"Jewish-American organized crime arose among slum kids who as prepubescents stole from pushcarts, who as adolescents extorted money from store owners, who as young adults practiced "schlamming" (wielding an iron pipe, wrapped in newspaper, against striking workers or against scabs) – until as adults they joined well-organized gangs involved in a wide variety of criminal enterprises boosted by prohibition.The lure of quick money, power, and the romance of the criminal lifestyle was attractive to both second-generation Jewish and Italian immigrants.