Arthur Kasherman
Encyclopedia
Arthur Kasherman was a publisher of the Public Press, Newsgram and other alternative newspapers in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the 1930s and 1940s. He saw himself as a “vice crusader” publishing fearless exposes about corruption and gangster rule
in the city, while others derided him as a blackmail
er who threatened to write defamatory articles about people if they didn’t pay him off. He was the third of three newspapermen murdered in Minneapolis between 1934 and 1945. No one was ever punished in Kasherman’s death, but the brazen killing came during the mayoral election season and helped elect Hubert Humphrey
on a clean-up-the-city platform.
and immigrated to the United States when he was about 10 years old. He grew up in the heavily Jewish enclave of north Minneapolis and graduated from North High School. He wanted to be a lawyer and attended the Minnesota College of Law
. But his legal career was derailed when he got caught up in a corruption investigation in City Hall
. He was jailed for contempt of court when he refused to testify about a gangster’s payoff of the police chief. His reason: he was a “newspaperman.” From then on, he fancied himself a crusader against the gambling, prostitution and liquor racketeers and their police and political cronies. He ran a long-shot campaign for mayor in 1931, but he devoted most of his efforts to the gritty, blog-like world of the scandal sheet and alternative press.
of the Midwest American, was slain in an alley in front of his family. In 1936, Kasherman was arrested in a sting operation in which a brothel operator accused him of shaking her down for $25 per month on threats he would write her up in his paper. The following year, Kasherman was sentenced to prison in a clear effort to silence him. He served time in Stillwater until 1940.
, who capitalized on Kasherman’s death with the help of campaign staffers with inside knowledge of the investigation and the ability to plant newspaper stories about it that damaged Kline. Humphrey was elected with an overwhelming margin and has been credited with reducing corruption and gangsterism in Minneapolis during his three years in office. Kasherman’s murder was never solved, but he perhaps received some posthumous vindication in Humphrey’s choice as police chief, Ed Ryan, a police officer who was a friend of Kasherman. Kasherman was buried next to his father in United Hebrew Brotherhood Cemetery, Richfield
, Minnesota. The Minneapolis police still have an open homicide file for Arthur Kasherman that is available to the public in Room 31 in City Hall.
Solberg, Carl. “Hubert Humphrey: A Biography,” New York: Norton, 1984
Friendly, Fred W. “Minnesota Rag,” New York: Random House, 1981.
Minneapolis Star, May 12, 1931
Minneapolis Tribune, January 20, 1937
Kid Cann
Isadore Blumenfeld , commonly known as Kid Cann, was a Jewish-American organized crime figure based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for over four decades and remains the most notorious mobster in the history of Minnesota...
in the city, while others derided him as a blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
er who threatened to write defamatory articles about people if they didn’t pay him off. He was the third of three newspapermen murdered in Minneapolis between 1934 and 1945. No one was ever punished in Kasherman’s death, but the brazen killing came during the mayoral election season and helped elect Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
on a clean-up-the-city platform.
Early life
Kasherman was born in RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and immigrated to the United States when he was about 10 years old. He grew up in the heavily Jewish enclave of north Minneapolis and graduated from North High School. He wanted to be a lawyer and attended the Minnesota College of Law
William Mitchell College of Law
William Mitchell College of Law, or WMCL, is a private, independent law school located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Accredited by the American Bar Association , it offers full and part-time legal education in pursuit of the Juris Doctor degree....
. But his legal career was derailed when he got caught up in a corruption investigation in City Hall
Minneapolis City Hall
Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Courthouse , designed by Long and Kees in 1888, is the main building used by the city government of Minneapolis, Minnesota as well as by Hennepin County, Minnesota...
. He was jailed for contempt of court when he refused to testify about a gangster’s payoff of the police chief. His reason: he was a “newspaperman.” From then on, he fancied himself a crusader against the gambling, prostitution and liquor racketeers and their police and political cronies. He ran a long-shot campaign for mayor in 1931, but he devoted most of his efforts to the gritty, blog-like world of the scandal sheet and alternative press.
Tangles with authority
Kasherman worked for a time with Howard Guilford, the muckraking, often scurrilous and bigoted publisher of the Saturday Press and the Twin City Reporter. Like Guilford, Kasherman found himself on the receiving end of the city’s censorship efforts when authorities confiscated his newspaper twice in 1931. Kasherman was also hit over the head with an iron pipe. As if Kasherman needed more evidence of the dangers of practicing his kind of journalism, his old mentor, Guilford, was murdered in a drive-by shooting in 1934. The next year, another publisher who had written about ties between gangsters and government, Walter LiggettWalter Liggett
Walter W. Liggett , was an American journalist.Liggett was a crusading newspaper editor in the Minnesota of the 1930s...
of the Midwest American, was slain in an alley in front of his family. In 1936, Kasherman was arrested in a sting operation in which a brothel operator accused him of shaking her down for $25 per month on threats he would write her up in his paper. The following year, Kasherman was sentenced to prison in a clear effort to silence him. He served time in Stillwater until 1940.
His final years
Kasherman quickly resumed publishing the Public Press, and set his sights on Mayor Marvin Kline, a Republican, whom he accused of allowing gangsters to run rampant. The December 1944 issue of the “Public Press” featured the headline “Kline Administration Most Corrupt Regime in the History of the City.” A month later, on the night of Jan. 22, 1945, Kasherman was ambushed after eating dinner with a friend and shot dead on a sidewalk at 15th and Chicago avenues in Minneapolis. His death made the front pages of newspapers across the Twin Cities, but few in the city were surprised when the police investigation quickly petered out. Still, the killing was a timely boost to the would-be mayor Hubert HumphreyHubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
, who capitalized on Kasherman’s death with the help of campaign staffers with inside knowledge of the investigation and the ability to plant newspaper stories about it that damaged Kline. Humphrey was elected with an overwhelming margin and has been credited with reducing corruption and gangsterism in Minneapolis during his three years in office. Kasherman’s murder was never solved, but he perhaps received some posthumous vindication in Humphrey’s choice as police chief, Ed Ryan, a police officer who was a friend of Kasherman. Kasherman was buried next to his father in United Hebrew Brotherhood Cemetery, Richfield
Richfield
-Places:United States* Richfield, California* Richfield, Idaho* Richfield, Kansas* Richfield, Minnesota* Richfield, New York* Richfield, North Carolina* Richfield, Ohio* Richfield, Pennsylvania* Richfield, Utah* Richfield, Adams County, Wisconsin...
, Minnesota. The Minneapolis police still have an open homicide file for Arthur Kasherman that is available to the public in Room 31 in City Hall.
Solberg, Carl. “Hubert Humphrey: A Biography,” New York: Norton, 1984
Friendly, Fred W. “Minnesota Rag,” New York: Random House, 1981.
Minneapolis Star, May 12, 1931
Minneapolis Tribune, January 20, 1937