John Factor
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John Factor (October 8, 1892 – January 22, 1984), born Iakov Faktorowicz and widely known as Jake "The Barber" Factor, was a
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
-era
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 ...
and
con artist A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibi ...
affiliated with the
Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or the Organization, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family based in Chicago, I ...
.


Biography

Factor was born Iakov Faktorowicz on October 8, 1892, in
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
,
Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...
, to Avrum (Abraham) Iakov Faktorowicz and his wife, Leah. His father was a
rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
, and he had one sibling, a sister, Dena. His family left Poland before the Bolshevik revolution and refused to register for citizenship in Stalin's USSR, thus forfeiting their Russian citizenship and leaving them stateless. Like his more-famous older half-brother,
Max Factor Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Maksymilian Faktorowicz. Max Factor specialized in movie make-up. Until its 1973 sale for US$500 million (approximately $ billion in 2017 dollars), Max Fa ...
, he had trained at an early age in haircare, which led to his mob nickname "Jake the Barber". The family emigrated to the United States in 1906.Steamship Passenger List, S/S ''Haverford'', March 1906. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8769/images/PAT840_51-0429?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=acbc7a0d5a4b9da254886b4dd33606b3&usePUB=true&_phsrc=hYI2221&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.22435643.1498679909.1612451459-1093218731.1597084329&pId=524554 They joined his elder brother, Nathan, in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
. In 1926, Factor perpetrated a massive stock fraud in England that netted $8 million (). Some of his victims were members of the
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. He subsequently fled to
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and executed another major scam, rigging the tables at the
Monte Carlo Casino The Monte Carlo Casino, officially named Casino de Monte-Carlo, is a gambling and entertainment complex located in Monaco. It includes a casino, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the office of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. The Casino de Monte-Carlo ...
and breaking the bank. He then returned to the United States. While in the United States, he was tried and sentenced ''
in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...
'' in England to 24 years in prison. He fought extradition all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard oral argument on April 18, 1933. Factor's son, Jerome, was kidnapped the same day, and some believe this was staged. Eight days later, Factor himself and several members of the
Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or the Organization, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family based in Chicago, I ...
(with whom Factor was associated) saw Jerome in a car. They gave chase and freed him, while the kidnappers got away. Again, some believe this was staged. As Factor was trying to free his son, the Supreme Court held the case over for reargument on October 9. Some claim that, fearing he would lose the case, Factor had himself "kidnapped" on June 30, 1933. Factor reappeared on July 12, and his family claimed they had given the kidnappers a $50,000 ransom. The FBI believed Jerome's kidnapping was genuine and that the pending extradition made Factor avoid contact with law enforcement. They believe this avoidance was the reason Touhy chose him as the second kidnap victim. This time, however, the kidnapping was reported and had to be investigated. When found, Factor had been burned and beaten. Some claim Factor, working closely with the Chicago Outfit and corrupt local law enforcement, framed local Irish mob boss and Outfit mortal enemy Roger Touhy for the kidnapping. Touhy was tried for the kidnapping. The jury in the first trial was dismissed before reaching a verdict. The second jury convicted him, and Touhy lost his case on appeal. On his release from jail, Touhy published a book claiming the kidnappings were faked and he had been jailed unjustly. Factor sued him, his publisher, his printer and his
ghostwriter A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...
. The case was dismissed because Factor was discovered to have been a stateless person when he filed the case, and thus unable to sue. Factor lost his extradition battle when, on December 4, 1933. The Supreme Court held in that Factor should be turned over to British authorities. He was taken into custody on April 17, 1934. On June 27, 1934 Factor's wife, Rella, then asked a U.S. federal district court to dismiss the extradition on the grounds that Factor had been held for longer than the two months permitted for extradition proceedings under U.S. law. The
United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...
, acting on a request by local law enforcement, intervened in the case, asking the court to release Factor because he might be needed as a witness in further legal proceedings against Touhy. The Secretary of State declined to exercise his discretion under the law to
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the case. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Factor released and extradition proceedings quashed in Factor was convicted of mail fraud in 1942, and served six years of a 10-year sentence. In 1955, Factor took over the running of the Stardust Hotel on the
Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...
, allegedly as a front man for the Chicago Outfit. He sold the hotel for $7 million in either 1962 or 1963. It is alleged that when Factor ran the casino, it made between $50–$200 million. He was also involved in an attempt to bail out
Jimmy Hoffa James Riddle Hoffa (; born February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975, declared dead July 30, 1982) was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1957 to 1971. He i ...
from his real-estate related financial problems. Factor became politically and philanthropically active, and was the largest donor to
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
's 1960 presidential campaign. In late 1962, Factor was again scheduled to be deported to the United Kingdom but received a presidential pardon. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1963. He became a major contributor to the gubernatorial campaigns of
Pat Brown Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he ...
in California. Brown later called him a close friend. He lived his later years in Los Angeles, where he made large charitable contributions to enhance the lives of inner city children. Factor died from a long, undisclosed illness on January 22, 1984, and was interred at the
Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematorium, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries ...
in Los Angeles.


See also

*
List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States #REDIRECT List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States {{R from move ...


References


Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Factor, John 1892 births 20th-century American Jews 1984 deaths American confidence tricksters American people of Polish-Jewish descent British emigrants to the United States Chicago Outfit mobsters American gangsters of the interwar period Formerly missing people Jewish American gangsters People convicted in absentia People pardoned by John F. Kennedy