Little Issie was 16 when he walked out of the orphanage never to return. He lived on the streets of Mile End and survived by delivering groceries on a bicycle throughout the area. Evenings were spent with a group of other homeless boys usually ’round a fire they lit in old metal garbage cans found in the alleys and laneways. He was transfixed by the flames and found them so mesmerising that he would light the trash even on warm evenings. It was only natural then for Little Issie to become a “heater”. Someone who would deliberately set a “money fire”; or as it was known “a warm bankruptcy”. For a fee of course. Little Issie became quite adept at it and didn’t discriminate. He would also set fires to homes in order for owners to collect insurance money. His ever-present lit cigarettes came in handy and made it difficult for insurance adjusters to pinpoint the actual cause. Fallen cigarettes they would say. Not that it mattered much as the majority of them were usually complicit in the scam.
This was just a side gig for Little Issie. He was also a “messenger” for “Big Barney” aka Beryl Warshawsky. Whom as you know no one dared call Beryl. Except perhaps for his mother. Perhaps. To do so would have been a big mistake. Very big. Which Little Issie knew. Actually, something the entire neighbourhood of Mile End knew.
Amongst other “activities” that Big Barney was involved in, was the “numbers” racket in the area. It mainly operated out of Solly’s Soda Shop and Big Barney needing someone to be a “runner”. He chose Little Issie, who was in Big Barney’s words, “lucky” to be chosen. The same kind of luck that had followed Little Issie all his life.
The numbers racket was in many ways similar to a lottery, with the odds stacked against bettors who would try to predict the last three numbers of the total amount bet each day at the local racetrack. In Montreal, it would have been either Blue Bonnets or Richelieu depending on the season. Big Barney of course had a self-guard built in should too large an amount be bet on any one particular number. To ensure it would never be “hit”, he had a stooge at the track who would bet an appropriate amount on the final race in order to change the daily handle total. As added insurance, the tally clerk in the back room at the track was also on his payroll. He had all the angles covered!
While people generally bet in multiples of twenty-five cents, the daily total amount was usually in the hundreds of dollars. Even with the payout, small of course, allocated to the occasional winner, it provided a considerable income for Big Barney.
Little Issie was responsible for collecting the betting slips and the money from the street crew and for making the payoffs. When there were any.
