He was one of several independent gang leaders operating in Manhattan's Lower East Side and, along with Abe "Little Rhodey" Roch and Philip "Pinchy" Paul,[1][2] led a small coalition of gangs to break the monopoly held by Joseph "Joe the Greaser" Rosenzweig and Benjamin "Dopey Benny" Fein during the first "Labor Slugger War".
A crowd had already gathered in front of Jackson's place as soon as the first shots were heard and a few bystanders managed to chase the car all the way to Cooper Street before losing sight of them.
One man was able to copy the license plate but police were unable to find a match in the state motor car records.
Another version told to police was that Lustig had been lured to the coffee house by a telephone message from a young woman.
[7] On August 22, police detectives Emile Klinger and Paul Kaiser arrested a woman in Scranton, Pennsylvania believed to know the whereabouts of a key witness, Rose Harris, who was able to identify the four gunmen.