Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Lansky

by Charles River

Description One of the most integral members of the criminal underworld was Arnold Rothstein, the archetype of the old school mobster. He was intelligent, charming, well-spoken, grotesquely wealthy, and a sharp dresser, often pictured with a patterned bowtie and a flat-top fedora snugly fit over his receding hairline. And yet, he was nothing like the stereotypical mobster; Arnold was not a drinker or smoker, and he was not one to be tempted by illicit substances. He was a notorious high roller, with pockets holding wads of $100 bills, but to the casual eye, he was just another dapper, well-mannered gentleman who frequented the tracks and casinos after a long day at the office. In addition to his aversion to the aforementioned vices, Rothstein never chewed gum or cursed (at least in public). He snacked on figs and fruits, and he was equipped with an insatiable sweet tooth. Affectionately nicknamed the "Cookie Monster" by his loved ones, Rothstein adored cookies of all kinds - which he washed down with a glass of milk every evening before bed - and constantly ate cakes, pies, and all sorts of desserts. Perhaps not surprisingly given his vocation, Rothstein was a man of routine, and while he was firmly entrenched in the seamy underbelly of society, he was a lone wolf, more of a mentor and an adviser than he was a vicious thug who wreaked havoc in the streets. Moreover, he was not particularly aggressive, to the extent that he was only alleged to have committed physical assault a handful of times, if that. One of America's most infamous mobsters, Meyer Lansky, was also one of the most mysterious, a perplexing, yet inexplicably intriguing individual with multiple reputations. To his admirers, he was in many ways the ultimate genius and survivor within the callous and cut-throat world of 20th century organized crime. Even in adulthood, Meyer was smaller than most, standing anywhere between 4'11" to 5'4", and weighing 136 pounds at his heaviest. He was not merely an intellectual - he was worldly and wise, one who often doled out advice akin to poetry to his children and grandchildren, his gravelly voice oddly soothing. At the same time, he had all the stealth and cunning of a sphinx, and while remarkably even-tempered, gangsters twice his size dared not cross him. To them, he was no more than a wildly ambitious, often misunderstood entrepreneur who trod upon the border between legality and lawlessness with all the mastery of a tightrope artist. He was, above all, the definition of humility, one whose "handshake was worth more than any contract," and a man who actively dodged the spotlight that doggedly tailed him until the end of his days. Conversely, most will quickly concede that while Lansky was an exceptionally clever criminal, he was a criminal all the same, and the crimes of this dark horse were unforgivable. Meyer was a fraudulent, tax-evading crook whose massive fortune was literally made off the bodies of countless victims. He was a silver-tongued fiend who preyed on the weak and impressionable, plying them with booze and drugs and feeding their gambling addictions. Lansky, whose most famous nickname remains the "Mob's Accountant," was one of the few gangsters of his era to die in old age, and he was never pinched for anything more serious than gambling. It's believed he made upwards of $20 million in his time as a mobster, but some still claim he was never the mogul the media painted him out to be. Instead, they assert that he was an expendable middleman, and that he was an overzealous rogue who squandered away whatever fortune he had.