Whitey Krakow
Encyclopedia
Whitey Krakow or Krakower (died July 30, 1941) was a New York mobster who, during the 1930s, served as a hitman for Murder, Inc.
He was later suspected in the 1939 gangland slaying of Harry "Big Greenie" Greenberg
with Frankie Carbo
and brother-in-law Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. Implicated by fellow Murder Inc. members Abe "Kid Twist" Reles
and Allie "Tick Tock" Tannenbaum
, he was one of the first members of Murder Inc. to be killed when he was found shot to death on Manhattan's Delancey Street on July 30, 1941. In the months following his death, Benjamin Tannenbaum
, Jimmy Ferraco, Jack Parisi and Tony Romanello were all murdered before members began turning themselves in to authorities.
Murder, Inc.
Murder, Inc. was the name given by the press to organized crime groups in the 1920s through the 1940s that resulted in hundreds of murders on behalf of the American Mafia and Jewish Mafia groups who together formed the early organized crime groups in New York and...
He was later suspected in the 1939 gangland slaying of Harry "Big Greenie" Greenberg
Harry Greenberg
Harry Schachter or Harry "Big Greenie" Greenberg was an associate and childhood friend of Bugsy Siegel, and an employee of both Charlie "Lucky" Luciano and Meyer Lansky. On November 22, 1939, Greenberg was murdered by Bugsy Siegel and his brother-in-law, Whitey Krakower...
with Frankie Carbo
Frankie Carbo
Paul John Carbo better known as "Frankie Carbo" was a New York City Mafia soldier in the Lucchese crime family, who operated as a boxing promoter and a gunman with Murder, Inc....
and brother-in-law Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. Implicated by fellow Murder Inc. members Abe "Kid Twist" Reles
Abe Reles
Abe "Kid Twist" Reles was a New York mobster who was widely considered the most feared hit man for Murder, Inc., the enforcement contractor for the National Crime Syndicate. Reles later turned government witness and sent several members of Murder, Inc...
and Allie "Tick Tock" Tannenbaum
Albert Tannenbaum
Albert Tannenbaum , nicknamed Allie or Tick-Tock, was a Jewish-American hitman for Murder, Inc., the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicate, during the 1930s....
, he was one of the first members of Murder Inc. to be killed when he was found shot to death on Manhattan's Delancey Street on July 30, 1941. In the months following his death, Benjamin Tannenbaum
Benjamin Tannenbaum
Benjamin "Benny the Boss" Tannenbaum was a New York mobster involved in narcotics and the fur rackets as well as a mob accountant for labor racketeer Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro...
, Jimmy Ferraco, Jack Parisi and Tony Romanello were all murdered before members began turning themselves in to authorities.
Further reading
- Cohen, Rich. Tough Jews: Fathers, Sons, and Gangster Dreams. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. ISBN 0-684-83115-5
- Turkus, Burton B. and Sid Feder. Murder, Inc: The Story of "the Syndicate". New York: Da Capo Press, 2003. ISBN 0-306-81288-6