Abraham Reles, the son of Austrian Jewish immigrants, was born in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York, on May 10, 1906. His father worked in one of the garment trades until sometime during the Great Depression. His father's last known occupation was peddling knishes on the streets of Brownsville. His full formal Hebrew name was Elkanah ben Reb Shimon. Reles was a bootlegger who rarely touched alcohol.