For many decades, there was a very strong and significant presence of Jewish gangsters who worked hand-n-glove with their Mafia contemporaries, not only in New York City but throughout the nation as well.

"The Jewish Mob - Mensch of the Underworld"

https://thenewyorkmafia.com/the-jewish-mob/

My experience with several Jews says that most were Mavens and the best were Mensch. Would you agree with that?

100%

Many Jews, legit or otherwise, were/are sharp guys. Good at business, good at hustling, and back in the 1920s-1950s era, also good at killing. lol. Even without a formal education, many had good "cups" on the head. Thats a word I've heard older Jewish friends of mine in NY use to describe sharp guys with brains.

Well done, NYM. Very important that you characterized as a stereotype that Jews were the "brains" and Italians were the "brawn" of OC. Jewish mobs were notable for their thuggery in their heyday.

Thanks Turnbull. Glad you enjoyed this.

Back in their time, Jews were as tough as their Italian counterparts. And between their collective attributes, the blended Italian/Jewish underworld made for an unstoppable combination....for many, many decades.

Before they emigrated to the new World, Jewish gangs operated throughout Europe in the Netherlands for example there were many criminal Ashkenazi networks in the 18th and first part of the 19th century.

Between 1919 and 1939 there were 26 different world boxing champions of Jewish heritage more than any other group followed by the Italians and then the Irish who they were in the ghettos with. Not too mention the group L. Zwillman created in Newark NJ called the "Minutemen". This group of Jewish tough guys assembled and would intentionally incite violence and break up "German American Nazi" meetings in and around Newark and Irvington NJ. These "Nazi's" numbered between 20 and 30,000 BEFORE the war. These guys feared no one...period. It's a fascinating part of the American history prior to WW2. All started and funded by Zwillman. Not sure this applies to this thread but I thought it did to show just how tough the Jews were in the early part of the century. BTW there were over 70,000 Jews in the Newark and Irvington area at the time.

It has been well documented for example this segment.

In the summer of 1773, the gang of robbers had sailed to Diemen by boat. In vain she had raided an inn and a farm there. A woman had raised the alarm and the gang had been arrested. In this case, the gang consisted mainly of High German Jews. Portuguese Jews became less involved in crime. While the ratio of Ashkenazim and Sephardim between 1700-1795 was about 4:1 in number, between 1680 and 1795 the ratio of involvement in crime of Ashkenazi to Portuguese Jews was ten times as much: 40:1. These are mainly Jews without a fixed place of residence or abode, who often operated in the countryside and in the border regions, but sometimes also in the city. Incidentally, their field of activity paid little attention to the borders between countries. Portuguese operated in a southerly direction, via Brussels and Paris to Spain and sometimes also in England. High German Jews had the German countries and Eastern Europe as their hinterland: they had the most contacts there and that's where they came from.

The criminal behavior of a small group often disturbed the establishment among Jews who, over time, had struggled to gain rights in the towns and cities. In the judicial archives, those criminal Jews are often called smous in the negative sense of Jewish thief or vagabond. Many eighteenth-century regulations are therefore directed against this wandering Jewish mass. Jewish criminals often did not operate independently, but were organized in loose associations: with each other or with non-Jews.

Poverty was the main driver for both women and men to obtain money through illegal practices. Jews, active in the criminal circuit, also worked as unskilled and skilled laborers in a wide range of professions such as street trade, as tugmen, servants, diamond cutters, tobacco workers and shopkeepers. A few were soldiers or sailors. Usually, the Jewish criminals were not connected to the established Jewish communities, which would rather get rid of such types than get rich. Yet they often observed Jewish religious practices, especially where the Ashkenazim were concerned. According to their non-Jewish comrades, they spoke 'Jewish' (Yiddish) among themselves. Portuguese Jews on the margins of society appear to be less strict in doctrine. Religion often didn't matter that much.

These Jews usually left their wives and children behind in the cities, hardly involving them in their illegal activities. For example, they adhered to the traditional Jewish gender roles. The Jewish community often provided material assistance to women and children who had been imprisoned or sentenced to death by their loved ones. In this way she mainly tried to keep them on board and to secure their future. On the other hand, we find a few women, Portuguese and High German, who earned some extra money through the criminal circuit as prostitutes, washerwomen or maids. One track leads to Zeeburg, where children of Ashkenazi prostitutes were buried.

Thats 1000% right majicrat. There were many many tough Jewish boxers during that era. And as far as the hoodlums knocking the shit out of Amercian based Nazi's and their sympathizers, Zwillman wasn't the only one. Lansky and the NYC guys were at it too. And I'm sure they passed the word to their "friends" in other cities and states to bust these nazis up too....which they reportedly did every chance they got. Lol

That's some very interesting information Majicrat. Do you or Turnbull have any recommendations on books about Zwillman (I'm a student so still learning....). The only one I found was called #2 Gangster which has a pretty hefty price tag. Thanks!

Yes they made boxing one of the big sports in the world, they didn't fight on Shabbat though.

Probably the main reason that "Gangster #2" by Mark A. Stuart is so expensive (used) is that it's the only bio of Longy, though you can buy a copy of his FBI file here:
https://www.amazon.com/Abner-Longie-Zwillman-FBI-Files/dp/B002N8B1R8 for $19.

And there's another charateristic of Jewish gangsters: most flew well under the public's radar. Frank Costello got the headlines at the Kefauver hearings. But Kefauver, at the conclusion of his televised 1950-51 hearings, identified Zwillman, who also testified, as the top gambling gangster in America. He was huge in NJ during and after Prohibition--but you won't find a movie that even mentions him. It's one of those rare stereotypes that favros Jews: "Nice Jewish boys don't do things like that."

Zwillman didn't seem a guy to commit suicide he was so succesful. Was he killed?

I bought the book. Wow. It's hefty. I didn't think it was going to be that big. Too bad Vol. 2 isn't available. Thanks for the recommendation, Turnbull. Looking forward to digging into it.

If you like it, then save it for me. I'll read it too. Zwillman was an interesting character within NJ's underworld landscape.

For those interested, I posted a little clip of Longy Zwillman at the McClellan Hearings. I thought it was interesting...


https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sLhnKyqyMUo

For those members interested in learning more about the Jewish underworld, as well as how they intersected with their Italian Mafia counterparts, visit our Button Guys section devoted to all things Jewish, https://thenewyorkmafia.com/the-jewish-mob/

We have researched and written 21 mob stories and deep-dive biographies about various Jewish organized crime figures from the New York City area and elsewhere that I think you'll really enjoy. (we also have another dozen or so that we originally had up, that are in the midst of either being revamped or expanded, that we hope to also have back up shortly)

Not an organized crime book per se, but it delves into the Jewish (Zwillman and his Minuteman) fight against the Newalr/Irvington Nazi's. Its a interesting book to say the least. The book is "Nazi's in Newark" and I bought it for 25 bucks on line. Zwillman did not commit suicide, no way, no how. The police may say he did but he didn't. In fact, in my opinion his murder is as fascinating as JFKs.