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Religion: manifestly non-religious
Name: Pete
First Appearance: Action Comics (vol. 1) #13 (June 1939): "Superman Vs. the Cab Protective League"
Creators: Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster
Number of Appearances: 1
Enemy of: Superman
Employer: The Cab Protective League
Occupation: racketeer
Gender: male
Pete was a murderous racketeer who worked for the Cab Protective League was "an organization that is trying to victimize the independent companies." They were essentially a form or organized crime or racketeering operation targeting a specific industry - taxi cabs.
The Cab Protective League wasn't simply an ethically questionable group with shady business practices. They were real criminals and killers. On page 2 of the story Superman arrives just in time to prevent Pete, one of the cab's operatives, from shooting an independent cab company owner named Carlyle.
In panel 5 of page 3, the word "racketeer" is specifically used to identify the operative of the Cab Protective League who tried to kill Carlyle: "The racketeer rams his jaw against Superman's extended elbow -- knocking himself unconscious." The man is twice called a "racketeer" again on the next page.
The racketeer tried to stab Superman with a knife while the hero was carrying him through the air. The man's attack didn't injure Superman, but deflected his leap and forced him to crash into a wall. (This was before Superman knew how to fly; he could only leap great distances.) Superman unintentionally dropped the racketeer, who fell to his death.
The the racketeer was falling, two of his fellow racketeers in the League wondered where "Pete" was. The falling racketeer hit the pavement right in front of them, dying instantly. The two men identified the fallen racketeer as Pete.
As Superman said, observing from a roof top in panel 3 on page 5: "If he hadn't tried to stab me, he'd be alive now. But the fate he received was exactly what he deserved!"
On page 8 Superman confronts Reynolds, the leader of the Cab Protective League, telling him, "I'm not finished with you yet! You still have to pay for the lives of rival cab-drivers who were killed!" It is clear that the League's agents have murdered cab-drivers in the past, and it is quite likely that Pete himself was one of the killers responsible.
Suggested links for further research about this character and the character's religious affiliation:
- https://www.comics.org/issue/450/
- http://comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=60121