F

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

The Kosher Nostra

Continued from Page 60

one occasion, was seen "davening"
with some of the biggest stars on
Broadway. His father warned him that
this sort of publicity was no good for
the organization, but his pleadings
were ignored. Tragically, the fast life
finally caught up with young Weins-
tein. One day he announced he . was
marrying a chorus girl whom he de-
scribed as "bright and gentle." Unfor-
tunately, his mother thought he said
"bright and gentile." She went into the
kitchen and attempted to commit
suicide by inhaling fumes from a lef-
tover pot roast. The elder Weinstein
never forgave his son for this. As
punishment, he was excluded from the
family business for the next 10 years.
He eventually reclaimed his spot as
heir-apparent to his father, but only
after a bitter power struggle with his
half-brother, Victor ("The Noodge")
Weinstein, that nearly crippled the
organization.
By the Second World War, the
Weinsteins had established a coast-
to-coast network — despite the con-
stant surveillance of the FBI, the CIA,
•and the B'nai B'rith. Meanwhile, the
Golowitz/Mandelbaum clan moved
into the prayer book business and
began reaping a windfall due to the

Chomsky moved his organization
to Las Vegas, gaining a
strangehold on that town's prayer
shawls.

shortage created by the war. Siddurim
that originally sold for $2 were now
going for $20. High Holy Day prayer
books brought in as much as $50,
sometimes more, if they included a
dedication.
Unfortunately, by 1946, the de-
mand for prayer books had subsided
and the Mandelbaums had to explore
new avenues of revenue. It was then
that Moses ("The Musheggenner")
Mandelbaum, who had taken control
of the family business, decided to move
into the Weinstein territory: He fig-
ured that the power struggle between
the Weinstein brothers had made
them vulnerable. Moving quickly,
Mandelbaum engineered the take-
over of several Weinstein-owned
yeshivas and Turkish baths. This inci-
dent, known as the Simchat Torah
Massacre, marked the end of the 20-
year peace between the Weinsteins
and Mandelbaums.
Fearing complete annihilation,
Sammy Weinstein wired Atlantic City
and asked Henry ("The Caterer")
Rothstein to mediate an emergency
truce between him and his half-
brother. The peace conference lasted
nearly five hours (15 minutes for the
actual negotiations; four hours and 45
minutes as everybody waited for
someone to pick up the check). Once
again the Weinstein brothers were
united and ready to ward off any
threat Vom the Mandelbaums.
Bracing for full-scale war, both,
sides sent for reinforcements. Fortu-
nately, due to the fear of federal inter-
vention, the confrontation never
materialized and all the money
budgeted for ammunition was donated
to Israel.
By the 1950s, the Mandelbaums

controlled the western United States
so well that Mandelbaum was able to
send his eldest son, Bernie ("The Bar
Mitzvah Boy") to Los Angeles. He got a
job as assistant cantor at Temple B'nai
Screening Room, the synagogue of the
stars. (He was reportedly hired only
after the president of the temple woke
up to find the head of a herring in his
bed.)
To counteract this, the Weinsteins
began rebuilding their organization
from the bottom up. Howie ("Lucky")
Lupowitz, brought in as the new mus-
cle man, used his connections to get
numerous Weinstein children, nieces
and nephews into yeshivas and talmud
torahs around the country. This
strategy began to pay off by the early
1960s: Young Weinstein relatives
began replacing aging Mandelbaum
lieutenants at seminaries and ac-
counting firms across the country.
Realizing that power was slipping
from him, Moses Mandelbaum called
an emergency meeting of his executive
council. The council planned to frame
Lupowitz by taking his picture as he
was sneaking out of a Chinese restau-
rant with a blonde shiksah on his arm.
Unfortunately, the plan fell through
when the girl couldn't get out of a date
she had previously made with the Dal-
las Cowboys' backfield.
In the meantime, pressure was
building on the Justice Department to
do something. The Attorney General
acted immediately. He forbade his
wife from playing mahjong with Flora
Weinstein.
The town of Lakeville is located
on Long Island's affluent North
Shore. It is considered the nation's
most influential Jewish community.
Whoever is -chief rabbi at Beth Sinai,
its largest synagogue, is considered
the most powerful rabbi in the nation.
He automatically assumes the leader-
ship of the feared "Minyan of Ten."
Naturally, both the Weinsteins and
the Mandelbaums had their own can-
didates.
The Weinsteins offered Abe's el-
dest, Shlomo, who was acclaimed a
prodigy when he learned how to lay
tefillin by the age of five. In response,
the Mandelbaums pushed for Meyer's
brother, Chemya Mandelbaum,
nicknamed "Crazy Legs" when he be-
came the first person to attend rabbin-
ical school on a football scholarship.
The outside pressure started al-
most immediately. Just after closing
his deli one night, Marvin Kalish, a
key member of the nominating com-
mittee, was visited by three thugs who
threatened not to let him cater their
next affair unless he voted for Weins-
tein.
By the time the nominators met to
vote, each committee member had had
unscheduled midnight visits from
"representatives" of both families. The
Mandelbaums promised to bring the
temple new members, new prosperity
and new direction; the Weinsteins of-
fered Frank Sinatra for the Purim
Ball.
It was no contest.
The voting was over in minutes
and the Weinsteins were in. The Man-
delbaums suffered such a humiliating
defeat that they were forced to move to
Cleveland — where they are currently
sitting shivah for their -social -lives: -

63

Friday, March 30, 1984

CAMP TAMARACK

BRIGHT.,

FRESH AIR SOCIETY'S

IDEAL SITE FOR ELEMENTARY CHILDREN
ENTERING 2nd-5th GRADES

•
•
•
•

three 19-day sessions
9-day Sports Skills/Performing Arts Camps
caring, sensitive staff
bunk, individual choice, and Jewish programs
swimming, arts and crafts, sailing, dance, canoeing, nature cen-
ter, animal farm, sports, dance, tennis, Shabbat celebration.
Call 661-0600 for these programs and Camp Maas, Teen Travel
Trips, Israel Teen Mission. Scholarships are available for qualify-
ing families.

MINININ

■

Lakewood

KOSHER FOODS

Call
967-2021

25210 Greenfield
N. of 10 Mile

Lakewood Kosher Food Center is pleased to take
your order for. Passover on the following items -
• ROAST CHICKEN • POTATO KUGEL
• MATZOH KUGEL • COLE SLAW
• TZIMMES
• GEFILTE FISH
CORP

p endorsed
HIRSH BROTHERS BAKED GOODS
Jelly rolls, chocolate rolls, sponge cakes, honey cakes, 7-layer cakes, layer
cakes, railroad cakes, assorted cookies and macaroons.
A full line of dairy products (soft and hard cheeses)
A full line of jumbo dried fruits and candies.

SHOP EARLY FOR A FULL PASSOVER SELECTION

Closed Saturday during the day but will reopen Saturday evening at 81 5
P.M. to serve the community.

1 2 h/4%

Government National Mortgage
Association (Ginnie Mae)

U.S. Government Guaranteed As To
Timely Payment of Principal & Interest

• Monthly Checks • High Degree of Marketability
• Qualified for Pension and Profit Sharing Plans

FIRST HERITAGE
CORPORATION

Member Midwest Stock Excange

26877 NORTHWESTERN HIGHWAY
SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN 48037
(313) 353-4740 (Call Collect)

Send Information on GNMA to:

Name

Address

City

JN 3/30

State

Zip

Phone

