Abraham Weinberg
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Abraham "Bo" Weinberg (1897 - September 9, 1935?) was a Russian-born New York mobster who became a hitman and chief lieutenant for the Prohibition-era gang boss Dutch Schultz.
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[edit] Criminal career
As Schultz expanded his bootlegging operations into Manhattan during Prohibition, he recruited Abe Weinberg and his brother George into his gang. Abe Weinberg would become one of Schultz's top gunmen during the Manhattan Bootleg Wars and was a later suspect in the high-profile gangland slayings of Jack "Legs" Diamond, Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, and mob boss Salvatore Maranzano.
In 1933, Schultz was indicted for tax evasion. Rather than face the charges, Shultz went into hiding and Abe Weinberg assumed control of his criminal operations. When Schultz returned from hiding, he became suspicious of Weinberg. It was that rumored that Weinberg had been secretly negotiating with mob boss Lucky Luciano and Murder, Inc. boss Louis Buchalter to retain control of the Schultz organization. On September 9, 1935, Bo Weinberg left a Midtown Manhattan nightclub and was never seen again. The rumors were that Schultz planted Weinberg's feet in a tub of cement and him dumped alive into the East River.
[edit] In popular culture
Bo Weinberg would be portrayed in the following films:
- Billy Bathgate1991 by Bruce Willis (in which the cement shoes drowning was dramatized).
- Gangster Wars 1981 by Dana Goldstone
- Hit the Dutchman 1991 by Matt Servito
- Hoodlum 1997 by Joe Guzaldo
[edit] Further reading
- Lacey, Robert. Little Man: Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life. London: Century, 1991. ISBN 0-7126-2426-0
