Fisch was born into a Jewish family in Leipzig, Germany and in 1925 immigrated to America, where he continued to work as a fur cutter. Among the German Americans in the Bronx, Fisch was known as a strange character; he often tried to involve others in fraudulent business schemes and money laundering. Fisch and Hauptmann met in 1932, became friends, and agreed to pool the risks and profits of Fisch's trade in furs and Hauptmann's stock investments. Fisch was so poor that he depended on money sent by his parents in Germany. He was constantly sick and virtually starving to death. His brother told the German police that Fisch had never made any mention of Hauptmann before his death, and Fisch's German acquaintances characterized him as a "harmless fur trader". Fisch applied for a passport on 12 May 1932, the same day that the Lindbergh baby was found dead. On 9 December 1933, he sailed for Germany, taking with him $600 worth of Reichsmarks. On 29 March 1934 he died of tuberculosis in Leipzig.
Lindbergh ransom money
After Hauptmann's arrest, police found $14,600 of the ransom money in a box his garage. Hauptmann claimed that Fisch had given him a shoebox, wrapped with paper and string, just before returning to Germany. Hauptmann said that when a roof leak damaged the box, he opened it and discovered the money. Because Fisch had owed him $7,000 he decided to keep it, hiding it behind some wooden boards in his garage. He told investigators that he began spending the cash without telling his wife. The daughter of Hauptmann's landlady told investigators that Fisch knew that he was extremely ill, and that she believed that had Fisch had money he would have sought medical attention. Fisch's siblings, and his nurse, traveled to New Jersey from Germany to testify at Hauptmann's trial. They testified that Fisch could not afford medical treatment in his final months, and had died a pauper. A few weeks after Fisch's death, Hauptmann wrote to the family that Fisch had left certain articles in his care, but made no mention of the shoebox or any money. Hauptmann was convicted of first-degree murder in the kidnapping and executed in 1936.
