◆ SpookStack

Tolson ————__-—- DeLoach Casper Callahan —_—_——. Conrad ———__—— Felt _____-___ Gale __--__-_-— Rosen ————- Sullivan —~-—— Tavel ___-___—— Trotter ——-_—-—— Tele. Room Holmes —————. Gamty-______— July 19, 1966 MEMORANDUM RE: LOUIS "LEPKE“ BUCHALTER, with aliases BACKGROUND: Louis "Lepke" Buchalter was born in New York City on February 6, 1897, the son of Barnett Buchalter, who had come to America from Russia and operated a hardware shop on the lower East Side of New York City. His mother was refined and well educated, and one sister was a school teacher. His brothers ‘ dncluded a dentist and a rabbi. In his youth, Buchalter attended - the public schools and assisted his father in the operation of the hardware store until his father's death in 1909. Later, the family moved to Brooklyn. After completing grade school in 1910, Buchalter obtained employment as a salesman for a concern engaged in distributing theatrical goods. CRIMINAL CAREER : Buchalter was first arrested on September 2, 1915, on a charge of burglary. Released by the grand jury, he was next ar- rested in January, 1916, on a similar charge, but he was again released. His first real brush with law enforcement came the following month, when he was arrested at Bridgeport, Connecticut, charged with the theft of a grip from an automobile. Following his conviction, he was sentenced to the Connecticut Reformatory at Cheshire, Connecticut, where he was received in May, 1916. For the next dozen years Buchalter was in and out of prison on numerous occasions, being arrested on charges including - burglary, armed robbery, grand larceny and consorting with criminals. During this time, be became closely associated with Jacob Shapiro, and the notorious careers of the two were closely allied thereafter. During the early 1930's; Buchaliter and Shapiss tusned to the lucrative rackets which were plaguing the entire New York area. In the years that followed, they built a criminal expire seldom matched in the annals of racketeering. The activities of their mob became the subject of headline after headline in, the menos MAIL ROOM CL] TeLetype unit CJ