Hyman Holtz
Encyclopedia
Hyman "Curly" Holtz also known as Hyman "Little Hymie" Holtz, was a New York labor racketeer who began working as a labor slugger for Jacob "Little Augie" Orgen
during the early 1920s.
However, as many of the younger members within the organization, Hyman grew disenchanted serving under Orgen, especially for his involvement in narcotics. Without consenting his lieutenants, Orgen accepted a $50,000 payoff to support a boss painter's association to settle the striking workers in the painting industry and, when Orgen refused a request to return the money, Hymen was one of the younger members soon left the organization with Buchalter and later aligning himself with Buchalter after his split from Orgen.
In 1927, upon taking control of the International Brotherhood of Painters Flatbush-based Local 102 from Jacob "The Bum" Wellner in Brooklyn, came into conflict with Arnold Rothstein
who had been hired by an employers association under the "John T. Nolan Agency", headed by Jacob "Little Augie" Orgen
and Rothstein bodyguards Eddie and Jack "Legs" Diamond to break up union activities after workers went on strike.
A protege of Louis "Lepke" Buchalter
, he is suspected to have been with Buchalter and Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro
when Organ was gunned down in a drive by shooting on October 15, 1927.
A little more than a month later, he and associate Benjamin Weinstein were both injured in a drive by shooting while standing at the corner of Mount Eden and Townsend Avenues on November 19. Assigned a police guard of fifteen detectives, he was eventually moved from Fordham Hospital to Morrisania Court for his arraignment on charges for technical assault which was later dismissed, however he would be detained on a bench warrant regarding charges of robbery.
An associate of Meyer Lansky
, he was in attendance at the Franconia Hotel Conference on November 11, 1931. One of his men, Louis Cohen
, was killed in 1939 by members of Murder Inc. after serving a 15 year prison sentence for the murder of "Kid Dropper" Nathan Kaplan
.
He would eventually become involved in Butchaler's drug trafficking operations, which shipments reportedly worth $10 million, running heroin and morphine into the United States from China with Yasha Katzenberg. His body was later found dumped in the East River, stabbed to death by members of Murder Inc., on orders from Buchalter who suspected Holtz had been skimming from the narcotics operation.
Jacob Orgen
Jacob "Little Augie" Orgen was a New York gangster involved in bootlegging and labor racketeering during Prohibition.-Biography:...
during the early 1920s.
However, as many of the younger members within the organization, Hyman grew disenchanted serving under Orgen, especially for his involvement in narcotics. Without consenting his lieutenants, Orgen accepted a $50,000 payoff to support a boss painter's association to settle the striking workers in the painting industry and, when Orgen refused a request to return the money, Hymen was one of the younger members soon left the organization with Buchalter and later aligning himself with Buchalter after his split from Orgen.
In 1927, upon taking control of the International Brotherhood of Painters Flatbush-based Local 102 from Jacob "The Bum" Wellner in Brooklyn, came into conflict with Arnold Rothstein
Arnold Rothstein
Arnold Rothstein , nicknamed "The Brain", was a New York businessman and gambler who became a famous kingpin of the Jewish mafia. Rothstein was also widely reputed to have been behind baseball's Black Sox Scandal, in which the 1919 World Series was fixed...
who had been hired by an employers association under the "John T. Nolan Agency", headed by Jacob "Little Augie" Orgen
Jacob Orgen
Jacob "Little Augie" Orgen was a New York gangster involved in bootlegging and labor racketeering during Prohibition.-Biography:...
and Rothstein bodyguards Eddie and Jack "Legs" Diamond to break up union activities after workers went on strike.
A protege of Louis "Lepke" Buchalter
Louis Buchalter
Louis "Lepke" Buchalter was a Jewish American mobster and head of the Mafia hit squad Murder, Inc. during the 1930s. After Dutch Schultz' request of the Mafia Commission for permission to kill his enemy, U.S. Attorney Thomas Dewey, the Commission decided to kill Schultz in order to prevent the hit...
, he is suspected to have been with Buchalter and Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro
Jacob Shapiro
Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro was a New York mobster who, with his partner Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, controlled industrial labor racketeering in New York for two decades and established the Murder, Inc. organization.-Early years:...
when Organ was gunned down in a drive by shooting on October 15, 1927.
A little more than a month later, he and associate Benjamin Weinstein were both injured in a drive by shooting while standing at the corner of Mount Eden and Townsend Avenues on November 19. Assigned a police guard of fifteen detectives, he was eventually moved from Fordham Hospital to Morrisania Court for his arraignment on charges for technical assault which was later dismissed, however he would be detained on a bench warrant regarding charges of robbery.
An associate of Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky , known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a Polish-born American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States...
, he was in attendance at the Franconia Hotel Conference on November 11, 1931. One of his men, Louis Cohen
Louis Cohen
Louis Cohen was a New York mobster who murdered labor racketeer "Kid Dropper" Nathan Kaplan and was an associate of labor racketeer Louis "Lepke" Buchalter...
, was killed in 1939 by members of Murder Inc. after serving a 15 year prison sentence for the murder of "Kid Dropper" Nathan Kaplan
Nathan Kaplan
"Kid Dropper" Nathan Caplin or Kaplan , also known as Jack the Dropper, was an American gangster controlling labor racketeering and extortion in New York City during the post-World War I period into the early years of Prohibition in the early 1920s.-Biography:One of seven children, Kaplan was born...
.
He would eventually become involved in Butchaler's drug trafficking operations, which shipments reportedly worth $10 million, running heroin and morphine into the United States from China with Yasha Katzenberg. His body was later found dumped in the East River, stabbed to death by members of Murder Inc., on orders from Buchalter who suspected Holtz had been skimming from the narcotics operation.
Further reading
- Cohen, Rich. Tough Jews: Fathers, Sons, and Gangster Dreams. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. ISBN 0-684-83115-5
- Messick, Hank. Lansky. London: Robert Hale & Company, 1973. ISBN 0-7091-3966-7
- Pietrusza, David. Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003. ISBN 0-7867-1250-3