Notorious New Jersey: 100 True Tales of Murders and Mobsters, Scandals and Scoundrels PDF
Preview Notorious New Jersey: 100 True Tales of Murders and Mobsters, Scandals and Scoundrels
00front.qxd 7/25/2007 12:27 PM Page i NOTOR IOUS Ne w Je r se y 00front.qxd 7/25/2007 12:27 PM Page ii 00front.qxd 7/25/2007 12:27 PM Page iii N O T O R I O U S N e w J e r s e y 100 True Tales of Murders and Mobsters, Scandals Scoundrels and Jon Blackwell Rivergate Books an imprint of rutgers university press new brunswick, new jersey, and london 00front.qxd 7/25/2007 12:27 PM Page iv Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Blackwell, Jon, 1970– Notorious New Jersey : true tales of murders and mobsters, scandals and scoundrels / Jon Blackwell. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ----(pbk. : alk. paper) . Crime—New Jersey. I. Title. . .—dc A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the British Library. Copyright © by Jon Blackwell All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press, Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ –. The only exception to this prohibition is “fair use”as defined by U.S. copyright law. Visit our Web site: http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu Manufactured in the United States of America 00front.qxd 7/25/2007 12:27 PM Page v (cid:1) Contents (cid:2) ⁄ Acknowledgments vii ⁄ Introduction ix ⁄ Old Rascals: ⁄ Dead Wrong: ⁄ Mob Paradise: ⁄ Power Corrupts: , , , Enemy Action: ⁄ ⁄ Causes Celebres: ⁄ Bibliography ⁄ Index 00front.qxd 7/25/2007 12:27 PM Page vi 00front.qxd 7/25/2007 12:27 PM Page vii (cid:1) Acknowledgments (cid:2) Although this book is about the worst of New Jersey, it would not have been possible without the generosity and assistance of many people in that state. I owe a special debt to Marlie Wasserman, director of the Rutgers University Press, who suggested two years ago that I write a work on New Jersey history. Thanks to her assistant, Christina Brianik, the press’s senior production coordinator, Anne Hegeman, and copy editor Derik fi Shelor. My former editor at The Trentonian, Paul Mickle, red up my interest in Jersey crime back when I worked for him in the late s, and was of great help this time around, too. Thanks also to Caren Lissner, who suggested the title; Brad Small and ff the researchers at the Newark Public Library; the sta of the New York Public Library, the New Jersey Historical Society, and the Rutgers Uni- versity Libraries; Marc Mappen, who provided helpful insight on colo- nial and nineteenth-century history; Patterson Smith, who helped me dig up old crime magazine stories; Deirdre Fedkenheuer of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, who provided me with priceless mug shots; and Helen-Chantal Pike, Art Scott, and the late Karen Plunkett-Powell. My friends and coworkers at the New York Post were invaluable in my research, writing, and rewriting. They include Deb Pines, who brought a great mystery writer’s touch to smoothing out the copy; librarian Bruce Furman, who dug up countless nuggets from the Post’s morgue; photo edi- ff fi tor David Boyle and his sta , who helped me nd illustrations; Milton vii 00front.qxd 7/25/2007 12:27 PM Page viii viii Notorious New Jersey Goldstein, who helped me scan the photos; and my boss, Barry Gross. Also helping were Joe Cunningham, Dawn Eden, Hasani Gittens, Joe Illuzzi, Michael Kane, Clemente Lisi, Joshua Tanzer, Todd Venezia, Robert Walsh, and Ion Zupcu. (cid:1) (cid:2) My agent and friend, Janet Rosen, has been a valued literary coach. Thanks to my friends, Paolo Frassanito, Tony Hightower, Michael Malice, Mark Willey, and Dom Yanchunas, and to my brother- and sister-in-laws, Matt and Jennifer Goodman. Most of all, thanks to my parents and my wife, Valerie. 00front.qxd 7/25/2007 12:27 PM Page ix (cid:1) Introduction (cid:2) New Jersey has an image problem. Suburban sprawl, toxic waste dumps, fi the Ma a, jammed highways—to outsiders, these are all more recog- nizable as state symbols than, say, the New Jersey state bird or state seal. On each end, New Jersey is overshadowed by the metropolises of New York and Philadelphia. The Jersey joke is a crutch to every bad New York comedian, and even a few good ones. (“An intelligence governs our universe, except in certain parts of New Jersey,”Woody Allen once said.) The sport of Jersey-bashing has even spread to Jerseyans them- selves, as evidenced by the contest held in by Governor Richard Codey to give the state a new tourist slogan. All the positive mottoes were forgettable; the best ones included “New Jersey: Most of Our ffi Elected O cials Have Not Been Indicted.” Civic-minded writers have striven to set the record straight. They have told the world that New Jersey is also a state of beautiful beaches, quaint towns, unspoiled Pine Barrens, strong earning power (it has the second highest per-household income of any state, after New Hampshire), and cultural greatness (it is the home of Sinatra, Springsteen, and Einstein). Their work to rehabilitate the state’s image has been admirable. This ff book will make no such e ort. Notorious New Jersey instead tells the tales fi of one hundred criminals, rogues, and controversial gures who shaped the Garden State for worse, not for better. In the popular imagination, New Jersey is home of “The Sopranos.” ix
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