Herman Rosenthal

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HERMAN ROSENTHALHe was thoroughly unlikeable ; mean and snarky, and he would swindle his own mother

if it would earn him a few bucks. Yet the murder of small-time gambler Herman Rosenthal

ignited a firestorm in the New York City press, which resulted in New York City Police Lieut.Charles Becker being unjustly fried in Sing Sing s electric chair.Herman Rosenthal was a runt of a man who was born in Russia and immigrated to the

United States with his parents when he was 5 years old. They settled in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, which, in the late 1800s, was a conglomeration of hard-working immigrants,featuring the lowest common denominator of thieves, crooks, cheats, gamblers, and murderers.Rosenthals parents were Jewish, but there is no evidence th at Rosenthal ever set foot in a Jewishtemple after his tumultuous teenage years began. At the age of 14, Rosenthal eschewed school,and began running with one of the many local street gangs. He stole from pushcarts and pickedthe pockets of drunks, and performed whatever schemes corruptible kids from that era did toamuse themselves.

Despite his size (he was 5-foot-3-inches), Rosenthal was a competent street fighter, andgained a reputation as someone who could handle himself in a pinch. (A friend once said of Rosenthal, He was mighty fast on his feet and he could hit hard.)

To earn a meager living, Rosenthal sold newspapers on the Manhattan side of theBrooklyn Bridge. However, the money he earned selling newspapers was peanuts compared towhat Rosenthal envisioned as proper remuneration for a man of his guile, and what heconsidered to be his superior intellect. Invariably, Rosenthal gravitated to the money and in theLower East Side of Manhattan at the turn of the century that usually led to a poolro om. Thatswhere Rosenthal met Big Tim Sullivan the Political Prince of the Lower East Side, who had asmany scruples as a bald-headed eagle has hair.

Because of his spunk and willingness to mix it up when necessary - and also becauseSullivan knew that smart Jew boys like Rosenthal represented a huge votin g block on theLower East Side -Big Tim got Little Herman Rosenthal a job of sorts as a numbers runner for adowntown poolroom. Rosenthal soon graduated to working from a back room in the poolroom -taking bets, both in person, and by code over the phone.

In 1897, Rosenthal married the lovely Dora Gilbert and they became partners in theprofession of Dora s choice: the business of prostitution. Quite simply, Dora did her best work on her back in their West 40 th Street apartment bedroom, while Rosenthal stood guard outsidethe bedroom door to make sure the visitors behaved themselves and didnt quibble over the price ,or the performance. In time, Dora, to give her customers a choice, employed two other girls andRosenthal became their pimp, too.

Things were going quite well for Rosenthal in the early 1900s when Dora decided to giveRosenthal the gate. Dora divorced Herman, and she used the money she had saved from her sexbusiness to open up a legitimate boardinghouse: no johns need apply. This, in effect, leftRosenthal without a job, and since unemployment insurance had not yet been invented,Rosenthal went back to Big Tim Sullivan with his hat in his hand.

Big Tim, still fond of Little Herman, got Rosenthal a job as the proprietor of a smallLower East Side craps game. Rosenthal did so well for Sullivan in the endeavor, Big Timprocured Rosenthal a prestigious gig as a bookmaker in a storefront in Far Rockaway, Queens,which was the last stop on the New York City subway transit system. Riding the subway daily


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gave Rosenthal plenty of time to think, and he thought about the day when he would become abig shot himself.

As a result of Rosenthals guile and Big Tims conne ctions, Rosenthal moved up theunderworld gambling ladder one step at a time. He eventually became the manager of theprestigious Hesper Club, located on 111 Second Avenue and owned by Big Tim Sullivans

brother, Patrick. The private Hesper Club was famous for its full casino: roulette wheel and crapstables and also a back-room poker game which attracted some of the most illustrious gamblers intown. The gamblers included respected judges, assistant district attorneys and a few mid-to-high-level government employees. The Hesper Club was a club where you obtained membership only

by the recommendation of other members. Big Tim was so intent on his brother Patricks privateclub thriving, Big Tim even penned a flowery letter, which was framed and placed inside theclub next to the front door.

The letter, dated April 30, 1903, and addressed to then-Hesper president Sam Harris,read:

Dear Sir: Regarding my election as a life member of the Hesper Club, I keenly

appreciate the compliment you pay me, and should it be possible for me at any time to serve you,or any of the members, I would be glad to do so. A simple word from you will command me Yours truly, TIMOTHY D. SULLIVAN.

This framed letter said reams about the strong connection between the elected politiciansof the time and the illegal gambling crowd. Everyone knew Big Tim Sullivan ran the Lower EastSide with an iron fist, fitted with a velvet glove. They also knew that Big Tim could providewell- paying jobs, some of them no -show jobs, to anyone he desired. But the implication of theHesper Club letter was even more sinister than that. Big Tim basically said in the letter that asimple word from the president of the Hesper Club, and Sullivan would pull whatever stringsnecessary to keep illegal gambling thriving in the Hesper Club; not to mention giving jobs towhomever the bigwigs at the Hesper Club said needed jobs; a classic case of one dirty handwashing the other.

Being the manager of the Hesper club catapulted Rosenthal into the big time. He wasraking in so much cash, he was able to rent of suite of rooms at the illustrious Broadway Hotel,which set Rosenthal back more than $1,200 a month; a tidy sum in the first decade of theTwentieth Century. With his newfound celebrity, Rosenthal decided to take himself a secondwife - a chubby bleach-bottled redhead named Lillian, who did not , like Rosenthals first wife,do business on her back. In fact, Herman was so flush with cash, Lillian had no need, nor anydesire, to work at all.

The problem with Rosenthal was that he was not very good at making friends, but quitecompetent at making enemies; especially those in the New York City police department. Whilehe was manager of the Hesper Club, Rosenthal opened his own gambling operation, with theblessing of Big Tim Sullivan, of course, at 123 Second Avenue, called The Red Raven Club. TheRed Raven Club had formerly been a poolroom run by Rosenthal.

It was common knowledge at the time, if you wanted to run an illegal gamblingestablishment in New York City, you had to pay off the police and pay them off good. But givinggraft to cops was adverse to Rosenthals nature. Instead of making his weekly contributions tothe Police Benevolent Association , Rosenthal used that money instead to fortify his gamblinghouses from unwanted invasion. He installed extra-sturdy doors and employed the most


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competent doormen, who were experts at sniffing out an undercover cop, or someone from thecity who might want to serve the club with a warrant. This made the New York City policedepartment all the more eager to shut Rosenthal down.

In 1903, New York City Police Capt. Charles Kemp spent considerable time devising away to put Rosenthal out of business. According to Rose Keefes book, The Starker , Kemp used

a dubious letter of instruction to gain admittance for one of his operatives to 123 SecondAvenue, when it was a tightly run Rosenthal poolroom/illegal gambling house. The letter read:

Herman Rosenthal Esq.This is to introduce my friend, Mr. Ketcham. He is all right.

H. Morgan

The undercover cop gave the letter to the doorman, who in turn, gave the letter toRosenthal. For some unknown reason, Rosenthal gave the thumbs-up for the visitor to enter. Theundercover did so and in the course of an hour, he was able to place bets on several horse races.

This allowed Capt. Kemp to get a warrant and on August 15, 1903, Capt. Kemp, five

detectives, and 20 policemen broke down the front door of 123 Second Avenue with axes. Whenthey busted inside, they found Rosenthal frantical ly trying to destroy the days racing receiptsinside a raging fireplace. Rosenthal was cuffed, and along with three of his employees, taken tothe police station and charged with keeping and maintaining a poolroom. Why he was notcharged in connection with taking illegal race bets is a testament to Rosenthals adroitness inpitching papers into the fire.

Rosenthals rabbi with the law, and his ace-in-the-hole, was always Big Tim Sullivan.However, by the elections of 1908 Sullivans stronghold on the Ger man and Irish votes had beenweakened by the huge influx of Italians below 14 th Street and west of Broadway, and Jews eastof Broadway. With Sullivans power waning, Rosenthal, who had an abrasive and defyingattitude when dealing with the legal authorities, had a large target on his back as far as the NewYork City police department was concerned.

In 1909, New York City District Attorney William Travers Jerome, who had prosecutedHarry Thaw for the murder of famed architect Stanford White, set his sights on policecorruption, illegal gambling in general, and on Herman Rosenthal in particular. Jerome hadRosenthal arrested and charged with running a string of gambling houses. However, as soon asJerome closed down one of Rosenthals joints, little Herman just moved his equipment to a like-area nearby and opened again with impunity.

By 1910, the Hesper Club had lost its luster. Due to the decrease in his political power,Big Tim Sullivan and his brother Patrick resigned from the club, and left its future in the slipperyhands of Herman Rosenthal. With Rosenthal now running the show, instead of the usualpoliticians and judges spinning the Hesper Club s roulette wheel , shooting craps, and playingpoker in the back, they were replaced by neighborhood hooligans , who didnt gamble as much asthe previous members and were inclined to cheat a bit on cards, which decreased the HesperClubs membership even more.

The first blow came on October 28, 1910, when, according to the New York Times :

The Hesper Social and Political Club at 111 Second Avenue was invaded by the police yesterday under orders from Commissioner Cropsey and Police Commissioner Driscoll. Theclub, which is in Senator Christy Sullivans district , has long been regarded as one of the most


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influential East Side organizations, and the police raid caused considerable consternation in theneighborhood.

Inside the Hesper Club, 250 men were rounded up and the pol ice found evidence of gambling in the form of stuss tables, faro lay outs, and blackboards, on which the partially

erased words Track Good were still visible. The police let all but two of the men go, but asthey were doing so, about 100, or so disappointed gamblers decided to bum-rush past the policeofficers standing guard at the front door and force their way inside. These men claimed theywere members of the private Hesper Club and should not be denied admittance. Seven of thosemen were also arrested and the Hesper Club was temporarily closed down.

Rosenthal, who was not on the premises at the time of the raid, was furious. Heimmediately sent Matthias Radin, who introduced himself at Police Headquarters as the lawyer for the Hesper Club, to set the record straight. Radin yelled at Detective Cody, one of theofficers involved in the raid, that Tammany Hall would rem ember what the police had done andwould remember those instrumental in it.

Then Radin tried to push his way into the office of the Police Commissioner. When he

was stopped by a phalanx of cops, Radin yelled at them, You dont know who youre talking to!Youre talking in a swell way to a good Tammany man and youll pay for it, and dont youforget it!

Newspaper reporters surrounded Rosent hals mouthpiece and this was the stage Radinrelished . He told the reporters, It was an outrage to invade the quarters of the club. It is one of the oldest and respectable clubs on the East Side and had never been interfered with before inhistory. Those blackboards meant nothing. The police might have writ ten those words Track Good themselves. We hold lectures in the clubhouse regularly and the blackboards were usedfor illustrating points in these educational lectures. They were for the education and benefit of the members. So far as the stuss tables wer e concerned, any home might have such tables in it.

The Oct. 27 raid showed how much pull Tammany Hall still had concerning the NewYork City police department. Due to pressure applied by the aforementioned Matthias Radin,Police Commissioner Driscoll, who had ordered the raid, was relieved of his job and transferredto a local Precinct where his powers were greatly diminished. Also, Detectives Cody andMurphy, who led the raid, were no longer detectives. They were assigned to plain patrol duty, inuniform, in the boondocks of the Bronx.

Through his considerable pull at Tammany Hall, Radin was able to get the Hesper Clubreopened. So the police set their sights on another one of Rosenthals establishments: the RedRaven Club at 123 Second Ave, right down the street from the Hesper Club. This club wasRosenthals alone, and it didnt have the protection Big Tim Sullivan had afforded the HesperClub.

On Dec. 23, 1910, the Red Raven Club was raided by Capt. Kemps men. It was closedfor a while as Rosenthal ordered his man Radin to get a court injunction to reopen the club. ThatRadin did, but on March 19, 1911, led by District Attorney Jerome himself, the police raided theRed Raven Club in a rousing midnight invasion. Seven men were arrested, but the big fish Rosenthal - was not on the premises at the time. So Jerome sent his men to the Hesper Club,where there they found Rosenthal and arrested him on the spot. Rosenthal spent the night inNight Court, where his bail was set at $10,000; a tidy sum usually reserved for elite criminals.When the sun rose and the bail bond offices opened, Rosenthal posted bail and was none toohappy about it.


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He was even unhappier, when the police raided the Hesper Club for the final time onApril 19, 1911.

The New York Times headlines and subsequent article read:

HESPER CLUB RAIDED BY FLYNNS AXEMEN

Deputy Commissioner Takes the Sullivan StrongholdBy Storm as a Gambling ResortIT MAY END GAMBLING HEREGamblers Thought This Club Immune From PoliceInterference on Account of Political Influence.

The Hesper Club at 111 Second Avenue, generally belie ved to have the support of political interests allied to those of Big Tim and Christie Sullivan, and known as the gamblers own club, the principal citadel in the gambling fortifications throughout the city, was raided by

Deputy Police Commissioner William J. Flynn. The raid, the gamblers themselves admitted whenthey heard of it, may prove to be the last blow necessary to suppress vice in this city.

A known gambler who frequented the Hesper Club said, It will be hard to keep ongambling when every time Flynn gets a man, he is put under a suspended sentence with orders toreport to him. Flynn will have a regular roll book, and call roll every time he holds a meeting. Itwill be fine to hear the roll reading Beansie Rosenfeld, Hymie Rosenthal, Bob Kennedy and soforth. And hear those fellows answer Present and voting. Thats what it will come to at thisrate, with everyone facing a two- year sentence and a $1,000 fine if he breaks parole.

With both of his money-making gambling joints shut down by the law, Rosenthal was sobroke he had to move out of the Broadway Hotel and abscond to a flea-bag tenement with hiswife, Lillian. Desperate for a way to make a living, Rosenthal again turned to Big Tim Sullivanfor help. Sullivan, whose political power had been seriously diminished and was in the earlystages of syphilis dementia, fronted Rosenthal $35,000 to open a posh gambling house, not onthe Lower East Side, but in the ritzy Tenderloin District, which ran from Thir tieth Street toFiftieth Street, and from Sixth to Eight Avenues. Instead of dealing with Lower Manhattan mugs,the Tenderloin district was the gambling home of such elegant sporting characters as RichardCanfield, Lou Busteed, Charles Gates, Julius Fleischmann, Henry Sinclair, and Percival Hill.

On Nov. 17, 1911, Rosenthals gambling den had its grand opening at 104 West Forty -Fifth Street. This made Bridgey Webber, a former member of the Hesper Club, not too happy. Inearly 1911, Webber, who had been Ros enthals arch enemy since they were teenagers, hadopened his own sporting club at 117 West Forty- Fifth Street, down the block from Rosenthalsnew joint, and he sure didnt like the competition being so close to his lucrative operation.

However, Rosenthal s steadfast insistence not to pay off the local police came back tohaunt him. After being open just a few days, Rosenthal was summoned to the offices of PoliceInspector Cornelius Hayes, who demanded an immediate payment of $1,000; to be followed bypayments of $1,000 a week. Rosenthal told Hayes to go spit in his hat, which was not such asmart thing do to, since a few days later, Hayes led a contingent of cops to Rosenthals new club.The police smashed down the doors, then took their axes to every piece of equipment in the joint.

Rosenthal borrowed money to purchase new equipment and took in a new partner in NewYork City Police Lieut. Charles Becker, who was reputed to have closed down more gambling

joints in New York City than any other cop in town.


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Documents

Herman Rosenthal