This is the lastest piece to leave the drawing table for the book. Albert 'Tick Tock' Tannenbaum is probably one of my favourite personalities in the annals of Jewish Gangsters; his perpetual hang-dog face said it all. He's also one of the few hoodlums who came through my neck of the woods in the late 30's when he was on the trail of Harry 'Big Greenie' Greenberg, who was on the lam and threatening to testify against Louis 'Lepke' Buchalter. Tannenbaum's travels took him to Montreal, through Detroit, and finally bagged his man in Los Angeles with the help of Bugsy Siegel. He eventually turned on Lepke himself on the witness stand, and remained one of the few who survived the Murder Inc. trials to lead a new, undisclosed life.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
ALLIE 'TICK-TOCK TANNENBAUM
This is the lastest piece to leave the drawing table for the book. Albert 'Tick Tock' Tannenbaum is probably one of my favourite personalities in the annals of Jewish Gangsters; his perpetual hang-dog face said it all. He's also one of the few hoodlums who came through my neck of the woods in the late 30's when he was on the trail of Harry 'Big Greenie' Greenberg, who was on the lam and threatening to testify against Louis 'Lepke' Buchalter. Tannenbaum's travels took him to Montreal, through Detroit, and finally bagged his man in Los Angeles with the help of Bugsy Siegel. He eventually turned on Lepke himself on the witness stand, and remained one of the few who survived the Murder Inc. trials to lead a new, undisclosed life.
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7 comments:
Have you found pictures of Al? There is one on the web I have seen but that is it. Al was my great uncle and I am interested in finding out more about him other than family stories.
Hi David
I have only found what has been available to the public through either books or old magazine articles.
Which photo are you referencing to on the web?
I'd be curious to hear more of your family stories - mystery surrounds Allie's post-gangster days, including reports of living Atlanta as a hat salesman and his disappearance off the Florida coast..
Any new info about his later life would be greatly appreciated - you can email me directly at pathamou@gmail.com if you'd like to continue this conversation off the blog.
Thanks for reaching out.
-Pat
I just stumbled back on this. Is this email still valid?
yes it is...
david I'm also related to al through marriage
I'm a friend of, and used to live in the same building in NYC, as Al Tannebaum's nephew. Al's sister Jean was my friend's mom. Al's sister died about 2 years, she was close to 100. His nephew told me some stories that haven't been heard elsewhere. Tannenbaum did surface in Atlanta and worked as a lampshade salesman. I believe his brother, or another relative, owned the company.
Hi.
Just stumbled on your FB page, and your compelling portrait of Albert Tannenbaum.
My wife & I watched the new Harvey Keitel movie, last nite, “Lansky,” about Meyer Lansky.
In the movie, (albeit in passing) Kietel, as an elder Meyer Lansky, mentions “Allie,” a real-life buddy of my grandparents and parents from their mutual association in the 1950s with the Connecticut lighting manufacturer, Verplex, owned by the Schneller family (son, Richard “Dick” Schneller, also a family friend, later became a State Senator).
My Dad & Mom spent some of their 1953 Caribbean honeymoon invited to Al’s South Florida estate.
It wasn’t ‘til the book and later movie, “Murder Inc.” (Peter Falk’s first starring role, in 1960 — for which he was nominated for an Academy Award), that everyone discovered how sweet and by-then middle-aged Al had actually spent his youth!!!!
To paraphrase the epilogue / “where are they now” section of Burton Turkus’ book, it condescendingly dismisses Al as “peddling lampshades” in Florida.
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