“I was never a rat in my life – I was never a rat!”

“Practice Makes Perfect”; Billie Holiday; Roberts; Gold; Publication date: September 12, 1940

PM, September 12, 1940

Alleged Trigger Man of Murder, Inc. Runs Squealing to Church for Safety

Vito Gurino weighs 225 pounds. He is several inches under the romantic six feet, and he squeals much louder than any pig Armour ever heard of. He tumbled into a Catholic church last night wailing for sanctuary, screaming for mercy and begging for his wife and children…
PM, September 12, 1940

The New York Times, September 12, 1940

Murder Ring Fugitive Seeks Haven in Church; ‘Trigger Man’ hysterical in Fear of Killers

Shrieking hysterically that he was about to be killed, Vito Gurino, supposedly “toughest trigger man” of the Brooklyn murder ring exposed by District Attorney William O’Dwyer, sought sanctuary last night in the Roman Catholic Shrine of the Sea at Twenty-first Street and Tenth Avenue…

…Gurino meanwhile kept shouting:
“I was never a rat in my life – I was never a rat!”

Later he added:
“If they leave me alone, I’ll go away – I’ll never squeal. But if they don’t leave me alone I’ll squeal. They’ll kill me! They’ll kill my wife and children!”
The New York Times, September 12, 1940

Weegee (1899-1968), Vito Gurino, 1940, Screenshot

“The Same Old Story”; Billie Holiday; Field; Oliphant; Publication date: September 12, 1940