Moses Annenberg

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Moses Louis "Moe" Annenberg (born February 11, 1877 in East Prussia , † July 20, 1942 in Rochester ) was an American publisher and 1936 editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer . He was also a mobster who is now included in the Kosher Nostra .

Life

Moses Louis Annenberg was born in what was then East Prussia and emigrated to Chicago at the turn of the century in 1900 . Annenberg began his career in Chicago as a newspaper seller for Hearst Corporation and founded Triangle Publications Inc.

Moe Annenberg also had criminal contacts; In 1910 he was instructed by the Hearst Corporation to use his connection to the Ragen's Colts . In Chicago there was a newspaper war between the Chicago Tribune and the Hearst paper Chicago Examiner over the edition, which also led to violent clashes on the street. Annenberg's brother Maxie Annenberg was charged with his " doctorate " in this conflict.

In 1922, with the financial help of Johnny Torrio from Chicago Outfit , Annenberg took over the Daily Racing Form , a newspaper in which the race results were published. This went over under him to publish the race results promptly. In this way, sports betting could also be offered beyond the racetrack . His involvement in illegal gambling also brought him into contact with Meyer Lansky , whose friend he became. Particularly helpful in his betting activities was Frank Erickson , who was considered the right hand man of Arnold Rothstein and is now seen as one of the largest bookmakers on the east coast of the United States of his time.

A paper from Ellis Island shows that Annenberg was returning from a trip to Southampton in August 1923. His passport number (No. 280959) and his then current address can also be seen on the form: 246, West End Ave. in New York City. His wife Sadie C. Anneberg traveled with him.

In 1927 he took part in the "Atlantic City Conference" of the National Crime Syndicate . In the same year the player Jacob "Monte" Tennes sold his shares in the Chicago Racing Wire Service to Annenberg. In the meantime, Annenberg had also acquired control of the Continental Press Racing Rire Service , but sold it to Arthur B. "Mickey" McBride from Ohio , who was part of the Mayfield Road Mob in Cleveland . With the help of his pals Bugsy Siegel , Mickey Cohen and Jack Dragna , Gus Greenbaum took control of the Trans-America Race Wire Services in the Southwest in 1928. Carlos Marcello wanted to complete the monopoly by taking over Continental Press , but James M. Ragen , who had bought it on November 15, 1939 from Moe Annenberg, refused and was murdered on August 15, 1946.

In 1936 he became the editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer . In 1939 Annenberg was charged with tax evasion and sentenced to three years in prison. At first glance, his conviction appears to be a routine success of the Internal Revenue Service by Elmer Lincoln Irey , who had already successfully investigated Al Capone in 1931 and was supposed to handle over 15,000 cases with a success rate of 90% in his 27-year career. The latter himself wrote in his book The Tax Dodgers that Franklin Delano Roosevelt also used the IRS against political opponents.

In 1942 Annenberg was released from prison shortly before his death.

estate

Moses Annenberg and his wife Sarah had been the parents of philanthropist Walter Annenberg since 1908 , who inherited his father's newspapers, later sold them and used the assets to set up the Annenberg Foundation . His wife died in 1947; his son in 2002.

literature

  • Cooney, John E.: The Annenbergs . New York: Simon & Schuster, 1982.
  • Fried, Albert: The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Gangster in America . New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1980. ISBN 0-231-09683-6
  • Johnson, Curt and R. Craig Sautter: The Wicked City: Chicago from Kenna to Capone . New York: Da Capo Press 1998. ISBN 0-306-80821-8
  • Ogden, Christopher: Legacy: A Biography of Moses and Walter Annenberg , Little, Brown and Company 1999. ISBN 0-316-63379-8
  • Reppetto, Thomas A .: American Mafia: A History of Its Rise to Power . New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2004. ISBN 0-8050-7798-7
  • Schatzberg, Rufus / Robert J. Kelly / Ko-lin Chin: Handbook of Organized Crime in the United States . Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press 1994. ISBN 0-313-28366-4
  • Winter-Berger, Robert N .: The Washington Pay-Off: An Insider's View of Corruption in Government . New York: Dell Publishing 1972.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Moses Annenberg (1878-1942) - Find A Grave Memorial
  2. http://www.ellisisland.org
  3. Irey, Elmer. The Tax Dodgers: The Inside Story of the T-Men's War with America's Political and Underworld Hoodlums 1949