Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith

thumb|Izzy (right) and Moe at a New York City bar, 1935

Isidor "Izzy" Einstein (1880–1938) and Moe W. Smith (1887–1960) were United States federal police officers, agents of the U.S. Prohibition Unit, who achieved the most arrests and convictions during the first years of the alcohol prohibition era (1920–1925). They were known nationally for successfully shutting down illegal speakeasies and for using disguises in their work.

They made 4,933 arrests. In late 1925, Izzy and Moe were laid off in a reorganization of the bureau of enforcement. A report in Time magazine suggested they had attracted more publicity than wanted by the new political appointee heading the bureau, although the press and public loved the team. By 1930 both men were working as insurance salesmen.

Early lives and educations

Isidor Einstein (sometimes spelled Isadore) was born in 1880 He grew up speaking Yiddish and likely was educated in a yeshiva; he also learned Hungarian, Polish and German, together with a smattering of other European languages. Einstein emigrated as a young man to the United States around 1901.

Moe W. Smith was born about 1887

Before 1920 Smith married Sadie Strauch, a Jewish native of Bohemia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who had immigrated to New York and was a native Yiddish speaker. In the 1920 census, Moe and Sadie Smith (born c. 1891, imm./nat. 1898 or 1900) were recorded as living with her brother, Benjamin Strauch in Brooklyn. Their daughter Estelle was born c. 1925.

Careers

thumb|200px|Izzy Einstein's badge.

Einstein had started work as a salesman and later served as a postal clerk. He struggled to support his family, including his father, on that salary. Smith first worked as a cigar salesman, and then managed a small fight club. He also owned a cigar store.)

Einstein and Smith were both rather rotund and apparently disarmed many of their quarry by their unthreatening appearances. They claimed to have used more than 100 disguises and were never detected. One time he took bets in the joint that he was the agent whose picture was up on the wall. When the customers paid up, he arrested them. As a result of their work, thousands of bartenders, bootleggers and speakeasy owners were sentenced to jail.</blockquote>

In November 1925, the partners were among 38 men laid off from the New York office after a reorganization plan announced by General Lincoln C. Andrews of the national bureau. He and other officials in Washington, D.C. appeared to resent the favorable coverage that Einstein and Smith received, who gained far more attention than higher officials. Andrews was reported as disapproving of Prohibition agents who gained publicity, and Einstein and Smith's exploits had been well covered by the press, both tabloids and major papers such as The New York Times; their successes were sensational. As Time magazine wrote at the time,

<blockquote>The public which looked upon them with as much delight as ever it looked on Robin Hood was denied their adventures — adventures as thrilling as those of Sir Launcelot, as those of Richard Cœur de Lion, as those of Don Quixote de la Mancha.</blockquote>

Later lives

Both men went into the insurance business and did well, despite the Great Depression. Einstein worked for the New York Life Insurance Company. several days after having a leg amputated.

In popular culture

Einstein and Smith's achievements inspired the television film, Izzy and Moe (1985), directed by Jackie Cooper. Jackie Gleason starred as Izzy, and Art Carney as Moe. Einstein's great-grandson appears in the film.
The musical Nowhere to Go But Up, which recalls the exploits of Einstein and Smith, had a brief run on Broadway in 1962, playing 3 previews and 9 performances at the Winter Garden Theatre. Appearing as Einstein and Smith were Tom Bosley and Martin Balsam respectively. The show had music by Sol Berkowitz, book and lyrics by James Lipton, and was directed by Sidney Lumet.

References

External links

Isador "Izzy" Einstein: Isador "Izzy" Einstein? Prohibition Agent No.1, September 22, 2016 at Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Izzy and Moe, Freemasonry
"The Enforcers: Izzy and Moe", Montgomery College
"Izzy, the Busy Rum Sleuth, and his Dizzy Life", The Literary Digest, 15 April 1922
Izzy Einstien and the Chatsworth Moonshine Dog