Danny Greene was an Irish-American organized crime figure who rose from the Cleveland docks to become one of the most feared and public mob bosses in the city’s history, openly taunting his Italian-American rivals in the media and surviving multiple assassination attempts before a fatal bombing in 1977. Born Daniel John Patrick Greene on November 14, 1933, in Cleveland, Ohio, he was named after his grandfather after his mother died just three days after his birth. His father, a heavy drinker who lost his job as a salesman, placed the young boy in Parmadale, a Roman Catholic orphanage in Parma, Ohio, at age six. Greene’s father later remarried, but the boy resented his stepmother and ran away several times.
He eventually moved in with his paternal grandfather and an aunt in the Collingwood neighborhood, where he attended Saint Jerome Catholic School and served as an altar boy. Despite being a poor student, he was allowed to play sports because he was an athletic standout, excelling in baseball and basketball. He attended Saint Ignatius High School, where he frequently clashed with Italian-American students, children of more recent immigrants, and formed a lifelong hatred of Italians. After being expelled, he transferred to Collingwood High School, where he again excelled in sports.
He joined the United States Marine Corps in 1951, gaining attention for his boxing and marksmanship skills, and was promoted to corporal in 1953 before receiving an honorable discharge. In the early 1960s, Greene worked as a longshoreman at the Cleveland docks long before the International Longshoremen’s Association organized the industry. He spent his free time reading about Ireland’s turbulent past and developed the idea that he was a Celtic warrior, a self-image that observers believed motivated his criminal ambitions. When the local union’s president was fired by the ILA in 1961, Greene easily won the interim president position.
In office, he raised dues by 25 percent and required employees to volunteer for a building fund. Those who objected frequently lost their jobs. He fired more than 50 members to pressure stevedore companies into letting the ILA supervise dockworker hiring and oversaw sometimes violent protests and strikes. Many workers were required to unload grain from ships as a condition of employment and then turn over their paychecks to Greene, who claimed the funds would build a union hall but instead deposited them into his personal account.
He occasionally called work stoppages, sometimes as many as 25 in a single day, to demonstrate his control over the docks. Investigative journalist Sam Marshall gathered affidavits supporting allegations of extortion, leading to Greene’s expulsion from the union and a conviction for embezzlement. An appeals court later overturned the conviction, and Greene accepted a plea deal on lesser charges of falsifying union records, receiving a $10,000 fine and a suspended sentence. He reportedly never paid the fine in full and served no jail time.
After returning to his rackets, Greene befriended Teamsters boss Louis Triscaro, who introduced him to Jimmy Hoffa. Following a friendly meeting, Hoffa reportedly warned Triscaro, “Stay away from that guy, there’s something wrong with him. ”
Greene was employed by the Cleveland Solid Waste Trade Guild to maintain peace, and mobster Alex “Shondor” Birns hired him as an enforcer for his numbers operations after being impressed by his skills. He and other Irish-American gangsters were also employed by Frank Brancato, underboss of the Cleveland Mafia family, as enforcers and muscle to maintain control over garbage hauling contracts and other rackets.
Big Mike Frato left the Solid Waste Trade Guild and established a more respectable industry organization, the Cuyahoga County Refuse Haulers Association. In September 1970, Arthur Sneperger was tasked with planting a bomb on Frato’s car. The bomb detonated prematurely, killing Sneperger while Frato, standing across the street, was spared. Many believed Greene murdered Sneperger after learning he was an informant.
An underworld source told Sergeant Edward Kovacic that Greene had activated the detonator instantly. The case was never officially resolved. Frato was shot and killed on November 26, 1971, at Cleveland’s White City Beach. Greene was detained and admitted to the murder but claimed self-defense, saying Frato fired three shots at him while he was jogging with his dogs and he returned a single shot.
Greene was released after evidence appeared to corroborate his account. Shortly afterward, Greene was targeted again at White City Beach. A hidden sniper fired several rifle shots at him; Greene ran toward his would-be assassin while pulling out his revolver and firing back. The sniper fled unidentified.
Investigators later learned the attempt was part of a murder contract ordered by Birns. Greene cultivated a public image as the “Robin Hood of Collingwood,” frequently picking up restaurant tabs for friends, neighbors, and acquaintances and leaving generous tips. On Thanksgiving, he had fifty 20-pound turkeys delivered to needy households. He formed his own crew of young Irish-American gangsters called the Celtic Club and allied with John Nardi, a Cleveland crime family labor racketeer who wanted to overthrow the family’s leadership.
Greene’s friendship with Birns deteriorated over a $75,000 loan. Greene requested the money to establish a counterfeit operation, but the cash was lost by Birns’ courier, Billy Cox, who used it to buy cocaine. Police raided the operation and seized the drugs, the remaining $75,000, and counterfeit money. The Gambino family, which had arranged the drug supply, demanded repayment.
Birns pressed Greene, but Greene refused, reminding Birns the money was lost through Birns’ own courier. To settle the matter, Birns directed an associate to hire a hitman and provided $25,000 for the job. Several minor underworld figures took the contract, but their numerous attempts on Greene’s life failed. After surviving multiple assassination attempts, Greene chose to strike back.
Birns was killed by a bomb containing the military explosive C4 on March 29, 1975, in the parking lot behind Christie’s Lounge, a go-go bar near Saint Malachi’s Church. The Collinwood neighborhood was shaken on May 12, 1975, by another explosion. Greene suffered only minor wounds despite his building at 15805 Waterloo Road being completely destroyed. He was protected from debris by a refrigerator that had become stuck against the wall as the second floor collapsed.
Greene, who wore a Saint Jude medal around his neck at all times, attributed the failure of a second, more potent bomb to the saint’s intercession. Longtime mob boss John Scalish died in 1976, leaving the city’s lucrative criminal enterprises, particularly the Teamsters Union locals, up for grabs. James Licavoli, whom Scalish had named as his successor, was challenged for control by John Nardi and other mobsters within weeks. With Greene’s assistance, Nardi had many of Licavoli’s supporters killed, likely marking the start of a protracted conflict between Greene’s Celtic Club and Licavoli’s Cleveland crime family.
The Cleveland area experienced 36 bomb explosions in 1976 alone, earning the nickname “Bomb City, USA. ”
Greene played up rumors of the mob’s botched assassination attempts after the Waterloo Road bombing failed to kill him. His flamboyant behavior fueled urban legends portraying him as invincible and powerful. He granted interviews to local television stations, and during one televised interview told a reporter, “This trailer behind me, it’s where I work.
See the bar at the end of the street? Get a shot of that. I live on the top floor. Let me tell you something: if any of these maggots from the so-called Mafia want to come after me, I’m not a hard man to find.
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On May 17, 1977, Greene’s longtime ally John Nardi was killed by a bomb. On October 6, 1977, Greene visited the Brainard Place office complex in Lyndhurst, Ohio, for a dental appointment. His phone had been tapped, and the mob was aware of the appointment. After his appointment, Greene walked out of the building and approached his car.
The car parked next to him exploded instantly, killing him.