Barney Ruditsky

Who is Barney Ruditsky?

Barnett "Barney" P. Ruditsky was a British-born American police officer and private detective.

Ruditsky was born in 1898 in London, England. He arrived in New York City with his family at age 10 and later served in the United States Army during the Pancho Villa Expedition and World War I. Returning to New York, he joined the New York City Police Department in 1921. During his 20-year career on the force Ruditsky was among the NYPD's prominent "celebrity detectives" of the 1920s and 1930s. Ruditsky was associated with many criminal cases during this period, most notably, ending with the break up of Murder Incorporated in 1940. Years later, he was called to testify before the Kefauver hearings due to his knowledge of the criminal underworld in Southern California and Las Vegas.

Following his retirement from the NYPD in 1941, Ruditsky moved to Los Angeles, California where he became a private investigator and nightclub owner.