Benjamin "Dopey Benny" Fein (c. 1889–1962) was an early

Jewish American American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi, 3% id ...

gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

who dominated New York labor

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercion, coercive, fraud, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. ...

in the 1910s. With a criminal record dating back to 1900, Fein's arrest record included thirty charges from petty theft and assault to grand larceny and murder (of which he was acquitted twice due to lack of evidence). Fein was nicknamed "Dopey Benny" because of his eyes always being halfway-closed due to a medical condition.

Biography

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1889, Fein grew up in a poor neighborhood on

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

becoming a petty thief and

pickpocket Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for Misdirection (magic ...

as a child. A talented organizer, Fein had formed his own gang of robbers in 1905, and during the next 5 years Fein was sent to Elmira Reformatory several times, including serving years for

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

. Soon after his release in 1910 Fein joined "Big" Jack Zelig's organization, soon becoming involved in

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

of the Garment District. Fein also used his gang as labor sluggers, renting his gang out to either unions or companies, dominating much of New York's East Side eventually earning $20,000 a year. In 1913 several minor labor slugger gangs formed to break the monopoly held by Fein and rival

Joseph Rosenzweig Joseph "Joe The Greaser" Rosenzweig (17 April 1890 – ), also known as Joe Rosen, was an American New York City Racket (crime), labor racketeer in the early 1900s as an ally of Benjamin Fein, "Dopey" Benny Fein during the Labor Slugger Wars (1914� ...

in which a large shootout took place on Grand Street and Forsyth Street lasting several hours, although few were killed, beginning the New York Labor slugger war that would last almost four years. Arrested for

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

in 1914, Fein agreed to testify against several members involved in labor slugging when his political connections refused to help Fein resulting in the indictments of eleven gangsters and 21 union officials; however, none would be brought to trial. That same year Fein was again arrested for the murder of court clerk Frederick Strauss, who was killed in the crossfire during a shootout near St. Mark's Place; however, he was later released when witnesses could not identify Fein at the scene. In 1915, Fein was arrested again and convicted on a murder charge. After his release in 1917 for the labor slugging related murder two years earlier, Fein's power had declined and by the end of the gang war, with Rosenzweig in prison for

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

, Fein decided to retire, becoming a successful garment businessman. In July 1931, appearing in court for the first time in thirteen years, Fein was arraigned at Essex Market Court on felonious assault charges along with Samuel Hirsch and Samuel Rubin after throwing acid on local Brooklyn businessman Mortimer Kahn. In 1941, Fein was arrested by detectives in a police raid ordered by District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey during which mobsters Abraham Cohen, John Ferraro and two Dallas businessmen, Herman Fogel and Samuel Klein, were also taken into custody after purchasing a recently stolen garment shipment valued at $10,000. He and Cohen were named as the ringleaders of a criminal gang that from armed robbery and burglary, took in an estimated $250,000 over a three-year period raiding the city's garment industry. Held in

The Tombs The Tombs was the colloquial name for Manhattan Detention Complex (formerly the Bernard B. Kerik Complex during 2001–2006), a former municipal jail at 125 White Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It was also the nickname for three prev ...

until their trial, Fein was spared a mandatory life sentence for fourth-time offenders and instead received a reduced sentence of ten to twenty years, disappearing from public records sometime after.

References

External links

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Six For Five blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fein, Benjamin 1880s births 1962 deaths American male criminals American people with disabilities Jewish American gangsters American people acquitted of murder Year of birth uncertain Gangsters from New York City

Biography

References

Further reading

External links