Biography
Arnold Rothstein — gangster (fixer) with roots in the Russian Empire
Arnold Rothstein (1882–1928) masterminded New York's criminal underworld, transforming street-level vice into corporate-style organized crime. He allegedly fixed the 1919 World Series and mentored figures including Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky.
"Abraham and Esther Rothstein emigrated from Bessarabia to New York in the 1870s–1880s."
Migration storyRussian Connection
Tracing the roots — Bessarabia (Moldova)
Rothstein's parents fled Bessarabia amid the pogroms and poverty of the late Russian Empire, settling on Manhattan's Lower East Side. That immigrant displacement shaped the milieu of Jewish organized crime in which Rothstein rose to dominance.
Family Tree
Subject
Arnold Rothstein🇺🇸 USA
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Parents
Abraham Rothstein
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Origin
Bessarabia (Moldova)🇷🇺 Russian Empire
Historical context
Russian Empire · c. 1721–1917
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Bessarabia (Moldova). At the time, this region lay within the Russian Empire, which spanned from Poland to the Pacific.
Map: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)
Key Achievements
A career defined by ambition
01
Alleged fixer of the 1919 Black Sox World Series scandal
02
Pioneer of large-scale criminal enterprise financing
03
Mentor to Luciano, Lansky, and Lepke Buchalter
04
Dominant force in New York gambling and narcotics distribution
05
Inspiration for Meyer Wolfsheim in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
Sources