Louis "Pretty" Amberg (September 18, 1898 – October 23, 1935) was a Jewish American mobster. Along with his brothers

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

and

Hyman Amberg Herman "Hyman" Amberg (c. 1902 – November 3, 1926) was an American mobster in New York who, with his brothers, Joseph and Louis, formed one of the prominent criminal gangs during Prohibition. Death Often acting as an enforcer, he was arres ...

, he competed against Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro, Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and the

Shapiro Brothers Meyer (1908–1931), Irving (1904–1931) and Willie Shapiro (1911–1934), collectively known as the Shapiro Brothers, were the leaders of a group of Jewish-American mobsters from New York City and based in Williamsburg. Well established in ...

for control of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

's racketeering activities during the 1920s and early 1930s.

Early life

Amberg was born in Kishinev, Moldova,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

into a Jewish family, the fifth of eight children born to Charles (Zabel)) and Rose ( Rivka Mindelwitz) Amberg. The family immigrated to New York in 1903. In 1910, his father's occupation was listed as a

peddler A peddler (American English) or pedlar (British English) is a door-to-door and/or travelling vendor of good (economics), goods. In 19th-century United States the word "drummer" was often used to refer to a peddler or traveling salesman; as exem ...

. Louis Amberg was one of five brothers. In addition to Joseph and Hyman, his brother Oscar Amberg was tried but acquitted for murder and other crimes. William, who owned a furniture store, was the only brother apparently not in the crime business. Their mother had changed her name to Rose Mandell because the Amberg name became so notorious. Amberg had a tendency to stab a fork in the face of anyone who annoyed or offended him. He once stabbed

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over eight decades, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and ...

in the face after Berle insulted him from the stage of the Vanity Fair Club.

Murder

Joseph Amberg was murdered on September 30, 1935. Less than a month later, Pretty Amberg's body was found on the back seat of a flaming car early in the morning of October 23, 1935 across from 131 North Elliot Place, Brooklyn. He had been stripped of his clothes, a sack placed over his head with his hands tied with wire. A witness who first spotted the flames saw several men running away from the scene. Amberg's body was claimed by an undertaker and he was buried without any ceremony. An individual named Al Stern or Stein, 21, was considered a suspect in the killing of both Amberg brothers and at least seven others since that August. The deaths of the Amberg brothers were part of a violent gangland murder spree. The day after Pretty Amberg's death,

Dutch Schultz Dutch Schultz (born Arthur Simon Flegenheimer; August 6, 1901October 24, 1935) was an American mobster based in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s. He made his fortune in organized crime-related activities, including bootlegging and the n ...

and five others were slaughtered in what the media initially speculated could be retaliation for the deaths of the Amberg brothers. For the 10 months prior to his death, Pretty Amberg had been staying in a hotel in midtown Manhattan under an assumed name. Police searched the room and discovered more than $1,000 cash (), jewelry (including a gold watch with initials not matching Amberg) and extensive records. The records, which appeared to include names, addresses and other data were written in some kind of code.

Aftermath

The case remains officially unsolved, though he was alleged to have been killed by Murder, Inc. When asked if there were any suspects, a police detective reportedly answered, "Yeah, Brooklyn."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amberg, Louis 1898 births 1935 deaths 20th-century American Jews Criminals from Brooklyn Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Murdered Jewish American gangsters Murdered American gangsters Jewish American gangsters People murdered by Murder, Inc. Unsolved murders in New York City Burials at Montefiore Cemetery Moldovan Jews People from Chișinău People murdered in 1935

Early life

Murder

Aftermath

See also

References

External links