Sharkey Ehrenreich was once described by authorities as a Damon Runyonesque-type character, a colorful, old-school bookie who had a rap sheet a mile long. Based in Buffalo, he was affiliated with several Magaddino Family members, including underboss Freddy the Wolf Randaccio himself.
In fact, Ehrenreich became so notorious in police and criminal circles through the years that he was subpoenaed to testify before numerous local, state, and federal grand juries investigating Buffalo’s gambling rackets and official corruption, and the systematic bribery of policemen which allowed wide-open gambling to exist in the city for many decades.
But even though an informant once claimed he overheard former boss John Montana describe Sharkey as “a man who’s just unlucky and gets arrested more times than normal,” Ehrenreich still earned a reputation as “Buffalo’s Betting Commissioner” – at least that’s how the local news media described him.
