The pictures above are of Julian Kaufman, also know as, "Potatoes". The picture on the right was taken by the Chicago Daily News. In the picture, Kaufman is standing in a courtroom. He is being held under suspicion in connection with a murder. From looking at the picture one might conclude that Kaufman was a "light weight" in the gangster world. He was not very intimidating in appearance and did not hold a lot of power in the gangster world. He was a gambler, head gangster at the Sheridan gambling club, and head of the gambling operations of the Northsiders. Julian was from a well-off family so he most likely got involved in the organized crime and gambling world as a hobby. There were also several reports that stated he became addicted to gambling.

Kaufman started his criminal career as a fence for stolen mail loot but later became a gambler. Working at Chicago's North Side, Kaufman and his sometime partner Dion O'Bannion (left) began to earn underworld power. Kaufman, along with another gangster named "Bugs" Moran (middle) operated a casino called the Sheridan Wave Tournament Club. The club was very successful, clearing at least $10,000 a night. 25% of which went to Bugs Moran, and 10% went to the police (the police picked up their share through Jake Lingle (right), a newspaper legman who was a childhood friend of the Chief of Police).

Due to the change in administration at city hall and because of the decline in power of the Moran Gang, the club was raided and shut down for two years. When Kaufman and Moran finally built up the finances to reopen the club, Jake Lingle showed up demanding 50% of the clubs take. Kaufman and Moran refused and Lingle threatened to expose them to the police. "Several days later, as Jake Lingle was strolling through a sidewalk underpass, Leo, a professional killer with ties to labor corruption, walked up behind Lingle, pointed a pistol at the back of his head and fired off a round that tore through Lingle's skull and poured his brains out on to the sidewalk, and then calmly walked away." The public's outrage over the over the murder caused the police to crack down on the city's gangs; offering rewards in excange for information. Al Capone suffered the most from this crackdown. He needed someone to blame, so he put out a hit on Moran, Kaufman, and Zuta (a pimp who helped Kaufamn and Moran reopen the club).

Zuta was the first to go. He was machine gunned to death. Later, twenty-eight bullets were found in him. In an attempt to save his life, Kaufamn fled to New York under the protection of Vincent Alo, aka Jimmy Blue Eyes. Alo was a member of the mafia while most of Al Capone's people were not; this made Alo untouchable. As long as Kaufman paid Alo for his protection, he stayed alive.

By 1936, Al Capone was in jail and Chicago was under new control. Kaufman felt it was safe to leave New York, but not safe enough to return to Chicago. Kaufaman decided to move to Hallendale, Florida instead of going back to Chicago. While in Florida Kaufman formed a partnership with a bookkeeper named Claude Litteral. The two started a small casino called The Plantation, which had a short, somewhat successful run before it was shut down.

Americans usually have a general stereotype of what a gangster is. In the early 1900s gangsters were usually immigrant families of Irish, Jewish, or Italian descent. They were usually involved in business like gambling, owning clubs, restaurants, or bars. They usually lived in cities and had large families. They often had a lot of power because they were able to bribe police officers and government officials. They were also feared and respected by people in their communities. Nowadays, the word gangster incorporates a larger variety of people. Not only does it include the families that are descendents of Irish, Jewish, or Italian immigrants, it can also include people of African, Hispanic and Asian descent. This includes African American, Hispanic, and Asian gangs that tend to reside in large cities. They usually occupy a turf and relations can be quite tense among gangs. Income with these types of gangs is usually acquired by selling drugs.