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Arnold “The Brain” Rothstein (1882-1928) was the pioneer of organized crime in the United States. Born in NYC, he was the son of a respected, middle-class Jewish merchant The elder Rothstein was versed in religious and Hebrew classical literature. Rothstein in the 1920’s put together the largest gambling empire in the United States and controlled most of the gangs in New York, as well as that city’s traffic in bootlegging, narcotics, and gambling.Rothstein attempted to bring order to the extreme competition prevailing in the bootlegging business ( Illegally obtaining and selling liquor during the prohibition era). He supplied money, manpower, and protection; and if things went wrong, he was ready to provide bail and attorneys. On his PAYROLL at one time or another were gangsters such as Waxey Gordon, Jack “Legs” Diamond, Lepke Buchalter, 🇮🇹Albert Anastasia and 🇮🇹Frank Costello (who later rose to become a “boss” of the mob)So successful was Rothstein in organizing criminal enterprises and staying out of jail, that Damon Runyon dubbed him “The Brain.” Rothstein’s life of crime, for which he never spent a day in jail, ended when he was shot to death in New York’s Park Central Hotel.https://t.me/LauraAbolichannel