The Girod Street Assassination Ambuscade

True Crime Historian

Richard O Jones

True Crime, Performing Arts, Documentary, Arts, Society & Culture

4.5 • 720 Ratings

🗓️ 20 October 2025

⏱️ 150 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The City Of New Orleans Vs. The Mafia

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Episode 408 explores the lead-in and aftermath of one of the most deadly vigilante actions in American history. When the commissioner of police is assassinated on his way home, a committee of 50 citizens call an indignation meeting, and you know how those are likely to go. Just a couple of notes: One, the descriptions of the action in Act III are quite graphic, so use your discretion. And two, there are several instances of a derogatory term used in this episode, but I follow the same policy I do for racial slurs, that I will soften the narrative language but will not change anything that is printed in direct quotes. History is not always pretty, folks, so don’t come here if you want it white-washed.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Popular.com
0:04.0	New Orleans, Louisiana, October 16th, 1890.
0:16.2	The facts about the terrible tragedy are best told in the statement of Captain William J. O'Connor,
0:23.9	the superintendent's chosen and trusted friend.
0:27.7	Quote, I went to Superintendent Hennessey's office about 10 o'clock tonight and sat there chatting for about an hour.
0:35.2	The chief was in the best of spirits and said to me, wait a few minutes and I'll start home.
0:40.3	We left the central police station about 10 or 15 minutes past 11 o'clock.
0:45.3	As we passed out of the door, I suggested to the chief that we should walk up Basin Street as he lived on Giraud Street between Basin and Franklin.
0:55.1	The chief replied,
0:56.0	Now let us walk up Rampart Street, our usual route, as the sidewalks on Basin Street are very bad.
1:02.8	When we reached Dominic Verge's oyster saloon, the chief invited me to come in and get some oysters.
1:09.4	We ate about a half dozen oysters apiece and the chief drank
1:12.3	a glass of milk. Leaving the saloon, we walked up the wood side of Rampart Street to Gerard, where
1:20.0	we parted, the chief saying, don't come any further with me now, you go on and look after your
1:24.9	business. As we parted, the chief started down Basin Street,
1:30.3	taking the downtown side of Girard Street.
1:33.3	I took the uptown side of Girard Street and walked out in the direction of the river.
1:39.3	On my way I met a city policeman and a boylean officer.
1:47.9	I had just reached the corner of dryads and gerard streets when I heard a loud report of a shotgun,
1:50.9	and turning quickly around and looking toward Basin Street,
1:54.2	I saw the flashes and heard two more loud reports.
1:58.4	The flashes came from the front of the two-story frame house at the
	...

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