Samuel “Red” Levine was said to be a religious Orthodox Jewish hitman who refused to kill

Samuel “Red” Levine was said to be a religious Orthodox Jewish hitman who refused to kill on the Sabbath and always wore a yarmulke under his fedora. Although he participated in two of the most pivotal crimes in Mafia history, many people don’t know his story. 

Levine was an American mobster, whose red hair and freckles inspired his nickname and it’s said that if he had no choice and had to make a hit on a Friday evening or on a Saturday, he would put the talith over his shoulders and pray.

Levine’s family moved to Houston Street on New York’s Lower East Side where he was part of Murder, Inc. He was one of the three hitmen sent by Meyer Lansky to assassinate the Sicilian mafia boss Salvatore Maranzano, the "capo di tutti capi," or "boss of bosses," in his office. 

After the early 1940s, by which point most members of Murder Inc. had either died or gone to prison, Levine seemingly disappeared, sparing himself a lengthy sentence. 

Join urban historian and educator Bradley Shaw for our new Jewish Gangsters Walking Tour! We’ll explore the story of organized crime in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in New York City, including pickpockets, extortionists, armed robbers, bootleggers, gamblers, and hitmen who lived and conducted their business in the growing Jewish Lower East Side. 

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