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Illegals

by Jim Episale

Illegals by Jim Episale, August, 1999


This is the story of a reluctant distributor. It is necessarily vague as some people might construe that which he did to be criminal. It is also vague since when you speak with him (interview) you are allowed to take no notes and when a certain point in the narrative is reached his only answer becomes you don't want to know.

The H. C. Edwards mold is now owned by someone in the Northeast while the company its recourse and dies used to hot stamp the chips are owned by the Marion Company.

Mr.. Northeast purchased the mold to protect his customers when H.C. Edwards and Co. went up for sale. Marion Co. purchased HC Edwards in 1983 and moved into their building on West 26th Street in Manhattan.

Pictured are some H mold chips from different clubs in New York, and the Boys and Girls Club in Laurel, Manhattan.

Top row on left is Kips Bays, a section in Brooklyn, and that's where the club was located. Club 27 was a joint located on West 27th Street in Manhattan not far from H.C. Edwards headquarters. The mouse or rat chip was from a plush club located on East 53rd Street in New York City reputed to be run by the Gambino family. Second row is the Maryland chip and two UFC's which I am told were used in New York.

Will try to fill in some of the blanks in a future column.


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