Introduction

A thrilling assortment of true stories involving pitiless men, who murdered in cold blood and stole millions on their way to becoming the top gangsters of their era. Men for whom the law meant nothing and the threat of prison held no fear. Gangsters who were cop-killers, ran entire neighborhoods, shunned their heritage and turned their back on the obligations of their religion, who cared for nothing, but with one glaring exception they were good to their mothers.

Often typecast as superficial, vicious men who would kill at the drop of a hat, the men featured in this book are now shown in a different light. No longer the one-dimensional persons we have seen in other books, or portrayed in the press, this book now brings to life men like the legendary Arnold Rothstein, Dutch Schultz, Bugsy Siegel, and Meyer Lansky to name a few.

Within these pages, we have an opportunity to alter our viewpoint for the first time, and see both sides of how these gangster celebrities really lived, and how they viewed their vast criminal enterprises simply as businesses, not evil.

In But He Was Good to His Mother: The Lives and Crimes of Jewish Gangsters you will be introduced to:

• Arnold Rothstein, the original organized crime mastermind.
• Irving Wexler, better known as Waxey Gordon.
• Arthur Dutch Schultz Flegenheimer, Benjamin Bugsy Siegel, and Meyer Lansky, who along with Waxey Gordon were the original New York bootlegger moguls.
• The Cleveland Four Morris Moe Dalitz, Morris Kleinman, Sam Tucker and Louis Rothkopf.
• Al Capone's strategy and financial advisor, Jack 'Greasy Thumb' Guzlik
• The 'Purple Gang' of the Detroit mob.

You'll also be introduced to the history of Jewish involvement in crime in the United States going back into the 19th century. This will include:

• The immigration of German Jews to increase the population and the early crime history of the mid-1800s.
• The perils and pitfalls of the gangster life (including humorous incidents).
• The 'hit parade' of murderous contract and personal killings, mostly among their own circle by professional 'hit men'.
• The rigid family code of ethics that influenced even the worst among the gangsters.
• How some of these gangsters used their power to protect the Jewish community from attacks by others.

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