Rogues' gallery : the birth of modern policing and organized crime in Gilded Age New York
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"From the beginnings of big-city police work to the rise of the Mafia, Rogues' Gallery is a colorful and captivating history of crime and punishment in the bustling streets of Old New York"--,Provided by publisher.

For centuries, New York had been a haven of crime. A thief or murderer not caught in the act nearly always got away. In the early 1870s an Irish cop by the name of Thomas Byrnes developed new ways to catch criminals. Mug shots and daily lineups helped witnesses point out culprits; the famed rogues' gallery allowed police to track repeat offenders; and the third-degree interrogation method induced recalcitrant crooks to confess. Robberies became bolder and more elaborate, murders grew more ruthless and macabre, and the street gangs of old transformed into hierarchal criminal enterprises, giving birth to organized crime, including the Mafia. Oller tells of the origins of modern policing and organized crime, set against the backdrop of New York's Gilded Age. -- adapted from jacket