Charles Feigenbaum became the victim of Montreal's first-ever gangland style gangster murder on 21 August 1934.
Feigenbaum was at the top of a gang of Eastern European Jewish criminals that included his brother Maxie and and New York millionaire Pincus Brecher that smuggled opium, heroin and cocaine into the Montreal port hidden in textile shipments bound for the Montreal port and swiftly sent to New York City where murder Inc boss Louis Buchalter took possession.
Feigenbaum became powerful by reinvesting his profits in other underworld pursuits, operating 300 slot machines in hotels north of Montreal, and controlling brothels, nightclubs and gambling dens, including the renowned White Horse Inn.
Romanian-born, diminutive-but mean-Harry Davis, born Chaskel Lazarovitch, joined the crew and became a key participant.
Authorities took down Feigenbaum's smuggling operation in 1930. A court convicted Feigenbaum of smuggling silk into Canada and sentenced him to five years in prison, henchmen Louis Miller, Julius Cohen and others were given shorter sentences..
In 1933 Feigenbaum, still behind bars, faced six months added prison time as he and Davis and Pincus Brecher were hit with drug smuggling charges.
Feigenberg had soured on partner Harry Davis for failing to tend to his family while he was behind bars. Davis visited Feigenbaum in prison and worked things out but Feigenbaum soon had misgivings and concluded that Davis planned to blame him for everything and take over his businesses while he languished behind bars for a longtime. The RCMP had encouraged Feigenbaum to sour on Davis to help with the prosecution.
Feigenbaum told the RCMP everything. They nabbed Davis with 852 kilos of heroin.
Feigenbaum testified against Davis in 1933, and a judge ordered Davis to 14 years in prison as well as 10 lashes and $10,000 in fines.
Feigenberg, now 48, was a free man and quickly embarked on an attempt to expand his gambling dens.
He made himself scarce, moving his family from his home at 397 St. Joseph Street W to a country house in Val David north of Montreal. He rarely traveled without a bodyguard and vowed to return to testify in a separate trial that October against Brecher, who had been extradited from the USA to face trial in Montreal.
Both Davis, already in prison, and Brecher, awaiting trial, had motive to kill Feigenbaum. A team of hitmen visited Feigenbaum at his country home but were unable to disguish between Charlies and his brother Maxie so they waited a couple of weeks for him to return to montreal.
On 21 August 1934 Feigenbaum drove into town to pick up packages that his sister in law gave to furnish his country place. He brought his son Jackie rather than his bodyguard. The two spent a couple of hours waiting for his car to get fixed at New Way Auto Parts on Clark Street and then at about 5 pm they parked out front of Maxie Feigebaum's place at 4510 Esplanade apartment 7.
The Tuesday afternoon summer streetscape was lively with people from the nearby Fletchers field park and others on sidewalks and balconies as Feigenberg, nattily attired in a grey suit with knickerbockers, handed boxes to his son, who collected them from the back seat.
One of three sinister men sitting in a Hudson automobile on the other side of the street exited the vehicle and strode directly towards Charlie Feigenbaum and raised a gun.
Feigenbaum raised his hand as the killer fired six shots. Several bullets grazed his head and one hit him directly in his heart, killing him.
The shooter turned and scrambled across the narrow street and hopped onto the getaway car sideboard as the driver peeled off northbound. .Detectives Francoeur, Bond and Greenberg came to the scene and police recovered the abandoned car a few blocks away but found no fingerprints or other clues.
The registration noted that the car had been recently purchased by someone named L Bercovitz but with a non existent address.The car had been bourhg recently a Hudson sedan paid for ith $50 bills by a tall dark man.
Someone called the police asking if they were aware of a shooting. "Is the victim dead?" Yes." the police receptionist replied. “Good!" said the caller before hanging up.
Police believed the killers to be americans, perhpas part of Louis Lepke Buchalter's legendary gun-fore hire squad known as murder inc. and that they might be from New york or chicago. police raided an east end hotel room and arrested five American men, mostly actors, who were high on opium but they proved unrelated to the crime.
A huge crowd of about 4,000 people crowded around Feigenbaum's St. Joseph street home as his body was taken to Beth David Synagogue across the street. It was the best-attended jewish funeral in the city's history at the time. one newspaper wrly quipped that the large crowd included a couple of friends.
Brecher's prosecution proceeded without Feigenbaum testimony but was clearly weakened without feigenbaum as a witness. The court found Brecher guilty nonetheless and guards brought him to Bordeaux Prison to await sentencing. On 28 September 1934 Brecher reported feeling sick and asked to be taken to the prison infirmary. Guards accompanied the 58-year-old but he leaped over a railing and landed on his head and was declared dead soon after.
Harry Davis served his sentence and returned to become a criminal kingpin, while the mysterious name of L. Bercovitz - the name on the car registration - would re-emerge in an important way.
Feigenbaum's fate would be duplicated in his family when his uncle, Leon aged 54, was shot to death in a robbery at his used goods store at 51 Craig Street W - now St. Antoine - in January 1947. A pair of French Quebecers were charged and convicted.
