14. Harry Strauss (1909 – 1941)
Like Abe Reles, Harry Strauss was also a hit man for Murder Inc. in the 1930s. But unlike Abe, he did not choose to work with the government. In fact, he was one the assassins sent to the electric chair because of Abe’s work as an informant.
Historians believe that Harry the Pittsburgh Phil murdered hundreds of men. He was known as a scout murderer because he never carried his murder weapon. He would use any tool he found in the murder spot. Thus, his killing method varied from stabbing with ice pick, strangulation, drowning, to live burial.
So, how could someone managed to kill hundreds without being caught? Well, Harry was arrested eighteen times, but he eluded conviction until he was arrested for killing Irving Feinstein. Harry tried to feign insanity to avoid death row, but it didn’t work out for him.
Along with his fellow hitman, Martin Goldstein, Harry was convicted in September, 1940. And then they were executed by electrocution in June, 1941.
