Philadelphia Organized Crime In The 1920s And 1930s

Philadelphia Organized Crime in the 1920s and 1930s explores a little-known but spirited chapter of the Quaker City's history. The hoodlums, hucksters, and racketeers of Prohibition-era Philadelphia sold bootleg booze, peddled illicit drugs, ran numbers, and operated prostitution and insurance rings. Among the fascinating personalities that created and contributed to the Philadelphia crime scene of the 1920s and 1930s were empire builders like Mickey Duffy, known as "Prohibition's Mr. Big," and Max "Boo Boo" Hoff, dubbed the "King of the Bootleggers"; the violent Lanzetti brothers, who ran their own illegal enterprise; mobster Harry "Nig Rosen" Stromberg, a New York transplant; and the arsenic widows poison ring, which specialized in fraud and murder. Bringing to light rare photographs and forgotten characters, the authors chronicle the underworld of Philadelphia in the interwar era. The upheaval caused by the gangs and groups herein mirrors the frenzied cultural and political shifts of the Roaring Twenties and the austere 1930s.

Philadelphia Organized Crime in the 1920s and 1930s explores a little-known but spirited chapter of the Quaker City's history. The hoodlums, hucksters, and racketeers of Prohibition-era Philadelphia sold bootleg booze, peddled illicit drugs, ran numbers, and operated prostitution and insurance rings. Among the fascinating personalities that created and contributed to the Philadelphia crime scene of the 1920s and 1930s were empire builders like Mickey Duffy, known as "Prohibition's Mr. Big," and Max "Boo Boo" Hoff, dubbed the "King of the Bootleggers"; the violent Lanzetti brothers, who ran their own illegal enterprise; mobster Harry "Nig Rosen" Stromberg, a New York transplant; and the arsenic widows poison ring, which specialized in fraud and murder. Bringing to light rare photographs and forgotten characters, the authors chronicle the underworld of Philadelphia in the interwar era. The upheaval caused by the gangs and groups herein mirrors the frenzied cultural and political shifts of the Roaring Twenties and the austere 1930s.

Serial killer H.H. Holmes built his murder castle in Chicago, but he met the hangman in Philadelphia. Al Capone served his first prison sentence here. The real-life killers who inspired HBO’s Boardwalk Empire lived and died here. America’s first bank robbery was pulled off here in 1798. The country’s first kidnapping for ransom came off without a hitch in 1874. A South Philadelphia man hatched the largest mass murder plot in U.S. history in the 1930s. His partners in crime were unhappy housewives. Catholics and Protestants aimed cannon at each other in city streets in 1844. Civil rights hero Octavius V. Catto was gunned down on South Street in 1871. Take a walk with us through city history. Would you pass Eastern State Penitentiary on April 3, 1945, just as famed bank robber Willie Sutton popped out of an escape tunnel in broad daylight? Or you might have been one of the invited guests at H.H. Holmes’ hanging at Moyamensing Prison on a gray morning in May 1896. It still ranks as one of the most bizarre executions in city history. Or, if you walked down Washington Lane on July 1, 1874, would you have been alert enough to stop the two men who lured little blond Charley Ross away with candy? You might have stopped America’s first kidnapping for ransom, the one that gave rise to the admonition, “Never take candy from a stranger.” The case inspired the Leopold and Loeb kidnapping. Then there was the bank robber whose funeral drew thousands of spectators and the burglary defendant so alluring that conversation would stop whenever she entered the courtroom. Mix in murderous maids, bumbling burglars, and unflinching local heroes and you have True Crime Philadelphia.

Welcome to Boston’s criminal underworld Author covers crime for the Boston Globe An entire chapter dedicated to Whitey Bulger: “Whitey’s World” 150 photos from author’s own Boston crime archives and more Organized criminals have haunted Greater Boston’s history, lurking just around the corner or inside that nondescript building. Packed with photos, sidebars, and maps, Gangland Boston reveals the secrets of these places, showing how the Italian mafia and Irish gangs rose to power, how the Winter Hill gang ascended to prominence, and how James “Whitey” Bulger became the region’s most feared crime boss. These are the places where deals were made, people were killed, and bodies were unearthed. From South Boston to the North End, Chinatown, Downtown, and Charlestown; Somerville, Brookline, and more . . . come and see where mobsters lived, worked, ate, played, and died.

She's losing her business. He's lost his mind. As the Great Depression closes in, will either of them survive? Philadelphia, 1931. Maggie Barnes isn't proud of everything she's done to make it this far. But with her bank closed and her accountancy clients circling the drain, she may be all out of options. With her livelihood in danger, her only path toward keeping the lights on may be working with a vicious mobster one final time… Mickey Duffy's sanity hangs by a thread. Convinced there's a rat in his family, the ruthless bootlegger hires occasional enemy Maggie Barnes to nail the traitor. But with both the cops and the mob threatening to take him down, his latest effort to clean house could get him killed. When Maggie discovers a dark secret in Mickey's books, the criminal completely snaps. Will her less-than-legal efforts to keep her business afloat end up getting both of them killed? Come at the King is the explosive final novel in The Bootleggers’ Chronicles historical crime fiction series. If you like Prohibition-era lawlessness, meticulous historical detail, and mysteries with a ghostly twist, then you’ll love Sherilyn Decter’s thrilling tale. Buy Come at the King to survive the crash today!

She's still out for justice. A rival vies for his crown. On the dark city streets, no one stays on top for good… Philadelphia, 1926. Maggie Barnes keeps getting one step closer to putting bootlegger Mickey Duffy behind bars. The next hurdle for her and the ghostly cop by her side is an unreliable and unstable witness. But to finally achieve her goal of justice, she may just have to team up with her enemy's greatest rival. Mickey Duffy is struggling to hold his underworld empire together. As he fights off small-time bootleggers and his own growing demons, the Baileys make a move to take over his turf. When an assassination attempt on Mickey just misses the mark, he vows to fight back with devastating consequences. With bullets flying in both directions, can Maggie survive to put Mickey behind bars or will she be caught in the crossfire? Best Served Cold is the third book in the Bootleggers’ Chronicles series of historical mysteries. If you like street-savvy heroines, complex cover-ups, and 1920s crime stories, then you'll love Sherilyn Decter’s grand gangster tale. Buy Best Served Cold to slip into a bootlegger saga today!

In a city of bootleggers and crime, one woman must rely on a long-dead lawman to hunt down justice… Philadelphia, 1924. Maggie Barnes doesn't have much left. After the death of her husband, she finds herself all alone to care for her young son and look after their rundown house. As if that weren't bad enough, Prohibition has turned her neighborhood into a bootlegger's playground. To keep the shoddy roof over their heads, she has no choice but to take on boarders with criminal ties. When her son's friend disappears, Maggie suspects the worst. And local politicians and police don't seem to have any interest in an investigation. With a child's life on the line, Maggie takes the case and risks angering the enemy living right under her nose. Maggie's one advantage may be her oldest tenant: the ghost of a Victorian-era cop. With his help, can she find justice in a lawless city? Innocence Lost is the first novel in the Bootleggers' Chronicles, a series of historical fiction tales. If you like headstrong heroines, Prohibition-era criminal underworlds, and a touch of the paranormal, then you'll love Sherilyn Decter’s gripping tale. Buy Innocence Lost to dive into corruption and mystery today!

The Italian-American mafia has its roots in a mysterious and powerful criminal network in Sicily. While the mythology of the mafia has been widely celebrated in American culture, the true origins of its rituals, laws, and methods have never actually been revealed. John Dickie uses startling new research to expose the secrets of the Sicilian mafia, providing a fascinating account that is more violent, frightening, and darkly comic than anything conceived in popular movies and novels. How did the Sicilian mafia begin? How did it achieve its powerful grip in Italy and America? How does it operate today? From the mafia's origins in the 1860s to its current tense relationship with the Berlusconi government, Cosa Nostra takes us to the inner sanctum where few have dared to go before. This is an important work of history and a revelation for anyone who ever wondered what it means to be "made" in the mob.