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Biography

Shondor Birns

Overview

  • Born
    February 21, 1905 · Lemes, Austria-Hungary
  • Died
    March 29, 1975 · Cleveland, Ohio, USA (car bomb)
  • Birth name
    Alexander Birnstein

Biography

  • Shondor Birns was a notorious Jewish-American mobster and racketeer from Cleveland, Ohio, who was once labeled as the city's "Public enemy No. 1" by the local newspapers. He was actively involved in a wide variety of racketeering and other organized crime-related activities such as prostitution, theft, numbers, etc., from the days of Prohibition until his demise.

    He was regarded as a celebrity gangster with a reputation as a brutal, ruthless enforcer. Those who refused to pay would usually find their store windows broken or their cars blown up.

    In March 1975, Holy Saturday, the eve of Easter, Birns was blown up via a bomb containing C-4, a potent military explosive, in the lot behind Christy's Lounge, the former Jack & Jill West Lounge, a go-go spot at 2516 Detroit Ave.
    - IMDb mini biography by: Jeremy Birns

Trivia

  • Organized crime figure once labeled Cleveland, Ohio's Public Enemy #1 by the local media. Killed by a car bomb allegedly planted on orders of Danny Greene, who wanted take control of Birns's rackets.
  • Never became a citizen of the United States, even though he immigrated to the United States with his family when he was 1 month old.

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