Bill Dwyer (mobster)
| Date of birth | 1883 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York |
| Date of death | 1946 (aged 62–63) |
| Place of death | Belle Harbor, Queens, New York |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Owner |
| College | None |
| Career history | |
| As owner | |
| 1925–1936 | New York Americans (NHL) |
| 1928–1930 | Pittsburgh Pirates (NHL) |
| 1930–1931 | Philadelphia Quakers (NHL) |
| 1930–1933 | Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) |
William Vincent Dwyer (1883–1946), known as "Big Bill" Dwyer, was an early Prohibition gangster and bootlegger in New York during the 1920s. He used his profits to purchase sports properties, including the New York Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates of the National Hockey League (NHL), as well as the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National Football League. He eventually was brought down by the U.S. government through legal actions, leaving Dwyer penniless at the end of his life in 1946.
Born and raised in Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, Dwyer became one of the leading bootleggers during the early years of Prohibition. In his heyday he reportedly ran a fleet of 20 rum-runners.
Dwyer was working as a dockyard stevedore (hired by friend George Shevlin) prior to the announcement of the Volstead Act in 1919. With access to company supply trucks, garages, and other valuable resources, Dwyer quickly dominated bootlegging in Manhattan within a year. His network of garages was able to hide large numbers of supply trucks which, accessible only by secret doors and compartments, were known only to Dwyer and several others.
Eventually breaking away from Shevlin, Dwyer had organized a smuggling operation which ran from Europe directly to Manhattan. Forming a partnership with Owney Madden and, later Frank Costello, Dwyer soon began taking on future gangsters such as lieutenant Vannie Higgins and others. Through James J. Hines, Dwyer was able to gain the political protection of Tammany Hall as well as members of the New York police and Coast Guard enabling Dwyer's shipments to be delivered to the coast without interference.
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