David Berman (mobster) facts for kids

David Berman (1903 – June 16, 1957) was an American man involved in organized crime. He was active in cities like Iowa City, New York City, Minneapolis, and Las Vegas.

Berman was one of the first people to help start casino gambling in Las Vegas. He worked with another person involved in organized crime, Bugsy Siegel, at the famous Flamingo Hotel. David Berman passed away in 1957 after a surgery.

Early Life and Moving to America

David Berman was born in 1903 in Odessa, which was then part of the Russian Empire. His family was Jewish. His father had studied to be a rabbi and played the violin.

When David was a young child, his father moved to America. He settled in Ashley, North Dakota, on land given by Baron Maurice de Hirsch's Jewish Colonization Association. Later, David's father sent for his wife and children to join him. David's mother was reportedly very surprised when they arrived. They had left the warm weather of Odessa for the very cold Great Plains.

Starting in Crime

After trying to make a living on the land, the Berman family moved to Sioux City, Iowa. This is where David began his life in crime. When he was only 13 years old, he led a group of teenagers. They would commit small acts of extortion (forcing people to give them money). Later, he started running illegal places that made alcohol. He also led a group that committed armed robberies.

In 1927, David Berman was asked to join a group from New York City called the Bugs and Meyer Mob. Their goal was to kidnap rich criminals for money. Berman and another person, Joe Marcus, kidnapped a man named Abraham Scharlin. While waiting for the ransom money in Central Park, the NYPD caught them. Joe Marcus was shot and died.

Berman was offered a deal to testify against others, but he refused. He was found guilty of a serious assault and sent to Sing Sing Prison for twelve years. He was released after seven and a half years.

Moving to Minneapolis

After leaving prison, David Berman moved to Minneapolis. There, he ran a large illegal gambling operation. He had rivals, including other Jewish gangsters and an Irish mob group.

One of Berman's tough helpers in Minneapolis was Israel Alderman, known as "Ice Pick Willie." David's brother, "Chickie" Berman, also worked for him. David Berman was sometimes called "Davie the Jew." He ran his group from fancy hotels like the Radisson and Dyckman.

According to his daughter, Susan Berman, David Berman ordered the killing of two brothers. These brothers were sent by Al Capone, a famous Chicago Outfit crime boss, to start a Mafia group in Minneapolis.

After these killings, Capone reportedly wanted Berman dead. However, Berman's protectors in the Genovese crime family in New York City defended him. Capone eventually backed down, but he warned Berman not to come to Chicago.

David Berman also supported Marvin L. Kline's campaign to become mayor of Minneapolis. When Kline won, Berman became a very powerful figure in the city's criminal world for a short time. His daughter Susan said that during Kline's time as mayor, other crime groups had to work for her father.

Susan Berman also said that her father used his group to scare away the Silver Shirts. This was an anti-Jewish group that was supported by Nazi Germany.

Fighting in World War II

Susan Berman later found out that her father was very angry about the Nuremberg Laws and the Holocaust. Because of this, he joined the Canadian Army. The U.S. military had turned him away because he had been in prison. Also, the attack on Pearl Harbor had not yet happened, so the United States was not yet in World War II.

Berman and his friend Nathan Gittlewich fought in Europe. They were soldiers with the 18th Armoured Car Regiment, part of the 12th Manitoba Dragoons. They first fought during the Normandy Landings (D-Day). David Berman was well-liked by his fellow soldiers, who did not know about his past in organized crime. He was badly wounded in battle and was sent home because he could no longer fight.

Life in Las Vegas

In 1945, a journalist named Arthur Kasherman, who fought against corruption, was murdered in Minneapolis. His murder was never solved, but it led to Hubert Humphrey becoming the new mayor. Humphrey worked to stop Berman's operations.

Because of this, David Berman moved his group to the Las Vegas Strip. There, he worked with other people from the Genovese Family, like Bugsy Siegel and Moe Sedway.

Berman was involved in checking on Siegel and the missing money from the Flamingo Hotel and Casino. Some journalists claim Berman warned Siegel that if the money issue wasn't fixed, he would be in big trouble.

Just twenty minutes after Bugsy Siegel was killed in 1947, Gus Greenbaum, Moe Sedway, and David Berman walked into the Flamingo Hotel lobby. They announced that they were now in charge.

David Berman died on June 16, 1957, during a surgery to remove growths from his colon. His daughter, Susan Berman, always believed his death was mysterious. However, it seemed he died from a heart attack during the operation.

Family Life

While living in Minneapolis, David Berman met and married Elizabeth Ewald. She was a German-American dancer who used the stage name "Gladys Evans." Before marrying Berman, Elizabeth changed her religion from Lutheranism to Judaism.

When they were important figures in Las Vegas, Gladys Berman would often host Seder meals for many people at the Riviera Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.

Gladys Berman died shortly after her husband. She was only 39 years old. It is not clear if her death was related to organized crime.

David and Gladys had one child, a daughter named Susan Berman. Susan became a journalist. She received a lot of money from the American Mafia over time. This money was for her share of her father's casinos and other properties in Las Vegas. Susan also wrote a book called Easy Street (1981). In her book, she said she didn't know about her father's criminal activities until someone told her about mentions of him in another book.

Susan Berman was murdered on December 23, 2000, in her home in Benedict Canyon, a suburb of Los Angeles. On September 17, 2021, a Los Angeles County jury found real estate billionaire Robert Durst guilty of her murder. Durst received a sentence of life in prison without the chance of being released.