murdered several Italian mobsters loyal to his rival, Frankie Yale. On 26 June 1923, when Lovett married, he vowed to give up drinking and bootlegging; on 30 October, he would meet up with old friends and continue to engage in criminal activities. On 1 November, Lovett and his friend Joseph Flynn slept in an abandoned store after getting drunk on Halloween, and Flynn went home in the middle of the night. Lovett, left alone, was beaten in the head with a blunt weapon by two Chicago Outfit assassins before being shot three times in the head and neck. Richard Lonergan took over the gang after Lovett's death.