Criminal Mastermind or Savvy Businessman?

“Ninety percent of [what] was written about me is bullshit”

When people think of organized crime, names like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano often come to mind. But Minnesota had its own underworld legend, a man whose influence stretched far beyond the back alleys of Minneapolis—Isadore Blumenfeld, better known by his alias, Kid Cann.

Born in Romania in 1900 and raised in Minneapolis, Kid Cann started out as a bootlegger during Prohibition, running illegal alcohol through the Midwest with ruthless efficiency. But it wasn’t just booze that built his empire—he was a master manipulator, bribing public officials, intimidating witnesses, and weaving a web of corruption that reached into city government, the police force, and even the press.

By the 1930s and ’40s, Kid Cann had become a central figure in Minneapolis’s shadow economy. He allegedly controlled liquor distribution, illegal gambling, prostitution, and racketeering across the Twin Cities. His reputation was part menace, part myth—a businessman to some, a gangster to others, and a local legend to everyone.

Despite several arrests and indictments, Kid Cann was rarely convicted. Witnesses were known to suddenly “forget” their testimony, juries leaned toward acquittal, and rumors of threats and payouts followed him like smoke. He was finally convicted in the 1950s—not for racketeering, but for perjury and conspiracy to violate federal liquor laws, charges that finally stuck after years of evasion.

Kid Cann's story is as much a tale of crime as it is of power, politics, and the murky line between influence and intimidation. His legacy remains controversial in Minnesota lore—was he a criminal mastermind, a savvy businessman, or both?

We take a deeper dive into this complex character in "Minnesota's Most Notorious Mobster"—a gripping narrative that unpacks the facts, the rumors, and the lasting impact of one of the Midwest’s most enigmatic figures.