The big winners from the Prohibition era became America’s gangsters. Large bootlegging operations led by tough Irish, Italian and Jewish mobsters arose to service the thirsty. Income from the bootlegging industry ran into hundreds of millions of dollars.
From the beginning of the era of prohibition through World War II, Jewish mobsters ruled New York and much of the country. There were hundreds if not thousands of Jewish toughs from mob bosses through enforcers, gunmen, and bootleggers.
Many had colorful names: Lepke, Pittsburgh Phil, Dopey Benny, Kid Twist, Longy, Ice Pick Willie, Gurrah Jake, and Bugsy. Arnold Rothstein ran the biggest gambling operation in the country; Louis “Lepke” Buckhalter was the top criminal in Murder Inc. and the most wanted man in the United States; and Arthur Flegenheimer became one of America’s most wanted killers, known as Dutch Schultz.
This program focuses on these unusual and often controversial gangsters. We will examine the myths, stories and events of this perilous period of Jewish American history.