Max Zwerbach
| Max Zweifach | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Maximillian Zweifach March 14, 1884 Austro-Hungarian Empire |
| Died | May 14, 1908 (aged 24) Brooklyn, New York City |
| Other names | Kid Twist, Zwerbach |
| Children | 1 |
Max Zweifach born Maximillian Zweifach known as "Kid Twist" and occasionally referred to as Zwerbach (March 14, 1884 – May 14, 1908) was an American gangster who, around the start of the 20th century, belonged to the Eastman Gang and later succeeded the New York gang leader following his arrest in 1904.
Born Maximillian Zweifach in the Austro-Hungarian Empire on March 14, 1884, to Austrian-born father Adolf and Italian mother Hanna, he and his family emigrated to New York in 1886 to escape the antisemitic riots, settling right below the Williamsburg Bridge on Delancey Street. Although Zweifach's father had hoped he would join the family tailoring business, Zweifach proved otherwise and was a prominent young thief by teenage years.
Zweifach was first arrested on a charge of grand larceny in June 1899 on the suspicion of stealing a bicycle. When asked his occupation by the judge, Zweifach quipped, "Bicycles". Max pleaded guilty and was let off the hook with a fine. Zweifach soon graduated into more serious offenses. Max's right-hand man was his brother Daniel, aka Kid Slyfox. Tall and well-built, both Zweifach brothers led some of their friends during Election Day 1902 rioting to support Republican politician Sam Koenig in the Sixteenth Assembly District.
By 1903, Max Zweifach had picked up the nickname of "Kid Twist" and was known as a dangerous and cunning gang leader. On August 17, 1903, Kid Twist was charged with fatally shooting a rival gangster named John "Mugsy" Bayard during an argument after a card game. Zweifach was discharged on the grounds of self-defense and soon attracted the attention of gang boss Monk Eastman.
When Eastman was locked up for robbery the next year, Kid Twist found himself at odds with his old pal Richie Fitzpatrick over the leadership of the gang. This feud came to a head on October 30, 1904, when Fitzpatrick shot and wounded one of Kid Twist's men, Thomas McCauley, in a saloon dispute. Two nights later, Twist invited his rival to a peace conference at a saloon at 77 Sheriff Street. The meeting devolved into an argument. Fitzpatrick, realizing he was about to be hit, rushed out of the place. One of Twist's men, Harris Stahl, gave chase and shot him to death. Stahl would be acquitted of Fitzpatrick's murder several months later.
Kid Twist maintained the Eastman Gang's supremacy in the New York underworld and was now greatly feared on the Lower East Side. Zweifach moved his gang into new rackets such as forgery, election fraud, and mass extortion. Kid Twist concocted a scheme to bilk the New York Central Railroad out of thousands of dollars, by having the owners of a nearby print shop distribute $4,000 of phony ticket passes to the public through scalpers. Twist and his partners were arrested in the spring of 1905 and charged with forgery. Ultimately, no one was convicted.
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