Tom Devaney

Article summary

Tom Devaney (died July 20, 1976) was a New York mobster and an enforcer to Mickey Spillane during the 1960s and 70s. As Spillane's chief lieutenant, Devaney played a leading role in the growing animosity between Spillane and the Genovese crime family as well as the gang war against James Coonan. Devaney was an exhibition worker on the West Side who was murdered by Joe "Mad Dog" Sullivan on the orders of Genovese mobster George Barone because "he was interfering with us", as Barone told prosecutor in court. Sullivan observed Devaney for eight weeks, then disguised himself with an Afro wig and skin dye, followed Devaney into a bar-and-grill in Midtown Manhattan, and shot him in the head. Devaney's death marked the beginning of the end for Spillane's operation. Spillane was murdered the following year.

Key claims

1. date of death: 1976-07-20 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of death is "1976-07-20". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

No sources recorded.