Abraham Landau
Encyclopedia
Abraham "Abe" Landau was the chief henchman for New York
gangster
Dutch Schultz
. Landau was Schultz's most trusted employee, often given tasks that required coolness and cunning rather than gunfire and brutality. It is very likely that he never actually killed anyone during his gang years.
Landau, along with Schultz, Otto Berman
, and Lulu Rosenkrantz, was shot to death on the night of October 23, 1935, in a Newark
diner
called The Palace Chophouse. Since fleeing New York, Schultz had converted the back room of the Chophouse into his hideout, and held regular meetings there with his associates.
Schultz had excused himself to the bathroom when Charles Workman, aka "Charlie the Bug," Emmanuel Weiss, and a third, unidentified man known to this day only by his alias Piggy, hitmen working for Albert Anastasia
's Murder, Inc.
, entered the back room. Accounts of what happened next vary from person to person; what is known for certain is that Emmanuel Weiss carried a sawn-off twelve gauge shotgun
loaded with buckshot, and Charles Workman was armed with a .38 special revolver
and a .45 automatic loaded with rust-coated bullets. It is unknown whether or not "Piggy" was armed, if he fired any bullets, or if he was simply the getaway driver.
The most accepted story has Emmanuel Weiss and Charles Workman opening fire on the three men they found there: Berman, Landau, and Rosenkrantz. In the bathroom, Schultz apparently heard the shots but had difficulty cutting off his urine stream to come to his men's aid.
Charles Workman opened fire with his .38; before either of the Schultz gunners had been able to get off a single shot, Charles Workman had re-loaded his .38 twice, and all twelve bullets hit their marks: five bullets entered Rosenkrantz, from his chest down; four went through Berman's neck (which exited the side of his face), wrist, elbow, and shoulder; and three struck Landau, in the wrist, right arm, and left shoulder (which exited the right side of his neck, severing an artery). In addition, Weiss shot Rosenkrantz twice from long-distance with the shotgun (ricocheting pellets even ripped apart one of his shoes), and shot Berman once in the torso.
Workman found Schultz in the bathroom, trying to finish up his business at the urinal. With his free hand, Schultz reached for a three-and-a-half-inch "Chicago Spike" style switchblade knife, the only weapon he had on him at the time; he'd been intending it to be an uneventful evening and had been planning on returning soon to the hotel room he was sharing with his wife. Before Schultz could retrieve his knife, Workman fired off two shots from his .45; one missed, one struck Schultz slightly below the heart. The bullet ricocheted off a bone, damaging his spleen, stomach, colon, liver, and gall bladder before tearing out his back; it is likely that the rust off of the casing entered his blood stream in the process.
Workman returned to the back room, whereupon he discovered that Mendy Weiss had run out of the Palace Chophouse, followed miraculously by Rosenkrantz and Abe Landau, the latter of whom was clutching his neck to stop the spray of blood from his severed artery. Landau fired all the bullets from his .45, none of which did any serious damage to his targets; as Weiss and Piggy sped away in the getaway car, Landau sat down on a trash can outside the door of the Palace Chophouse. Rosenkrantz finally collapsed, his body ripped open from two shotgun blasts and five bullets. Workman stepped over Rosenkrantz and ran into the night.
Shortly after Workman had fled, Dutch Schultz, clutching his side, staggered out, not wanting to be found dead with his pants unzipped on the floor of a men's room. He picked up his hat, staggered back to his seat, sat down, and slumped over the table. He called for someone to get an ambulance; Rosenkrantz dutifully pulled himself to his feet, and rather than go immediately to the phone booth near the bar, he demanded that the bartender — who had hid behind the register the entire duration of the shootout — change his quarter for five nickels; Rosenkrantz didn't want the phone company getting twenty more cents than they were owed. Rosenkrantz called for an ambulance before collapsing against the wall of the phone booth.
When ambulances arrived, the first man they found was Abe Landau, still sitting on the trash can, his arms dangling at his sides and blood faintly coming out of his neck. His last bits of strength were used to give the police a fake name and address before he expired of blood loss, shortly after twelve a.m. on the morning of October 24.
As a Jew, Landau was given a Hebrew burial at Mount Hebron Cemetery
in Flushing, New York.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
Dutch Schultz
Dutch Schultz
Dutch Schultz was a New York City-area Jewish American gangster of the 1920s and 1930s who made his fortune in organized crime-related activities such as bootlegging alcohol and the numbers racket...
. Landau was Schultz's most trusted employee, often given tasks that required coolness and cunning rather than gunfire and brutality. It is very likely that he never actually killed anyone during his gang years.
Landau, along with Schultz, Otto Berman
Otto Berman
Otto Biederman, known as Otto "Abbadabba" Berman , was an accountant for American organized crime. He is known for coining the phrase "Nothing personal, it's just business."...
, and Lulu Rosenkrantz, was shot to death on the night of October 23, 1935, in a Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
diner
Diner
A diner, also spelled dinor in western Pennsylvania is a prefabricated restaurant building characteristic of North America, especially in the Midwest, in New York City, in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey, and in other areas of the Northeastern United States, although examples can be found throughout...
called The Palace Chophouse. Since fleeing New York, Schultz had converted the back room of the Chophouse into his hideout, and held regular meetings there with his associates.
Schultz had excused himself to the bathroom when Charles Workman, aka "Charlie the Bug," Emmanuel Weiss, and a third, unidentified man known to this day only by his alias Piggy, hitmen working for Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia was boss of what is now called the Gambino crime family, one of New York City's Five Families, from 1951-1957. He also ran a gang of contract killers called Murder Inc. which enforced the decisions of the Commission, the ruling council of the American Mafia...
's Murder, Inc.
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...
, entered the back room. Accounts of what happened next vary from person to person; what is known for certain is that Emmanuel Weiss carried a sawn-off twelve gauge shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
loaded with buckshot, and Charles Workman was armed with a .38 special revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
and a .45 automatic loaded with rust-coated bullets. It is unknown whether or not "Piggy" was armed, if he fired any bullets, or if he was simply the getaway driver.
The most accepted story has Emmanuel Weiss and Charles Workman opening fire on the three men they found there: Berman, Landau, and Rosenkrantz. In the bathroom, Schultz apparently heard the shots but had difficulty cutting off his urine stream to come to his men's aid.
Charles Workman opened fire with his .38; before either of the Schultz gunners had been able to get off a single shot, Charles Workman had re-loaded his .38 twice, and all twelve bullets hit their marks: five bullets entered Rosenkrantz, from his chest down; four went through Berman's neck (which exited the side of his face), wrist, elbow, and shoulder; and three struck Landau, in the wrist, right arm, and left shoulder (which exited the right side of his neck, severing an artery). In addition, Weiss shot Rosenkrantz twice from long-distance with the shotgun (ricocheting pellets even ripped apart one of his shoes), and shot Berman once in the torso.
Workman found Schultz in the bathroom, trying to finish up his business at the urinal. With his free hand, Schultz reached for a three-and-a-half-inch "Chicago Spike" style switchblade knife, the only weapon he had on him at the time; he'd been intending it to be an uneventful evening and had been planning on returning soon to the hotel room he was sharing with his wife. Before Schultz could retrieve his knife, Workman fired off two shots from his .45; one missed, one struck Schultz slightly below the heart. The bullet ricocheted off a bone, damaging his spleen, stomach, colon, liver, and gall bladder before tearing out his back; it is likely that the rust off of the casing entered his blood stream in the process.
Workman returned to the back room, whereupon he discovered that Mendy Weiss had run out of the Palace Chophouse, followed miraculously by Rosenkrantz and Abe Landau, the latter of whom was clutching his neck to stop the spray of blood from his severed artery. Landau fired all the bullets from his .45, none of which did any serious damage to his targets; as Weiss and Piggy sped away in the getaway car, Landau sat down on a trash can outside the door of the Palace Chophouse. Rosenkrantz finally collapsed, his body ripped open from two shotgun blasts and five bullets. Workman stepped over Rosenkrantz and ran into the night.
Shortly after Workman had fled, Dutch Schultz, clutching his side, staggered out, not wanting to be found dead with his pants unzipped on the floor of a men's room. He picked up his hat, staggered back to his seat, sat down, and slumped over the table. He called for someone to get an ambulance; Rosenkrantz dutifully pulled himself to his feet, and rather than go immediately to the phone booth near the bar, he demanded that the bartender — who had hid behind the register the entire duration of the shootout — change his quarter for five nickels; Rosenkrantz didn't want the phone company getting twenty more cents than they were owed. Rosenkrantz called for an ambulance before collapsing against the wall of the phone booth.
When ambulances arrived, the first man they found was Abe Landau, still sitting on the trash can, his arms dangling at his sides and blood faintly coming out of his neck. His last bits of strength were used to give the police a fake name and address before he expired of blood loss, shortly after twelve a.m. on the morning of October 24.
As a Jew, Landau was given a Hebrew burial at Mount Hebron Cemetery
Mount Hebron Cemetery
Mount Hebron is a Jewish cemetery located in the Flushing neighborhood of New York City. It was founded in 1903 as the Jewish section of Cedar Grove Cemetery. It is noted for its Yiddish theater section....
in Flushing, New York.
External links
- Abraham Landau at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...