Thomas Kinney

Background

The Irish-American Thomas "Snake" Kinney was born and raised in Saint Louis"s "Kerry Patch" neighborhood.

Career

Tom would always snatch the biggest bundle of papers for himself in the morning, but always square accounts with his victim at the end of the day. One newsboy who had been victimized by Kinney complained to a local beat cop, who exclaimed, "That little Kinney sneaked the papers!" The policeman spoke with a thick Irish brogue, so "sneaked" came out sounding like "snaked", hence Kinney"s nickname. Despite his slender build and outgoing nature, Kinney was known as a tough street fighter.

He and his family lived on Collins Street, across from the Egan family.

In the late 1880s, Snake Kinney was a neighborhood pool hustler and all-around crook when he entertained the idea for running for office. Kinney was elected to the Saint Louis city Democratic City Committee in 1890.

By 1894, Snake Kinney ran a saloon at Second and Carr, which served as a headquarters for the "Ashley Street Gang", soon to be known as the Egan"s Rats. Kinney and his thugs specialized in armed robbery, burglary, and extortion.

Kinney killed Higgins in a street fight in the early morning hours of September 20, 1896.

Snake was acquitted on a charge of self-defense. Kinney eventually married Tom Egan"s sister Catherine, with whom he would have a daughter named Florence. While Snake Kinney was a personable and able legislator, he always retained his street sense and temper.

On February 19, 1904, he was charged with verbally abusing and shooting a black lounge singer named Walter Sloan.

After this incident, Tom Egan took over the street gang, which soon became known as the Egan"s Rats. In November 1904, Tom Kinney was elected to the Missouri state senate, representing his Saint Louis district.

Kinney was able to turn out a staggering amount of votes at the polls for the candidates of his choosing, due to the muscle of the Egan gang. Kinney, despite his gangster roots, was known for creating landmark Missouri legislation curtailing child labor and limiting women to working only eight-hour days.

He also formed an alliance with Louis Lemp, a Saint Louis brewing magnate who proved a valuable ally for the senator

Tom Kinney was defeated in November 1910 for a United States. Congress seat, and soon after was diagnosed with tuberculosis, from which he died of on May 15, 1912. Egan and his goons complied such a large tally for Gill"s opponent in the 1912 election, the congressman was speechless upon his defeat. The gang that Snake Kinney helped found would endure as the most powerful Saint Louis criminal organization until the early 1920s.

Membership

He was one of the founding members of the infamous Egan"s Rats gang.

Connections

Friend:

Thomas Egan