About this episode
Myron Sugerman was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1938, and at the age of twenty-one he followed his father's footsteps into the family business--Coin-operated amusements. Like his father, Barney "Sugie" Sugerman, Myron sold and operated slot machines, jukeboxes, cigarette machines, and anything else that accepted coins and entertained people in bars, nightclubs, and other hangouts around the world. The vocation took him all over the world's six habitable continents--to everywhere but Antarctica.For well over half a century, Myron did business with some of the most dangerous characters known to the public, including top-ranking members of the Genovese and Gambino crime families, La Corporacion, the Yakuza, and the Cali Cartel, among others. Today he lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with his wife Clara. He is semi-retired, but sought after for his counsel by the up-and-coming generation of the gambling machine business, to whom he is known as the "chief rabbi." He has three sons-- one of whom is a real rabbi and a well known rabbinical scholar--and eight grandchildren. Myron Sugerman's memoir, The Last Jewish Gangster: From Meyer to Myron, is more than just a riveting account of the author's nearly sixty-year career as an international outlaw in the field of slot machines and casinos. Its Also a fascinating meditation on a variety of themes: aging, respect, adventure, greed, and man's tendency to be his own worst enemy. Connect with Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Website: https://rabbiefremgoldberg.org/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/efrem.goldberg Twitter: http://twitter.com/rabbigoldberg Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Rabbi, Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS). Rabbi Philip Moskowitz: Associate Rabbi, BRS. Rabbi Josh Broide: Outreach Rabbi, BRS.