Meyer Shapiro

The Shapiro brothers (Meyer, Irving and Willie) ran a gang of Jewish mobsters that operated out of the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York. Their criminal activities centered around loansharking, slot machines, dice games, and extortion of shop keepers. The Shapiro brothers came into conflict with the other gangs in Brooklyn such as the Amberg brothers and the Reles gang. One by one the Shapiro brothers were murdered by the other gangs. Even though Meyer was younger then his brother Irving, he was considered the leader of the gang. On September 17, 1931, Meyer was found shot to death in the cellar of a lower eastside tenement in Manhattan. He was 23 years old