Description: A VINTAGE ORIGINAL APPROXIMATELY 6 X 8 INCH PHOTO FROM 1933 DEPICTING JAKE "THE BARBER" FACTOR GANGSTER John Factor, born Iakov Faktorowicz, was a Prohibition-era gangster and con artist affiliated with the Chicago Outfit. He later became a prominent businessman and Las Vegas casino proprietor, owner of the Stardust Resort and Casino John Factor (October 8, 1892 – January 22, 1984), born Iakov Faktorowicz, was a Prohibition-era gangster and con artist affiliated with the Chicago Outfit. He later became a prominent businessman and Las Vegas casino proprietor, owner of the Stardust Resort and Casino. It is alleged that he ran the operation on behalf of the mob, with a lifetime take of $50–$200 million.[1][page needed] His birth name is the Yiddish/Hebrew for Jacob ("Jake"), and like his more-famous older half-brother, Max Factor, he had trained at an early age in haircare; this led to his mob nickname, Jake the Barber. He perpetrated a stock scam in 1926 England that netted $8 million, a substantial sum for the period. Some of his victims were English royalty. He fled to France, and executed another major scam, rigging the tables at the Monte Carlo casino, and breaking its bank. He then returned to the United States.[1][page needed] 1930 Duesenberg Boattail Speedster once owned by John Factor and on display in the Martin Auto MuseumWhile in the United States, he was tried and sentenced in absentia in England, to 24 years in prison. He fought extradition all the way to the Supreme Court, but fearing he would lose, had himself "kidnapped" in 1933, and, when "found", accused another mobster, Roger Touhy, of abducting him. This started a "cold" gang war (allegedly including corrupt prosecutors), fought in criminal and civil courts, and the media.[1][page needed] During this period, Factor was convicted for mail fraud, his take totaling $10 million. He served 10 years in prison, from 1939 to 1949.[1][page needed] In 1955, Factor took over the Stardust Hotel, though he was probably a figurehead for other Chicago mob figures, such as Paul Ricca, Tony "Big Tuna" Accardo, Murray Humphreys and Sam "Momo" Giancana. He sold the hotel for $7 million in 1962 or 1963. Factor became politically and philanthropically active, and was the largest donor to John Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign. In late 1962, after an investigation spearheaded by Robert Kennedy, Factor was scheduled to be deported, but received a presidential pardon.[1][page needed] He was also involved in an attempt to bail out Jimmy Hoffa from his real-estate related financial problems.[1][page needed] He lived his later years in Los Angeles, where he was a benefactor to the inner city.[1][page needed] Contents1See also2References3Further reading4External links I got the Stardust for Chicago," Johnny Roselli bragged and for once, he may have been near the truth. After the Stardust's original owner Tony Cornero, either died of a heart attack or was poisoned, Tony Accardo called Johnny Roselli back to Chicago for a meeting at Moe's Restaurant with Murray Humpreys and Jake Guzak. Always the hustler, Roselli knew that the bosses back in Chicago were worried because they were losing what little presence they had in Vegas, and as the power west of New York, they felt, as a matter of mob pride, that they should have a major presence on the Strip. Roselli filled them in on the situation at the Stardust. It was, as Roselli called it, a "grind joint," a paradise for the low rollers located right in the heart of the Strip. It was agreed immediately that Chicago would take the Stardust for themselves. Eventually Kansas and Milwaukee had a piece of the Stardust, but all activity in the Stardust was overseen by the Chicago family, they got paid for babysitting the action in Las Vegas but they also took a bigger cut because of it. Fronting the entire operation would be the mob's favorite and most successful con man, John Factor, brother to cosmetic king Max Factor. John Factor, AKA "Jake the Barber" went way back with the Chicago outfit, back to the days when Johnny Torrio was running things. Humpreys either put up Chicago's money for the purchase and used Factor as its front man, or had Factor put up the purchasing money he got from Humpreys. One way or the other two things were certain. From that point on, Jake the Barber was Chicago's front man in Vegas and Chicago had the Stardust, lock, stock and barrel. And it was a mob gold mine. The Stardust boasted 1,032 rooms, and, when it opened for business in 1955, with Lyndon Baines Johnson and Bobby Baker as the guests of honor, the Stardust had one of the biggest casinos in the world. There were some luxury suites but mainly the Stardust was for low rollers. To stress that, in the back parking lot there were the cheap one-room cabins and spaces for RV units. It was Dalitz's idea to set up the Stardust as a place for "low rollers" and the Desert Inn for "high rollers." But first they would have to spruce up the Stardust in the fabled Las Vegas tradition of tacky splendor for the masses, and Murray Humpreys arranged for a million dollar loan from the Teamsters Welfare Fund by way of Red Dorfman via Jimmy Hoffa. At first, the outfit was excited at the prospect of having Jake the Barber as their front man. Jake was, if nothing else, trustworthy. And the reason he was trustworthy was that he was smart enough to know the outfit would kill him in a heartbeat if he tried anything slick with them. The way the boys saw things running was that they would steal the place blind and if anything went wrong, Factor could take the fall for them. "But," wrote Hank Messeck, "he couldn't get a license either, much to the disgust of the Chicago boys. The Barber tried everything he could to get a license but there was no way it was going to happen. He finally bowed to reality and announced he would lease the Desert Inn Group." Factor said he wanted six and a half million a year for the rent but Dalitz was not about to pay that since he held all the aces in the deal including heavy clout with the Nevada state government. "It took," wrote Hank Messeck, "a western Apalachin to solve the matter." Meeting in Sidney Korshak's Beverly Hills office were Meyer Lansky, Longy Zwillman, and Doc Stacher who represented their syndicate and Moe Dalitz and Morris Klienman who represented the Desert Inn. Representing Chicago was Johnny Roselli's replacement by order of Momo Giancana, Marshal Caifano and John Bats Battaglia. It was decided that the lease on the Stardust would be $100,000 a month, a low figure for the second largest moneymaker in Las Vegas. In the end, the true owners of the Stardust were Moe Dalitz and his partners, Paul Ricca, Tony Accardo, Sam Giancana and Murray Humpreys. Other smaller point holders included Wilbur Clark and Yale Cohen. Large or small point holders, everybody was making money off the Stardust. Carl Thomas, the master of the Las Vegas Skim, estimated that the Chicago mob was skimming $400,000.00 a month from the Stardust in the early sixties, and that was only for the one arm bandits in the casino, the blackjack game, keno and roulette and poker yielded a different and higher skim. "Everybody," Thomas said, "played with cash. You couldn't get the paddle into the slot at the craps table, there were so many hundred dollar bills crammed into the drop boxes. That's why the front men who were the big shots in town, got laws passed that kept the wise guys who were the real owners, out of town." As a rule, cash from the skims were paid out to each member of the Chicago operation in accordance with the number or percentage of points each person held in the casinos. Normally, only a few thousand dollars per point or percentage were paid out on a regular basis, with the bigger lump sum payments coming in March after the accountants were finished with their end-of-year figures. Then, hidden investors flew into Vegas with their girlfriends and wives to pick up their cash payments in person staying as "comped" guests all over town. Free women, free hotel suites, free gambling, and free money, free everything. For wise guys there was no place in the world like Vegas. Ida Devine, the wife of Irving "Niggy" Devine who owned the New York Meat Company, which supplied the Las Vegas casinos, was the prime courier for the skim money out of Vegas to Chicago. She replaced Virginia Hill as Chicago deep cover operative in Vegas and chief exporter for the skimmed cash out of Vegas. Ida would take the train out of Vegas to Chicago's union station where she was normally met by one of Humpreys' people, Gus Alex or George Bieber, law partner to Mike Brodkin. From there, she was escorted to the Ambassador East Hotel on Goethe Street, not far from where Humpreys and Gus Alex lived. They would check into a room there for several hours, Chicago would receive its share of the skim money and then Ida was brought back to Union Station and placed safely on a train out of town. By 1958, Accardo and Sam Giancana were taking $300,000.00 a month each out of Las Vegas. After a while, Giancana didn't trust anybody to bring in his share of the skim, so he went to Vegas and got it himself. Least of all, Giancana didn't trust Jake Factor and eventually assigned the Chicago outfit's "Outside man" in Vegas to follow Factor around Vegas and Beverly Hills and report his every move back to Chicago. Murray Humpreys also stayed very close to Factor during his entire involvement in the Stardust and influenced Factor to follow through with his lease of the Stardust to Moe Dalitz's United Hotels Corporation. Sidney Korshak acted as the "go-between" for Factor and the Desert Inn Group, which was made up of Moe Dalitz and Allard Roen. The entire deal was so convoluted that the Nevada State Gaming Commission called a special meeting to look into the purchase and called Allen Roen, the Stardust representative, to answer a few questions. Moe Dalitz closed the Stardust deal in Chicago on November 5 and 6, 1960. He met with Accardo, Humpreys and Giancana and worked a deal, which would give Chicago a greater interest in the Stardust as well as the Desert Inn, the Riviera, and the Freemont. The remarkable sale of the Stardust Casino by Factor and his group to Moe Dalitz and his United Hotels happened in August of 1962 for $14,000,000.00, a relatively small amount for such a large enterprise. Eugene "Jimmy" James acted as his go between to the Teamsters fund. James was the former secretary-treasurer of the Laundry Cleaning and Dye House Workers International Union as well as the President of Local 46 of the same union. However, he was caught stealing union funds on November 17, 1960 and he was going to jail as a result. So when Humpreys approached him to act as a go for one point in the Stardust, paid to his family directly while he was in jail, James readily agreed. Tony Accardo, Paul Ricca and Murray Humpreys took at least five points each, a point being valued at $125,000.00. Another mobster named Nick Civella, got $6,000.00 a month out of the deal, paid by the casino, as a broker's fee. When news of the transaction hit the media, that John Factor had sold out what was then one of the largest and most profitable casinos in the world for the paltry sum of $15,000,000.00, Robert Kennedy, then the Attorney General of the States, thought it was a ridiculously small sales figure and ordered an investigation to find out who really owned the Stardust and why the sale price was so small. At the same time Kennedy's Justice Department and the Nevada state gaming commission began scrutinizing the stockholding in the Stardust, they opened this investigation in search of hidden assets by Momo and other hoods. Had those investigations not been halted on the President's orders, it would have revealed hat Factor was a pawn in a much larger game as well as uncovering the Teamsters enormous funds buried in the casinos by mob accountants. In September of 1962, the Federal Government decided that it wanted to talk to John Factor about his incredibly profitable deals at the Stardust Casino. They had lots of questions for Jake the Barber. Two months later, in November of 1962, Factor gave deposition in Chicago about his dealing in Las Vegas and explained that although he was the owner of record of the Stardust, and was still making money off the place, $110,000.00 a month in fact, he had leased the casino portion of the club to the Dalitz group and said that he was shocked when he found out that Moe Dalitz may have been involved with gangsters. Asked about the reported $500,000.00 finder's fee paid out by Moe Dalitz to Chicago's mob lawyer Sidney Korshak, Factor said he knew nothing about Korshak, a finder's fee or the workings of the Parvin-Dohrmann Company, the company Dalitz set up to purchase the casino from Factor. But before the Justice department/Nevada investigation could call Factor in to answer any questions the Immigration and Naturalization Service decided that Jake the Barber was an undesirable alien and made moves to deport him back to England where Jake was still wanted for his part in the stock swindles there. At seventy years of age, John Factor, who had lived in America since at least 1919, was being booted out of the country. It was in this atmosphere that the Los Angeles office of the INS decided to deport the seventy-year old Factor to his native England based on the 1943 conviction because it involved "moral turpitude." George K. Rosenberg, the District Director of the INS was aware that Factor was seeking a pardon. "But because no action had been taken on Factor's pardon application, we figured that he was deportable and we moved to deport him." On December 3, 1962, the Department of Justice requested that the Immigration and Naturalization begin proceedings to deport John Factor from the United States to England where he was a wanted felon. Unable to show due cause why he should not be deported, Factor was ordered to surrender to the Los Angeles office of the INS on December 21, 1962, at which point he would be arrested and deported out of the country. Adding to Factor's woes was the ongoing IRS investigation into his back taxes for the years 1935 through 1939. The government wanted Factor to explain where he received $479,093.27 in income, and Factor couldn't remember. If he were deported, the Government would impound his holdings until the matter was settled. On November 26, 1962, Attorney General Robert Kennedy did something unusual; he changed the laws that govern Presidential pardons. From 1946 through 1997, those rules had only been tampered with twice. There were fourteen sets of rules governing presidential pardons, which were laid down in 1893. Harry Truman changed those rules in 1946 after his fingers were caught in the early release of Paul Ricca and the other hoods caught up in the Bioff scandal. Bobby Kennedy changed the rules a month after Factor's pardon so that all pardon requests went directly to the White House and then to the Justice Department, not the other way around which is how it was before Factor's pardon was granted. The rules that govern presidential pardons are "advisory in nature," meaning that the President is not bound by any rules in deciding who he will grant a pardon and John Kennedy granted a lot of pardons during his short stint in the White House, 472 of them in all. The rules of Presidential pardon state that the Attorney General, whom it was assumed by the writers of the constitution would be a lawyer, should recommend the pardons to the president. One day a very drunken Chuckie English, a former 42 member and sometime driver to Sam Giancana, strolled out of the Amory Lounge and leaned up against the FBI observation car parked just across the street from the tavern. The agents reported, "English is bemoaning the fact that the federal government is closing in on the organization and nothing can be done about it. He made several bad remarks about the Kennedy administration and pointed out that the Attorney General raising money for the Cuba invaders makes Chicago's syndicate look like amateurs." What English was talking about in front of a bar on a cold Chicago afternoon was the same thing business executives across the country were whispering about in their boardrooms. Many of the nations leading CEOs had taken phone calls and were amazed to find themselves on the other end of a phone line with the Attorney General of the United States of America. They were even more amazed at what they heard. Kennedy wanted money for the Bay of Pigs program. He reminded the executives that they had either pending contracts before the government or criminal cases pending brought by the Justice department. Before they could respond, Kennedy once again mentioned the fund to free the Cubans and hung up. Jake Factor threw $25,000.00 cash into the project and explained to a curious press that James Roosevelt, the problem child of the clan, had approached him about the donation. Then it fell from the skies like a bolt of lightning. On December 24, 1962, from his father's estate in Palm Beach, Florida, President John F. Kennedy signed a Presidential Pardon for Jake the Barber for the mail fraud charges. Pardons are normally granted on a master warrant and several sentence reductions were given that day on a master pardon but Factor's was the only single pardon granted. The deportation proceedings against Jake the Barber were dismissed on December 26, 1962. Factor filed a pardon application on August 6, 1956, but on October 18, 1956, there was adverse action on the application and he filed a second time. This petition was also denied. Factor's pardon, backed by California Democratic Governor Pat Brown and Republican Senator Thomas Kuchel, came in the middle of a joint United States Department of Justice and Nevada State Gaming Commission investigation into the Stardust Casino-hotel's ownership and the remarkable sale of the place by Factor and his group in August of 1962 for $14,000,000.00. It was never made clear if Kennedy's actions also killed the investigation of Factor's dealing in the Stardust but one way or the other, the investigation into the dealings over at the Stardust were closed. A Presidential pardon was golden but just to be sure, on July 16, 1963, in Los Angeles John Factor, the poor kid from the ghettos of Chicago, raised a slightly shaking hand and along with other more recent arrivals, took the oath of citizenship of the United States of America. "I'm the luckiest man alive," he said and he was probably right. Factor always denied that the mob used pressure with the White House to win him his pardon but in mid 1963, while Factor was trying to gain control of the National Life Insurance company of America and was buying up the company's shares at $125.00 each, he then sold 400 shares of his $125.00 a share stock to Murray Humpreys at $20.00 each. A loss of $105.00 per share to Factor. Humpreys then sold the shares back to Factor for $125.00 a share making Humpreys $42,000.00 richer in one day. As far as the Hump's unusual and creative stock transaction with Jake the Barber was concerned, the government decided that it was a taxable exchange "for services rendered" and sent tax gain bills to both them. orn: Iakow Factrowitz. Half brother of famed cosmetics founder Max Factor, he was born the youngest of ten children. Factor was taken to Lodz, Poland before he was a year old and lived there until he was eleven. In the early 1900's, the family moved to St. Louis, Missouri and later onto Chicago. In 1911 Factor married Bessie Schatz and they had a son they named Jerome – Jerome grew up to work in the insurance business and settled in Chicago. Factor and Schatz were divorced in 1918 and he married Helen Stoddard in 1921 – divorcing her in 1923. He then married Rella Cohen in 1925. During the 1920's, Factor, aka "Jake the Barber," went into business with gangsters Arnold Rothstein and Al Capone. He ran a stock scam in England and swindled nearly $8 million out of investors and members of the royal family. He also broke the bank at Monte Carlo by rigging the tables. Factor eventually wound up back in Chicago fighting extradition all the way to the United States Supreme Court, but his case was weak and deportation loomed on the horizon. In August of 1933, Factor paid off members of Roger Touhy's gang of mobsters to kidnap him and went on to collect $70,000 tax-free ransom for his own return. When Factor was returned, he named Roger Touhy as his abductor. Touhy went on trial in November of 1933 and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. In 1945 Factor found himself in prison for mail fraud, a sentence that kept him behind bars for ten years. Following his release he went on to run the Stardust Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for the mob. On January 10, 1958, Moe Dalitz, Allard Roen and their Desert Inn associates took over the Stardust with the owner listed as Rella Factor, for $4.3 million. When Factor died in 1984, he was a multi-millionarie and his funeral was attended by the likes of Tom Bradley – Los Angeles' Mayor and Edmund "Pat" Brown – former Governor of California. "Jake the Barber" The Story of a Successful ConmanWith apologies to Joseph "the Yellow Kid" Weil, John Jacob Factor ranks as one of the most successful swindlers of all time. In his heyday, which spanned the era of the Roaring Twenties through the 1960s, Factor engineered frauds on both sides of the Atlantic, consorted with the Chicago mob, and charmed President John F. Kennedy and his "Rat Pack" pals during the golden age of JFK's self-styled "Camelot" regime.He was a rabbi's son, born Lakow Factrowitz, the youngest of ten children. Jake, as he preferred to be called, was born in England but was taken to Lodz, Poland before his first birthday where he lived until he was 11 years old.At the turn of the last century, the family emigrated to St. Louis, Missouri and then on to Chicago. Although not illiterate, Factor could barely read or write. "I have," he said, "a hazy recollection of several months of schooling in Poland."The family was desperately poor and it was Factor's mother who supported the family in hard times through various menial jobs, mostly as a street peddler.Jake's half brother, Max Factor, eventually made his way out to California and settled in West Los Angeles where he found work as a makeup artist with the major studios. Max Factor helped invent pancake make-up.Jake Factor took the low road to success. While still a teenager in the early years of the century, he went to work as a barber in his brother's West Side shop, using the money he earned to support his parents. Then later, he took at job at Chicago's elegant Morrison Hotel, trimming the sideburns of the rich and well born while making important contacts that would prove useful to him later in life.From these humble beginnings, Factor acquired a nickname that would haunt him for the rest of his life, a name he hated so much he sometimes paid reporters not to call him "Jake the Barber" Jake abandoned the shop in order to peddle securities in the stock market but he was indicted under a federal warrant for stock fraud in 1919. The case was closed after he agreed to return the funds, but Factor was indicted again in Florida in 1922 and 1923, this time for land fraud.In the next few years there were additional indictments for mail fraud and larceny. He participated in a gold mine stock swindle in Canada and another in Rhodesia, but the government was never able to seal a conviction in these cases. Jake the Barber returned to Chicago, rich enough to live in a 14 room Gold Coast apartment, but still he wanted more.In late 1923, Factor convinced New York's master criminal, Arnold "the Brain" Rothstein (the gambling boss who fixed the 1919 World Series), to put up an initial cash investment of $50,000 that Factor needed to pull off the largest stock swindle in European history.Handsome, relaxed and a pleasant sort of man, Factor arrived in London, England in early 1924 and began selling worthless penny stocks to gullible British investors with great success. He advertised his operation in a publishing venture known as the Broad Street Press, which were edited and distributed by Factor's henchmen.In any successful scam, greed is always the hook. Factor assured the investors a guaranteed return of between seven and 12 percent on their initial investments, an enormous sum of money in those days compared to the one and two percent normally paid out by banks and brokerage houses.Factor was careful to pay each dividend on demand, but only because he knew his trusting investors would generate additional business by spreading the news among their friends.Factor accumulated $1.5 million and skipped town secure in the certain knowledge that the bilked victims would not dare file a formal complaint. To do so would reveal their stupidity and avarice. Not a single charge was filed against Factor.Bankrolled by Rothstein, Factor returned to England in early 1925, to pull a second deadly scam. At the heart of the swindle was the Tyler Wilson and Company stock brokerage firm Factor had invented. After presenting his client list a legitimate stock offering called Triplex which sold at $4.00 a share, Factor offered to buy the stock back at $6.00 a share, thus earning his victims a quick 50% profit. A month later, Factor, operating through Tyler Wilson, offered another stock called Edison-Bell at $3 a share. He quickly bought it back at $6 a share, always careful never to actually deliver the stocks certificates to the buyers, because he knew it was a worthless paper transaction. If the transactions had been real, Factor stood to lose $750,000.Established in a luxury suite of rooms in Grosvenor Square, London, Factor sent his investors information about two worthless stock certificates, Vulcan Mines and Rhodesian Border Minerals, reputed to be lucrative South African gold mining companies, which Factor hinted, were on the verge of a big hit.The Barber sold shares in the companies for as low as 25 cents each, allowing thousands of new investors to enter the scam. He then pumped up the earnings up to $2.50 a share.Tens of thousands of money hungry buyers flooded in, and Jake made sure that each one received an unspecified plot of land in Africa, making fraud difficult to detect and prove.In 1930, English newspapers took note of Factor and his "Ponzi" schemes. There were persistent rumors that members of the royal family had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in his phony stocks.Then, without warning, Jake the Barber closed Tyler Wilson & Co and fled England with an estimated 1,619,726 pounds, or about $8,000,000 U.S. dollars, an incredible sum of money in the Depression. Jake made one big mistake that would come back to haunt him in later years. He returned to the United States by way of Mexico through El Paso, Texas, in December of 1930. Factor was admitted back into the United States as a visiting immigrant. He swore out a statement that he was born in Hull, England on October 8, 1892.The United States Immigration Department already had papers on Jake, sworn out by his parents upon their arrival to the States in 1905, that Jake the Barber was a Russian national, born in Lodz, Poland on January 10, 1889.Immigration officials opened a "Factor file," which they later used to deport him from the country. Meanwhile, the notorious New York beer runner and gangster Jack "Legs" Diamond followed Factor's adventures in England with interest, and decided he wanted every penny the scam had earned for his narcotics business.Arnold Rothstein taught Legs Diamond everything there was to know about the narcotics racket, molding him into an expert heroin importer.The drug money made Rothstein careless and lazy, and that was a dangerous position to be in, in the volatile world of narcotics smuggling.Soon others began following the dope trail that Rothstein had blazed. They started to hedge in on his territory. What Rothstein refused to surrender to rivals, they took by force. One of those takers was Legs Diamond, alleged to have participated in the murder of Rothstein at a New York card game in 1928.With Rothstein disposed, the remnants of his once vast criminal empire were up for grabs. Legs Diamond laid claim to Rothstein's European drug smuggling operation, import routes and contacts. But laying claim to the routes and controlling them were two different issues. Control of the U.S. side of the narcotics market hinged on the money-earning European hoods that needed to export their dope into the lucrative and insatiable American markets.They wanted to do business with someone who had the cash flow to saturate the states with low cost, high quality dope on a continuous basis.Legs Diamond had the money, in theory, at least. Prohibition had made him rich, but all of his cash was tied up in a street war for control of the Manhattan bootleg beer outlets. He tried to raise the seed money to enter the narcotics market from different sources, including the Mafia. The underworld also knew and understood that Diamond lacked real organizational ability and that he drank to excess, and was violent and mentally unstable to effectively deal in the sedate and shadowy world of international narcotics trafficking.With no where else to turn, Diamond sent word to John Factor over in England that he was assuming control of all of Rothstein's rackets and demanded his share of the take from the stock swindles. Factor never responded, assuming that once Arnold Rothstein, his original financier in the scheme was dead and buried, that the proceeds from the swindle were his and his alone. Diamond disagreed, and took a luxury liner to England to meet with the Barber, but Factor avoided his own execution by simply returning to the United States and hiding out in Chicago, enjoying the hospitality of Murray "the Camel" Humphreys whom he cut in for a percentage of the take. Factor knew that a killer like Legs Diamond didn't give up that easily, especially when millions were at stake. Never a violent man, Jake the Barber had enough sense to partner with those who had no aversion to violence.Legs Diamond gave up the chase to attend to his own trial in New York State for attempted murder of a competitor. The jury found him not guilty, and that night Diamond went out with friends to celebrate. Returning to his room in an Albany, New York boarding house in the early morning hours of December 17, 1931, Legs fell into a drunken stupor. A half an hour later, two well-dressed men entered Diamond's room and pumped three .38 slugs into his head at point-blank range, instantly killing him.Murray Humphreys was suspected of engineering the murder, if not committing it himself, on behalf of his new business partner, Jake Factor, but the suspicions were never proven, nor was there an investigation into the murder. No one seemed to care.With Diamond out of the way, Jake the Barber emerged from hiding, only to be arrested in Chicago on demand of the English government for receiving property known to be fraudulently obtained. Factor was freed on a $50,000 bond.On December 28 1931, the United States Commissioner in Chicago ruled that Factor should be extradited to England, where he had already been tried, convicted, and sentenced to eight years at hard labor (in absentia).Factor's lawyers argued unconvincingly that each of his victims had received a small plot of land in South Africa, or at least the deed to one, and therefore, no one was swindled.A federal judge agreed with Factor and over-ruled the Commissioner. The Justice Department appealed and the case was on its way for review to the Supreme Court in Washington.It was generally agreed in legal circles that Factor had a weak case and would be extradited before the spring. Armed with several million in cash and the best lawyers money could buy, the Barber managed to delay his hearing until April of 1933.Two days before Factor was due to appear before the Supreme Court Jake the Barber's son Jerome, was kidnapped in Chicago. A ransom note arrived asking for $50,000. Murray Humphreys, the syndicate labor plunderer and Jake the Barber's close friend, led the negotiations with the kidnappers from a suite adjoining Factor's room.Humphreys' role in the kidnapping would have gone unnoticed but the messenger who delivered the ransom note was hauled into detective headquarters for questioning and was grilled for 45 minutes. When he was released, the young man was swarmed by news reporters "I can't talk to you guys," he said "Murray Humphreys told me to keep my mouth shut"Chicago police raided a suite at the Congress Hotel, which the press dubbed "the Hoodlum detective agency," and arrested the heirs to the Capone syndicate; Murray Humphreys, "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn, Sam "Golf Bag" Hunt, Tony Accardo, Frankie Rio, Phil D'Andrea, Rocco Di Grazio and a half dozen other mob hangers-on, all of whom told the police the same thing: they were there because they had been brought in by Murray Humphreys to secure Jerome Factor's safe returned.The cops locked them up on vagrancy charges, but within an hour Factor posted their bail and all were released. While Police were in the apartment they found a ransom note from Jerome's kidnappers. When questioned, Factor claimed that he had written the note "to confuse the kidnappers" After eight days in captivity, Jerome Factor was released on a Chicago street unharmed. Many people in Chicago simply assumed that Jerome, the good son, had agreed to a kidnapping rigged by his father and Murray Humphreys to delay the Supreme Court hearing.With Jerome Factor returned home safely, Jake's appointment to appear before the United States Supreme Court was put back on the docket.Factor was an exceptionally smart and practical man, he knew no matter how many shrewd lawyers he could buy, he was going to lose his case before the court and would soon be deported.While discussing his limited options with the attorneys, Factor mentioned the delay in the hearing brought about by Jerome's kidnapping.They reasoned that if Jake were to be kidnapped, and then returned safely to his custody, following capture of the kidnappers, then the ensuing trial would be delayed long enough for the statute of limitations against him to run out. It wasn't a sure thing, but Jake's deportation to a jail cell in England appeared certain.Factor presented the idea to Murray Humphreys. Frank Nitti signed off on the plan to help out his pal, Jake. Humphreys and Nitti, and Paul "the Waiter" Ricca, Nitti's lead counsel in the mob, may have already had information that Jerome's kidnapping had been pulled off by independents who were employed by Roger "the Terrible" Touhy, a bootlegger who was operating out in the Northwest suburbs of Cook County. The Touhy gang was small but persistent, and had waged a sporadic war of attrition against the Outfit since 1927.The shrewd and calculating Ricca decided to blame Roger for the kidnapping. After all, the mob wasn't having any luck shooting Touhy to death, or blowing him up, which they had tried to do on several occasions in the past year. But framing Roger for a kidnapping might work, so Nitti gave his approval with the understanding that none of the syndicate people were to be involved. Kidnapping without a long-term goal wasn't what the Chicago outfit specialized in. They were racketeers by trade. Kidnapping was a dirty business, and a high profile crime sure to invite the headline-loving FBI.In the latter part of August 1942, Roger Touhy, once an important Chicago bootlegger, was serving a life sentence for a crime he never committed. Touhy was framed by the Capone mob with the apparent connivance of a corrupt Cook County State's Attorney named Thomas Courtney, who made political hay out of this page-one conviction. At the end of his rope and out of aces, Touhy was desperate to take matters into his own hands.In 1933, when the international con-man Jake "the Barber" Factor was on the verge of extradition back to Great Britain for a raft of stock swindles foisted on overseas investors in the 1920s, it was decided to arrange a bogus kidnapping with the help of Frank Nitti, boss of the Chicago mob, and heir to Al Capone's empire. Factor was "abducted" outside the Dells Roadhouse in suburban Morton Grove, taken to a safe house until a phony "ransom" was paid and his release assured.With the connivance of the Nitti gang, Factor had "fingered" Touhy as his abductor. Factor was held by the government as a material witness, just long enough to ensure that he would be released under a writ of habeas corpus. U.S. laws required that a person who is not extradited within sixty days, be released. Factor's lawyers of course, played the percentages and were able to spring their client, who fled to Los Angeles where he invested his ill-gotten fortune in real estate.Virtually every motion Touhy filed to have his case reopened was denied without a hearing, despite mounting evidence that proved his innocence."I stayed awake until dawn in my cell, thinking," Touhy wrote. "I was without hope. I was buried alive in prison and I would die there. I couldn't see a light ahead anywhere. Nothing but darkness, loneliness, and desperation. The world had forgotten me after eight years. I was a nothing. Well, there was one way I could focus public attention on my misery. I could escape. I would be caught of course but the break would show my terrible situation. What cockeyed thinking that was, my mental attitude was a mess, I later came to realize."The convict who convinced Touhy to escape was Gene O'Connor, a.k.a "James O'Connor," which was another name he used in long criminal career. Actually, his real name was Eugene Lathorn, and he was serving a one to life sentence for a May 1932 robbery-slaying of a Chicago policeman. For O'Connor, prison escape was a way of life. By October of 1942 he had already scaled the walls twice.Touhy and Banghart were released from prison in 1959 and 1960 respectively. Roger Touhy was murdered by vengeful mob assassins on the front porch of his sister's house in Chicago's Austin community just twenty-five days after walking through the prison gates. Jake Factor was in Chicago at the time, wining and dining his entourage on Rush Street when he heard the news. Factor expressed false sympathy when questioned by reporters.Basil Banghart retired to Washington where he lived out the remainder of his life in relative comfort, after inheriting a small fortune from a widowed aunt.As to the man most responsible for Roger Touhy's collective misfortunes, American justice finally played its hand in 1943, though it was probably a moot point to Touhy by this time. Jake "the Barber" Factor was sentenced to six years in prison for mail fraud. He served his time and was released in 1948. He returned to the West Coast where he made a fortune in questionable real estate deals.In the 1950s, Chicago mob moss Tony Accardo installed Factor as Chicago's "front man" at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas, a "low roller" casino that was the place to go for sports betting. It was an ideal marriage. Factor hustled the celebrities and made his bones with the movers and shakers of the nation who passed through Las Vegas.In 1960 Factor donated a considerable sum to John F. Kennedy's political war chest, which earned him a full presidential pardon in 1962 from the grateful Kennedys. Factor continued to curry the favor of national political leaders like Hubert Humphrey and Richard Nixon up until the moment of his death in 1984. He is buried in Hollywood not far from the show business celebrities he had entertained in real life.wikipediaJohn "Jake the Barber" Factor was a Prohibition-era gangster. He was the brother of prominent businessman Max Factor, Sr., the founder of Max Factor, a makeup company. Early years Born Iakov Factorowitz or Faktorowicz, the son of a rabbi, he and his family left England, returning to Lodz, Poland, not long after his birth. He claimed he was born in Hull, Yorkshire, when he later faced prosecution in the United States. According the LA Times of the day, he produced an affidavit in court said to be from the rabbi who circumcised him to confirm his birth place. He could not produce a birth certificate. The family immigrated to the United States in 1904, settling in St. Louis, Missouri. Even though he was poorly educated, Factor had a sharp mind and by the early 1920s was becoming known as a successful confidence man. In 1923, after moving into stock fraud and selling worthless real estate during Florida's "land boom" during the early 1920s, he was loaned $50,000 by mobster Arnold Rothstein to pull off what was then considered the largest stock swindle in European history.Jake Factor's "kidnapping"In 1933, Factor was on the run from England, where he had been sentenced to a total of twenty-four years. Factor worked a deal with Al Capone to fake a kidnapping and blame it on Roger "Terrible" Touhy. Touhy was convicted on false evidence and sentenced to 99 years in prison. The kidnapping had been set up to eliminate Touhy from competition in Chicago.Touhy, Factor's wrongly accused kidnapper, escaped from prison in 1942, but was soon recaptured. He was finally found innocent of all charges and released on November 25, 1959. Touhy was shot to death while visiting his sister on December 17. He was probably murdered on the orders of Murray "The Camel" Humphreys, whom he had humiliated many years earlier, and who was acting on behalf of Jake Factor. Touhy had written a book about his false imprisonment, The Stolen Years.Later yearsAt the time of Roger Touhy's death, Factor, now well involved with mob interests in California and Las Vegas, was in Chicago, enjoying a steak at The Singapore, a Mob-controlled restaurant on Rush Street. He later became the front man for Chicago at The Stardust Casino, after its creator, Los Angeles gambler and crime figure Tony Cornero, died in 1955, shortly before the casino was finished being constructed. On December 3, 1962, when Factor was finally about to be deported back to England, he was given a Presidential pardon by John F. Kennedy. In exchange, Jake gave Kennedy $25,000 in cash to help fund the Bay of Pigs fiasco. He sold the Stardust Casino for $14 million and then claimed bankruptcy.The IRS looked into Factor's financial records and found that Jake had not paid taxes from 1935 to 1939. He was also found to have the lump sum of $479,093.27 in his name. When the government asked Jake how he got the money, he claimed he could not remember. Later, Jake tried to bail out Teamsters Union boss Jimmy Hoffa of his financial Florida real estate problems. He was also involved in a questionable stock transaction with Murray Humphreys.Jake spent the last twenty years of his life as a benefactor to California's black ghettos. He spent millions of dollars building churches, gyms, parks and low-cost housing in poverty stricken black ghettos. When Jake Factor died, three U.S. senators, the mayor of Los Angeles and several hundred African-Americans attended his funeral. With the end in sight for prohibition, many gangsters turned away from bootlegging and run-rumming to become kidnappers, which was regarded as a more profitable risk than bank robbing, since so many banks were failing or closed by frequent "bank holidays." Most robberies proved to be of the nickel-and-dime variety. John "Jake the Barber" Factor, a Chicago con man who had returned home after swindling English investors in a Ponzi scheme, found other uses for two kidnappings in 1933. Both were family affairs and were well-covered by newspapers. Though suspicious from the start, these two kidnappings had to be taken seriously until proven otherwise. Now it is recognized that Factor engineered both of them, each for a different reason. "Jake" was the brother of Max Factor, who went to Hollywood and became famous in the make-up and cosmetics business. "Jake" probably should have gone to Hollywood, too, because he could act with the best of them. Syracuse Journal, April 17, 1933CHICAGO (INS) — “Return my boy and I will gladly give up everything I have.” That was the gesture of despair uttered today by John “Jake the Barber” Factor, multi-millionaire stock promoter, after four sleepless days and nights of search for his 19-year-old son, Jerome. Murray Humphreys of the gang formerly headed by Al Capone is directing negotiations for payment of a $50,000 ransom. Factor, a former barber, is fighting extradition to England where he has been charged with having swindled British investors out of $7 million in stock promotions. Most significant items in the above story are the name Murray Humphreys and Factor's efforts to avoid extradition to England. On the morning of April 21, Jerome Factor, a Northwestern University student and a good son, returned after his nine-day "captivity." He was unharmed, of course, and his father claimed he hadn't paid any ransom, though later there would be reports that $25,000 was paid to the "abductors," whoever they were. "Jake the Barber" demanded vengeance, but reporters suspected his son had willingly gone along with a plan to help his father avoid an appearance before the July grand jury. Helping orchestrate the plan was slick gangster Humphreys, who soon arranged another kidnapping, this one intended to prevent Barber's extradition by perhaps exhausting the statute of limitations on the crime in Great Britain. More importantly, Humphreys hoped to pin the kidnapping on a rival gangster. Note in the following two story how "Jake the Barber" is referred to as a "stock wizard" and that Dells Cafe is called "the swanky roadhouse." Newspapers loved to embellish. Reporters also had difficulty keeping figures straight. The first story says Factor swindled British investors out of $7 million; the story below says it was $8 million. Syracuse Journal, July 1, 1933CHICAGO (INS) — For the second time this year kidnappers have struck the family circle of John “Jake the Barber” Factor, boldly abducting the multi-millionaire stock promoter today as he was leaving the Dells Cafe with a gay party. A band of gunmen, numbering about a dozen, seized Factor from the side of his 19-year-old son, Jerome, and whisked the internationally known stock wizard away in one of the gang’s two automobiles. Jerome Factor was kidnapped last April 13 for $25,000 ransom. Factor’s wife, Bella, likewise was a horror-stricken witness to the abduction. The gunmen wheeled alongside the Factor party this morning as they were leaving the swanky roadhouse. Three automobiles made up the Factor party, with the financier, now fighting extradition to England in connection with stock promotions, riding in the second car. Brandishing a formidable array of weapons, the gangsters forced Factor and Al Epstein, wealthy attorney and investment broker, to accompany them. They made no attempt to harm the youth, who recently was held captive for eight days. Neither did they pay attention to the women in the party. The gunmen blindfolded their two captives, and the two high-powered cars roared away. Three miles further on, when the kidnappers liberated Epstein, warning him not to spread the alarm. As Epstein was leaving the car, Factor pleaded from behind his blindfold: “This is a kidnapping, Al. For God’s sake, do whatever they tell you to, and get them anything they ask, and don’t hesitate. It looks like a long ride for me.” Epstein informed authorities and immediately made his way to his home here and began organizing friends by telephone in a movement to free Factor. The attorney refused to affirm a report that Murray Humphreys, present kingpin of the rackets, has again been enlisted to talk with the kidnappers to bring about the stock promoter’s release. It was Humphreys and five other leading members of the old Capone gang who acted as a “secret six” three months ago to comb gangland for Factor’s son. Police began a search early today for the tough gang of “cowboys,” a rough and ready mob that rules the beer and gambling rights in the northwest outskirts of the city. Factor has been accused of mulcting British investors out of an estimated $8 million in an alleged bucket shot venture in London. He has since been fighting attempts on the part of the British government to have him extradited to London for trial. Not many years ago Factor was a Halsted Street barber. Becoming interested in finance, he acquired a modest fortune on the Chicago Stock Exchange and then transferred his field of operations abroad. Also that day it was reported the widow of slain New York city racketeer Jack “Legs” Diamond had herself been killed, apparently because she knew too much and had a big mouth. Mrs. Alice Schiffer Diamond was shot in the back of her head by a .38 caliber pistol. She had been dead for two days in her Brooklyn apartment before her body was discovered. Police found fingerprints and announced they knew the identity of her murderers. That Factor and "Legs" Diamond would be in the news on the same day was interesting because the two men had had business dealings several years earlier and Factor had good reason to believe Diamond was out to kill him. Factor was "released" a few days later and delivered an award-worthy performance. Police were slow to pick up on the second motive behind the "kidnapping" — in fact, many authorities didn't acknowledge it even after it became obvious — but Factor and his partners in this farce were going to frame an enemy for a crime that never happened. Factor planted the seeds with a tale he told police about three wealthy Chicago men who might soon be abducted. Syracuse Journal, July 14, 1933CHICAGO (INS) — Every move of three of Chicago’s wealthiest sportsmen was under the careful surveillance of government agents today, following a tip the trio had been marked as kidnapping victims. The gang which kidnapped John “Jake the Barber” Factor and for 12 days subjected him to mistreatment until $50,000 ransom was paid, is said to be awaiting an opportunity to seize John D. Hertz, capitalist and former taxicab and moving picture executive; Otto Lehmann, wealthy department store owner, and Warren Wright, rich real estate operator. That the men are in imminent danger was revealed by Factor, who told authorities that one of his abductors told him while he was being held prisoner: “Jake, you can get all the ransom back by setting up some of your rich friends for the ‘snatch.’ You tell us who will make good pickings, show us where we can seize them, and we’ll split with you.” On his indignant refusal, Factor said, he was threatened by his captors. While Factor said the amount paid by friends for his release was $50,000, it was reported the ransom payment was much larger. He denied he has promised to pay more following his release, but it was said by friends of the millionaire stock market operator that the sum ranged between $100,000 and $200,000. The kidnapping of "Jake the Barber" Factor was a diversion in a Chicago mob war. The plan was to pin the kidnapping on Roger Touhy, an Irish-American mob boss whose home base also was Chicago. In hindsight, Factor seems so transparent that it's difficult to believe anyone fell for his nonsense, but his ability to lie is probably how he fooled so many investors. Touhy was convicted and would have spent the rest of his life in prison hadn't the truth come out — several years later. Even at that, Touhy wasn't pardoned. On November 24, 1959, after a long series of legal battles, Touhy was released from prison on parole, still officially considered guilty of a crime he didn't commit. For Touhy, It would have been better had he remained behind bars. On December 16, 1959 — after just 22 days of freedom — he was gunned down by three men on the steps of his sister's house and died about an hour later. Touhy had had enemies galore. A few months before he was convicted to the Factor kidnapping, he was framed for another famous 1933 kidnapping, but he and his alleged cohorts were acquitted. That kidnapping, which took place in June, had as its victim William Hamm Jr., a millionaire brewer. The gang actually responsible for the Hamm kidnapping has since become famous and the subject of several movies. A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster.[1] Gangs provide a level of organization and resources that support much larger and more complex criminal transactions than an individual criminal could achieve. Gangsters have been active for many years in countries around the world. Gangsters are the subject of many novels, films, and video games. Contents1Etymology2Gangs3Regional variants3.1Europe3.2Asia3.3United States and Canada3.4Latin America4Notorious individuals4.1Johnny Torrio4.2Lucky Luciano4.3Al Capone4.4Frank Costello4.5Carlo Gambino5In popular culture5.1United States5.2Latin America5.3East Asia6See also7Citations8References8.1In the United States8.2In popular culture9External linksEtymologySome contemporary criminals refer to themselves as "gangsta" in reference to non-rhotic black American pronunciation. Gangs Yakuza, or Japanese mafia are not allowed to show their tattoos in public except during the Sanja Matsuri festival.In today's usage, the term "gang" is generally used for a criminal organization, and the term "gangster" invariably describes a criminal.[2] Much has been written on the subject of gangs, although there is no clear consensus about what constitutes a gang or what situations lead to gang formation and evolution. There is agreement that the members of a gang have a sense of common identity and belonging, and this is typically reinforced through shared activities and through visual identifications such as special clothing, tattoos or rings.[3] Some preconceptions may be false. For example, the common view that illegal drug distribution in the United States is largely controlled by gangs has been questioned.[4] A gang may be a relatively small group of people who cooperate in criminal acts, as with the Jesse James gang, which ended with the leader's death in 1882. But a gang may be a larger group with a formal organization that survives the death of its leader. The Chicago Outfit created by Johnny Torrio and Al Capone outlasted its founders and survived into the 21st century. Large and well structured gangs such as the Mafia, drug cartels, Triads or even outlaw motorcycle gangs can undertake complex transactions that would be far beyond the capability of one individual, and can provide services such as dispute arbitration and contract enforcement that parallel those of a legitimate government.[5] The term "organized crime" is associated with gangs and gangsters, but is not synonymous. A small street gang that engages in sporadic low-level crime would not be seen as "organized". An organization that coordinates gangs in different countries involved in the international trade in drugs or prostitutes may not be considered a "gang".[6] Although gangs and gangsters have existed in many countries and at many times in the past, they have played more prominent roles during times of weakened social order or when governments have attempted to suppress access to goods or services for which there is a high demand.[citation needed] Regional variantsEurope Sketch of the 1901 maxi trial of suspected mafiosi in Palermo. From the newspaper L'Ora, May 1901The Sicilian Mafia, or Cosa Nostra is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share common organizational structure and code of conduct. The origins lie in the upheaval of Sicily's transition out of feudalism in 1812 and its later annexation by mainland Italy in 1860. Under feudalism, the nobility owned most of the land and enforced law and order through their private armies. After 1812, the feudal barons steadily sold off or rented their lands to private citizens. Primogeniture was abolished, land could no longer be seized to settle debts, and one fifth of the land was to become private property of the peasants.[7] Organized crime has existed in Russia since the days of Imperial Russia in the form of banditry and thievery. In the Soviet period Vory v Zakone emerged, a class of criminals that had to abide by certain rules in the prison system. One such rule was that cooperation with the authorities of any kind was forbidden. During World War II some prisoners made a deal with the government to join the armed forces in return for a reduced sentence, but upon their return to prison they were attacked and killed by inmates who remained loyal to the rules of the thieves.[8] In 1988 the Soviet Union legalized private enterprise but did not provide regulations to ensure the security of market economy. Crude markets emerged, the most notorious being the Rizhsky market where prostitution rings were run next to the Rizhsky Railway Station in Moscow.[9] As the Soviet Union headed for collapse many former government workers turned to crime, while others moved overseas. Former KGB agents and veterans of the Afghan and First and Second Chechen Wars, now unemployed but with experience that could prove useful in crime, joined the increasing crime wave.[9] At first, the Vory v Zakone played a key role in arbitrating the gang wars that erupted in the 1990s.[10] By the mid-1990s it was believed that "Don" Semion Mogilevich had become the "boss of all bosses" of most Russian Mafia syndicates in the world, described by the British government as "one of the most dangerous men in the world".[11] More recently, criminals with stronger ties to big business and the government have displaced the Vory from some of their traditional niches, although the Vory are still strong in gambling and the retail trade.[10] The Albanian Mafia is active in Albania, the United States, and the European Union (EU) countries, participating in a diverse range of criminal enterprises including drug and arms trafficking.[12][13] The people of the mountainous country of Albania have always had strong traditions of family and clan loyalty, in some ways similar to that of southern Italy. Ethnic Albanian gangs have grown rapidly since 1992 during the prolonged period of instability in the Balkans after the collapse of Yugoslavia. This coincided with large scale migration throughout Europe and to the United States and Canada. Although based in Albania, the gangs often handle international transactions such as trafficking in economic migrants, drugs and other contraband, and weapons.[14] Other criminal organizations that emerged in the Balkans around this time are popularly called the Serbian Mafia, Bosnian Mafia, Bulgarian Mafia and so on. Asia Du Yuesheng (1888–1951), a Chinese gangster and important Kuomintang supporter who spent much of his life in ShanghaiIn China, Triads trace their roots to resistance or rebel groups opposed to Manchu rule during the Qing dynasty, which were given the triangle as their emblem.[15] The first record of a triad society, Heaven and Earth Gathering, dates to the Lin Shuangwen uprising on Taiwan from 1786 to 1787.[16] The triads evolved into criminal societies. When the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949 in mainland China, law enforcement became stricter and tough governmental crackdown on criminal organizations forced the triads to migrate to Hong Kong, then a British colony, and other cities around the world. Triads today are highly organized, with departments responsible for functions such as accounting, recruiting, communications, training and welfare in addition to the operational arms. They engage in a variety of crimes including extortion, money laundering, smuggling, trafficking and prostitution.[17] Yakuza are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. They are notorious for their strict codes of conduct and very organized nature. As of 2009 they had an estimated 80,900 members.[18] Most modern yakuza derive from two classifications which emerged in the mid-Edo period: tekiya, those who primarily peddled illicit, stolen or shoddy goods; and bakuto, those who were involved in or participated in gambling.[19] United States and CanadaAs American society and culture developed, new immigrants were relocating to the United States. The first major gangs in 19th century New York City were the Irish gangs such as the Whyos and the Dead Rabbits.[20] These were followed by the Italian Five Points Gang and later a Jewish gang known as the Eastman Gang.[21][22] There were also "Nativist" anti-immigration gangs such as the Bowery Boys. The American Mafia arose from offshoots of the Mafia that emerged in the United States during the late nineteenth century, following waves of emigration from Sicily. There were similar offshoots in Canada among Italian Canadians.[citation needed] In the later 1860s many Chinese emigrated to the United States, escaping from insecurity and economic hardship at home, at first working on the west coast and later moving east. The new immigrants formed Chinese Benevolent Associations. In some cases these evolved into Tongs, or criminal organizations primarily involved in gambling. Members of Triads who migrated to the United States often joined these tongs. With a new wave of migration in the 1960s, street gangs began to flourish in major cities. The tongs recruited these gangs to protect their extortion, gambling and narcotics operations.[23] The terms "gangster" and "mobster" are mostly used in the United States to refer to members of criminal organizations associated with Prohibition or with an American offshoot of the Italian Mafia (such as the Chicago Outfit, the Philadelphia Mafia, or the Five Families).[citation needed] In 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution banned the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption. Many gangs sold alcohol illegally for tremendous profit, and used acute violence to stake turf and protect their interest. Often, police officers and politicians were paid off or extorted to ensure continued operation.[24] Latin America Members of Colonel Martinez's Search Bloc celebrate over Pablo Escobar's body on December 2, 1993Most cocaine is grown and processed in South America, particularly in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, and smuggled into the United States and Europe, the United States being the world's largest consumer of cocaine.[25] Colombia is the world's leading producer of cocaine, and also produces heroin that is mostly destined for the US market.[26] The Medellín Cartel was an organized network of drug suppliers and smugglers originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia. The gang operated in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Central America, the United States, as well as Canada and Europe throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded and run by Ochoa Vázquez brothers with Pablo Escobar. By 1993, the Colombian government, helped by the US, had successfully dismantled the cartel by imprisoning or hunting and gunning down its members.[27] Although Mexican drug cartels, or drug trafficking organizations, have existed for several decades, they have become more powerful since the demise of Colombia's Cali and Medellín cartels in the 1990s. Mexican drug cartels now dominate the wholesale illicit drug market in the United States.[28] Sixty five percent of cocaine enters the United States through Mexico, and the vast majority of the rest enters through Florida. Cocaine shipments from South America transported through Mexico or Central America are generally moved over land or by air to staging sites in northern Mexico. The cocaine is then broken down into smaller loads for smuggling across the U.S.–Mexico border.[29] Arrests of key gang leaders, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, have led to increasing drug violence as gangs fight for control of the trafficking routes into the United States.[30] Cocaine traffickers from Colombia, and recently Mexico, have also established a labyrinth of smuggling routes throughout the Caribbean, the Bahama Island chain, and South Florida. They often hire traffickers from Mexico or the Dominican Republic to transport the drug. The traffickers use a variety of smuggling techniques to transfer their drug to U.S. markets. These include airdrops of 500–700 kg in the Bahama Islands or off the coast of Puerto Rico, mid-ocean boat-to-boat transfers of 500–2,000 kg, and the commercial shipment of tonnes of cocaine through the port of Miami. Another route of cocaine traffic goes through Chile, this route is primarily used for cocaine produced in Bolivia since the nearest seaports lie in northern Chile. The arid Bolivia-Chile border is easily crossed by 4x4 vehicles that then head to the seaports of Iquique and Antofagasta.[citation needed] Notorious individualsJohnny TorrioMain article: Johnny Torrio Mugshot of Johnny Torrio in 1936Born in southern Italy in 1882, Torrio immigrated to the United States with his mother after his father's death, which happened when he was three years old. Known as "The Fox" for his cunning, he helped the formation of the Chicago Outfit and he is credited for inspiring the birth of the National Crime Syndicate.[31] He was a big influence on Al Capone, who regarded him as a mentor.[32] After the assassination of Big Jim Colosimo, Torrio took his place in the Chicago Outfit. He was severely wounded by members of the North Side Gang while returning from a shopping trip, forcing him, along with other problems, to quit the criminal activity. He died in 1957 and the media learned about his death three weeks after his burial.[33] Elmer Irey, official of the United States Treasury Department, defined Torrio "the biggest gangster in America", "the smartest and the best of all the hoodlums"[34] while Virgil W. Peterson of the Chicago Crime Commission considered him "an organizational genius".[35] Lucky LucianoMain article: Lucky LucianoCharles Lucky Luciano born Salvatore Lucania[36] [salvaˈtoːre lukaˈniːa];[37] November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was probably the most influential Mafia boss, he was an Italian-born mobster, criminal mastermind, and crime boss who operated mainly in the United States. Along with his associates, he was instrumental in the development of the National Crime Syndicate. Luciano is the father of modern organized crime in the United States for the establishment of The Commission in 1931. His crime family was later renamed the Genovese crime family.[38] Al CaponeMain article: Al Capone Mug shot of Al Capone. Although never convicted of racketeering, Capone was a protégé and successor of Torrio, later convicted of income tax evasion by the federal government.Al Capone was one of the most famous gangsters during the roaring twenties. Born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 1899 to immigrant parents, Capone was recruited by members of the Five Points Gang in the early 1920s. Capone's childhood friend, Lucky Luciano, was also originally a member of the Five Points Gang. Capone would rise to control a major portion of illicit activity such as gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging in Chicago during the early twentieth century.[39] Frank Costello American gangster Frank Costello, testifying before the Kefauver Committee, during an investigation of organized crime.Main article: Frank CostelloFrank Costello was an influential gangster. He was born in southern Italy but moved to America when he was four years old. He later changed his name from Francesco Castiglia to Frank Costello when he joined a gang at age 13. His name change led some people to mistakenly believe he was Irish. He worked for Charlie Luciano and was in charge of bootlegging and gambling. He was also the Luciano gangs emissary to politicians, he later held sway over politicians which enabled him political protection to continue his business. He took charge of Lucianos gang when Lucky Luciano was arrested, during his time in power he expanded the gang's operations into white collar crimes. He decided to step down from power when Vito Genovese returned from Italy and challenged him for power to run the Luciano crime family. Costello retired from the gangster life style and died peacefully in 1973. Carlo GambinoMain article: Carlo GambinoCarlo Gambino was an influential gangster in America. From 1961 until he died in 1976, he was known for being very low key. Gambino was born in Palermo, Sicily, but moved to the United States at the age of 21. Through his relatives the Castellano, he joined the Masseria Family while Lucky Luciano was the underboss in the Masseria Family, Gambino worked for him. After Luciano had Masseria killed, Luciano became the boss, and Gambino was sent by Luciano to the Scalise Family. Later Scalise was stripped of his rank, and Vincenzo Mangano became boss until 1951, when Mangano disappeared. His body was never found. Gambino then worked his way up the ladder to be the last known boss to have full control of the commission besides Luciano. Gambino was known to have taken the Mafia out of the lime light and kept it in the dark and away from the media. [40] In popular cultureFurther information: Gangster filmGangs have long been the subject of movies. In fact, the first feature-length movie ever produced was The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), an Australian production that traced the life of the outlaw Ned Kelly (1855–1880).[41] The United States has profoundly influenced the genre, but other cultures have contributed distinctive and often excellent gangster movies.[citation needed] United StatesThe classic gangster movie ranks with the Western as one of the most successful creations of the American movie industry. The "classic" form of gangster movie, rarely produced in recent years, tells of a gangster working his way up through his enterprise and daring, until his organization collapses while he is at the peak of his powers. Although the ending is presented as a moral outcome, it is usually seen as no more than an accidental failure. The gangster is typically articulate, although at times lonely and depressed, and his worldly wisdom and defiance of social norms has a strong appeal, particularly to adolescents.[42] Publicity still of Romanian-born Edward G. Robinson, who starred in several American gangster moviesThe stereotypical image and myth of the American gangster is closely associated with organized crime during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s.[43] The years 1931 and 1932 saw the genre produce three classics: Warner Bros.' Little Caesar and The Public Enemy, which made screen icons out of Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney, and Howard Hughes' Scarface starring Paul Muni, which offered a dark psychological analysis of a fictionalized Al Capone.[44] These films chronicle the quick rise, and equally quick downfall, of three young, violent criminals, and represent the genre in its purest form before moral pressure would force it to change and evolve. Though the gangster in each film would face a violent downfall which was designed to remind the viewers of the consequences of crime, audiences were often able to identify with the charismatic anti-hero. Those suffering from the Depression were able to relate to the gangster character who worked hard to earn his place and success in the world, only to have it all taken away from him.[45] Latin AmericaLatin American gangster movies are known for their gritty realism. Soy un delincuente (English: I Am a Criminal) is a 1976 Venezuelan film by director Clemente de la Cerda. The film tells the story of Ramón Antonio Brizuela, a real-life individual, who since childhood has to deal with rampant violence and the drugs, sex and petty thievery of a Caracas slum. Starting with delinquency, Ramón moves on to serious gang activity and robberies. He grows into a tough, self-confident young man who is hardened to violence. His views change when his fiancée's brother is killed in a robbery. The film was a blockbuster hit in Venezuela.[46] City of God (Portuguese: Cidade de Deus) is a 2002 Brazilian crime drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles and co-directed by Kátia Lund, released in its home country in 2002 and worldwide in 2003. All the characters existed in reality, and the story is based on real events. It depicts the growth of organized crime in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro, between the end of the '60s and the beginning of the '80s, with the closure of the film depicting the war between the drug dealer Li'l Zé and criminal Knockout Ned.[47] The film received four Academy Award nominations in 2004.[48] East AsiaThe first yakuza (gangster) film made in Japan was Bakuto (Gambler, 1964). The genre soon became popular, and by the 1970s the Japanese film industry was turning out a hundred mostly low-budget yakuza films each year. The films are descendants of the samurai epics, and are closer to Westerns than to Hollywood gangster movies. The hero is typically torn between compassion for the oppressed and his sense of duty to the gang. The plots are generally highly stylized, starting with the protagonist being released from prison and ending in a gory sword fight in which he dies an honorable death.[49] Although some Hong Kong gangster movies are simply vehicles for violent action, the mainstream movies in the genre deal with Triad societies portrayed as quasi-benign organizations.[50] The movie gangster applies the Taoist principles of balance and honor to his conduct. The plots are often similar to those of Hollywood gangster movies, often ending with the fall of the subject of the movie at the hands of another gangster, but such a fall is far less important than a fall from honor.[50] The first movie made by the acclaimed director Wong Kar-wai was a gangster movie, As Tears Go By. In it the protagonist finds himself torn between his desire for a woman and his loyalty to a fellow gangster.[51] Infernal Affairs (2002) is a thriller about a police officer who infiltrates a triad and a triad member who infiltrates the police department. The film was remade by Martin Scorsese as The Departed.[52] Gangster films make up one of the most profitable segments of the South Korean film industry. Films made in the 1960s were often influenced by Japanese yakuza films, dealing with internal conflict between members of a gang or external conflict with other gangs. The gangsters' code of conduct and loyalty are important elements. Starting in the 1970s, strict censorship caused decline in the number and quality of gangster movies, and none were made in the 1980s.[53] In the late 1980s and early 1990s there was a surge of imports of action movies from Hong Kong. The first of the new wave of important home grown gangster movies was Im Kwon-taek's General's Son (1990). Although this movie followed the earlier tradition, it was followed by a series of sophisticated gangster noirs set in contemporary urban locations, such as A Bittersweet Life (2005).[54] See alsoGangDacoityOrganized crimeBanditryIllegal drug tradeCategory:Illegal occupationsList of crime bossesList of American mobsters of Irish descentList of Chinese criminal organizationsList of Italian American mobstersList of Jewish American mobstersList of mobsters by cityCitations Oxford English Dictionary (online edition) Taylor 2009. Kontos, Brotherton & Barrios 2003, pp. xiff. Kontos, Brotherton & Barrios 2003, pp. 42. Abadinsky 2009, p. 1. Lyman & Potter 2010, pp. 213ff. Sardell 2009. Shalamov 1998. The Rise and rise... Schwirtz 2008. Glenny 2008, p. 75. Stojarová 2007. UltraGangsteret Shqiptar. Abadinsky 2009, pp. 154–155. Ter Haar 2000, pp. 18. Ter Haar 2000, pp. 19. Mallory 2007, p. 136ff. Corkill 2011. Kaplan & Dubro 2003, pp. 18-21. English 2006, p. 13. Iorizzo 2003, p. 14. Fried 1980, p. 27. Tongs and Street Gangs. Iorizzo 2003, pp. 15ff. Field Listing... Colombia - Transnational... Gugliotta & Leen 2011, p. 1ff. Cook 2007, p. 7. Jacobson 2005, p. 40ff. High U.S. cocaine cost. Howard Abadinsky, Organized Crime, Cengage Learning, 2009, p.115 John Cobler, Capone: The Life and Times of Al Capone, Da Capo Press, 2003, p.26 Jay Robert Nash, The Great Pictorial History of World Crime, Volume 1, Rowman & Littlefield, 2004, p.503 Robert G. Folsom, The Money Trail, Potomac Books, 2010, p.231 Virgil W. Peterson, The mob: 200 years of organized crime in New York, Green Hill Publishers, 1983, p.156 Lucky Luciano | American crime boss | Britannica.com "Lucania". Dizionario d'Ortografia e di Pronunzia (in Italian). Retrieved May 25, 2019. Newark 2010, pp. xi et seq. Iorizzo 2003, pp. 23ff. Block 2004, pp. 85ff. Beeton 2005, p. 62. Talbot 1975, p. 148-149. McCarty 2004, p. 5. Hark 2007, p. 12. Hark 2007, p. 13. Soy un Delincuente. Ebert 2003. City of God. Kaplan & Dubro 2003, pp. 141-142. Nochimson 2007, p. 70. Nochimson 2011, p. 306. Reiber 2011, p. 31. Choi 2010, p. 60. Choi 2010, p. 61.ReferencesAbadinsky, Howard (2009). Organized Crime. Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-0-495-59966-1.Block, Lawrence (2004). Gangsters, swindlers, killers, and thieves: the lives and crimes of fifty American villains. Oxford University Press. p. 85. ISBN 0-19-516952-2.Borrell, Clive; Cashinella, Brian (1975). Crime in Britain today. Routledge. ISBN 0-7100-8232-0."Colombia - Transnational Issues". CIA World Factbook. CIA. Retrieved 2011-11-24.Cook, Colleen W. (2007). "Mexico's Drug Cartels" (PDF). CRS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 2009-08-09.Corkill, Edan (6 November 2011). "Ex-Tokyo cop speaks out on a life fighting gangs — and what you can do". Japan Times. Retrieved 2011-11-26."Field Listing – Illicit drugs (by country)". CIA. Archived from the original on 2010-12-29. Retrieved 2011-11-24.Glenny, Misha (2008). McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-1-4000-9512-4.Gugliotta, Guy; Leen, Jeff (2011). Kings of Cocaine: Inside the Medellín Cartel - An Astonishing True Story of Murder, Money and International Corruption. Garrett County Press. ISBN 978-1-891053-34-4.Hagedorn, John (2003). "Gangs (references)". Encyclopedia of Community. SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 517–522. ISBN 978-0-7619-2598-9."High U.S. cocaine cost shows drug war working: Mexico". Reuters. September 14, 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-01.Jacobson, Robert (2005). Illegal Drugs: America's Anguish. Thomson Gale. ISBN 1-4144-0419-0.Klebnikov, Paul (2001). Godfather of the Kremlin: The Decline of Russia in the Age of Gangster Capitalism. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0-15-601330-4.Kontos, Louis; Brotherton, David; Barrios, Luis (2003). Gangs and society: alternative perspectives. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12141-5.Lyman, Michael D.; Potter, Gary W. (2010). Drugs in Society: Causes, Concepts and Control. Elsevier. ISBN 978-1-4377-4450-7.Mallory, Stephen L. (2007). Understanding Organized Crime. Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN 978-0-7637-4108-2.Newark, Tim (2010). Lucky Luciano: the real and the fake gangster. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-60182-9.Sardell, Jason (2009). "Economic Origins of the Mafia and Patronage System in Sicily" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-11-24.Schwirtz, Michael (July 29, 2008). "Vory v Zakone has hallowed place in Russian criminal lore". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-11-26.Shalamov, Varlam (1998). "Bitch War". Essays on Criminal World (in Russian). Vagrius and Khudozhestvennaya Literatura. ISBN 5-280-03163-1.Stojarová, Věra (2007). "Organized Crime in the Western Balkans" (PDF). HUMSEC Journal (1): 91–119. Retrieved 2011-11-24.Taylor, Terrance, J. (2009-12-14). "Gangs, Peers, and Co-Offending". Oxford Bibliographies Online. Retrieved 2011-11-26.Ter Haar, B. J. (2000). Ritual & mythology of the Chinese triads: creating an identity. BRILL. ISBN 90-04-11944-2."UltraGangsteret Shqiptar". Lindja (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 2012-06-15. Retrieved 2011-11-24."The Rise and rise of the Russian mafia". BBC News. 21 November 1998. Retrieved 2011-11-26.Whiting, Robert (2000). Tokyo Underworld: The Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan. Random House Digital, Inc. ISBN 0-375-72489-3.Wright, Alan (2006). Organised crime. Taylor & Francis US. ISBN 1-84392-140-5.In the United StatesBaker, T. Lindsay (2011). Gangster Tour of Texas. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 978-1-60344-258-9.Cohen, Rich (1999). Tough Jews: Fathers, Sons, and Gangster Dreams. Random House Digital, Inc. ISBN 0-375-70547-3.English, T. J. (2006). Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-059003-3.Fried, Albert (1980). The rise and fall of the Jewish gangster in America. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-09683-6.Gardaphé, Fred L. (2006). From wiseguys to wise men: the gangster and Italian American masculinities. CRC Press. ISBN 0-415-94648-4.Hendley, Nate (2007). Bonnie and Clyde: a biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33871-7.Iorizzo, Luciano J. (2003). Al Capone: a biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-32317-8."Mob Life: Gangster Kings of Crime — slideshow". Life magazine. Retrieved 2011-11-24.Theoharis, Athan G. (1999). The FBI: a comprehensive reference guide. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-89774-991-X.Thrasher, Frederic Milton, 1892-1962. (1936). "Chicago's gangland 1923-1926". Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 2011-11-24."Tongs and Street Gangs". MafiaNJ. Retrieved 2011-11-24.Toplin, Robert B. (1996). History by Hollywood: The Use and Abuse of the American Past. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois. ISBN 0-252-06536-0.In popular cultureAnastasia, George; Macnow, Glen; Pistone, Joe (2011). The Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies: Featuring the 100 Greatest Gangster Films of All Time. Running Press. ISBN 978-0-7624-4154-9.Beeton, Sue (2005). Film-induced tourism. Channel View Publications. p. 62. ISBN 1-84541-014-9.Casillo, Robert (2006). Gangster priest: the Italian American cinema of Martin Scorsese. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-9403-1.Choi, Jinhee (2010). The South Korean film renaissance: local hitmakers, global provocateurs. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 978-0-8195-6940-0."City of God". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-11-25.Ebert, Roger (January 24, 2003). "City of God". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 2011-11-25.Hark, Ina Rae (2007). American cinema of the 1930s: themes and variations. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-4082-5.Hoppenstand, Gary (1987). "Gangster Formula". In search of the paper tiger: a sociological perspective of myth, formula, and the mystery genre in the entertainment print mass medium. Popular Press. ISBN 0-87972-356-4.Kaplan, David E.; Dubro, Alec (2003). Yakuza: Japan's criminal underworld. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21562-1.Kenna, Laura Cook (2007). Dangerous men, dangerous media: Constructing ethnicity, race, and media's impact through the gangster image, 1959--2007. The George Washington University. ISBN 978-0-549-32685-4.McCarty, John (2004). Bullets over Hollywood: the American gangster picture from the silents to The Sopranos. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81301-7.Munby, Jonathan (1999). Public enemies, public heroes: screening the gangster from Little Caesar to Touch of Evil. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-55033-8.Nochimson, Martha (2007). Dying to belong: gangster movies in Hollywood and Hong Kong. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-4051-6371-2.Nochimson, Martha P. (2011). World on Film: An Introduction. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-4443-5833-9.Reiber, Beth (2011). Frommer's Hong Kong. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-87633-6.Rubin, Rachel (2000). Jewish gangsters of modern literature. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02539-3.Ruth, David E. (1996). Inventing the public enemy: the gangster in American culture, 1918–1934. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-73218-5.Shadoian, Jack (2003). Dreams & dead ends: the American gangster film. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-514292-6."Soy un Delincuente". Allmovie. Retrieved 2011-11-25.Talbot, Daniel (1975). Film: an anthology. University of California Press.
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