Samuel Levine

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Samuel Levine
Mugshot of Samuel "Red" Levine
Born	1903 Toledo, Ohio, USA
Nationality	American
Other names	Red, Joseph Brown
Occupation	Organized crime
Religious beliefs	Jewish

Samuel "Red" Levine (b. 1903) was an American mobster, one of the more colorful characters of New York's underworld. Born in Toledo, Ohio, Levine’s family moved to Houston St. on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. when he was a child. As a youngster, he acquired the nickname "Red" due to his red hair.

Surprisingly little is known about Sam Levine, however what is known is that Levine (or Joseph Brown) was an Orthodox Jewish, syndicate hitman who refused to kill on the Sabbath. He was deeply religious and always wore a yarmulke under his fedora. However, if he had no choice and had to make a hit on a Friday evening or on a Saturday, he would put on the talith over his shoulders and pray.

Levine was a member of the notorious Mafia gang, Murder, Inc., and is credited with being the trigger man, with Dutch Schultz lieutenant Abraham "Bo" Weinberg, in the 1931 murders of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and, along with Joe Adonis, Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, of Salvatore Maranzano.

Red Levine had a longstanding rivalry with fellow Murder Inc hitman, Charles "The Bug" Workman. He was irritated that the greedy Workman took most of the murder contracts which would have otherwise been handed over to him. In his court testimony, Abe Reles recalled that Levine once complained to him that "any time I've got a contract Charlie is around to do the killing".

Levine was one of the three hitmen sent by Meyer Lansky to assassinate the Sicilian mafia boss Salvatore Maranzano in his office. They managed to enter by posing as police detectives. Once inside his office on the 9th floor of The Helmsley Building, they disarmed Maranzano's guards. The four men then shot and stabbed Salvatore Maranzano to death.

There is no mention of him when most of the Murder Inc and their surrounding factions were rounded up and successfully prosecuted by the end of 1940. He simply faded into the background and was never heard from again at some undetermined point.

He was portrayed by Paul Bruce in the original The Untouchables television series.

[edit] References

Rockaway, Robert A. (2000) in But He Was Good To His Mother: The Lives of Jewish Gangsters. Gefen Publishing House, Ltd. pp. 154 ISBN 965-229-249-4
Cohen, Rich (1999) Tough Jews : Fathers, Sons, and Gangster Dreams Vintage Press. ISBN 0-375-70547-3