“No Legs”

Paul “No Legs” Hankish (1931-1998) was a West Virginia mobster who had close ties to the Pittsburgh crime family. Hankish was born on July 8, 1931, in Wheeling, Ohio, West Virginia. Hankish was involved in crime since the 1950’s. In 1964, William “Big Bill” Lias who was the boss of the West Virginian faction of the Pittsburgh Crime Family, managed to have a car bomb detonated which blew off Hankish legs and brought about the grizzly nickname “No Legs.” Undeterred, Hankish moved in on Lias’ territory and staked his claim on behalf of the Pittsburgh syndicate. In 1974 Hankish was slapped with a 10-year prison sentence for allegedly hijacking a beer truck. By the early 1980’s Hankish was back out on the streets. Hankish was known to make his money from gambling and vending machines but it was narcotics trafficking that brought in cash, a portion of the money was kicked up to the Pittsburgh crime family. In 1988 Hankish was indicted on multiple racketeering counts. The acts included illegal gambling, extortion, murder conspiracy and narcotics trafficking. Hankish was sentenced to 33 years in prison and died on May 1998.