Another Mornin’s Morning
Times were tough in the summer of 1932 at Marino’s Bronx speakeasy. The dearth of customers and expense of procuring bootleg alcohol made it ever more difficult to make ends meet. While Tony Marino was woefully grousing about his fiscal plight, his close friend - Francis Pasqua - noticed a bum who frequented the Bowery drinking holes begging for a drink on credit. That homeless man was Michael Malloy.
Malloy, an Irish immigrant from County Donegal, had been kicked out of many a speakeasy for his delinquent tabs. He was a thorn in Marino’s side due to his endless pleas for “one more drink”; however, Tony and Frank quickly realized they could capitalize on the situation. After all, Malloy’s acute alcoholism and lack of any family or friends most likely meant he would die in obscurity after a final drinking binge. Thus, a plan was hatched. In December, Tony and his accomplices took out several life insurance policies on Malloy and promised him free drinks and unlimited credit for signing the paperwork. Yet, no matter how much Irish Mike drank to the point of unconsciousness, he always awoke and returned to the speakeasy requesting “another mornin’s morning.”
Impatient with the lack of progress and the ongoing premium payments, Tony began to spike Malloy’s drinks with antifreeze. When that failed, he added turpentine and rat poison. Finally, he gave him shots of wood alcohol to hasten Malloy’s demise. Incredibly, Mike always returned for more after emerging from his comatose state. This prompted the gang to up the ante by feeding Mike methanol-soaked raw oysters and putrid sardine sandwiches laced with carpet tacks, glass and various poisons – to no avail.
As the expiration of the life insurance policies neared, Tony and his co-conspirators waited until a bitter cold night in late January to drag a passed-out Malloy to a nearby park where they poured 5 gallons of water on his bare chest and covered him with snow. That evening the temperature dropped to -14F. They were convinced he would freeze to death. Late the following morning, Malloy staggered into Marino’s speak easy, complained about a wee chest cold and ordered, “another mornin’s morning!” Shocked but undaunted, the gang enlisted a taxi driver to run over Malloy. Malloy – despite his drunken stupor – managed to leap out of the way at the last second not once but twice. On the third attempt, Malloy was held upright by Tony and Francis. As the taxi barreled towards the trio reaching a speed of nearly 50 mph, they leapt from Malloy’s side. This time Malloy could not evade the vehicle and was thrown several feet in air. Upon landing, the taxi driver backed over the lifeless body for good measure. As they hurriedly rushed to confirm Malloy was finally dead, they were scattered from the scene of the crime by curious onlookers who had heard the commotion.
Weeks passed without any news of Mike’s whereabouts or condition. Tony and his nefarious band were certain the body was laying unclaimed in the city’s morgue. Much to their shocked chagrin, on February 21, 1933, a battered Malloy entered Marino’s seeking “another mornin’s morning.” Desperate, the men offered him drink after drink until he was comatose. They then dragged his body to a nearby room, connected a hose to a coal-fired heater, shoved the hose in Malloy’s mouth and within an hour the indomitable Irishman was dead.
Trade has certainly not perished as the month of August was laid to rest. Au contraire, vessel arrivals for the state reached their peak in August. The 5% monthly gain was due to every major port posting positive month-over-month vessel counts. The brownwater front also contributed to the bounty of Leo’s month with a 2% uptick after posting its best numbers since March. Nevertheless, both bluewater arrivals and brownwater transits are off by 2% and 7% - respectively - for the year.
Four of the nine Texas ports registered arrival highs for the year. In fact, Sabine logged its second consecutive busiest month in 2025 by topping July’s count by 1%. LPG and offshore tow vessels played a pivotal role with a 29% jump and 9% gain respectively. Sabine has certainly benefited from the robust demand of LPG from ports afar. Bulkers also had a healthy month as evidenced by an 18% rise. Yet, those yields were not enough to boost the port into positive territory for the year as reflected in a year-to-date wane of 3%.
On the other hand, the Port of Corpus Christi’s very bullish August pulled the port onto the positive side of the ledger for the year; albeit, by a mere 1%. A 19% jump in arrivals from July to August due to 9% more tankers and a 118% leap in bulker calls bodes well for the Sparkling City by the Sea. While chemical tankers trail 2024’s tally by 2%, general cargo, LNG and ocean-going tows all exceeded the prior year’s count by double digits. In short, the port is well positioned to set another tonnage record in 2025.
Never shy about its ever-expanding role in the Lone Star’s constellation of ports, Freeport has notched its sixth consecutive triple-digit arrival month for the year. The summer doldrums were nowhere to be found as its arrival count ascended 10%; bolstering its year-to-date numbers to 13% above that of last year. LPG and chemical tankers dominated its waterfront with 29% and 17% month-over-month climbs – respectively. More impressive is the fact that the port saw a record number of container ships in August resulting in a 48% year-over-year bounce. Based on what has unfolded since January, there is little doubt Freeport will also set a tonnage record when the 2025 books are closed.
The final port that joined the August-Best-Month Club was Brownsville. This unassuming border port has welcomed 7% more arrivals to date, in spite of its major vessel category – bulkers – being off by 7%. No matter, a handful of tankers and a few score of general cargo ships have more than offset this wane. As a consequence of those year-over-year gains of 13% and 50% respectively, Brownsville is outpacing 2024’s arrival stats by 7%.
Texas City’s 2025 performance has been a bit more tepid vis-à-vis 2024. The port saw 8% more vessels ply its waterways in August; however, 2025 remains 12% behind that of 2024. This is due to the significant decrease in chemical tankers over the last year – to the tune of 16%. The nearby Port of Galveston has also seen 12% fewer chemical tankers this year. Nevertheless, the armada of cruise ships that have called upon the port underscore its regional dominance in this market. Understandably, the summer months are not the peak of the cruise season. Yet, 8% more calls in the last month aided in pushing up the year-to-date gain to 10%. That aside, the port remains 2% behind last year’s arrivals - even after adding August’s 2% uptick. Mind you, the Galveston waterfront is not completely dedicated to cruise terminals as reflected in the impressive number of tankers that moor at Texas International Terminal – a facility that can handily store several million barrels of petroleum constituents. Thus far, the tanker count has waxed by more than 34% and will most likely continue to build on those numbers as the facility expands its tank farm footprint.
Houston’s tanker arrival count has seen better years. 2025 still lags the prior year by 18% after chalking up a 24% increase in the last month. Chemical tankers – the port’s dominant vessel category - were off for the month by 5% but are up 7% for the year. Beyond the petrochemical realm, bulkers and general cargo calls are outpacing the prior year by 7% and 10% respectively. Container vessel arrivals continue to wane. This is somewhat moot in light of the fact that, through the end of July, 6% more TEUs have flowed to and from the port’s container terminals. Exports continue to outpace imports with respect to both full and empty containers. Regardless of the overall vessel arrival count, the TEU statistics bode well for the region’s economic health.
Things did not bode well for Tony Marino and his fellow murderers when the rumors about the Irishman that would not die flew about the city’s speakeasy circuit. Eventually, the police were alerted to the gangs attempt to collect on the life insurance policies and exhumed Malloy’s body. An examination of the corpse revealed that Michael Malloy had died from gas poisoning. In short order, Tony and his cohort – dubbed the “Murder Trust” by an enraptured media - were sentenced to death by electrocution in Sing Sing’s infamous electric chair. Undoubtedly, in the Depression Era justice was both swift and straight forward - regardless of the victim. Today, the likes of Mike Malloy suffering from acute alcoholism - if he lived in Canada - could have simply sought a prescription under the MAID law and eliminated the problem altogether.
About the Author
Tom Marian is the General Counsel of Buffalo Marine Service, Inc. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Port Bureau Board of Directors.