Notorious New Jersey : : 100 True Tales of Murders and Mobsters, Scandals and Scoundrels / / Jon Blackwell.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Rutgers University Press Backlist eBook-Package 2000-2013
• VerfasserIn: Blackwell, Jon,
• Place / Publishing House: New Brunswick, NJ : : Rutgers University Press, , [2007]; ©2007
• Year of Publication: 2007
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (424 p.) :; 109 illustrations

Notorious New Jersey is the definitive guide to murder, mayhem, the mob, and corruption in the Garden State. With tabloid punch, Jon Blackwell tells riveting accounts of Alexander Hamilton falling mortally wounded on the dueling grounds of Weehawken; Dutch Schultz getting pumped full of lead in the men’s room of the Palace Chop House in Newark; and a gang of Islamic terrorists in Jersey City mixing the witch’s brew of explosives that became the first bomb to rock the World Trade Center. Along with these dramatic stories are tales of lesser-known oddities, such as the nineteenth-century murderer whose skin was turned into leather souvenirs, and the state senator from Jersey City who faked his death in a scuba accident in the 1970s in an effort to avoid prison. Blackwell also sheds light on some historical whodunits—was Bruno Hauptmann really guilty of kidnapping the Lindbergh baby? Who was behind the anthrax attacks of 2001? Not forgotten either are notorious characters who may actually be innocent, including Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, and those who have never been convicted of wrongdoing although they left office in scandal, including Robert Torricelli and James McGreevey. Through 100 historic true-crime tales that span over 300 years of history, Blackwell shows readers a side of New Jersey that would make even the Sopranos shudder.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Old Rascals: CRIME AND VILLAINY BEFORE 1900 -- Dead Wrong: INFAMOUS MURDERS -- Mob Paradise: THE JERSEY UNDERWORLD -- Mob Paradise: POLITICIANS AND OTHER CROOKS -- Enemy Action: TERRORISTS, RADICALS, SPIES, AND INVADERS -- Causes Celebres: CONTROVERSIES AND WHODUNITS -- Bibliography -- Index -- About The Author