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was being constructed, where Veryk planned to pay his employees with the money from the payroll. While Veryk was still making his way through the scaffolding, having already paid out $ 900 of the total $ 1500, Filkowski approached him and demanded that Veryk give him the remaining $ 600. When Veryk hesitated, Filkowski shot him in the chest with a .38 caliber pistol and stole the briefcase containing the rest of the money. Filkowski fled in a nearby car where two accomplices were waiting to serve as getaway drivers, while Veryk was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Meanwhile, some of the construction workers who witnessed the murder were able to provide police with the license plate number of the car in which
Filkowski fled. Police later discovered that the license plate numbers were faked.
62:. He was paroled after a few months and returned to the part of Cleveland where he grew up. On February 22, 1919, he was charged with stealing a car, driving it into a freight yard in Cleveland, breaking into a boxcar, moving stolen goods from the boxcar to the stolen car, and then driving off and selling the stolen merchandise; for this offense, he was sent back to the reformatory in Mansfield for nine months. In August 1921, Filkowski was caught stealing out of a boxcar again, and he was sent to the Mansfield reformatory for a third time, this time for an unknown duration. He was released on parole sometime before August 1923. In August, he was arrested for armed robbery; he was still on parole from the 1921 stealing charge, so his sentence was enhanced by the fact that he was a parole violator. He was sent to the
165:, who was serving a life sentence that had been commuted from a death sentence for two murders. While being escorted back to their cell block after their evening meal, the prisoners overpowered the guards escorting them and took two as hostages. When other armed guards responded to the situation, the prisoners went to the Deputy Warden's office and surrendered themselves to him. Guards later determined that Filkowski had only helped to transfer notes between prisoners and had no intentions of escaping with the group, so he was not punished. During his first seven years in prison, Filkowski was involved in three separate escape attempts.
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hotel, Filkowski was arrested by a team of New York City detectives working in concert with
Cleveland detectives. Police visited an apartment in Jackson Heights later that afternoon, where Filkowski's lover Mary Kekic was staying; they found $ 65,000 in jewelry, some of which still had the price tag attached, as well as four loaded firearms. Kekic claimed that the jewelry belonged to her. For her involvement in Filkowski's plots, Kekic received a sentence of 2-4 years, which she served in the
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been responsible for the bank holdup; Cohen also gave detectives the address to a house where
Filkowski stayed on occasion. Detectives in Chicago went to that house, and while they did not find Filkowski, they found that he was making plans with a fellow ex-convict from Los Angeles; the two had discussed Filkowski potentially moving there, and the ex-convict recommended that Filkowski discreetly schedule a meeting to further discuss those plans by responding to a
27:, US. A longtime figure in Cleveland's underworld, Joseph Filkowski led the Polish bootlegging gang, the Flats Mob. He was responsible for a rash of bank robberies and jewelry heists in Cleveland and New York City between 1930 and 1932; he was also associated with numerous prominent criminal figures in the Midwest, such as Joseph Stazek and Morris Cohen.
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approximately 3 hours before returning with a guilty verdict for first-degree murder. However, when deliberating on the sentence
Filkowski should receive, they were split 8-4 in favor of a death sentence, with two men and two women hesitant to impose the death penalty; later, they were split 6-6. In the end, they compromised on a
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On
December 5, 1931, Filkowski, alongside a notorious Chicago-based robber named Morris Cohen, held up an Empire Trust and Savings Bank in New York City. Filkowski and Cohen escaped with $ 1,200. Nine days later, on December 14, Cohen was arrested and confessed to the police that he and Filkowski had
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Filkowski spent almost two years at large after the murder of Veryk. Because investigators had a lot of difficulty finding and apprehending him, he was nicknamed "King Kobra." He also had the nickname of "Smiling Joe" among his associates in the
Cleveland crime underworld. During his time on the run
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In mid-February 1932, police received a report that
Filkowski was staying at a specific hotel in New York. On February 21, detectives started a three-day stakeout in front of the hotel, waiting for a good opportunity to take Filkowski into custody. On February 24, while he was walking inside of the
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On June 6, 1930, only two months after
Filkowski's release, Filkowski witnessed 36-year-old lathing contractor Tony Veryk (also referred to in newspapers as Anton Veryk and Anthony Veryk) withdrawing a payroll of $ 1,500 from a Cleveland bank. Filkowski followed Veryk to an apartment building that
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On July 6, 1963, Filkowski married Mary Kekic, by then going by the name Mary Stazek Keck. Keck's husband George had divorced her after she eloped, and he had since died; she spent the years after her divorce serving as one of
Filkowski's most ardent advocates while he was in prison, petitioning
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Filkowski went on trial for the murder of Tony Veryk in April 1932. His jury consisted of six men and six women. During the prosecutor's final arguments, Filkowski caused a disruption by springing up from his seat and shouting at him, "You are more guilty than I am." The jury deliberated for
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governors, mayors, prosecutors, and newspapers for his release while working a job for $ 6 a week as a single mother. Filkowski credited Keck for his behavioral transformation behind bars; after Keck began advocating for him, he became a prison trusty and helped in the construction of the
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On
December 7, 1936, while serving his life sentence in the Ohio State Penitentiary, Filkowski played a minor role in an attempted prison break. Other prisoners in the group included two other Cleveland-based bank robbers named Frank Benszkowski and Vernon Taylor, and
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on his nose in an attempt to conceal his identity and had also adopted the alias of William Blake, the name that he used at the hospital when he received plastic surgery. Other papers claimed that Filkowski dyed his hair red to avoid detection as well.
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On January 4, 1931, Cleveland detective Pat McNeeley saw a man who looked like Joseph Filkowski. He shot at the man and killed him before a confrontation could begin. The man he shot turned out to be Joseph Fortini, a newspaper route manager for the
144:; the jury recommended mercy and imposed a sentence of life imprisonment for Filkowski. Common Pleas Judge Frederick P. Walter formally sentenced Filkowski to life on April 18, 1932. On the same day, he was transported to the
176:, where he was later transferred for his good behavior while he learned baking skills. Eventually, Maury C. Koblentz, the state corrections commissioner, recommended that Filkowski's life sentence be
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When Filkowski was 16 years old, he stole bikes out of a box car; he was never charged for this. At the age of 17, he stole copper wire from a box car. He was sentenced to spend time in the
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that the ex-convict would place in a Kansas City newspaper. Detectives used this information to place their own ad in an attempt that would ultimately result in Filkowski's apprehension.
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43:, to Polish immigrants on either October 3, 1900, or October 3, 1905. He grew up with thirteen brothers, sisters, stepbrothers, and stepsisters and spent his childhood involved in
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with Mary Kekic, the wife of a Cleveland man named George Kekic. Filkowski and Mary Kecik were childhood friends. Those same articles also reported that Filkowski had received
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to serve a 6-20 year sentence, where he learned how to make license plates in the prison workshop. He was released in April 1930 with considerably hardened sensibilities.
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51:. When he went to court, he claimed that he was only following his brother's lead; he received no serious punishment and was let off with a verbal lecture.
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Filkowski's life after his release from prison and his marriage is unknown, although it is likely that he died in either September 1984, or July 2001.
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On April 15, 1963, Joseph Filkowski was released from prison on parole after serving almost 31 years in prison for Veryk's murder.
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commuted Filkowski's first-degree murder conviction to second-degree murder, which paved the way for Filkowski's release.
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47:. His first arrest was at the age of 9, when he was taken into custody for breaking into a candy store and stealing a
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Filkowski held up a clothing store in New York City on January 19; he stole $ 500 and a gold watch.
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for the murder and numerous prior and subsequent robberies, Cleveland police designated him "
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503:"FILKOWSKI IS CONVICTED in Death of Contractor; Ohio Jury Recommends Life Sentence"
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596:. Washington Court House, Ohio. Washington C.H. Record-Herald. 14 March 1940
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360:"How Cleveland's King Kobra of Crime Was Captured at the Cost of Two Lives"
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385:"Joseph Filkowski, known to the underworld of Cleveland, O..."
594:"Prison Break Plotted to Free Survivor of Old Dillinger Gang"
458:. Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch Star. 30 April 1932
291:"Famous Ohio Mysteries: The Rise and Fall of the King Kobra"
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In early May 1931, newspapers reported that Filkowski had
525:"JOE GETS LIFE TERM: Filkowski Is Saved from Death Chair"
315:. Zanesville, Ohio. The Times Recorder. 7 June 1931
412:"Long Fight for Convict's Release Ends in Wedding"
704:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
729:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Ohio
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739:Recipients of American gubernatorial clemency
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638:"United States Social Security Death Index"
227:"United States Social Security Death Index"
616:"Await Freedom After Seven Decades in Pen"
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527:. Cleveland, Ohio. The News. 16 April 1932
663:"United States Public Records, 1970-2009"
252:"United States Public Records, 1970-2009"
572:"OHIO PEN BREAK (Continued from Page 1)"
505:. The Cincinnati Enquirer. 17 April 1932
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550:"Reveal Details of Prison Escape Plot"
483:. New York Daily News. 6 February 1994
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552:. Delphos Daily Herald. 14 March 1940
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574:. Akron Beacon Journal. 19 July 1938
699:American people convicted of murder
618:. The Newark Advocate. 6 March 1963
387:Dayton Daily News. 26 February 1932
719:People convicted of murder by Ohio
362:. New York Daily News. 22 May 1932
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734:People paroled from life sentence
694:American people of Polish descent
83:1931-1932 crimes and developments
337:. The Richmond Item. 7 June 1931
313:"Contractor Murdered and Robbed"
724:Polish-American organized crime
414:. The Lima Citizen. 7 July 1963
174:Marion Correctional Institution
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434:"Gunman Sought as Love Thief"
289:Lekus, Max (7 January 1951).
436:. Public Opinion. 4 May 1931
209:"United States Census, 1930"
184:. In January 1963, Governor
134:Auburn Correctional Facility
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152:Imprisonment and aftermath
335:"BANDITS KILL CONTRACTOR"
714:Gangsters from Cleveland
709:Depression-era gangsters
35:Filkowski was born in a
148:to begin his sentence.
146:Ohio State Penitentiary
64:Ohio State Penitentiary
98:Cleveland Plain Dealer
56:Ohio State Reformatory
74:Murder of Tony Veryk
456:"Trapping a Gunman"
23:gangster active in
186:Michael V. DiSalle
90:Public Enemy No. 1
481:"Slippery Bandit"
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159:Leroy Keith
118:personal ad
688:Categories
195:References
31:Early life
60:Mansfield
178:commuted
68:Columbus
672:14 June
647:14 June
622:14 June
600:14 June
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105:eloped
49:BB gun
19:was a
674:2021
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602:2021
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