Morris Kleinman
Called by Cleveland's public safety director in 1951 'the king of the bootleggers in the northern district of Ohio'; a Cleveland police record printed by the Kefauver Committee gives a 1933 income tax evasion sentence and calls him a principal owner of the Desert Inn.
- Aliases
- Maurice Kleinmann (1988 transcript)
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records and the filed newspaper pages state.
On the record
- 1929 — Kefauver Committee (1951), Sutton's statement: the road to riches "took Kleinman up to a gross income in 1929 of approximately $931,000," and "Kleinman dominated his field."
- 1931/1933 — Sutton testified that Kleinman "was caught by Uncle Sam in 1931"; the police record printed as exhibit 32 gives "Date: 1933. Charge: Income tax evasion. Disposition: 3-year sentence." Both are recorded as printed.
- 1951-01 — Kefauver Committee: exhibit 32 states that "Kleinman, Morris Dalitz, and Sam Tucker are the principal owners of the Desert Inn, Las Vegas." Thomas McGinty named Kleinman among his Desert Inn partners.
- 1988-04-15 — Angelo Lonardo, Senate testimony: named "Maurice Kleinmann" first among "the Jewish Boys." Testimony.
No family or role is set. Sutton’s “king of the bootleggers” is a city official’s testimony; the exhibit is a compilation of police and intelligence references. The committee’s contempt report on his failure to testify is Senate Report 208. No filed record gives his birth date or death.
Records
itemKefauver Committee, Cleveland: testimony of Public Safety Director Alvin G. Sutton (January 1951)Cleveland's Director of Public Safety, Alvin G. Sutton, gave the committee his account of the city's Prohibition bootleggers, naming Morris Kleinman, Lou Rothkopf, Moe Dalitz, Sam Tucker and Maxie Diamond, their move into gambling in Kentucky and Las Vegas, and the later numbers rackets.
itemKefauver Committee exhibits 31 and 32: records of Louis Rothkopf and Morris Kleinman (January 1951)Two record summaries placed in evidence during Alvin Sutton's testimony and printed on page 455: exhibit 31 for Louis Rothkopf, 'also known as Lou Rhody, John Zarumba', with a 1937 internal revenue case; exhibit 32 for Morris Kleinman, with a 1933 income tax evasion sentence.itemKefauver Committee, Cleveland: testimony of accountant Alvin E. Giesey (January 1951)Cleveland accountant Alvin E. Giesey, whose firm prepared returns for Morris Kleinman, Moe Dalitz, Louis Rothkopf, Sam Tucker and others, testified about their joint holdings, including two-thirds of 10,000 shares of the Detroit Steel Corp.itemKefauver Committee, Cleveland: testimony of Thomas J. McGinty (January 1951)Thomas J. McGinty told the committee he had served six months for conspiracy under the National Prohibition Act, had been a partner in the Mounds Club, and was a partner in the Desert Inn at Las Vegas with Wilbur Clark, Moe Dalitz, Morris Kleinman and Sam Tucker.
itemSenate Report 208: proceedings against Morris Kleinman (1951)Senate Report No. 208, 82d Congress, 1st Session, on the Kefauver Committee's contempt proceedings against Morris Kleinman, who refused to answer questions. The report accompanies S. Res. 119 and annexes excerpts of the hearing record.
itemFBI Vault file on John ScalishThe FBI Vault's release of the Cleveland office file 92-167 on John T. Scalish, opened after the Bureau was told he had been at the November 1957 Apalachin meeting. Its background section collects informant reports from 1944 to 1957 about Scalish, the Desert Inn and the Cleveland 'syndicate'.itemSenate subcommittee hearing, 1988: testimony of Angelo LonardoOn 15 April 1988 Angelo Lonardo, testifying behind a screen under a court immunity order, told the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that he was 'the former underboss of the Cleveland organized crime family' and described its leaders, its Las Vegas casino income and its dealings with New York and Chicago.
itemKefauver Committee exhibits 31 and 32: records of Louis Rothkopf and Morris Kleinman (January 1951)Two record summaries placed in evidence during Alvin Sutton's testimony and printed on page 455: exhibit 31 for Louis Rothkopf, 'also known as Lou Rhody, John Zarumba', with a 1937 internal revenue case; exhibit 32 for Morris Kleinman, with a 1933 income tax evasion sentence.itemKefauver Committee, Cleveland: testimony of accountant Alvin E. Giesey (January 1951)Cleveland accountant Alvin E. Giesey, whose firm prepared returns for Morris Kleinman, Moe Dalitz, Louis Rothkopf, Sam Tucker and others, testified about their joint holdings, including two-thirds of 10,000 shares of the Detroit Steel Corp.itemKefauver Committee, Cleveland: testimony of Thomas J. McGinty (January 1951)Thomas J. McGinty told the committee he had served six months for conspiracy under the National Prohibition Act, had been a partner in the Mounds Club, and was a partner in the Desert Inn at Las Vegas with Wilbur Clark, Moe Dalitz, Morris Kleinman and Sam Tucker.itemSenate Report 208: proceedings against Morris Kleinman (1951)Senate Report No. 208, 82d Congress, 1st Session, on the Kefauver Committee's contempt proceedings against Morris Kleinman, who refused to answer questions. The report accompanies S. Res. 119 and annexes excerpts of the hearing record.itemFBI Vault file on John ScalishThe FBI Vault's release of the Cleveland office file 92-167 on John T. Scalish, opened after the Bureau was told he had been at the November 1957 Apalachin meeting. Its background section collects informant reports from 1944 to 1957 about Scalish, the Desert Inn and the Cleveland 'syndicate'.itemSenate subcommittee hearing, 1988: testimony of Angelo LonardoOn 15 April 1988 Angelo Lonardo, testifying behind a screen under a court immunity order, told the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that he was 'the former underboss of the Cleveland organized crime family' and described its leaders, its Las Vegas casino income and its dealings with New York and Chicago.