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Sam Schepps

New York City mobster

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 30, 2026
Entity authorityQ16025280
Source-derived summary

Samuel Schepps (19 April 1873 – 12 January 1936), also known as Schapps, was a New York City mobster with the Monk Eastman Gang. Schepps ran gambling houses for Jack Zelig as part of his work with the gang.

Biography

On July 16, 1912, Herman Rosenthal was murdered in front of the Hotel Metropole in New York City. Schepps was identified by coconspirators as the "paymaster" of the plot to kill Rosenthal. Within the week, Schepps had disappeared and was believed to have left New York. He was tracked down and, on August 10, 1912, was arrested in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Sick and broke when he was caught, Schepps was reportedly happy to return to New York to testify against his accomplices. The fact that Schepps was hiding in Hot Springs was revealed to police by Harry Vallon, an accomplice in Rosenthal's murder. Vallon, along with Schepps and other mob informants Bridgey Webber and Jack Rose, testified at the Becker-Rosenthal trial. His testimony resulted in the conviction of Charles Becker and the four gunmen involved in the murder.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Sam Schepps” is new York City mobster. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Schepps, York and City, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1873, 1936, 1912—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Schepps, York and City is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “new York City mobster” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16025280. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1873, 1936 and 1912.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Sam Schepps”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Sam Schepps primary sources, Sam Schepps archive and Schepps research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Sam Schepps”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Sam Schepps” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.