Meyer (1908–1931), Irving (1904–1931) and Willie Shapiro (1911–1934), collectively known as the Shapiro Brothers, were the leaders of a group of
Jewish-American mobsters from
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 ...
and based in
Williamsburg. Well established in the local garment industry, long dominated by
Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro and
Louis "Lepke" Buchalter since the 1927 death of
Jacob "Little Augie" Orgen, the two began to move against them in the summer of 1931.
As the two sides battled for the garment industry in Brooklyn, Irving and Meyer were killed by
Joseph
Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
and
Louis Amberg; Irving was gunned down near his apartment on July 11, and Meyer was found shot to death in the basement of a tenement building on Manhattan's
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 ...
on September 17, 1931. On orders from Buchalter, Willie was killed by
Murder, Inc. members
Martin "Bugsy" Goldstein and
Abe "Kid Twist" Reles, supposedly buried alive in a sandpit in the marshland of
Canarsie
Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin, East 108th Street, and Louisiana Avenue; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on th ...
by Reles, the Amberg brothers,
Frank Abbandando and
Harry Maione, on the night of July 20, 1934.
Reles implicated Buchalter in the murders during talks with District Attorney
William O'Dwyer after agreeing to become a government informant in 1941. His later testimony resulted in the convictions of Buchalter and the rest of Murder, Inc., who were all sentenced to death.
References
*Sifakis, Carl. ''The Encyclopedia of American Crime'': Second Edition Vol. II (K–Z). New York: Facts On File Inc., 2001.
Further reading
*Downey, Patrick. ''Gangster City: The History of the New York Underworld 1900–1935'', Barricade Books 2004, 2009
External links
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{{Murder, Incorporated
Murdered Jewish American gangsters
Murdered American gangsters
Jewish American gangsters
People murdered by Murder, Inc.
Deaths by firearm in Manhattan
Premature burials
People murdered in New York City
20th-century American Jews