I've always been a little intrigued by Jacob Shapiro. He's more or less dismissed in anything I've ever read as Lepke's enforcer, but no elaboration. I have yet to see a picture of him that wasn't the cement-faced mug shot. Has anyone read "The Life and Times of Lepke Buchalter: America's Most Ruthless Labor Racketeer" by Paul R. Kavieff? Any Gurrah info or pix in there? One interesting thing I read recently* said he broke down and cried when he was given his last sentence. Pretty weird! He definately didn't look like the type!

*don't remember where- I think a newspaper archive

Have you read Tough Jews by Rich Cohen

There's a picture of Jacob Shapiro in there. But this is the only picture i could find of him,like you say "The Mug shot"..

He looks like he got shot in the mug alright

And he also looks like Joe "The Boss" Massiria

Here's younger, movie star handsome Gurrah:

You say handsome..

Tongue-in-cheekly I assure you.

Try Albert Friedman's "The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Gangster" for more on Gurrah and more photos.

Thanks for the tip, Turnbull. Here's a Gurrah from the book. He looks more like a vaudeville comic than a coldblooded hood in this pic:


I copied it from the Amazon page- I hope that's alright. If it isn't, I'll edit it out.

Yes, he does look comical in that photo. With the upturned hat and the "hand-caught-in-the-cookie-jar" look on his face, I always thought he resembled a member of Spanky's gang (perhaps a grown-up Alfalfa Switzer).
You're right to be sensitive to copyrights on other sites, but I'll bet that photo is in the public domain.

He looks like a midget in that pic