Early Years
Abbandando was one of twelve children of Lorenzo Abbondondola and Rosaria Famighetti. On his tombstone, his family name was inscribed as "Abbundando". Abbandando's family immigrated from Avellino, Italy to New York. As a teenager, Abbandando extorted money from shop owners by threatening to torch their shops.
In his twenties, Abbandando joined a street gang in the Ocean Hill section of Brooklyn. Before long, he was a lieutenant for Harry "Happy" Maione. Abbandando organized gambling, loan sharking, and extortion rackets for the gang as well as committing murders. In 1928, Abbandando was convicted of beating a New York City police officer and was sent to reform school in Elmira, New York, where he demonstrated skill at baseball and received the nickname "The Dasher".
In his "free" time, Abbandando was a connoisseur of fine clothes and fancy cars. He was reportedly a sexual predator; he would drive around Brownsville and Ocean Hill, looking for young women to rape. At his later murder trial, the prosecutor said that Abbandando had all but admitted one rape. Abbandando replied, "Well, that one doesn't count really—I married the girl later." Most of his victims would be stabbed in the chest with ice picks.
Read more about this topic: Frank Abbandando
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