Marvin Elkind
Marvin Elkind (13 March 1934-21 January 2024), better known as "The Weasel", was a Canadian gangster, boxer and police informer.
Criminal
Elkind was born in Toronto, the son of poor Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.[1] Elkind suffered from dyslexia and ADHD, which left to placed "in care" in foster homes in the Toronto area.[1] Elkind came to associate with the criminal elements that he met while "in care" and served as a petty crook for organized crime figures in Toronto and elsewhere.[1] Starting in 1952, Elkind worked as a chauffer for the notoriously corrupt union boss Jimmy Hoffa for four years.[2] Elkind also worked as a boxer, which caused him to suffer brain damage later in life.[2] Elkind also worked as a chauffer for the boxer Mohammad Ali when he boxed in Toronto.[3]
Informer
Feeling that he was being disrespected as he never received a promotion, in 1983 Elkind went to work as an informer for the Ontario Provincial Police.[1] Elkind's hander for the next 10 years was Al Robinson..[1] Elkind was highly unusual in that he worked as an informer for 10 years without being exposed.[1] The journalist Adrien Humphreys wrote: "Marvin helped cops corral cartel members in Mexico, Libyan terrorists, drug traffickers in New York, mobsters in Detroit, coup plotters in Ghana, stock swindlers in Amsterdam, corrupt politicians, outlaw bikers, killers, sexual predators and a full inventory of criminals in cities across Canada."[1] In 1983, Elkind went undercover with the Hamiltion Mafia boss, Johnny Papalia to expose his mortgage scams.[2] In 2011, Elkind told Humphreys about Papalia: "I hated that son of a bitch. He was evil to an extreme."[2]
Later life
After being exposed as an informer in 1993, Elkind ceased his undercover work.[1] Robinson warned both Carmen Barillaro and the Commisso brothers not to kill Elkind.[1] The gangster Eddie Melo was so enraged when he learned Elkind was an informer that he tried to beat up in front of the Maple Leaf Gardens.[4]
In 2011, Elkind said of his criminal career: "The Mob life is living with a lot of bad guys, and you’re not sure sometimes who are your friends and who aren’t...If there was a way I could turn the clock back 68 years...I would do it completely different. Am I satisfied with the way I lived my life? One hundred per cent no'.[2] The journalist James Dubro said of Elkind: "He was a charismatic speaker and interview subject with a quintessential mobster voice. I’m amazed he was never killed. He did betray many gangsters and even testified in court against them".[2] Elkind died in Toronto in 2024.[1]
Books
- Humphreys, Adrian (2011). The Weasel: A Double Life in the Mob. Toronto: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0470964510.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Humphreys, Adrian (25 January 2024). "Chauffeur to mobsters, friend to Muhammad Ali, and Canada's most prolific police informant: Marvin 'The Weasel' Elkind dead at 89". The National Post. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Hunter, Brad (24 January 2024). "Famed GTA underworld raconteur Marvin 'The Weasel' Elkind dead at 89". The Toronto Sun. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ Pecar, Steven (23 January 2024). "Driver for Jimmy Hoffa, Marvin 'The Weasel' Elkind has died". Insauga. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ Humphreys 2011, p. 352-353.