Biography
Ed Levitt was one of the Portland workers charged with criminal syndicalism. In the winter of 1930–31, Portland, Oregon revived its criminal-syndicalism law in a wave of raids on the Communist Party and Young Communist League, prosecuting members for their political affiliation. Ben Boloff was the first tried and drew a ten-year term; a mass defense campaign won acquittals for several of the others.
The historical study The Spark and the Flame also names Ed Levitt among the people arrested at the Communist meeting hall in Portland’s Worcester Building on September 10, 1930. It places him in the group advised that they faced deportation. This identifies the immigration context of the raid; the study does not establish a separate sentence, a deportation actually carried out, or an additional period of confinement. Source: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5665d770df40f3d958f69fd2/t/6362c37535b25e49dee88bf8/1667416949422/03.Thompson%2BElk%2BProtest%2BDraft-final.docx.pdf#page=4
The September 15, 1930 Daily Worker, page 1, names Ed Levitt among sixteen people held after the September 9 raid on Portland’s Workers Center at 312 Worcester Building. The newspaper lists the worker among eight held for immigration investigation. Its September 9 raid date differs from September 10 in other accounts; the release date and total time held are not stated. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1930/v07-n222-Nat-sep-15-1930-DW-LOC.pdf#page=1
The Portland report names this defendant in the criminal-syndicalism prosecution and the jail photograph caption individually identifies him. Lambo Mitseff is also named for deportation. The article describes raids on the Workers Center and an informer, M. R. Bacon. Ten-year prison terms were threatened exposure, not imposed sentences; no physical release or complete duration is established.
