![Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith (reversed)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Izzy_Einstein_and_Moe_Smith_%28reversed%29.jpg)
Isidor "Izzy" Einstein (1880–1938) and Moe W. Smith (1887–1960) were United States federal police officers, agents of the U.S.
Prohibition Unit
The Bureau of Prohibition (or Prohibition Unit) was the United States federal law enforcement agency formed to enforce the National Prohibition Act of 1919, commonly known as the Volstead Act, which enforced the 18th Amendment to the United S ...
, who achieved the most arrests and convictions during the first years of the
alcohol prohibition era (1920–1925). They were known nationally for successfully shutting down illegal
speakeasies
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies.
Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States ...
and for using disguises in their work.
They made 4,932 arrests. In late 1925, Izzy and Moe were laid off in a reorganization of the bureau of enforcement. A report in ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine suggested they had attracted more publicity than wanted by the new political appointee heading the bureau, although the press and public loved the team. By 1930 both men were working as insurance salesmen.
Early lives and educations
Isidor Einstein (sometimes spelled Isadore) was born in 1880
into a Jewish family in the
Austro-Hungarian Empire. He grew up speaking
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
and likely was educated in a
yeshiva
A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...
; he also learned Hungarian, Polish and German, together with a smattering of other European languages. Einstein emigrated as a young man to the United States about 1901.
Moe W. Smith was born about 1887
in New York City. As a young man, he was a boxer.
Marriages and families
About 1906, Einstein married Esther (born c. 1888, Austria/Galicia; immigrated c. 1891), an immigrant from Galicia. They had at least seven children together, but two died young before 1910. Surviving children were Joseph (c. 1910), Charles (c. 1912), Edward (c. 1914), Albert (c. 1916), and Milton (c. 1927).
[U.S. Census, 1930. Manhattan, New York, New York, sup. dist. 21, enum. dist. 31-136; block P(?), sheet 6B. 7 Apr 1930.]
Before 1920 Smith married Sadie Strauch, a Jewish native of
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who had immigrated to New York and was a native Yiddish speaker. In the 1920 census, Moe and Sadie Smith (born c. 1891, imm./nat. 1898 or 1900) were recorded as living with her brother, Benjamin Strauch in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
[U.S. Census, 1920. Brooklyn, Kings, New York, sup. dist. 3, enum. dist. 198, assem. dist. 4, sheet 20A. 13 Jan 1920.] Their daughter Estelle was born c. 1925.
Careers
![Identification Card for Prohibition Agent Isidor Einstein](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Identification_Card_for_Prohibition_Agent_Isidor_Einstein.jpg)
Einstein had started work as a salesman and later served as a postal clerk. He struggled to support his family, including his father, on that salary. Smith first worked as a cigar salesman, and then managed a small fight club. He also owned a cigar store.
The ratification in 1919 of the amendment to establish
Prohibition in the United States
In the United States from 1920 to 1933, a Constitution of the United States, nationwide constitutional law prohibition, prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtai ...
required federal and local police forces to recruit new members rapidly in order to enforce the law. With no background in law enforcement, but speaking several languages (Yiddish, Hungarian, German, Polish, with a little Russian, French, Spanish and Italian) in addition to English, Einstein signed up as Prohibition Agent No. 1.
In a short time, he invited his friend Moe Smith to join him as a partner. (They were both
Masons, and may have met in the fraternal group. Though both were personally indifferent to
temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
*Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
, they felt the law must be upheld, no matter how hard it was to enforce.)
Einstein and Smith were both rather rotund and apparently disarmed many of their quarry by their unthreatening appearances. They claimed to have used more than 100 disguises and were never detected.
Einstein developed what he called the "Einstein Theory of Rum Snooping". They usually did not carry weapons and made arrests while unarmed. Their disguises included appearing as "streetcar conductor, gravedigger, fisherman, iceman, opera singer" and as the state of
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
delegates to the
Democratic National Convention of 1924 held in New York, where they found only soda being served. Several times Einstein went to a bar and identified himself as a Prohibition agent. The bouncer, thinking he was joking, laughed and let him in.
["Izzy Einstein"](_blank)
''Time,'' February 28, 1938. One time he took bets in the joint that he was the agent whose picture was up on the wall. When the customers paid up, he arrested them.
As Prohibition Bureau agents, they were the most famous and successful, known nationally for making thousands of arrests and gaining a high rate of convictions. They made 4,932 arrests, and achieved a 95% conviction rate. They confiscated 5 million gallons of liquor, worth an estimated $15 million.
As a result of their work, thousands of bartenders, bootleggers and speakeasy owners were sentenced to jail.
Einstein and Smith used the press to build support:
They frequently scheduled their raids to suit the convenience of the reporters and the newspaper photographers, and soon learned that there was more room in the papers on Monday mornings than on any other day of the week. One Sunday, accompanied by a swarm of eager reporters, they established a record by making seventy-one raids in a little more than twelve hours.
In November 1925, the partners were among 38 men laid off from the New York office after a reorganization plan announced by General
Lincoln C. Andrews of the national bureau. He and other officials in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
appeared to resent the favorable coverage that Einstein and Smith received, who gained far more attention than higher officials.
Andrews was reported as disapproving of Prohibition agents who gained publicity, and Einstein and Smith's exploits had been well covered by the press, both tabloids and major papers such as ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''; their successes were sensational. As ''Time'' magazine wrote at the time,
The public which looked upon them with as much delight as ever it looked on Robin Hood was denied their adventures — adventures as thrilling as those of Sir Launcelot, as those of Richard Cœur de Lion
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...
, as those of Don Quixote de la Mancha
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Western ...
.
Later lives
Both men went into the insurance business and did well, despite the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Einstein worked for the
New York Life Insurance Company
New York Life Insurance Company (NYLIC) is the third-largest life insurance company in the United States, the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States and is ranked #67 on the 2021 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States ...
.
He died at age 57, February 17, 1938,
several days after having a leg amputated.
He was buried at
Mount Zion Cemetery, Queens County, New York.
Smith lived until 1960, when he died from a stroke in
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...
.
Legacy and honors
*Einstein wrote an autobiography telling of their exploits, called ''Prohibition Agent No 1''. It was published in 1932. It had almost a million readers.
*At their deaths, each man was featured in an obituary in the national magazine ''Time'', which noted their joint achievements during Prohibition as the "funniest and most effective team" of federal agents, who made more than 4,900 arrests and confiscated an estimated 5 million bottles of illegal liquor.
["Moe W. Smith"](_blank)
''Time,'' December 26, 1960. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
In popular culture
*Einstein and Smith's achievements inspired the television film, ''
Izzy and Moe
''Izzy and Moe'' is a 1985 American made-for-television comedy-crime film starring Jackie Gleason and Art Carney. It is a fictional account of two actual Prohibition-era policemen, Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith, and their adventures in tracking ...
'' (1985), directed by
Jackie Cooper.
Jackie Gleason
John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...
starred as Izzy, and
Art Carney
Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best known for his role as Ed Norton on the si ...
as Moe. Einstein's great-grandson appears in the film.
References
Further reading
*Einstein, Isidor. ''Prohibition Agent No 1'', New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1932.
External links
Isador "Izzy" Einstein: Isador "Izzy" Einstein? Prohibition Agent No.1 September 22, 2016 at
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Izzy and Moe Freemasonry
Montgomery College
"Izzy, the Busy Rum Sleuth, and his Dizzy Life" ''The Literary Digest,'' 15 April 1922
*
Izzy Einstien and the Chatsworth Moonshine Dog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Izzy and Smith, Moe
Duos
American law enforcement officials
Prohibition in New York City
Yiddish-speaking people