John Chink Goodman I Philadelphia Gangster I Cement Shoes Real Story

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-17

[00:00:21][music] >> In this story, we will be covering over the mob hit on John Goodman. As we are sure many of you have probably never heard of this story, but we are sure that you heard of the old criminal act called the cement shoes. Cement shoes, concrete shoes, or Chicago overcoat is a method of murder of a body being disposed usually associated with criminals such as the mafia or gangsters. Well, let's say that you probably heard that in movies and television. But what if we told you if this happened in real life, especially during the 1940s?

[00:00:56]One of the stories you probably never heard of is John Goodman's story. John "Chink" Goodman was a Philadelphia gangster and long-time underworld figure connected to the Prohibition era mob scene in the 1920s and 1930s. He was reportedly associated with the gang member Mickey Duffy, one of Philly's most notorious bootlegging leaders during the Prohibition era.

[00:01:18]Goodman had a criminal record dating back into the early 1900s with arrests tied to pickpocketing, bootlegging, illegal gambling, >> [music] >> number operations, running disorderly households, and counterfeiting money schemes.

[00:01:34]He became most remembered for his violent death that occurred in July 1941.

[00:01:38]He was discovered in the waters near Cape May, New Jersey, wrapped in canvas with a concrete block attached, basically the kind of cement shoes style mob killing people associated with old mafia lore. Authorities said he had been beaten badly before being dumped. The nickname [ __ ] was common, but also an offensive ethnic name used in the era of some gangsters. Historic sources still use it because it was the name attached to him in police and newspaper records.

[00:02:08]So, John [ __ ] Goodman was a part of the rough, chaotic generation of the Philadelphia gangsters that existed before the modern mafia structure really [music] solidified in the city. He came out during the prohibition era when Philly's underworld was less of a single organized family and more of a mix of ethnic groups and gangs, bootlegging gamblers, corrupt politicians, and independent racketeers fighting over territory and alcohol money.

[00:02:33]As a big part of Goodman's underworld identity came from his [music] connection to who Mickey Duffy, one of the most feared and powerful bootleggers in Philadelphia.

[00:02:42]Goodman was considered more of an enforcer, street-level racketeer, a gambling bootlegging associate, and old-school independent hoodlum rather than a high-ranking mafia boss.

[00:02:54]He reportedly moved through circles involved in illegal liquor distribution during the prohibition time, numbers running, illegal lottery gambling, protection schemes, and vice operations.

[00:03:05]Back then, Philadelphia's underworld was fragmented. You had the Irish gangs, Jewish gangs, Italian bootleggers, independent criminals working together >> [music] >> when it was very profitable during that time. The later, more formal mafia structure, known as the Crime Family Syndicate, Cosa Nostra, the one associated with like Angelo Philip Testa, Nicky Scarfo, didn't fully dominate the city yet during Goodman's prime.

[00:03:31]The Mickey Duffy connection, Duffy's organization was [music] incredibly violent and deeply tied to bootlegging profits. Goodman appeared [music] in historical accounts as one of the many gangland figures orbiting Duffy's empire. Duffy himself was assassinated in 1931 at the Hotel Ambassador in Atlantic City. After Duffy's death, many smaller associates and connected figures either disappeared, got absorbed into the other rackets, went legit, or became vulnerable targets. Goodman survived the transition for about a decade, but 1941 he was found murdered in the Delaware Bay under a suspected organized crime hit.

[00:04:10]Why is he remembered? He's mostly remembered today because of his murder, which was unusually brutal and cinematic. The cement shoes detail became infamous. He represents the messy transition period between the prohibition era gang wars and the latter more mafia structured mafia era. He's kind of one of those shadowy middle layer underworld figures, not a legendary boss, but someone deeply embedded in the ecosystem around them.

[00:04:37]So, we'll read from the Philadelphia Inquirer that dates back July 22nd, 1941, page two. Rival gang is blamed in shore of slaying Philadelphia racket figure.

[00:04:49]Rival gang is blamed in shore slaying of Philadelphia racket figure by Ralph Propper. Cape May, New Jersey, July 21st. Out-of-town gangsters seeking into the muscle to the lucrative chain of the rackets in Philadelphia were blamed by police here today for the murder of John "Shink" Goodman, who battered body was found by the crab fisherman here yesterday.

[00:05:12]Beyond the assumption that his killers were the same unfriendly looking pair seen talking with the victim of a Philadelphia street last Friday, [music] however, there was no clue to the other men's identity. Detectives handling the case appeared no nearer a solution tonight [music] than where where the victim's body was shrouded in tent cloth and trussed up with clothing line was pulled from the shallow waters early Sunday afternoon. Evidence that the murder was not robbery was seen in the fact that $480 was left in Goodman's trousers [music] pocket, together with a gold cigarette case bearing his initials J.B. for Julius Bryant, his real name.

[00:05:56]>> [music] >> Detectives working under county prosecutors, Leaveland and county investigators Jesse Solder, learned from Thomas Kennedy, tender at the Ocean Drive Bridge, that an automobile parked for a quite a while on the bridge late Friday.

[00:06:13]A number racket, Kennedy remember thinking that this was unusual, but said paid for further intention into the incident >> [music] >> during the time it is believed that Goodman's body was tossed into the river.

[00:06:25]Goodman, it was understood that had recently engaged into the numbers racket in Philadelphia, and was reported to have been connected with the operation disorder houses in vicinity of the 8th and Vine Streets.

[00:06:39]His wife, under questioning here, could throw to light on his recent activities or on the possible reasons for his murder. Mrs. Marie Goodman, the slain man's widow, remained in the Cape May County Jail [music] as a guest today.

[00:06:53]Harberton said that she refused to eat or talk to anyone throughout the day.

[00:07:02]That concludes the article of the Philadelphia Inquirer on July 22nd, 1941.

[00:07:08]>> [music] >> Here's for the Philadelphia Inquirer again, the next day, Wednesday, July 23rd, 1941, page two.

[00:07:15]Gangster's widow leaves jail to arrange funeral.

[00:07:18]Special to the Inquirer, Cape May, July 22nd. Mrs. Marie Goodman, widow of John "Chink" Goodman, slain Philadelphia gangster, left the county jail at Cape May County Courthouse tonight to arrange for her husband's funeral. Police said that she walked out of the jail and thumbed a ride.

[00:07:36]Shortly before her departure, Mrs. Goodman ended a two-day hunger strike by eating a bowl of soup. The end of her strike followed by a few hours. Mrs. Goodman's decision to end a self-imposed silence [music] which she asked for the services of a Philadelphia lawyer, Samuel Winterberg.

[00:07:52]Her request was granted. Under questioning concerning her husband's murder, Mrs. Goodman had been lodged in the jail for a lack of hotel rooms and was not under arrest. Her hunger strike and refusal to talk were unexplained.

[00:08:06][music] Meanwhile, an autopsy of Goodman's body showed that he had been beaten and struck on the head with a heavy instrument before his trussed [music] body was tossed into the Skunk Sound near here.

[00:08:19]The victim apparently had been taken for a ride by gang rival >> [music] >> who had been dead for about 3 days, the autopsy also revealed, before crab fishermen discovered his body in a shallow water on Sunday. That concludes the article from the Philadelphia Inquirer. And that's very few of the limited resources that we [music] can find on John Goodman. As we will show you on the map display, had his own notoriety for the time that he lived, especially with the limited media. You can see on the map that we show you that the Philadelphia gangster was slain at the King May, as you can see from this picture as it's depicted. And this is one of the very few images that you can find of him, especially like we said, this is limited media and also limited technology and it's not like gangsters at that time want to be seen or photographed. They just want to carry the reputation that you heard on word of the street. This concludes our video on John Ching Goodman. Any recommendations of certain other mafia hits that we have not covered, especially as this is a very rare story that ever gets told, please let us know in the comment section down below. We'd like to hear from you, the audience. This is Inflee Productions. Stay tuned for more content.

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