Joe Pesci, left, and Robert De Niro star in Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman.” (Netflix)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Even if the significant digital de-aging of the actors involved is a bit distracting, the film\u2019s good reviews hold up thanks in large part to its legendary director and cast \u2014 Scorsese and none other than Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino.<\/p>\n
Making a very brief appearance in the mafia madness? Jewish mobsters.<\/p>\n
The 3 1\/2-hour story follows Frank Sheeran (De Niro), who becomes a hitman for the Bufalino crime family, led by Russel Bufalino (Pesci), and spends time working for union leader Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino).
Whispers also tells Sheeran that Cadillac Linen is owned by \u201ca bunch of Jews,\u201d hands Sheeran an envelope of cash and says, \u201cLet them collect their insurance, which I\u2019m sure they have plenty, and leave this f***ing other place alone, the one I\u2019m involved in.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Sheeran is spotted scouting out Cadillac Linen Services, and he\u2019s called in to talk to another mobster, Angelo Bruno (Harvey Keitel). It turns out that the laundry is owned not only by the Jewish mob, but also by Bruno and his Italian gangsters. Bufalino vouches for him, saving Sheeran\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
To atone, Sheeran is ordered to kill Whispers. Sheeran becomes indebted to Bufalino, and the subsequent killing is Sheeran\u2019s first murder of \u201cThe Irishman,\u201d setting him on a path for the rest of the film.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhispers didn\u2019t tell you it was Jew mob?\u201d Bruno asks.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Jew washerwomen,\u201d Sheeran replies.<\/p>\n
So who exactly is the \u201cJew mob\u201d referenced here?<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s turn to the book on which the film was based. The real Frank Sheeran recounts in \u201cI Heard You Paint Houses,\u201d the source material for \u201cThe Irishman,\u201d that two Jewish mobsters did in fact own Cadillac Linen Services: Cappy Hoffman and Woody Weisman.<\/p>\n
But Weisman may actually have been named Max \u201cWillie\u201d Weisberg. In a self-published book, \u201cIzzy: A Life Inside the Old Philadelphia Jew Mob,\u201d a Jewish mobster\u2019s nephew writes that Cadillac Linen is really run by a man named Willie Weisberg.<\/p>\n
Samuel \u201cCappy\u201d Hoffman, meanwhile, was called \u201cthe vice king\u201d of Atlantic City. He died in 1970 at the age of 65. Between 1923 and 1962, he was arrested 23 times.<\/p>\n
Weisberg was the \u201cchief lieutenant\u201d for a prominent mob boss named Harry Stromberg, known as Nig Rosen, based out of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
According to a 1950 U.S. Congress investigation into organized crime in interstate commerce, Hoffman and Weisberg were Stromberg\u2019s first and second in command. It makes sense that they would control a corrupt laundry that serviced Atlantic City \u2014 Rosen\u2019s influence extended to the South Jersey site, as well as Baltimore and Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
Whether or not this incident truly happened as \u201cThe Irishman\u201d recounts \u2014 an attempted burning of a laundry, followed by a murder \u2014 we\u2019ll probably never know. What we do know: Jewish mobsters certainly existed. Jewish-American organized crime reached its heights during the 1920s and \u201930s and largely declined after World War II.<\/p>\n
And while \u201cThe Irishman\u201d does not get into it because many were in power before the film was set, New York was home to many famous Jewish mobsters. Here are some highlights:<\/p>\n
* J. Edgar Hoover called Louis \u201cLepke\u201d Buchalter the \u201cmost dangerous criminal in the United States.\u201d In 1932, Lepke helped organize the group known as \u201cMurder, Inc.,\u201d bringing together a wide-ranging group of Jewish and Italian crime bosses. He was sentenced to death \u2014 the only mob boss to receive the death penalty \u2014 and executed in 1944.<\/p>\n
* Arnold \u201cThe Brain\u201d Rothstein was best known for fixing the 1919 baseball World Series and being depicted in \u201cThe Great Gatsby\u201d as Meyer Wolfsheim for that same act. Rothstein put together the largest gambling empire in the U.S. during the 1920s, realizing business opportunities during Prohibition. He was murdered in 1928 at age 46.<\/p>\n
* Meyer Lansky (born Meier Suchowla\u0144ski in Poland) ran a wide gambling network and helped develop the National Crime Syndicate. He tried to retire in Israel in 1970, but his citizenship application was rejected because he was a \u201cdanger to public safety.\u201d He died of natural causes in 1983. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency in its obituary called Lansky \u201can acknowledged financial wizard and one-time reputed czar of organized crime in the U.S. and many points overseas.\u201d<\/p>\n
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