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Bad Seeds in the Big Apple: Bandits, Killers, and Chaos in New York City, 1920-1940

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SKU 9781581826463
Bad Seeds in the Big Apple is the first book to profile New York City's notorious bandits, gunmen, and desperados of the Prohibition and Depression eras. While numerous books have been written on the city's organized-crime scene, this book completes the picture by introducing readers to infamous New Yorkers such as Richard Reese Whittemore, leader of a gang of jewel thieves; extortion queen Vivian Gordon; bandit and Sing Sing escapee James Nannery; Al Stern and his gang of kidnappers, the men behind the ill-fated 1926 Tombs Prison break; the marauders behind the 1934 Rubel Ice Plant armored car robbery; and dozens of other law breakers who have never before been covered in book form. Patrick Downey also includes a fresh look at a few characters of the era who have received individual book-length treatments.

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Book details

Author
Patrick Downey
Imprint
Cumberland House Publishing, an imprint of Turner Publishing Company
Published
Pages
301
Formats
Hardcover
Subjects
History › United States
ISBN-13
9781581826463

About the author

PATRICK DOWNEY is an author specializing in Prohibition Era and Depression Era crime in New York City, with more than fifteen years studying the city’s early twentieth-century underworld. His recent books include Hollywood on the Spot: Crimes Against the Early Movie Stars, Legs Diamond: Gangster and Bad Seeds in the Big Apple: Bandits, Killers, and Chaos in New York City, 1920–1940.

Downey has written articles on New York’s gangster past for newspapers and has spoken on the subject at the Museum of the City of New York.

When he’s not writing, Downey designs and leads walking tours highlighting criminal landmarks in conjunction with the Museum of the City of New York. His books draw directly on that same deep familiarity with the city’s criminal geography and history.

Format: Hardcover