John Factor

John Factor (October 8, 1892 – January 22, 1984), born Iakov Faktorowicz and widely known as Jake "The Barber" Factor, was a Prohibition-era gangster and con artist affiliated with the Chicago Outfit.

Biography Factor was born Iakov Faktorowicz on October 8, 1892, in Łódź, Congress Poland, to Avrum (Abraham) Iakov Faktorowicz and his wife, Leah. His father was a rabbi, and he had one sibling, a sister, Dena. His family left Poland before the Bolshevik revolution and refused to register for citizenship in Stalin's USSR, thus forfeiting their Russian citizenship and leaving them stateless. They joined his elder brother, Nathan, in St. Louis, Missouri.

In 1926, Factor perpetrated a massive stock fraud in England that netted $8 million . Some of his victims were members of the British royal family. He subsequently fled to Monaco and executed another major scam, rigging the tables at the Monte Carlo Casino and breaking the bank. He then returned to the United States.

1930 Duesenberg Boattail Speedster once owned by John Factor, and on display in the Martin Auto Museum. While in the United States, he was tried and sentenced in absentia in England to 24 years in prison. He fought extradition all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard oral argument on April 18, 1933.

Some claim that, fearing he would lose the case, Factor had himself "kidnapped" on June 30, 1933. Factor reappeared on July 12, and his family claimed they had given the kidnappers a $50,000 ransom. The FBI believed Jerome's kidnapping was genuine and that the pending extradition made Factor avoid contact with law enforcement. They believe this avoidance was the reason Touhy chose him as the second kidnap victim. This time, however, the kidnapping was reported and had to be investigated. When found, Factor had been burned and beaten. On his release from jail, Touhy published a book claiming the kidnappings were faked and he had been jailed unjustly. Factor sued him, his publisher, his printer and his ghostwriter. The case was dismissed because Factor was discovered to have been a stateless person when he filed the case, and thus unable to sue.

Factor lost his extradition battle when, on December 4, 1933. The Supreme Court held in that Factor should be turned over to British authorities. He was taken into custody on April 17, 1934. On June 27, 1934 Factor's wife, Rella, then asked a U.S. federal district court to dismiss the extradition on the grounds that Factor had been held for longer than the two months permitted for extradition proceedings under U.S. law. The United States Secretary of State, acting on a request by local law enforcement, intervened in the case, asking the court to release Factor because he might be needed as a witness in further legal proceedings against Touhy. The Secretary of State declined to exercise his discretion under the law to toll the case. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Factor released and extradition proceedings quashed in

Factor was convicted of mail fraud in 1942, and served six years of a 10-year sentence.

In 1955, Factor took over the running of the Stardust Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, allegedly as a front man for the Chicago Outfit. He sold the hotel for $7 million in either 1962 or 1963. It is alleged that when Factor ran the casino, it made between $50–$200 million. He was also involved in an attempt to bail out Jimmy Hoffa from his real-estate related financial problems.

Factor became politically and philanthropically active, and was the largest donor to John F. Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign. In late 1962, Factor was again scheduled to be deported to the United Kingdom but received a presidential pardon. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1963. He became a major contributor to the gubernatorial campaigns of Pat Brown in California. Brown later called him a close friend.

He lived his later years in Los Angeles, where he made large charitable contributions to enhance the lives of inner city children.

Factor died from a long, undisclosed illness on January 22, 1984, and was interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.