Kosher Nostra

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Meyer Lansky

Kosher Nostra (also Yiddish connection , Jewish mob , Jewish Mafia , Kosher Mafia ) was a Jewish-dominated criminal organization in the USA. Kosher Nostra is a language game with Cosa Nostra , the Sicilian Mafia.

In contrast to the classic mafia, the non-intergenerational phenomenon was closely related to the intensive immigration from Eastern Europe in the late 19th to early 20th century and had its spatial focus in New York City and its surroundings.

Etymology and Adaptation

The name is an allusion to the Jewish origin of some mobsters - kosher ( English. Kosher ) is the Hebrew term for "pure" (see in particular Jewish dietary laws ) and is based on the term Cosa Nostra .

Known attributable persons were in particular Arnold Rothstein , Lewis Solon Rosenstiel , Meyer Lansky , Bugsy Siegel , Dutch Schultz , Louis Buchalter , Monk Eastman , Mickey Cohen , Moe Sedway , Gus Greenbaum , Moses Annenberg and Abner Zwillman .

After the end of the Eastman Gang , many Kosher Nostras later belonged to the Bugs and Meyer Mob or to " Murder, Inc. " ("Mord AG") led by Louis Buchalter and soon used the name "Murder, Inc." internally, in testimony and later accounts. There was no separate internal designation (for the work and organizational contexts) among the “members”; there was also - in contrast to the Cosa Nostra or La Cosa Nostra - no formal ritual act of acceptance as a “full member”. According to a legend, the Sicilian Lucky Luciano is said to have toyed with the idea of ​​abolishing this rite for his "families", whereupon his childhood friend Meyer Lansky is said to have advised him against it. Meyer and others worked closely with the Italian-born mafia, but this did not result in a genuinely Jewish, separate tradition of organized crime. The principle of confidentiality as a principle of internal and external isolation was also adapted, key witnesses and Pentiti eliminated with the same murderous consequence.

A special external term of its own developed late because - ignoring the fact that only Italians from certain regions and families were accepted as full members - non-Italian gangsters were simply assigned to the Italian-American "families". In addition, it became common to use the term Mafia , which originally only applied to the original, purely Sicilian Cosa Nostra, for any form of organized crime. Mobsters like Meyer Lansky are therefore also referred to as “Mafioso”, especially in the press.

If the internal name “ Cosa Nostra ” ( Italian “Our Cause”) was made public by Joe Valachi in 1963, there was no “ Pentito ” that would have provided an internal name for the Kosher Nostra .

history

The Kosher Nostra was a historically and locally limited phenomenon of the living conditions of mainly Eastern European immigrants with a Jewish background in the ghettos of New York City at the beginning of the 20th century. Between 1881 and 1910 alone, around 1.6 million Jewish immigrants came to New York , around 1.2 million of whom lived on the shabby Lower East Side . Their life in the dark tenements, in which tuberculosis and cholera also occurred initially, often only offered the opportunity to work, for example, as a “ working poor ” for starvation wages for twelve hours in the numerous small factories (“ sweatshop ”). As a rule, this group of emigrants did not have the opportunity for advancement, for example, for rich or educated Western Europeans.

The situation was comparable to the descriptions of Upton Sinclair in his socially critical novel " The Jungle ", which takes place in the same period and describes similar living conditions in Chicago . Contrast, the many illegal activities promised a faster upward mobility, the last consequence to Berufsverbrechertum with the productive sectors racketeering , pimping and gambling led - A criminal way, the respective minorities of other ethnic groups also had trod.

While the American La Cosa Nostra was recruited almost entirely from Italian immigrants, some of whom were already connected with the Cosa Nostra in Italy, or their descendants, for Kosher Nostras the crime played more of a social-transitional role. The "career" as a gangster was only the phenomenon of a generation. In contrast to the American Cosa Nostra, this “culture of crime” was generally not passed on to descendants and was often largely hidden from subsequent generations.

With the death of this only generation of Kosher Nostra gangsters , this particular facet of organized crime ended , while the Italian-American mafia continues to renew itself to this day.

List of known Kosher Nostras

Surname birth death Cause of death Nickname annotation
Abrams, Hyman Big Mike u. a. Partner at The Sands and Flamingo casinos in Las Vegas
Adelman, Louis Fish Drug dealer and Pentito
Alberts, Meyer 1925 shot Little Augie Gang
Alderman, Israel Icepick Willie Henchman of David Berman
Amberg, Herman 1902 1926 Suicide Hyman Amberg family ; Opponents of the Shapiro brothers
Amberg, Louis 1897 1935 shot Pretty “Labor racketeering” ; Opponents of the Shapiro brothers
Amberg, Joseph C. 1892 1935 shot “Labor racketeering” ; Opponents of the Shapiro brothers
Annenberg, Maxie originally boss of Dion O'Banion , brother of Moses Annenberg
Annenberg, Moses 1877 1942 natural death Moe 3 years imprisonment; Editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer
Berman, David 1903 1957 Heart attack Davie the Jew Associate of Moe Sedway of the Genovese family
Berman, Otto 1889 1935 shot Abbadabba Accountant from Dutch Schultz
Amber, Abe 1892 1968 natural death Leader of the Purple Gang
Bernstein, Samuel 1944 cancer Sam Butch Chemist at drug dealer Louis Adelman
Amber, Sholem Sol Murder, Inc. Getaway driver and car thief, later Pentito
Bioff, William Morris 1900 1955 Bomb attack Willie 42-speed
Birger, Shachna Itzik "Charles" 1881 1928 hanged Charlie Rival of the Shelton Brothers Gang
Blumenfeld, Isadore 1900 1981 Heart attack Kid Cann Friend of Meyer Lansky
Bowdach, Gary 1943 Associate of the Gambino family, debt collector and contract killer, later as Pentito in the witness protection program
Brock, Stanley Sunny Associate of the Gambino family, business partner of Gary Bowdach
Buchalter, Louis 1897 1944 Electric chair Lepke Murder, Inc.
Chalupowitz, Abraham Trigger Abe Murder, Inc.
Cicchini, Louis 1970 shot Chick Gambino family associate, debt collector and business partner of Gary Bowdach, shot dead by Bowdach
Cohen, Irving 1904 1991 natural death Big Gangi Actor and boxing manager
Cohen, Louis 1904 1939 shot Louis Kerzner Labor Slugger War , born Louis Kerzner
Cohen, Philip 1906/1907 1949 shot Little Farvel Member of Murder, Inc.
Cohen, Mickey 1913 1976 natural death Collaboration with Bugsy Siegel in Las Vegas
Dalitz, Morris Barney 1899 1989 natural death Moe Desert Inn , mentor to Frank Sinatra
Diamond, Stanley 1940 Stanley Associate of the Lucchese family , related to David Diamond
Dorfman, Allen 1923 1983 shot
Drucker, Jacob 1905/1906 1962 Jack, Little Sure Shot Member of Murder, Inc.
Eastman, Monk 1873 1920 shot alias Ostermann Eastman Gang
Eisen, Maxie 1926 shot President of the Kosher Meat Peddler's Association ; associated with Dion O'Banion , then Saltis-McErlane Gang
Fine, Benjamin 1887 1962 Dopey Benny "Laboratory racketeering"
Feinstein, Irving 1939 stabbed and burned Puggy murdered by the Murder, Inc.
Friedmann, Isadore (Irving) 1939 shot Danny Fields Louis Buchalter's longtime companion and debt collector, was suspected of cooperating with the authorities in 1939
Friedman, Oscar The poet Member of Murder, Inc. and later Pentito
Goldberg, Max 1926 shot Little Augie Gang
Goldis, Morris Business partners of Louis Buchalter and Jacob Shapiro; charged with the murder of William Snyder, President of the Local 138th Teamsters Union
Goldis, William Wolfie Business partners of Louis Buchalter and Jacob Shapiro; charged with the murder of William Snyder, President of the Local 138th Teamsters Union
Goldstein, Martin 1905 1941 Electric chair Bugsy Member of Murder, Inc.
Golob, Max around 1909 The jerk Murder, Inc.
Gordon, Waxey 1886/1889 1952 cancer Largest “bootlegger” on the east coast of the United States
Greenbaum, Gustav 1894 1958 Cut throat Gus Casino Manager in Las Vegas
Greenberg, Harry 1939 shot Big Greenie alias Harry Schachter; Confidante of Louis Buchalter and later Pentito
Greenberg, Max 1883 1933 shot Big Maxie, Big Head Greenberg Bootlegger and business partner of Waxey Gordon and Max Hassel. Hassel and Greenberg were murdered in 1933
Greenthal, Abe 1826 1889 General, The Sheeny Gang, imprisoned until shortly before his death
Grossman, Morris around 1896 1925 shot and set on fire, suspect in the murder of Meyer Alberts Nathan Kaplan's Rough Riders Gang
Guzik, Jake 1886 1956 Greasy Thumb Associate of the Chicago Outfit
Hinkes, Max 1911 1995 Puddy Abner Zwillman's subordinate
Hassel, Max 1900/1901 1933 shot Bootlegger and business partner of Waxey Gordon and Maxie Greenberg. Greenberg and Hassel were murdered in 1933
Hoff, Max 1893 1941 Heart attack Boo Hoo, Boo Boo Box manager and “bootlegger” in Philadelphia
Murray Humphreys 1899 1965 Camel, The; Hump, The Associated Killer of the Chicago Outfit
Holtz, Hyman 1896 1939? Curly; Little hymn Associate of Meyer Lansky
Horowitz, Harry 1889 1914 Electric chair Gyp the Blood Lenox Avenue gang, sentenced to death for the murder of Herman Rosenthal
Chaplain, Izzy Brother of Nathan Kaplan, Rough Riders Gang
Chaplain, Nathan 1891/1895 1923 shot Kid dropper Labor Slugger War , Rough Riders Gang
Katzenberg, Jacob 1888 Yasha; The wandering jew Heroin trafficking with Lucky Luciano , Waxey Gordon etc.
Keywell, Harry 1910 1997 natural death The Purple Gang
Kovolick, Philip 1908 1971? Little Farvel aka Kovalick
Kravits, Louis Shadows aka Kravitz
Krompier, Martin The Crumpet, Marty the Wolf Dutch Schultz's henchman
Landau, Abe 1898 1935 shot Dutch Schultz's henchman
Lansky, Meyer 1902 1983 Lung cancer The honest Meyer Friend of Lucky Luciano ; Based in the National Crime Syndicate
Lebowitz, Joe 1931 Nigger joe Murdered fighting the Purple Gang
Levine, hymn Loud Mouth “Bootlegger” in the loop of Chicago for Al Capone
Levine, Samuel 1903 Red possibly murderer of Salvatore Maranzano
Lewinsky, Benjamin 1893 1922 shot Ben Brown aka Levine; Labor Slugger War ; murdered by William Lipshitz
Lewis, Vach 1908 shot Cyclone Louie Eastman Gang
Linsey, Joseph 1899 1994 natural death Business relationship with Joseph P. Kennedy and Meyer Lansky
Lipshitz, William 1901 19 ?? Nathan Kaplan's Rough Riders Gang; 1922 sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Benjamin Levinsky
Lorber, Abe 1895 Little Yiddel Bailiff and owner of the Williamsburg Boys Club, a hangout for Brooklyn criminals. In 1935 Louis Amberg is said to have been murdered there by members of Murder, Inc. In 1941, Lorber was convicted of drug trafficking
Magoon, Seymour 1908 unknown Blue Jaw Murder, Inc .; later Pentito
Marks, Harry around 1906 1924 Drive-by shooting Kid Portchester, sometimes Harry Marx, Harry Cohen Little Augie Gang
Martin, Hyman 1903 1987 Pittsburgh hymn Liaison in Pittsburgh for Moe Dalitz and Lou Rothkopf
Midgen, Jacob around 1909 Kuppy Murder, Inc.
Mortan, Samuel J. 1894 1923 Nails
Newman, John Joseph Schaeffer, Jeff / Jake Newman Murder, Inc .; Abe Wagner's murderer and prohibition agent John Finiello
Nitzberg, Irving 1909 Knadles Murder, Inc.
Orgen, Jacob 1894 1927 Drive-by shooting Little Augie Laboratory Slugger War
Reles, Abe 1906 1941 Fall or jump out of the window Kid twist important pentito ; Statement led to the end of Murder, Inc.
Roses, Harry Nig Big seven ; Associate of the Lucchese family
Rosenberg, Harvey 1950 1979 shot Chris Associate of Roy DeMeo , a member of the Gambino family
Rosenberg, Louis around 1890 1914 Electric chair Lefty Louie Lenox Avenue gang, sentenced to death for the murder of Herman Rosenthal
Rosenstiel, Lewis Solon 1891 1975 natural death close friend of J. Edgar Hoover
Rosenthal, Frank 1929 2008 natural death Lefty see casino (film)
Rosenkrantz, Bernard 1902 1935 shot Lulu Bodyguard from Dutch Schultz
Rosenzweig, Joseph 1891 19 ?? Joe the Grease Laboratory Slugger War , partner of Benny Fein
Rothkopf, Lou is 1903 1956 Lou brought Mickey Cohen and Bugsy Siegel together
Rothstein, Arnold 1882 1928 shot The Brain Mentor of Meyer Lansky , Jack Diamond , Lucky Luciano , Dutch Schultz
Sagansky, Harry J. 1898 1997 Doc was imprisoned at the age of 91
Say, Walter 1937 stabbed Murder, Inc. Family member responsible for the gambling business
Salles, Sidney around 1906 1941 shot Shimmy Murder, Inc. Family member and participant in the murder of Harry Greenberg
Schiffman, Charles Charlie Schippman, Morris Feldman Member of the group around Waxey Gordon
Schwartzman, Louis 1923 shot Midget Louis Little Augie Gang
Seidenschner, Jacob around 1885 1914 Electric chair Whitey Lewis Lenox Avenue gang, sentenced to death for the murder of Herman Rosenthal
Schultz, Dutch 1901 1935 shot Bronx Beer Baron
Sedway, Moe 1894 1952 Together with Gus Greenbaum and Bugsy Siegel in Las Vegas
Shapiro, Irving 1904 1931 shot Opponent of the Amberg brothers
Shapiro, Jacob 1899 1947 Gurrah Partner of Louis Buchalter
Shapiro, Meyer 1908 1931 shot Opponent of the Amberg brothers
Shapiro, William 1911 1934 buried alive Willie Opponent of the Amberg brothers
Sherman, Charles 1935 murdered Chink
Siegel, Benjamin 1906 1947 shot Bugsy Bugs and Meyer Mob
Silverberg, Albert George Young Murder, Inc .; Abe Wagner's murderer and prohibition agent John Finiello
Silverman, Max Murder, Inc. and Lepke Lieutenant
Snyder, Benjamin 1915 Benny aka Benjamin Schneider, Slugger War Laboratory
Solomon, Charles 1884 1933 shot King Solomon Big Seven
Spanish, Johnny 1891 1919 shot Labor Slugger War ; born as John Weyler
Stacher, Joseph 1902 1977 Heart attack Doc Bugs and Meyer Mob
Strauss, Harry 1909 1941 Electric chair Pittsburgh Phil Killer of Murder, Inc.
Sykoff, Meyer Mickey, Michael Sackett Murder, Inc. Pentito
Tannenbaum, Albert 1906 1976 Tic-Toc Murder, Inc.
Tannenbaum, Benjamin around 1906 1941 shot Benny the Boss Murder, Inc.
Taubman, Morris Member of the group around Waxey Gordon
Tietlebaum, Harry 1889 alias Teitelbaum; Bugs and Meyer Mob
Toblinsky, Joseph 1879 Yoski (nigger); Yesky nigger Yiddish Black Hand , imprisoned in Sing Sing in 1902
Wagner, Albert 1931 shot Albie Counterparty to John (Aces) Mazza, brother of Abraham Wagner
Wagner, Abraham 1932 shot Abe ex-bootlegger from NYC in hiding, murdered by Joseph Schaefer and George Young
Weinberg, Abraham 1897 1935 disappeared without a trace Gus Dutch Schultz's environment
Weiss, Emanuel 1906 1944 Electric chair Mendy Murder, Inc.
Weiss, Samuel around 1904 Sammy Little Augie Gang
Wolensky, Moe 1942 shot Dimples Involved in Buchalter and Meyer Lansky's gambling business. In 1939 he persuaded Buchalter to face the authorities by pretending to Buchalter that there was a deal regarding a maximum penalty
Workman, Charles 1908 1979 Charlie the Bug Member of Murder, Inc., sentenced to 23 years in prison for the murder of Dutch Schultz
Yaras, Dave 1912 1974 Heart attack Dave "Yiddles" Miller
Yaras, Leonard 1985 shot Son of David Yaras
Yaras, Ronnie 1974 shot Son of David Yaras
Zelig, Jack 1882 1912 Big jack Eastman Gang
Zuta, Jacob U. 1888 1930 shot (Big) Jack Al Capone : "don't add me"
Zwerbach, Max 1884 1908 shot Kid twist Leader of the Eastman Gang
Zwillman, Abner 1904 1959 forcibly hanged Longhy "Godfather" of New Jersey

See also

literature

  • Herbert Asbury: The Gangs of New York . Thunder's Mouth, New York / London 2001, ISBN 1-56025-275-8 (first edition: Alfred A. Knopf, New York 1928).
  • Alan A. Block: Lepke, Kid Twist, and the Combination: Organized Crime in New York City, 1930-1944 . 1976.
  • Rich Cohen: Tough Jews. Fathers, Sons and Gangster Dreams . Simon & Schuster, New York 1998, ISBN 0-684-83115-5 .
German title: Rich Cohen: Murder Inc. or Not Quite Kosher Shops in Brooklyn . S. Fischer Verlag, ISBN 3-10-010215-0 .
  • Albert Fried: The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Gangster in America . Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York 1980, ISBN 0-231-09683-6 .
  • Erich Metz: Kosher Nostra. Jewish gangsters in America 1890–1980. Death in america . 1st edition. Jewish Museum of the City of Vienna, 2003, ISBN 3-901398-34-1 .
  • Rachel Rubin: Jewish Gangsters of Modern Literature . University of Illinois Press, 2000, ISBN 0-252-02539-3 .
  • Robert A. Rockaway: But He Was Good to His Mother: The Lives and Crimes of Jewish Gangsters . Gefen Publishing House, 1993, ISBN 965-229-249-4 .
    • Robert A. Rockaway: Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel & Co. Life stories of Jewish gangsters in the USA . Konkret-Literatur-Verlag, Hamburg, ISBN 3-89458-170-0 .
  • Robert Rockaway: Kosher Nostra. In: Dan Diner (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Culture (EJGK). Volume 3: He-Lu. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2012, ISBN 978-3-476-02503-6 , pp. 421-424.
  • Sandy Sadowsky: Wedded to Crime: My Life in the Jewish Mafia . Putnam Pub Group, 1992, ISBN 0-399-13614-2 .
  • Nick Tosches: King of the Jews: The Arnold Rothstein Story . Harper Perennial, 2005, ISBN 0-06-093600-2 .
  • Nick Tosches: King of the Jews: The Greatest Mob Story Never Told . HarperCollins Publisher, New York 2005, ISBN 0-06-621118-2 .

Documentation

The American documentary television series American Justice from A&E Network took up the topic and the environment several times:

  • Episode 41: "Mob Ladies": Topic u. a. Virginia Hill , Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend .
  • Episode 52: "Vegas & The Mob": Subject Frank Rosenthal and the Mafia casinos in Las Vegas ; and Allen Glick occurs in this episode.
  • Episode 77: “The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Mobster”: in particular the subject of Benny Fein, Abe Reles, Dutch Schultz, Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel.

Web links

Commons : Kosher Nostra  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Earliest public mention of the term. on barrypopik.com (English).
  2. ↑ jewishindependent.ca ( Memento from June 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (English).
  3. ↑ LEPKE AIDE SLAIN AFTER INDICMENT; Salles, Named With 13 Others as Harboring Fugitive, Shot Dead on 1st Ave. TWO WOMEN ARE ACCUSED Most of Those Cited Have Been Mentioned in Connection With Murder Syndicate In: The New York Times.Retrieved October 7, 2012.