For some reason, it is assumed that in the Jewish nation, all men are scientists, teachers, mathematicians, or businessmen and bankers. This is certainly true. The children of Israel, scattered all over the globe, strive for knowledge a bit more than other nations. However, history remembers not only the great discoveries made by the Jews. Harsh living conditions often pushed Jews onto the criminal path.
In this article, we will talk about the most famous and significant criminals belonging to the Jewish nation, juxtaposing the complexity of human nature with unexpected facets, much like the diverse offerings found at WantedWin7, where fortunes are tested and tales unfold. So let’s start from the beginning…
SONYA THE GOLDEN KNOB (1846-1902)
Born Sheindl-Sura Leibovna Solomoniac, but better known as Sophia Blewstein (the name of her last husband, a card cheat) was born in 1846 in Powoezki, Warsaw province.
As a child she received a good education and spoke several foreign languages. But the main weapon of Sonia was incredible artistry and the ability to reincarnate.
Having chosen the life of a swindler, Sophia from a young age stole and fraudulently robbed everyone in a row. She reincarnated, changed her appearance, used different names and travelled to cities in Russia and Europe. Moneylenders, jewellers, manufacturers, doctors and nobles – an endless list of robbed wealthy people had in the arsenal of Sonia when she was imprisoned for the first time, in 1880, caught for fraud in Odessa.
She was sent into exile in Siberia, but after 5 years, the Golden Hand made a successful escape and returned to her usual life as a thief. And a few months later, she was caught again, in Smolensk. Then Sophia was sentenced to three years of penal servitude, but was not sent there in time. She managed to escape from Smolensk prison, together with the warden, whom she seduced.
The series of crimes finally stopped in 1888, when caught Sophia Blyuvshtein, a steamer from Odessa sent to Sakhalin. The restless swindler twice tried to escape from there too, then she was shackled and subjected to constant corporal punishment. This is how she was found by A.P. Chekhov, who wrote a book about her.
Sofia Bluvshtein died in 1902 on Sakhalin.
Today, in Moscow, in the Vagankovsky cemetery, there is a grave attributed to her.
There are always flowers and coins left there by many people, paying tribute to one of the most notable thieves in history.
JAPANIC MISCHKA (1891-1919)
Moishe-Yakov Vinnitsky was born in 1891 in Odessa.In 1905, Mishka Yaponchik, nicknamed Mishka Yaponchik because of his slanted eyes, joined a detachment of anarchists formed to defend the Moldavanka district from Jewish pogroms.
In 1907, for the murder of the police officer, Mishka was sentenced to 12 years of hard labour, but in 1917, having fallen under the amnesty he was released.
Returning to his native Odessa, Mishka formed a large gang of raiders from among his Jewish friends from Moldovanka.
He became the storm of Odessa, where his gang robbed shops and casinos.
Mishka Yaponchik was probably the first to invent a system, which was later called “roofing” and “racket”. Taking advantage of his fame as a raider, he would turn up at rich people from among the bourgeoisie and offer them a quiet life and no robberies, if they would voluntarily pay him a systematic tribute.
Thus, he took over Odessa, where he bought the most luxurious restaurant, casino and brothel. Mishka Yaponchik’s gang lived a life of fun and luxury, but the political turmoil of those years forced him to create his own anarchist movement. Having joined the Bolsheviks, Mishka Yaponchik’s gang was transformed into a regiment, which included militant anarchists in addition to criminals and bandits.
In 1919 Mishka Yaponchik’s regiment was sent against Petliura. Having organized a lavish send-off with the usual party, only 700 out of 2200 men went to the battle. On the battlefield, the criminals scattered, after which the gang seized a passenger train and traveled back to Odessa. On the way, the train was stopped by Red Army soldiers. Mishka Yaponchik was killed and the remnants of his gang scattered.
Until today Mishka Yaponchik is the standard of Odessa gangsters of Jewish origin. Many songs and books have been written, and films and TV series have been shot on his prototype. And the lingo used by his gang became the basis for today’s prison slang.
ARNOLD ROTHSTEIN (1882-1928)
Arnold Rothstein, nicknamed “The Brain,” was born in 1882 in New York City, the son of a wealthy Jewish businessman. From childhood, he had a predilection for mathematics and gambling.
In 1910 he opened his first casino in Manhattan and within 10 years became a multimillionaire and owner of many nightclubs, casinos, and brothels.
Arnold Rothstein was able to transform street hooligans into a real corporation engaged in illegal business. The underworld of those years called him “King of New York” and “Moses of Jewish gangsters.”
It was Rothstein who, with the announcement of Prohibition in the United States, was the first to see that it was possible to make good money. The most prominent gangsters in the United States, and not only Jews, began their careers in his gang. Under the leadership of Rothstein were Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Segal, Louis Lepke, Frank Costello, and Lucky Luciano.
In 1928, when Albert Rothstein was at the height of his career, he was shot and killed at the Sheraton Hotel. There were two suspects, his Irish debtor and Jewish gangster Dutch Schultz, who had a personal score to settle with the murdered man. But neither one nor the other was proven guilty and they themselves did not confess to what they had done.
MEYER LANSKY (1902-1983)
Perhaps the most influential Jewish gangster on the world stage in history. Meyer Sukhovlansky was born in 1902 in the Russian town of Grodno (now Belarus). His nickname was “The Mafia Accountant”, and as a child, his friends called him “The Counting Machine”, for his incredibly fast counting speed in his mind.
In 1911, he moved with his family to New York City. Meyer from childhood was in the circle of bullies and being still a schoolboy once snatched from Lucky Luciano, who was stronger and older by 5 years. The Italian took money from Meyer and beat him, but Meyer did not forgive this and caught up with the offender in a dark alley and hit him on the head with a cobblestone, thus showing that he would not let himself be offended.
That was the beginning of their friendship, which lasted a lifetime and made a revolution in the criminal world of the United States. In those days in America territory was divided by the three largest mafia – Italian, Jewish and Irish. Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano together with their friends, Bugsy Segal and Frank Castello, were able to join forces and create the world’s most powerful “crime syndicate”, which had its own hierarchy, laws, killers, huge capital and incredible connections.
Meyer Lansky has always been noted for his intelligence and ingenuity. When their gang got into bootlegging, Meyer was in charge of supplying whiskey from Canada. He ended up buying 17 million gallons of whiskey and selling 49 million gallons. Meyer achieved this result by buying up medical alcohol, mixing it with whiskey, diluting it with water and dye, and getting many times more of the drink.
After the repeal of Prohibition, Meyer went into the gambling business, where he also applied his formulas of gambling, which still work in the gambling business today. His casino hotels were the most fashionable in the world and were located not only in the United States, but also in Cuba, the Bahamas and London.
In 1947 Meyer Lansky smuggled large quantities of weapons from US ports to Haifa, supporting the creation of the State of Israel. When in 1948 the establishment of the Jewish state was proclaimed, Meyer transferred a significant portion of his personal funds to the treasury of the new country and after that, a share of all his enormous income was transferred monthly to help the state of Israel. Golda Meir often thanked him for his help.
Meyer Lansky was the initiator of the coup d’état in Cuba and brought Batista to power, who gave him every opportunity to build casinos. Cuba’s entertainment industry was owned by Meyer Lansky until Fidel Castro came to power, who closed all the gambling houses.
Meyer Lansky was one of the leaders of the U.S. crime syndicate, which included not only the Five Families of the Italian Mafia of New York, but also such notables as Al Capone, Jewish and Italian gangsters, various African-American, Polish and Irish gangs.