Eastman Gang
Encyclopedia
The Eastman Gang was the last of New York's street gangs which dominated the city's underworld during the late 1890s until early 1910s. Along with the Five Points Gang
under Paul Kelly
, the Eastmans succeeded the long dominant Whyos
as the first non-Irish street gang to gain prominence in the underworld during the 1890s, and marked the beginning of a thirty to forty-year period of Jewish-American influence
within organized crime
in New York City.
Under the leadership of Monk Eastman
, a well known bouncer and hired thug, the Eastmans would spend the next decade establishing a criminal empire in Manhattan
's Lower East Side
through criminal activities, including prostitution
and illegal gambling, specifically operating stuss games
, as well as later establishing political connections through Tammany Hall
.
and nearby Brooklyn
. When Monk Eastman
himself entered the gang is unknown, but the fact that several newspaper articles refer to him as hailing from Corlear's Hook indicates that it was probably during this early era.
By the turn of the century the gang had expanded beyond Corlear's Hook and changed its criminal focus from petty theft to pimping, using the many "disorderly houses" (brothels) along Allen street to amass a small fortune. During this time the gang became known as the "Allen Street Cadets" ("cadet" being bowery slang for a pimp) and adopted the flamboyant lifestyle that came with their profession. According to one local charity worker "You never saw an Eastman without a woman." Aside from pimping they also kept their hand in other crimes, running gambling houses, peddling opium, and hiring themselves out as paid goons. One of the gang's "clubhouses" during this time was Silver Dollar Smith's saloon on Essex street. Monk Eastman himself worked as a "sheriff" or bouncer there, and he quickly became a favorite mercenary for the many Tammany Hall
politicians and Wall street big wigs who frequented the place. As Monk's fame grew, his gang came to be known simply as the "Monk Eastmans" or the "Eastman gang".
Like many gangs of the time, the Eastmans were mostly dandies, well-groomed men who liked to flaunt their ill-gotten wealth. According to Alfred Henry Lewis
's 1912 book, The Apaches of New York, many of the gang members were also bicycle enthusiasts, owing to Monk Eastman's own interest in the riding machines. Lewis claims that Monk rented bicycles out of his Broome street bird shop, and that an associate even opened a club in Monk's honor called "The Squab Wheelman" (after the boss's twin passions—pigeons and bicycles).
Eventually, the gang became involved in rivalries with other local gangs such as the Yakey Yakes
and the Five Points Gang
, warring over both territory and work as political sluggers for Tammany Hall. The Eastmans dominated the gang war during the first year as gang members rallied under Monk Eastman in pitched battles in the streets of New York reminiscent of the gangs of the previous century. Eastman's charismatic leadership, who often lead his men into battle, caused many members of the Five Pointers to defect to the Eastmans including Richie Fitzpatrick
and Max "Kid Twist" Zwerbach
among others. However, as the gang war began to escalate, the gang leaders were forced by Tammany politicians to agree to a truce before losing control of the situation.
Threatened by civil war during their war with the Five Pointers, Zwerbach and Fitzpatrick agree to meet for a truce in late 1904. However, possibly while attending a peace conference, Fitzpatrick was found shot to death at a local neighborhood saloon near Sheriff
-Chrystie Street
on November 1, 1904.
With the elimination of the remaining members of the Fitzpatrick faction by Zwerbach lieutenant Vach "Cyclone Louie" Lewis several weeks later, would leave the aptly named "Kid Twist" Zwerbach to assume leadership of the Eastmans.
He would continue his war against the Five Points Gang on and off during his four year reign however, Paul Kelly was eventually able to arrange the deaths of Zwerbach and Lewis using an altercation with underling Louis "Louie the Lump" Pioggi
to set them up for an ambush on May 14, 1908.
took over what remained of the Eastmans. Dividing the gang into three separate factions, with the other two operating as satellite gangs under saloonkeepers Jack Sirocco
and Chick Tricker
, the two eventually turned on Zelig leaving him behind for the police during a failed armed robbery.
The two factions were involved in gun battles throughout the city during the next year and, while a failed attempt on Zelig's life at the hands of Julie Morrell
resulted in the assassin's death in December 1911, both Sirocco and Tricker would assume control of what was left of the Eastmans after Zelig was killed by "Red" Phil Davidson shortly before his testimony against Charles Becker
on October 5, 1912.
Five Points Gang
Five Points Gang was a 19th-century and early 20th-century criminal organization, primarily of Italian-American origins, based in the Sixth Ward of Manhattan, New York City. Since the early 19th century, the area was first known for gangs of Irish immigrants...
under Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (criminal)
Paul Kelly was an Italian immigrant who founded the Five Points Gang in New York City after starting some brothels with prize monies earned in boxing...
, the Eastmans succeeded the long dominant Whyos
Whyos
The Whyos, a collection of the various post-Civil War street gangs of New York, was the city's dominant street gang during the late 19th century. The gang controlled most of Manhattan from the late 1860s until the early 1890s, when the Monk Eastman Gang defeated the last of the Whyos...
as the first non-Irish street gang to gain prominence in the underworld during the 1890s, and marked the beginning of a thirty to forty-year period of Jewish-American influence
Jewish-American organized crime
Jewish-American organized crime , emerged during the late 19th century and early 20th century....
within organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
in New York City.
Under the leadership of Monk Eastman
Monk Eastman
Edward "Monk" Eastman was a New York City Gangster who founded and led one of the most powerful street gangs in New York City at the turn of the Twentieth Century, the Eastman Gang. His other aliases included Joseph "Joe" Morris, Joe Marvin, William "Bill" Delaney, and Edward "Eddie" Delaney...
, a well known bouncer and hired thug, the Eastmans would spend the next decade establishing a criminal empire in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
through criminal activities, including prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
and illegal gambling, specifically operating stuss games
Stuss
Stuss is a card game, a variant of faro. In this version the cards are dealt from the dealer's hand, not from a shoe. Also, the house won all the money when drawing two equal cards, as opposed to half in traditional faro...
, as well as later establishing political connections through Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
.
Early years
According to an article in the April 26th, 1903 edition of the New York Daily Tribune, the gang that would become the Eastmans first came on the scene in the early 1890s. They started out in the notorious Corlear's Hook section of the lower east side on Rivington street in the vicinity of Mangin and Goerck streets. Another gang of the era, the Short-Tail Gang, had its headquarters in this same area, making it entirely possible that the Eastmans grew out of the Short-Tails. Originally composed of gentiles from the local slums, the gang quickly became almost exclusively Jewish with the influx of Jewish immigrants into lower ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and nearby Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. When Monk Eastman
Monk Eastman
Edward "Monk" Eastman was a New York City Gangster who founded and led one of the most powerful street gangs in New York City at the turn of the Twentieth Century, the Eastman Gang. His other aliases included Joseph "Joe" Morris, Joe Marvin, William "Bill" Delaney, and Edward "Eddie" Delaney...
himself entered the gang is unknown, but the fact that several newspaper articles refer to him as hailing from Corlear's Hook indicates that it was probably during this early era.
By the turn of the century the gang had expanded beyond Corlear's Hook and changed its criminal focus from petty theft to pimping, using the many "disorderly houses" (brothels) along Allen street to amass a small fortune. During this time the gang became known as the "Allen Street Cadets" ("cadet" being bowery slang for a pimp) and adopted the flamboyant lifestyle that came with their profession. According to one local charity worker "You never saw an Eastman without a woman." Aside from pimping they also kept their hand in other crimes, running gambling houses, peddling opium, and hiring themselves out as paid goons. One of the gang's "clubhouses" during this time was Silver Dollar Smith's saloon on Essex street. Monk Eastman himself worked as a "sheriff" or bouncer there, and he quickly became a favorite mercenary for the many Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
politicians and Wall street big wigs who frequented the place. As Monk's fame grew, his gang came to be known simply as the "Monk Eastmans" or the "Eastman gang".
Like many gangs of the time, the Eastmans were mostly dandies, well-groomed men who liked to flaunt their ill-gotten wealth. According to Alfred Henry Lewis
Alfred Henry Lewis
Alfred Henry Lewis was an American investigative journalist, lawyer, novelist, editor, and short story writer.-External links:* at Spartacus Educational...
's 1912 book, The Apaches of New York, many of the gang members were also bicycle enthusiasts, owing to Monk Eastman's own interest in the riding machines. Lewis claims that Monk rented bicycles out of his Broome street bird shop, and that an associate even opened a club in Monk's honor called "The Squab Wheelman" (after the boss's twin passions—pigeons and bicycles).
Eventually, the gang became involved in rivalries with other local gangs such as the Yakey Yakes
Yakey Yakes
The Yakey Yakes was a 19th century street gang, prominent in New York's underworld during the late 1890s and early 1900s. Based in the neighborhood of Catherine and Madison Streets, the gang were formed by Yakey Yake Brady in the 1890s and later participated in the gang war between Monk Eastman...
and the Five Points Gang
Five Points Gang
Five Points Gang was a 19th-century and early 20th-century criminal organization, primarily of Italian-American origins, based in the Sixth Ward of Manhattan, New York City. Since the early 19th century, the area was first known for gangs of Irish immigrants...
, warring over both territory and work as political sluggers for Tammany Hall. The Eastmans dominated the gang war during the first year as gang members rallied under Monk Eastman in pitched battles in the streets of New York reminiscent of the gangs of the previous century. Eastman's charismatic leadership, who often lead his men into battle, caused many members of the Five Pointers to defect to the Eastmans including Richie Fitzpatrick
Richie Fitzpatrick
Richard "Richie" Fitzpatrick was a top gunman in the Monk Eastman gang, as well as a former member of the Five Points Gang, during the late 1890s until his death in 1904...
and Max "Kid Twist" Zwerbach
Max Zwerbach
Max "Kid Twist" Zweifach occasionally referred to as Zwerbach was an American gangster who, during the turn of the century, belonged to the Eastman Gang and later succeeded the New York gang leader following his arrest in 1904.-Biography:Born Maxwell Zweifach in Austria on March 14, 1884, to...
among others. However, as the gang war began to escalate, the gang leaders were forced by Tammany politicians to agree to a truce before losing control of the situation.
Reign of Kid Twist
After Monk Eastman's arrest for a street mugging in 1904, the gang threatened to disintegrate among warring factions all looking to assume leadership of the gang, and by the end of the year, the gang was split between former Eastman lieutenants Max Zwerbach and Richie Fitzpatrick.Threatened by civil war during their war with the Five Pointers, Zwerbach and Fitzpatrick agree to meet for a truce in late 1904. However, possibly while attending a peace conference, Fitzpatrick was found shot to death at a local neighborhood saloon near Sheriff
Sheriff Street
Sheriff Street , known by locals as "Sheriffer," or "The Street" is a small area in the north inner city of Dublin, Ireland, lying between East Wall and North Wall and often considered to be part of the latter....
-Chrystie Street
Chrystie Street
Chrystie Street is a street on Manhattan's Lower East Side. It runs for about seven blocks, from Canal Street to East Houston Street. Chrystie Street extends northward to become Second Avenue....
on November 1, 1904.
With the elimination of the remaining members of the Fitzpatrick faction by Zwerbach lieutenant Vach "Cyclone Louie" Lewis several weeks later, would leave the aptly named "Kid Twist" Zwerbach to assume leadership of the Eastmans.
He would continue his war against the Five Points Gang on and off during his four year reign however, Paul Kelly was eventually able to arrange the deaths of Zwerbach and Lewis using an altercation with underling Louis "Louie the Lump" Pioggi
Louis Pioggi
Louis "Louie the Lump" Pioggi was a New York criminal and member of the Five Points Gang, known most prominently for the murder of Eastman Gang leader Max "Kid Twist" Zwerbach and Vach "Cyclone Louie" Lewis...
to set them up for an ambush on May 14, 1908.
Zelig and the final years
Following the deaths of Zwerbach and Lewis, "Big" Jack ZeligJack Zelig
"Big" Jack Zelig was a Jewish American New York City gangster and one of the last leaders of the Monk Eastman Gang.-Early years & the Eastmans:...
took over what remained of the Eastmans. Dividing the gang into three separate factions, with the other two operating as satellite gangs under saloonkeepers Jack Sirocco
Jack Sirocco
Jack Sirocco was a New York gangster involved in labor racketeering and strikebreaking. Originally a lieutenant in Paul Kelly's Five Points Gang, where he was the immediate boss of Johnny Torrio , Sirocco defected to the rival Eastman Gang, which he led in its last days.-Biography:Sirocco, known...
and Chick Tricker
Chick Tricker
Chick Tricker was an early New York gangster who, as a member of the Eastman Gang, served as one of its last leaders alongside Jack Sirocco. A longtime member of the Eastmans, Tricker had made a name for himself as a well known Bowery and Park Row saloonkeeper who first came to prominence in a...
, the two eventually turned on Zelig leaving him behind for the police during a failed armed robbery.
The two factions were involved in gun battles throughout the city during the next year and, while a failed attempt on Zelig's life at the hands of Julie Morrell
Julie Morrell
Julie Morrell or Jules Morello was a freelance gunman associated with the Eastman Gang during the turn of the century. Hired by Jack Sirocco and Chick Tricker to murder Eastman leader Jack Zelig, who had been engaged in a gang war over control of the Eastmans...
resulted in the assassin's death in December 1911, both Sirocco and Tricker would assume control of what was left of the Eastmans after Zelig was killed by "Red" Phil Davidson shortly before his testimony against Charles Becker
Charles Becker
Charles Becker was a New York City police officer in the 1890s-1910s and who was tried, convicted and executed for ordering the murder of a Manhattan gambler, Herman Rosenthal in the Becker-Rosenthal trial. Becker was the first American police officer to receive the death penalty for murder...
on October 5, 1912.