- Frank Erickson
Infobox Person
name=Frank Erickson300px|right|thumb
caption=Publicity photo of "Frank Erickson"Background
Frank Erickson was born in
New York in 1896 to parents of Swedish and Irish descent. After the death of his father, he grew up in an orphanage.Frank Erickson was
Arnold Rothstein 's right hand man and New York's largest bookmaker during the 1930s and 40's. He worked closely withFrank Costello developing the mob's bookmaking interests in New York; eventually, Erickson became very well known among bookmakers nationwide for handling "lay-off" bets. With Chicago'sMoses Annenberg , Erickson developed a country wide wire service, making possible for the first time nation wide synchronized betting. Erickson was referred to in theKefauver Committee's interim report #1 from August 18, 1950 as a "known gangster." In Robert Lacey's book on Meyer Lanksy, Erickson was named "the largest book maker on the East Coast, if not in all America."Erickson died on March 2, 1968 from cardiac arrest while undergoing surgery on a bleeding ulcer.
Brushes with the Law
Between the years of 1919 to 1926 Erickson was arrested five times for gambling only to have the charges dismissed each time. He was arrested again in 1939 for vagrancy and was so insulted by the charge, he arrived to court in an armoured car, escorted by Brink's guards. He showed the presiding body securities worth $125,000 to prove he wasn't a vagrant. That case, too, was dismissed. Erickson served 10 months on Riker's Island after eventually being convicted by District Attorney Hogan. [Katz, L. (1973). "Uncle Frank." Drake Publishers, New York, NY. ISBN 0-87749-549-1]
References
Eisenberg, D., Dan, U., and Landau, E. (1979). "Meyer Lansky: Mogul of the Mob." New York: Paddington Press. ISBN 0-448-22206-X, ISBN 0-7092-0151-6
Katz, L. (1973). "Uncle Frank." New York, NY: Drake Publishers. ISBN 0-87749-549-1
Kefauver Committee Interim Report #1 Aug. 18, 1950 http://www.onewal.com/kef/kef1.html
Lacey, R. (1991). "Little Man: Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life." Canada: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-51168-4
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