Born in Russia in 1898, Mattes moved to Pittsburgh’ s Hill District as a child. Along with his two brothers, Israel and Sam, Mattes racked up multiple arrests for bootlegging, gambling, and political corruption.
By the 1940s, Mattes had become one of Pittsburgh’ s most colorful racketeers. He ran several frequently raided numbers fronts in downtown Pittsburgh. Numbers, a street lottery that was a precursor to the Pennsylvania Lottery’ s Daily Number game, had become the city’ s leading vice, raking in millions for racketeers like Mattes.
In 1947, Allegheny County district attorney Artemas Leslie found a creative way to shut down Mattes’ s latest spot, a Liberty Avenue cigar store. Leslie went to court
Numbers banker and former bootlegger Nathan Mattes was the Ankara’ s reputed shadow owner for much of its history. Courtesy of the Mattes family.
to have the building declared a nuisance, forcing Mattes’ s landlord to evict him and the business.
Four months after the downtown numbers station closed, Jamal hired Rubin. Mattes might have been a silent partner throughout the entire time that Jamal owned the Ankara. Rubin lasted a year before moving to Morgantown, West Virginia, where he and Mattes opened a steak house and casino.
In 1952, Jamal sought a buyer for the Ankara. He sold it to Squirrel Hill resident Fred Cenname. Yet, rumors persisted among Mattes’ s family members and the press that the racketeer was the nightclub’ s true owner.
Two years after Jamal sold the Ankara, its owners expanded their reach into Miami Beach. Ben Harvey, Mattes’ s brother-inlaw opened a 90-unit resort motel there in 1954, naming it, Motel Ankara. The Miami Ankara became a popular Pittsburgh mob outpost.
There are no surviving contemporaries who can describe Jamal’ s ties to organized crime. The Ankara escaped the law enforcement raids of other area nightclubs, including nearby Bill Green’ s. Jamal might have negotiated for protection by bribing officials.
Jamal died from Hodgkin’ s disease at 62 in 1957. He had only $ 2,692 to his name: a 1950 Cadillac sedan worth $ 400, some furniture, savings bonds, and $ 659.73 in a First National Bank of Clairton checking account. After paying off funeral and medical expenses, Jamal’ s estate paid $ 194.90 to the United States government to settle a $ 141,000 lien for income tax evasion between 1941 and 1950. He was buried in Mt. Vernon Cemetery beneath a headstone with a Turkish star and two crescents.
The Ankara closed in 1969, after Cenname sold the property to Chrysler Realty, the Detroit car company’ s real estate arm. The company demolished the Ankara and built a car dealership. Today, the site is occupied by Fred Dean Honda. n
The Ankara was a popular destination for a wide swath of Pittsburghers, including organized crime families. Numbers banker Ike Lerner and his wife Philomena( seated, third and fourth from the left) were photographed with numbers banker Angelo Cancelliere( seated far left) and others. Author’ s collection.
The Ankara’ s owner, Charles Jamal, and some of the dishes the nightclub became famous for serving. Photo published in the Bulletin Index January 11, 1947. Courtesy of historicpittsburgh. org.
The Bulletin Index published this photo of the Ankara’ s exterior on July 10, 1948. Courtesy of historicpittsburgh. org.
The Ankara employed a house photographer who took souvenir photos for diners. The photos were presented to customers in embossed cardboard covers. Author’ s collection.
Charles Jamal’ s Mt. Vernon Cemetery grave. Photo by David S. Rotenstein.
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