193:". That's how he got his nickname "Kid Dropper." He was arrested for the first time at age 17 in February 1908 on a charge of theft and was handed a suspended sentence. A year later, another judge again gave Kaplan a suspended sentence for concealing a weapon. Like many other criminals of this era, the Dropper at an early stage joined a street gang. In his case it was the powerful
287:. Kaplan and Orgen soon began fighting over protection of wet wash laundry workers in violent shootouts around New York. In one such altercation, Jacob Gurrah Shapiro was assaulted by Kaplan personally with his gun. Little Augie took this as an opportunity and had Shapiro go to the cops and press charges.
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Louis Cohen shot down Kid
Dropper as he was leaving the Essex Market Court with police guards on all sides. Louis Cohen is a romanticist—he wanted to be a gangster and the Little Augie gangsters played on his ambition until he did the dirty work they were afraid to tackle.... when the Dead Rabbits
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Kaplan and
Spanish, who had previously reconciled from an argument over a woman from their days in the Five Points Gang, soon began feuding again and eventually Spanish split from Kaplan's gang, forming his own separate gang. A violent war between the two soon began; fighting, particularly in the
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On August 28, 1923, Kaplan was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon and arraigned at Essex Market Court. News of the arrest attracted a large crowd of reporters and bystanders. As Kaplan was being transferred to another court, led by a police escort, he was shot and killed by Orgen gunman
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restaurant by three men, most likely including Kaplan, on July 29, 1919. Soon thereafter, Little Augie went to prison and his gang nearly dissolved, leaderless. After
Spanish's death and Orgen's incarceration, Kaplan controlled all of labor slugging operations in New York. While Kaplan worked
228:. Spanish and Kaplan started out as friends and criminal partners. By the late 1900s or early 1910s, both the Dropper and Spanish had formed their own small gangs. The two gangs were allied for a while before a bitter personal rivalry developed between the Dropper and
185:. Later Caplin would modify his surname to Kaplan to shield his own family and confuse police. His mother died when he was still young. Kaplan began committing petty thefts at an early age and later becoming a skilled
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Upon his release in 1918, Kaplan became involved in "labor slugging", providing muscle to either side in the strikes common in New York in that era. Kaplan quickly filled the void left by
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just after he entered a police car. Orgen gained control of Kaplan's operations until his own violent death in
October 1927, possibly at the hands of Buchalter and Shapiro.
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and the Plug Ugly gang held sway there were 30,000 vagrant youths .... Webber and Harry Vallon brought the necessary pressure....
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in the aftermath of the internecine battles between those gangsters. He organized former Five Points members, including
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Goren, Arthur A., "Saints and
Sinners: The underside of American Jewish History" The American Jewish Archives, 1988
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https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/brief-reign-kid-dropper-lower-east-side-gang-leader
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had just been released from prison and had gathered back his gang. Prominent among his gang were
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Gang leader and underworld figure who controlled "labor slugging" in New York from 1919 to 1923.
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By the beginning of 1923, however, Kaplan began to face increasing competition from rivals.
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Nathan Caplin was one of seven sons of Joseph Caplin. He was born in New York's
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had mostly
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garment district, continued until Johnny
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and pushcart extortionist, later becoming known for his skill with the "
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372:"New Gang Methods Replace Those Of Eastman's Days. Gunman Type Rules"
311:"The Brief Reign of 'Kid Dropper,' the Lower East Side Gang Leader".
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that the
Dropper would feud heavily with in the coming years was
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The
Encyclopedia of American Crime: Second Edition Vol. II (K–Z)
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for which he was sentenced to seven years in Sing Sing prison.
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on August 3, 1891. His parents were Jewish immigrants from the
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Gangster City: History of the New York
Underworld, 1900–1935
329:"New York gangster Johnny Spanish: A Retrospective (1 of 2)"
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lasted until the Dropper's arrest the following year for
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145:(August 3, 1891 – August 28, 1923), also known as
507:Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (New York City)
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149:, was an American gangster who controlled labor
111:Kaitlin Kaplan, Nathan Caplan, Jack the Dropper
19:For the biochemist and cancer researcher, see
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412:, Facts On File Inc., New York, 2001.
344:World Encyclopedia of Organized Crime
23:. For the lawyer and politician, see
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472:Murdered Jewish American gangsters
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27:. For the union activist, see
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249:Joe "The Greaser" Rosenzweig
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273:Jacob "Little Augie" Orgen
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281:Louis "Lepke" Buchalter
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199:Paul Kelly (criminal)
102:Mount Hebron Cemetery
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209:led by its namesake
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277:Jack "Legs" Diamond
88:Cause of death
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377:The New York Times
245:"Dopey" Benny Fein
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71:(1923-08-28)
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167:Prohibition
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135:Kid Dropper
38:Kid Dropper
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384:2010-12-13
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29:Nat Ganley
261:Manhattan
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173:Biography
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