Jewish gangsters rode organized crime out of the ghetto to a
life of violence and crime. Jewish gangsters played a definitive
role in organized crime in the 1920s and '30s. The government's
attempts to regulate morality during this period, most notably
Prohibition, created an active underground trade in alcohol,
narcotics, prostitution and gambling. The Depression made the
economic promise of illegal activity especially appealing. These
circumstances provided motive and opportunity that proved
irresistible to some young Jewish men, typically second
generation Americans, who were struggling to find their way out
of the ghettoes of the Lower East Side, Brownsville, or Boyle
Heights. Interestingly, among Jews, organized crime was not a
family business; it was typically a single generation
phenomenon. Jewish gangsters sought to keep their illegal
activities secret from their families. Some managed to gain
recognition in the Jewish community for local charitable
contributions and support (both monetary and militar