 In 1927, upon taking control of the International Brotherhood of Painters Flatbush-based Local 102 from Jacob "The Bum" Wellner in Brooklyn, he clashed with Arnold Rothstein, who had been hired by an employers association under the "John T. Nolan Agency", headed by Orgen and Rothstein bodyguards Eddie and Jack "Legs" Diamond to break up union activities after workers went on strike.A protégé of Buchalter, he is suspected to have been with Buchalter and Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro when Organ was gunned down in a drive-by shooting on October 15, 1927.On November 19, he and associate Benjamin Weinstein were both injured in a drive-by shooting while standing at the corner of Mount Eden and Townsend Avenues.