# Nathan Kaplan

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{{short description|American mobster}}
{{otheruses}}
{{Infobox person
|name          = Kid Dropper
|image         = 
|image_size    = 
|caption       = 
|birth_name    = Nathan Caplin
|birth_date    = August 3, 1891
|birth_place   = [Lower East Side, New York](/source/Lower_East_Side), [United States](/source/United_States)
|death_date    = {{death date and age|1923|08|28|1891|1|1}}
|death_place   = [Manhattan, New York](/source/Manhattan%2C_New_York), [United States](/source/United_States)
|death_cause   = [Murdered](/source/Murdered)
|resting_place = [Mount Hebron Cemetery](/source/Mount_Hebron_Cemetery_(New_York_City))
|resting_place_coordinates = 
|nationality   = 
|other_names   = Kaitlin Kaplan, Nathan Caplan, Jack the Dropper
|known_for     = Gang leader and underworld figure who controlled "[labor slugging](/source/labor_slugging)" in New York from 1919 to 1923. 
|education     =
|alma_mater    = 
|employer      = 
|occupation    = Labor racketeer
|title         = 
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}}

"'''Kid Dropper'''" '''Nathan Caplin''' or '''Kaplan''' (August 3, 1891 – August 28, 1923), also known as '''Jack the Dropper''', was an American gangster who controlled labor [racketeering](/source/racketeering) and [extortion](/source/extortion) in [New York City](/source/New_York_City) during the post-[World War I](/source/World_War_I) period into the early years of [Prohibition](/source/Prohibition_in_the_United_States) in the early 1920s.

==Biography==
Nathan Caplin was one of seven sons of Joseph Caplin. He was born in New York's [Lower East Side](/source/Lower_East_Side) on August 3, 1891. His parents were Jewish immigrants from the [Russian Empire](/source/Russian_Empire). Later Caplin would modify his surname to Kaplan to shield his own family and confuse police. His mother died when he was still young. Kaplan began committing petty thefts at an early age and later becoming a skilled [sneak thief](/source/%3Awikt%3Asneak_thief) and pushcart extortionist, later becoming known for his skill with the "[drop swindle](/source/Drop_Swindle)". That's how he got his nickname "Kid Dropper." He was arrested for the first time at age 17 in February 1908 on a charge of theft and was handed a suspended sentence. A year later, another judge again gave Kaplan a suspended sentence for concealing a weapon. Like many other criminals of this era, the Dropper at an early stage joined a street gang. In his case it was the powerful [Five Points Gang](/source/Five_Points_Gang) led by [Paul Kelly](/source/Paul_Kelly_(criminal)). This was in contrast to many of his fellow Jewish East Siders who predominantly joined the Five Points Gang's rival [Eastman Gang](/source/Eastman_Gang) led by its namesake [Monk Eastman](/source/Monk_Eastman). The [Five Points Gang](/source/Five_Points_Gang) had mostly Italian members, but there were also some Irish and Jewish members.<ref>"The Brief Reign of 'Kid Dropper,' the Lower East Side Gang Leader". ''Tablet''. December 14, 2023. https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/brief-reign-kid-dropper-lower-east-side-gang-leader</ref>

One member of the [Five Points Gang](/source/Five_Points_Gang) that the Dropper would feud heavily with in the coming years was [Johnny Spanish](/source/Johnny_Spanish). Spanish and Kaplan started out as friends and criminal partners. By the late 1900s or early 1910s, both the Dropper and Spanish had formed their own small gangs. The two gangs were allied for a while before a bitter personal rivalry developed between the Dropper and [Johnny Spanish](/source/Johnny_Spanish). The two had a fall out over a woman, 19-year-old Beatrice Konsant. The feud with [Johnny Spanish](/source/Johnny_Spanish) lasted until the Dropper's arrest the following year for [robbery](/source/robbery) for which he was sentenced to seven years in Sing Sing prison.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.writersofwrongs.com/2019/07/new-york-gangster-johnny-spanish_16.html | title=New York gangster Johnny Spanish: A Retrospective (1 of 2) }}</ref>

Upon his release in 1918, Kaplan became involved in "labor slugging", providing muscle to either side in the strikes common in New York in that era. Kaplan quickly filled the void left by ["Dopey" Benny Fein](/source/Benny_Fein) and [Joe "The Greaser" Rosenzweig](/source/Joseph_Rosenzweig) in the aftermath of the internecine battles between those gangsters.  He organized former Five Points members, including [Johnny Spanish](/source/Johnny_Spanish). Another Jewish labor slugging gang led by Jacob "Little Augie" Orgen, rose steadily behind his.

Kaplan and Spanish, who had previously reconciled from an argument over a woman from their days in the Five Points Gang, soon began feuding again and eventually Spanish split from Kaplan's gang, forming his own separate gang. A violent war between the two soon began; fighting, particularly in the garment district, continued until Johnny Spanish was killed while leaving a [Manhattan](/source/Manhattan) restaurant by three men, most likely including Kaplan, on July 29, 1919. Soon thereafter, Little Augie went to prison and his gang nearly dissolved, leaderless. After Spanish's death and Orgen's incarceration, Kaplan controlled all of labor slugging operations in New York. While Kaplan worked primarily for [labor union](/source/labor_union)s, he occasionally provided services for employers.<ref>{{cite book|first=Jay Robert|last=Nash|title=World Encyclopedia of Organized Crime|publisher=[Da Capo Press](/source/Da_Capo_Press)|location=New York City|date=1992|isbn=978-0306805356|pages=221–223}}</ref>

By the beginning of 1923, however, Kaplan began to face increasing competition from rivals. [Jacob "Little Augie" Orgen](/source/Jacob_Orgen) had just been released from prison and had gathered back his gang.  Prominent among his gang were [Jack "Legs" Diamond](/source/Legs_Diamond), [Louis "Lepke" Buchalter](/source/Louis_Buchalter), and [Gurrah Shapiro](/source/Jacob_Shapiro). Kaplan and Orgen soon began fighting over protection of wet wash laundry workers in violent shootouts around New York. In one such altercation, Jacob Gurrah Shapiro was assaulted by Kaplan personally with his gun. Little Augie took this as an opportunity and had Shapiro go to the cops and press charges.

On August 28, 1923, Kaplan was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon and arraigned at Essex Market Court. News of the arrest attracted a large crowd of reporters and bystanders. As Kaplan was being transferred to another court, led by a police escort, he was shot and killed by Orgen gunman [Louis Kerzner](/source/Louis_Cohen) just after he entered a police car.<ref>{{cite news |title=New Gang Methods Replace Those Of Eastman's Days. Gunman Type Rules |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/09/09/archives/new-gang-methods-replace-those-of-eastmans-days-gunman-type-rules.html |quote=Louis Cohen shot down Kid Dropper as he was leaving the Essex Market Court with police guards on all sides. Louis Cohen is a romanticist—he wanted to be a gangster and the Little Augie gangsters played on his ambition until he did the dirty work they were afraid to tackle.... when the Dead Rabbits and the Plug Ugly gang held sway there were 30,000 vagrant youths .... Webber and Harry Vallon brought the necessary pressure.... |newspaper=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date=September 9, 1923 |access-date=2010-12-13 }}{{subscription required}}</ref> Orgen gained control of Kaplan's operations until his own violent death in October 1927, possibly at the hands of Buchalter and Shapiro.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Sifakis, Carl, ''The Encyclopedia of American Crime: Second Edition Vol. II (K–Z)'', Facts On File Inc., New York, 2001.
* Downey, Patrick. ''Gangster City: History of the New York Underworld, 1900–1935''. Barricade Books, 2004.
* Goren, Arthur A., "Saints and Sinners: The underside of American Jewish History" The American Jewish Archives, 1988

==External links==
*{{Find a Grave|8732}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaplan, Nathan}}
Category:1891 births
Category:1923 deaths
Category:People murdered in 1923
Category:Murdered Jewish American gangsters
Category:Murdered American gangsters
Category:Jewish American gangsters
Category:Gang members of New York City
Category:American gangsters of the interwar period
Category:Murdered Five Points Gang members
Category:People murdered in New York City
Category:Deaths by firearm in Manhattan
Category:20th-century American Jews
Category:Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (New York City)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nathan Kaplan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Kaplan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Kaplan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.