Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro
Defendant with Louis Buchalter in the federal fur dressers antitrust cases. His 1936 Sherman Act conviction was affirmed in 1937; he became a fugitive, surrendered on April 14, 1938, and was sentenced again on June 17, 1938. The FBI states he was sentenced on May 5, 1944 to 15 years to life for conspiracy and extortion.
- Aliases
- Gurrah
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited records state.
On the record
- 1932-09 — In United States v. Buchalter, 88 F.2d 625, the Second Circuit quotes a union official's testimony that at a September 1932 meeting at the Governor Clinton Hotel he was introduced to a man "known as Mr. Gurrah. His correct name is, I think, Shapiro" (testimony quoted in a court record).
- 1936-11-12 — The FBI's history page states that Shapiro and Buchalter were convicted on all four counts of the Protective Fur Dressers indictment on November 8, 1936 and each sentenced on November 12, 1936 to two years and a $10,000 fine.
- 1937-03-08 — United States v. Buchalter, 88 F.2d 625 (court record): "The judgment as to Buchalter is reversed, but as to Shapiro it is affirmed." The court found "direct evidence to connect him with the conspiracy and the unlawful acts charged and proved." A note records that certiorari was denied.
- 1937-06-14 — The FBI's history page states that the Supreme Court denied review on June 5, 1937, that he failed to surrender on June 14, 1937, and that a bench warrant issued.
- 1938-04-14 — The FBI narrative "The Furdress Case" opens: "Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro surrendered to Federal authorities on April 14, 1938, in New York, after being a fugitive from justice for less than a year."
- 1938-06-17 — The same narrative states that Shapiro "on June 17, 1938, was sentenced to serve three additional years and pay a $15,000 fine" in the Southern District of New York in the Fur Dressers Factor Corporation case.
- 1944-05-05 — The FBI's history page states: "On May 5, 1944, Shapiro was sentenced to 15 years to life after being found guilty of conspiracy and extortion." The state case records are not filed here.
The FBI’s history page and its 1939 narrative call him Jacob “Gurrah” Shapiro; the Second Circuit names him Shapiro and quotes a witness who knew him as “Mr. Gurrah.” An alias read from the OCR of a Bureau arrest summary is not given here, because it has not been checked against the page image.
The Second Circuit affirmed his Sherman Act conviction on testimony that tied him to the Protective Fur Dressers combination. The FBI’s account of the fur rackets, which attributes their violence to Shapiro and Buchalter, is the Bureau’s narrative. The FBI’s mug shot of him is served at the FBI’s site and is not stored here. No record filed on this page states a family, a rank, or a role in any organization.
Records
itemFur Dressers Case (FBI history page)The FBI's own account of its 1932 to 1939 antitrust investigation of the Protective Fur Dressers Corporation and the Fur Dressers Factor Corporation, in which Louis Buchalter and Jacob Shapiro were named defendants, through Buchalter's surrender on August 24, 1939.itemUnited States v. Buchalter, 88 F.2d 625 (2d Cir. 1937)Second Circuit opinion of March 8, 1937 on the appeal of Louis Buchalter and Jacob Shapiro from their Sherman Act convictions in the rabbit-skin (Protective Fur Dressers) case: reversed as to Buchalter for want of substantial evidence, affirmed as to Shapiro.
item"The Furdress Case": the FBI's narrative of the Shapiro and Buchalter surrenders (1939)An undated Bureau narrative, file 60-1501-4266, in Part 03 of the Buchalter file: Shapiro's surrender on April 14, 1938, the 1939 negotiations through Walter Winchell, and Buchalter's surrender to the Director at 10:17 on August 24, 1939. The first page is stored here.itemFBI memorandum on the Buchalter and Shapiro fugitive investigation (July 5, 1939)A Bureau memorandum of July 5, 1939, in Part 02 of the Buchalter file, setting out the 1936 sentences in the fur dressers case, Buchalter's failure to appear on July 6, 1937, and the rewards offered for him from 1937 to 1939.itemFBI Vault: Louis (Lepke) Buchalter, Part 01First of four parts of the FBI's Buchalter file: a New York field report of August 1935 on the fur dressers antitrust case, a 1937 letter from the United States Attorney, the November 1937 report that names Shapiro and Buchalter as fugitives, and 1955 and 1956 Bureau summaries.
itemFBI Vault: Louis (Lepke) Buchalter, Part 03Third part of the FBI's Buchalter file: the Bureau's narrative "The Furdress Case" ending with his surrender on August 24, 1939, Los Angeles report pages from 1939, a 1956 memorandum, a 1966 Portland memorandum, and pasted newspaper clippings. Page 16 is stored here.itemJacob Shapiro mug shot (FBI)Mug shot of Jacob Shapiro published on the FBI's Fur Dressers Case page, captioned with his May 5, 1944 sentence of 15 years to life. The FBI serves the image; no copy is stored here.
itemFBI wanted poster for Jacob Shapiro and Louis Buchalter, 8 November 1937FBI wanted poster for Jacob Shapiro and Louis Buchalter dated November 8, 1937, carrying their photographs. A copy is stored here.
item"The Furdress Case": the FBI's narrative of the Shapiro and Buchalter surrenders (1939)An undated Bureau narrative, file 60-1501-4266, in Part 03 of the Buchalter file: Shapiro's surrender on April 14, 1938, the 1939 negotiations through Walter Winchell, and Buchalter's surrender to the Director at 10:17 on August 24, 1939. The first page is stored here.itemFBI memorandum on the Buchalter and Shapiro fugitive investigation (July 5, 1939)A Bureau memorandum of July 5, 1939, in Part 02 of the Buchalter file, setting out the 1936 sentences in the fur dressers case, Buchalter's failure to appear on July 6, 1937, and the rewards offered for him from 1937 to 1939.itemFBI Vault: Louis (Lepke) Buchalter, Part 01First of four parts of the FBI's Buchalter file: a New York field report of August 1935 on the fur dressers antitrust case, a 1937 letter from the United States Attorney, the November 1937 report that names Shapiro and Buchalter as fugitives, and 1955 and 1956 Bureau summaries.itemFBI Vault: Louis (Lepke) Buchalter, Part 03Third part of the FBI's Buchalter file: the Bureau's narrative "The Furdress Case" ending with his surrender on August 24, 1939, Los Angeles report pages from 1939, a 1956 memorandum, a 1966 Portland memorandum, and pasted newspaper clippings. Page 16 is stored here.itemJacob Shapiro mug shot (FBI)Mug shot of Jacob Shapiro published on the FBI's Fur Dressers Case page, captioned with his May 5, 1944 sentence of 15 years to life. The FBI serves the image; no copy is stored here.itemFBI wanted poster for Jacob Shapiro and Louis Buchalter, 8 November 1937FBI wanted poster for Jacob Shapiro and Louis Buchalter dated November 8, 1937, carrying their photographs. A copy is stored here.