The Kosher Capones: A History of Chicago's Jewish Gangsters

by Joe Kraus

The Kosher Capones tells the fascinating story of Chicago's Jewish gangsters from Prohibition into the 1980s. Author Joe Kraus traces these gangsters through the lives, criminal careers, and conflicts of Benjamin "Zuckie the Bookie" Zuckerman, last of the independent West Side Jewish bosses, and Lenny Patrick, eventual head of the Syndicate's "Jewish wing."

These two men linked the early Jewish gangsters of the neighborhoods of Maxwell Street and Lawndale to the notorious Chicago Outfit that emerged from Al Capone's criminal confederation. Focusing on the murder of Zuckerman by Patrick, Kraus introduces us to the different models of organized crime they represented, a raft of largely forgotten Jewish gangsters, and the changing nature of Chicago's political corruption. Hard-to-believe anecdotes of corrupt politicians, seasoned killers, and in-over-their-heads criminal operators spotlight the magnitude and importance of Jewish gangsters to the story of Windy City mob rule.

With an eye for the dramatic, The Kosher Capones takes us deep inside a hidden society and offers glimpses of the men who ran the Jewish criminal community in Chicago for more than sixty years.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Jewish, Crime

222 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2019

Reviews

[Margie Ufberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly entertaining read

I found the book to be extremely interesting and very informative. it is clear that the author did an extraordinary amount of research ; the book provides a thoughtful,insightful and carefully orchestrated compilation of the lives and criminality of many persons and generations of Jewish gangsters in Chicago. I extend congratulations to Joe Kraus on his exceptional work.

[L.D. Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Living on Chicago's west side most of my life, I knew from my childhood that Lawndale was once a Jewish neighborhood, but I didn't know about the men that ran things in its heyday. Joe Kraus gave me keys to some of the underground world that was around me while showing me that the anti-semetic feelings did work against these men who should have been discussed with all the other notorious Chicagoans.

This book may seem repeative, but because the events and stories are so interconnected the material bears repeating. I enjoyed it and have put it in my collection of inspirations for writing historical fictional gansters.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly badly written, with endless repetition and a narrative that jumps around constantly. Nevertheless, it's really great fun for someone who has lived in the Chicago area for more than 50 years now. I took the tour of Jewish Lawndale and remember many of the trials and murders reported here (over and over and over).

[catechism · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get that for a lot of reasons, this is a difficult story to tell, but Kraus' attempt didn't really work for me. There was a lot of good stuff in here but the structure made it incredibly difficult to make any sense of.

[Margaret Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book traces the history of Jewish gangsters (no not an oxymoron) from Prohibition through the 1980s. In the wake of Al Capone's murder, the city was carved up amongst many involved in liquor, restaurants, gambling, racketeering and loan sharking. Some of it was Jewish. From Maxwell Street to Lawndale, then the near northside. From Chicago to Cuba, Miami and Vegas, Jewish gangsters had their fingers every where. The question often comes up--is this good for the Jews or bad for the Jews. This is bad for the Jews, but clearly we Jews were tougher than some make us out. I was impressed with the overlap between organized crime, the police and the politicians. Not a history I know well and I drive on streets named for famous people--Cicero, Touhy, Thompson, Cermak--all in the book as real living people. Having lived in Evanston for 6 years and my husband having spent all of his youth in Hyde Park, we were not aware of some of this history. Nonetheless the books was organized in a frustrating way so it was hard to follow the chronology. Overall, a missed opportunity and I am not sure I would recommend it. I can't figure out why I would be interested in these real life, dangerous, murderous characters.

[Tom Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book quite captivating. Honestly, it took me a while to get into it (I’m not a Chicagoan), but gradually the names and structure of the mafia (Jewish and otherwise) in Chicago started to come together for me.
Joe Kraus did an exhaustive amount of research and that shows. The very concept of organized crime seems almost fictional to me and at times it is difficult to imagine just what these hoodlums did and got away with. Of course, there were very tight links between the mafia and Chicago government officials and Kraus explains that quite well. In fact, he includes some of the city commissioners in the “list” of Chicago’s Jewish criminals, which is entirely appropriate.
Included in the book are some incredible stories of brazen acts by the mobsters. Often these acts were not officially punished, but were nonetheless reported by the Chicago Tribune and/or other local newspapers. Fortunately for us, there were some very courageous journalists covering organized crime in Chicago over the years.
If you are a Chicagoan or someone with an interest in organized crime in the U.S. (and particularly under documented aspects of its history), I recommend this book!

[Matias Myllyrinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book has potential and its moments. However too often you get a list of names and dates thrown at you with little context, background or motive. The mobsters themselves are too often just paper thin characters in a cavalcade of history. A lost opportunity to cover an interesting topic.

[York · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the nonlinear format here--I think going by theme/specific gangster made sense, and he did tie it all up with Patrick. Also it was wonderfully readable without turning into bad crime fiction, which is a real problem with books on organized crime.

[Chris Schaffer · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok..nothing special

[Kenya Tramel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting not riveting

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book told the true stories of the Jewish mobsters from Chicago. It was complete and thorough. But the stories were not riveting when compared to other gangster histories.