THE BLACK HAND FORUM

maxiestern11 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 08, 2019 8:36 am Although much is always written about the so-called Mafia or Italian underworld, there was for many decades, a very strong significant Jewish presence in the underworld, both in NYC (the epicenter of mob activity) and throughout the nation. And although of course most everyone is familiar with the names of Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel and Dutch Schultz, there were many, many more lesser known but very powerful Jewish mobsters active from at least the early 1900’s through the 1980’s. Still today there is a little known Jewish contingent of mob figures active. These Jewish mobsters ran into the thousands. They worked in tandem, hand in hand, with their Italian counterparts. Italians and Jews always got along very well. And despite the stereotype of Jews as the “brains” and the Italians as the “brawn”, both ethnicities we’re equally smart and deadly as required. This thread attempts to expose this little known segment of the underworld, and the vast rackets and territory they controlled. Despite the information I will put forth here below, I am aware that my studies are but a “scratching of the surface” of their true influence and control within the mob. Whether it’s Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, California, New Jersey or a host of other cities, Jewish mobsters were very active throughout. But for the purposes of this story line, I will attempt to confine my dialogue to the New York City (and Florida) areas. Florida is included because of the near constant connection to NYC activity. Labor rackets of all stripes (garment district, airport freight, trucking, and many varied industries in NYC), casino gambling in Las Vegas and the Islands, and business infiltration, in addition to almost all varieties of street rackets; gambling, shylocking, narcotics, extortion, etc. “The Jewish Mob” lacked a formal structure like the “Roman legion” type design of the Italians, but did have an informal leadership of sorts, ranking certain Jews such as Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel and Lepke Buchalter as “bosses” per se.
The following list, although extensive, as I said before is just a scratching of the surface of the literally thousands of Jewish mobsters active during those eras. I have taken the liberty to mark an asterisk next to names that were clearly in a “Boss” of leadership position in their field i.e.; garment rackets, trucking, labor unions, bookmaking, etc.... keep in mind that Jewish hoods, in cooperation with the Italians were dominant powers in the gambling rackets (bookmaking, policy, dice).... loansharking on a fantastic scale, and narcotics smuggling and distribution (hence the term “schmeck”, a common nickname for heroin, is a derivation of a Yiddish word for smell I believe). Heavily concentrated rackets were on the lower east side where there was heavy Jewish population, Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Miami, Florida.....among many other strongholds.

Meyer Lansky *
Jake Lansky
Arnold (The Brain) Rothstein *
Louis (Lepke) Buchalter*
Jacob (Gurrah) Shapiro
-garment district .............
Hyman (Red Hymie) Siegel*
Irving Mishel
Irving (Knadles) Nitzberg
Morris (Sheppie) Shapiro*
Tom Cutty
Philip (Farvel) Kovolick
Hyman (Nig Rosen) Stromberg*
Louis Stromberg
Abner (Longie) Zwillman *
(Fat Sidney) Brown
(Buster) Krakower
Samuel (Red) Levine
(Jewey) Stein
Moe Klemas
Abraham (Abe) Chait*
(Dutch) Goldberg
Joe Miller
Sam Berger
Joe Berger
Newman brothers
Benjamin (Benny) Levine
Abe Gordon
Harry (Little Lefty) Strasser
Sam Smith
Gabriel Klar
Paul (Red) Dorfman
Benjamin (Benny the Bug) Ross
Arthur (Lefty) Clark
Irving (Chink) Sherman
Teddy Ray
Samuel (Sammy Schlitz) Schlitten
Morris (Moishe) Schlitten
Larry (The Fixer) Knohl
Harry (Little Gangy) Davidoff
(Big Gangy) Davidoff
Sammy Goldstein
Sol (Pork Chop) Margolies
Joseph (Doc) Stracher*

In closing, note that it would be an almost impossible task to correlate all figures with their related rackets and influence. But suffice it to say that for upwards of eighty years, “Tough Jews” .... racketeers of every size and shape, heavily influenced the american underworld!

Villain wrote: ↑Sat Jul 13, 2019 3:35 am A lot of influential Jewish gangsters were in Chicago during the early days who even had some role in creating the modern day Outfit such as Max Guzik and his 3 sons Jake, Harry and Sam who lurked around the loop and south side and had close connections to Big Jim Colosimo and later to John Torrio while his sons later joined the Capone gang. Another instrumental Jewish faction at the time were the Vogel Bros Eddie and William who operated around Cicero and later Melrose Park. Another Jewish big shot was Joe Epstein from the Lawndale area and close associate of the Guziks, who brought Virginia Hill into the game and later was also instrumental in bringing young Jewish blood such as the Patrick Bros Lenny, Jack and Mike, and also the Yaras Bros Sam and Dave. Also Sam Yaras later operated in Dallas together with another Jewish hoodlum known as Jack Ruby. There were many others since i pulled these out from the top of my head

maxiestern11 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2019 9:15 pm

motorfab wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2019 4:01 am Maxie Small precision for the French Connection: In the beginning, from the 30s until the mid-60s, it is strictly reserved for the Corsicans who dominate organized crime in France at that time. Contrary to what John Cusack (an agent of the Bureau of Narcotics) said, they were not very organized groups, but alliances that were made according to needs and connections with the US. In fact he said that to the newspapers only to get things moving that were stuck in France. He even invented the concept of Union Corse (it does not exist). However from 64 with the murder of Antoine Guerini, the market will open to the mainland. Virtually all gangsters were drug traffickers at the time. Basically everything is going to break the mouth around 1972 where the authorities will move their ass. I made a chart on the Middle Corsica if you're curious (the first is not very accurate) and I made a topic on it in the mugshots section. Here I stop for the off-topic, we can continue on the Jews mob

And to come back to the topic, the guy who was bringing Lepke Heroin was Jean-Paul Stefani

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=3941

Motorfab, I just looked at your charts. Very interesting layout. My compliments. Good info

motorfab wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2019 4:01 am Maxie Small precision for the French Connection: In the beginning, from the 30s until the mid-60s, it is strictly reserved for the Corsicans who dominate organized crime in France at that time. Contrary to what John Cusack (an agent of the Bureau of Narcotics) said, they were not very organized groups, but alliances that were made according to needs and connections with the US. In fact he said that to the newspapers only to get things moving that were stuck in France. He even invented the concept of Union Corse (it does not exist). However from 64 with the murder of Antoine Guerini, the market will open to the mainland. Virtually all gangsters were drug traffickers at the time. Basically everything is going to break the mouth around 1972 where the authorities will move their ass. I made a chart on the Middle Corsica if you're curious (the first is not very accurate) and I made a topic on it in the mugshots section. Here I stop for the off-topic, we can continue on the Jews mob

And to come back to the topic, the guy who was bringing Lepke Heroin was Jean-Paul Stefani

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=3941

johnny fazool wrote: ↑Sat Jun 08, 2019 9:26 pm

maxiestern11 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 08, 2019 4:32 pm ..... From the fictional “Don Vito Corleone” to June 8, 2019 forward.... the “world” has been captivated” by the Italian underworld, the “Mafia” by any other name, has become a cottage industry the world over. Why? I’ll tell you why, because the premise, the love, the respect, the family unit (modeled after the Italian people’s lifestyle and unwavering loyalty and love of family) is a concept near and dear to the human condition to its core! Regardless of whether you’re Irish, Jewish, Polish, Chinese, German, etc etc ..... you can identify and long for what it represents. A corrupted view of family for sure, lol, but a concept so many people lack. If only one could exact revenge and justice when wronged, if only we could all stick together and thrive, and help one another. If only we could wield that enormous power and influence to get things done. It’s a very intoxicating thought. But one that Cosa Nostra, over hundreds of years developed, AND sustained! Not the Japanese Yakuza, Chinese Triads, Russian thieves in law, Hispanic mobs (Cubans, Mexicans, Colombians, etc), Jewish mobs, Irish, etc etc..... have EVER truly had, or could ever have. Influence in both the upperworld and underworld, in nearly every racket or industry worth controlling, the world over! Heck, even this website, the forum, is thriving because of the thousands of forum members absolutely spellbound, amazed, so interested in Italian OC that this forum succeeds. Think about it? It’s so true it’s silly to even debate it!
LOL, I’ve said my piece (my 2 cents) lol.....

Damn maxiestern, what church will you be preaching in later today? I want to be there in the front row! All good stuff maxie thanks. You're a hell of a writer. Better still you're a hell of a thinker and have the ability to capture it and get it down.

motorfab wrote: ↑Sat Jun 08, 2019 11:28 pm

Rat wrote: ↑Sat Jun 08, 2019 8:48 pm Back to the Jewish mob though, how organized was the Jewish mob? Did they have their own gangs/organizations or was it more of a network of Jewish criminals?

A bit of the 2 I think. It's a bunch of gangs and as they get to know each other, work together like Brownsville Boys & Lepke's gang. The only thing I'm sure of is that even if they are organized, they are not as hierarchical as the Italians. For me Jewish gangs, I thought about French gangs of the 30/60's: a group of men who know each other and it is those who have the biggest cock or the most political support that dominates

Rat wrote: ↑Sat Jun 08, 2019 8:48 pm Back to the Jewish mob though, how organized was the Jewish mob? Did they have their own gangs/organizations or was it more of a network of Jewish criminals?

Wiseguy wrote: ↑Sat Jun 08, 2019 2:55 pm

Wiseguy wrote: ↑Sat Jun 08, 2019 10:46 am Jewish gangsters were definitely early pioneers within organized crime in a lot of ways. They just didn't have the built-in tradition the Italians had that perpetuated the organization. That included the hierarchical structure that could replace a leader, as well as the sons of Jewish gangsters not following their fathers into the rackets. They were also smart enough to recognize they couldn't stop the oncoming tide of Mafia dominance and partnered with the Italians.

The Jews had no desire to have an ongoing criminal organization like the Mafia. Crime served as a doorway to legitimacy and eventual assimilation into the American mainstream for their children.

motorfab wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2019 4:41 am I do not agree at all with the Triads or the Yakuzas. Maybe they are few in the US, but it's something huge in Asia. And largely as old (maybe even more) than LCN and still active today. But maybe you only talk about the US. As for the Jewish or Irish Gangs it is clear that they are all or almost extinct