Arnold Rothstein

• Born: January 17, 1882
• Birthplace: New York, New York
• Died: November 4, 1928
• Place of death: New York, New York

Criminal

Rothstein gained notoriety when he was accused of fixing the baseball World Series in 1919. A colorful character, he was the inspiration for Meyer Wolfsheim in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) and for Nathan Detroit in the musical Guys and Dolls (1950), which was based on Damon Runyon’s stories.

Area of achievement: Crime

Early Life

Arnold Rothstein (RAWTH-stin) was born in New York on January 17, 1882. He dropped out of school when he was sixteen years old. His first job was as a traveling salesman. During this time, he spent his free time loitering outside billiard halls. Because he was not old enough to enter the halls, he placed bets on horse races by giving money to men who guarded the entryways to the gambling rooms. In the late nineteenth century, billiard halls had only one or two pool tables. Some pool was played, but mostly the halls were places where people came to gamble on various events and to solicit prostitutes. It was in this setting that Rothstein learned that betting alone would not make him much money. He became the person who took the bets. He was exceptional with numbers and quickly calculated percentages. This skill allowed him to become a professional bookmaker, taking bets on sporting events such as horse racing and baseball games.

Rothstein’s gambling ambitions were benefited by the spirit of his time. He grew into his early twenties when New York City’s Times Square began to develop as a center of activity, with a newly established subway system, the expansion of hotels and theaters, and the relocation of The New York Times office building. Rothstein took advantage of the underground gambling that flourished in the area and opened his own betting business. He collected his take for hosting the illegal card and dice games and loaned the money he earned to gamblers at a high interest rate. Thus, Rothstein became involved in loan sharking. To secure delinquent loans, he hired enforcers who would use strong methods to ensure payment of owed funds.

Life’s Work

Rothstein was particularly adept at exploiting the hypocritical and greedy political organizations that ran New York City. Tammany Hall, the corrupt ruling organization, operated a system of patronage and graft and appointed Irish immigrants to powerful and lucrative positions. Tammany Hall controlled the criminal justice system, the civil courts, businesses, and unions. Rothstein was excluded from participating in Tammany Hall because he was not Irish, but he cooperated with the ward bosses that controlled the city. He deftly played to their unending avarice.

“The Brain” was a nickname given to Rothstein because of his ability to profit substantially from virtually every form of racketeering and gambling. He was involved with labor rackets, drug trafficking, political corruption, gambling houses, and the sale of stolen property.

Rothstein was a businessman first and foremost. Although his financial activities were overwhelmingly illegal, he also ran legitimate enterprises: a mortgage brokerage and an insurance and real estate company. One reason for his success was his ability to recognize and to minimize risk. That is a rare trait in gamblers and an essential one in businessmen.

The most legendary act in Rothstein’s career was his alleged involvement with fixing the World Series in 1919, in which the Chicago White Sox lost to the Cincinnati Reds in what came to be called the Black Sox scandal. The White Sox were favored to win, but eight members of the team had intentionally thrown the games in exchange for a payout. A White Sox first baseman, Arnold “Chick” Gandil, concocted the scheme, largely motivated by his grave dislike for Charles Comiskey, the team’s owner. Rothstein was approached by one of his associates, Abe Atell, to provide the payout money for the players. Rothstein declined. However, he knew that Joseph “Sport” Sullivan, a professional gambler with ties to Gandil, was also attempting to generate the fix. Rothstein believed that with multiple gamblers trying to alter the outcome of the games that he would not be singled out as a principal culprit. By all accounts, he was neither the mastermind nor the sole benefactor. He did profit handsomely from betting against Chicago; however, he came out of the fix with a tarnished reputation.

Rothstein was mortally shot in the abdomen on November 6, 1928, at the age of forty-six. There is controversy about who killed him. Rothstein refused to tell law enforcement officers who the culprit or culprits were. He was never indicted or convicted of any crime.

Significance

Rothstein understood before many others that capitalism in the twentieth century would lend itself to tremendous wealth-generating opportunities. He knew that greed and politicians’ insatiable need to maintain power would create occasions for the underworld to exploit and to garner a large profit. In addition, he often acted as a peacemaker between international drug traffickers. His ability to appease principal players was also displayed in negotiating with government agents who monitored his activities. Rothstein would often tip off federal narcotics officers about substantial transfers of drugs, and then pay the bail money for the individual who was arrested by the police. By setting up a double-cross, he prevented his own incarceration while maintaining a good relationship with fellow drug traffickers. His successful business methods and fashion style were emulated by Charles “Lucky” Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Jack “Legs” Diamond, and Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, some of the most notorious organized-crime figures in U.S. history. Rothstein has been represented in such movies as Mobsters (1991) and Eight Men Out (1988). His involvement in the 1919 World Series scandal ensured his infamy.

Bibliography

Asinof, Eliot. Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series. Reprint. Delanco, N.J.: Notable Trials Library, 2003. Asinof has written several books about baseball. This volume was originally published in 1963 and was the basis for the film that appeared in 1988.

Block, Lawrence, ed. Gangsters, Swindlers, Killers, and Thieves: The Lives and Crimes of Fifty American Villains. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Block, the editor of this collection of biographies, is a fictional crime writer. This book offers brief yet surprisingly comprehensive look at fifty American criminals.

Katcher, Leo. The Big Bankroll: The Life and Times of Arnold Rothstein. New York: Da Capo Press, 1994. Katcher was a political reporter for the New York Post. This book was adapted for the film King of the Roaring Twenties in 1961.

Pietrusza, David. Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series. New York: Carroll and Graf, 2003. Comprehensive and readable biography of Rothstein, with extensive references, newspaper reports, and interview notes.