Arnold Schuster

Who was Arnold Schuster?

Arnold L. Schuster was a Brooklyn clothing salesman and amateur detective known for his involvement in the capture of bank robber Willie "The Actor" Sutton and for Schuster's subsequent murder by the Gambino crime family. He was a distant paternal cousin of literary agent and book publisher M. Lincoln Schuster of Simon & Schuster.

A longtime Brooklyn resident, 24-year-old Schuster recognized wanted bank robber Willie Sutton while riding on the New York City Subway in February 1952. Following Sutton to a garage, Schuster quickly notified police of Sutton's whereabouts, resulting in the robber's later arrest as Sutton was changing a dead battery from his car, which had stalled in the street.

After receiving a modest amount of publicity from New York City press, as well as appearing on the hit TV show I've Got a Secret, Schuster himself was murdered outside his home on March 8, 1952, shot twice in the groin and once in each eye. Although a manhunt was quickly organized by police, their search failed to apprehend any suspects. Eventually, Frederick J. Tenuto was arrested for the crime.