
Rowland Smith (1904-January 1923) was an American liquor thief from Pennsylvania who was murdered by Enoch Thompson in 1923.
Biography[]
Rowland Smith was born in rural Pennsylvania in 1904, and he became a thief during Prohibition, working with Nate Honig to rob liquor from men such as Mickey Doyle and Waxey Gordon. In December 1922, Smith and Honig robbed Doyle's warehouse while Doyle was in the outhouse, and Enoch Thompson hunted Nate Honig down. Honig revealed that Smith was his driver before being executed by Manny Horvitz, and Thompson contacted Agent Stan Sawicki to track Smith down. Thompson, Owen Sleater, and two other criminals ambushed Smith at his house, capturing him. Smith claimed that his name was "Lon Chaney" (like the actor) and several other fake names, leading to Sleater beating him each time. Eventually, Smith confessed to being Rowland Smith, although he faked his age to Thompson, telling him that he was fifteen years old. He also told Thompson that his family had received a Christmas turkey from him back in 1914. Suddenly, their conversation was cut short whe several cars pulled up to the hideout. The two criminals standing guard were murdered by corrupt Bureau of Prohibition agents sent by Gordon to kill Smith, and Thompson, Sleater, and Smith were forced to hide together, hiding in the basement. When the agents left, Smith offered his services to Thompson as a driver, and he felt safe. A car pulled up in the driveway, and Owen announced that Edde Kessler had arrived. While Smith was asking who Eddie was, Nucky interrupted him by shooting him in the back of the head, killing him; Sleater was surprised by this.