Folk Figure, Murder Victim. Michael Malloy, born in County Donegal, Ireland, was an alcoholic ex-fireman when he came to the attention of five men, later dubbed the 'Murder Trust.' These five men, a speakeasy owner, his bartender (a former chemist), an undertaker, a fruit vendor and a cab driver were interested in pulling an insurance scam. They had already pulled one such scam, but the money was soon gone. They chose Malloy for their next victim, and secured three insurance policies on him under the name of Nicholas Mallory, shaving his age from 60 yo 45 to keep premiums low. They believed he would soon drink himself to death, so he was given free drinks by the speakesy owner. When this did not prove fatal, they began to get creative. They substituted antifreeze for alcohol, to no effect. They next tried turpentine, to no avail. They switched to horse liniment, with rat poisoned added. Malloy asked for more. They fed him tainted raw oysters soaked in wood alcohol, but it had no effect. Next they fed him a sandwich of spoiled sardines, with carpet tacks, and shavings from the sardine can mixed in. Malloy came back the next day, wanting another sandwich. They dumped him in a snowbank on a night when the temperature dropped to -14 and poured a 5 gallon can of water on him. Malloy came in the next night, ready for a drink. They hit him with a taxi going 45 mph. Malloy disappeared for 3 weeks, while the Murder Trust searched the papers for a report on his death. After 3 weeks, Malloy walked into the speakeasy, telling them he'd been in the hospital which had neglected to list him as a patient. The frantic gang began to believe Malloy was indestructible. They finally succeeded in killing him by feeding him drinks till he passed out, taking him back to his room, attaching a rubber hose to a gas jet, placing the other end in Malloy's mouth and turning on the gas until Malloy was dead. A doctor (it is unknown if he was part of the conspiracy) signed the death certificate. The undertaker then put Malloy in a $10 pine coffin and buried him in a $12 plot in Ferncliff cemetery. They collected the insurance payoff (about $3000) but talked too much. The DA found that a Michael Malloy had indeed died on Washington's Birthday with insurance policies on him and rounded up the 'Murder Trust' Four of them died in the electric chair while the doctor and one other went to prison. In the end, Michael Malloy died, but not before forcing the 'Murder Trust' into using obbvious methods to bring about his death, which led to the capture and conviction of the 'Murder Trust.'