Hyman "Curly" Holtz (c. 1896 – 1939?), also known as "Little Hymie", was a New York labor

racketeer Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...

who began working as a labor slugger for Jacob "Little Augie" Orgen during the early 1920s.

Life and career

However, as with many of the other younger members within the organization, Holtz grew disenchanted serving under Orgen, especially for his involvement in narcotics. Without the consent of his lieutenants, Orgen accepted a $50,000 payoff to settle a strike in the painting industry. When Orgen refused a request to return the money, Holtz was one of the younger members who soon left the organization with Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and later aligned himself with Buchalter after his split from Orgen. In 1927, upon taking control of the International Brotherhood of Painters Flatbush-based Local 102 from Jacob "The Bum" Wellner in Brooklyn, he clashed with

Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 4, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have organized corruption in professional athleti ...

, who had been hired by an employers association under the "John T. Nolan Agency", headed by Orgen and Rothstein bodyguards

Eddie Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle * Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

and Jack "Legs" Diamond to break up union activities after workers went on strike. A protégé of Buchalter, he is suspected to have been with Buchalter and Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro when Organ was gunned down in a drive-by shooting on October 15, 1927. On November 19, he and associate Benjamin Weinstein were both injured in a drive-by shooting while standing at the corner of Mount Eden and Townsend Avenues. Assigned a police guard of fifteen detectives, he was eventually moved from

Fordham Hospital Fordham Hospital was the first public hospital in the Bronx, New York City, having opened in 1892. Prior to that time, all the New York City municipal hospitals were in Manhattan. It was located in the Fordham section of the Bronx on Valentine Av ...

to Morrisania Court for his arraignment for technical assault, which was later dismissed. However he would be detained on a bench warrant regarding a charge of robbery. An associate of

Meyer Lansky Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the ...

, he attended the Franconia Hotel Conference on November 11, 1931. One of his men, Louis Cohen, was killed in 1939 by

Murder, Inc. Murder, Inc. (Murder, Incorporated) was an organized crime group, active from 1929 to 1941, that acted as the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicatea closely connected criminal organization that included the Italian-American Mafia, the ...

after serving a 15-year prison sentence for the murder of "Kid Dropper" Nathan Kaplan. He would eventually become involved in Buchalter's drug trafficking operations, with shipments reportedly worth $10 million, bringing heroin and morphine into the United States from China with Jacob "Yasha" Katzenberg. His body was later found dumped in the East River; he had been stabbed to death by Murder, Inc. on orders from Buchalter, who suspected Holtz had been skimming from the narcotics operation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holtz, Hymie 1890s births 1930s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain Murdered Jewish American gangsters Deaths by stabbing in the United States People murdered in New York City Male murder victims People murdered by Murder, Inc. 20th-century American Jews

Life and career

Further reading

References