 Starting around 1900 he and Harry Vallon operated various stuss games as well as an opium den on Pell Street and a popular poker room at the corner of 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue which was often frequented by Becker and other police officials (and thus never subject to police raids).In 1911, two thugs were hired by gambler Herman Rosenthal to assault Webber who left him severely beaten.When Rosenthal further attempted to lure customers away from Webber's "Sans Souci Music Hall", Webber used his political connections to have Rosenthal's "Hesper Club" raided by police (however other sources claim he had been hired by Rosenthal for protection from Charles Becker, to whom Rosenthal had refused to pay off for running his gambling operations at the "Hesper Club", and was severely beaten by Jack Zelig and members of the Eastman Gang who destroyed his clubhouse as well.