Mickey Duffy

Michael "Mickey" Duffy (born William Michael Cusick; 1888 - August 30, 1931) -- also known as John Murphy and George McEwen -- was a Polish-American mobster and rival of Maxie "Boo Boo" Hoff during Prohibition. He became one of the most famous and powerful beer bootleggers in Philadelphia and Atlantic City.

Career Born William Michael Cusick to Polish immigrants in Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an agent of the Bureau of Prohibition killed during a September 19, 1930 raid on one of Duffy's breweries in Elizabeth, New Jersey, local authorities began cracking down on Duffy's criminal operations causing some animosity among his partners including his bodyguard and chauffeur Joseph Beatty.

Within several months, two individuals alleged to have been involved, Samuel E. Grossman and Albert Skale, were gunned down at a club on Watts Street and Girard Avenue in December 1931 beginning a wave of violence among various factions among the Philadelphia underworld. Duffy's funeral was an event. Thousands of people flocked to the cemetery but a police line kept them outside the entrance gate. Friends and family of Duffy required a special pass to enter.

In popular culture In the HBO TV series Boardwalk Empire, a fictional character Mickey Doyle is based on Mickey Duffy, played by Paul Sparks.