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 in Atlantic City. Career Born William Michael Cusick to Polish immigrants in Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he changed his name to fit in well with the Irish gangs in Philadelphia. Duffy became involved in petty theft and other misdemeanors during his youth before more serious crimes during his teenage years, including armed robbery and hijacking prior to entering bootlegging during Prohibition. In May 1919, Duffy was arrested for assault and battery with intent to kill serving two years and eleven months at the Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia. Upon his release, Prohibition was law and organized crime syndicates began smuggling, making and selling illegal alcohol. He married Edith Craig shortly after his release. Rise to power By the early 1920s, Duffy had become one of the most dominant bootleggers in the Delaware Valley possessing breweries in Philadelphia, Camden, and South Jersey. His associates included former rival Max Hassel, Harry Green, James Richardson, Charles Bodine and Nicholas Delmore although he would be in frequent battle against rivals such as Hoff and the Bailey brothers throughout the decade. During this time, Duffy expanded into legitimate businesses including owning several prominent clubs, including the Perkin and the fashionable Club Cadix at 23rd and Chestnut streets in Philadelphia in 1924. He ran his bootlegging and numbers businesses from the old Ritz-Carlton hotel. Duffy was shot three times leaving the Club Cadix late on the night of February 25, 1927 by Francis Bailey and Peter Ford. His bodyguard, John Bricker, was killed, and Earl Brown, the club's doorman, was also wounded. This shooting was the first instance of a Thompson submachine gun being used in Philadelphia's underworld. Duffy was treated at Hahneman Hospital in Philadelphia and returned to his bootlegging business. In the mid-1920s, Duffy's violent methods brought him into conflict with Reading-based bootlegger Max Hassel. Along with Waxey Gordon, Hassel controlled a number of breweries in Pennsylvania and Northern New Jersey. The aggressive Duffy forced his way into the lucrative Jersey territory forcing Hassel to hand over a brewery to him. Duffy earned such great profits from both beer and numbers businesses that by 1930 he