Satan's Circus: Murder, Vice, Police Corruption, and New York's Trial of the Century

I was not aware of the Charles Becker murder trial nor of this period of New York City history prior to reading this book. Mike Dash has recreated this period of NYC history and brings it grimly alive. The institutionalized corruption which flourished during that time was beyond belief. The political system of the day and the capacity to manipulate said system is unnerving. Reading about the Tombs and Sing Sing prison, I was reminded of the Middle Ages or the Tower of London. It really speaks of the evolution of the society in general and the various components contained therein. Not a happy read but worthwhile certainly.

Author Mike Dash has provided us with a thorough description of the corruption and vice in New York City, specifically the Times Square area (Satan's Circus) at the turn of the 20th century. Lieutenant Charley Becker's effort to cover up his graft by eliminating gambler Herman Rosenthal, who planned on blowing the whistle on Becker's crookedness, is covered in great detail. The characters in this book are many with the personality of each given in great detail. Prosecutor Charles Whitman went all out to convict Becker while hoping to advance his own political career. His goal to achieve the presidency of the United States was not achieved, but he did become the two time governor of New York. Ironically he was the one who Becker had to appeal to for a pardon from the then governor Whitman. Judge John Goff, all full of himself and drunk with the power of his position, went out of his way to favor the prosecution in Becker's trial. Becker's case was appealed and he received a new trial, but was convicted once again mainly on the basis of a conference a witness heard at a Harlem Conference regarding the case. Four shady characters with nicknames such as Lefty Louie, Whitey, Dago Frank, and Gyp the Blood, were Rosenthal's actual assassins while others such as gamblers Bald Jack Rose and Jack Zelig made the necessary arrangements. This is a story of the murder of Herman Rosenthal, the corruption of the New York police department, and the trial that sent a police lieutenant and the four hired hands to the electric chair in Sing Sing prison. A definite plus of the book is the inclusion of maps of Manhattan in the front to show the location of key events in the story. I am rating this book five stars, but it does have one definite drawback. There are seven photos and one drawing at the front of the book of key players in the story. Photos of the actual murderers and other key individuals should have been included as well. Another book on this subject entitled "The Execution of Officer Becker" by Stanley Cohen included photos of the murderers, the Tombs jail in lower Manhattan, the Bridge of Sighs, and other photos showing New York City during this time period. Both of these books on this subject should find a permanent place in your library.

The injustice that surrounded Lieutenant Charles Becker's fate remains as obvious today as it was in 1915, when he became the only police officer ever executed by the state of New York for murder. Although Becker was a corrupt policeman who used his position to fatten his bank account, all the signs point to the fact that he did not order the assassination of Herman Rosenthal. A politically ambitious District Attorney, Charles Whitman, gave the real killers the opportunity to save themselves by turning state's evidence. Any pangs of conscience that Whitman may have experienced were likely assuaged by his being elected Governor in the aftermath of Becker's conviction. Mike Dash has produced a colorful yet sobering examination of the Becker-Rosenthal affair that surpasses anything that's been written about the case since Andy Logan released "Against the Evidence" back in the 1970s. In placing special emphasis on such primary resources as trial records, confidential detective reports, and personal interviews, Dash has done a brilliant investigative job that makes "Satan's Circus" an indispensible research tool for those who wish to study the case further.

Satan's Circus: Murder, Vice, Police Corruption, and New York's Trial of the Century by Mike Dash is the story of Charley Becker, the only police officer in the history of New York to be executed for murder. I love books like this that take place around the turn of the 20th century featuring what newspapers called "the trial of the century". Crime seems less frightening when it's removed by 100 years or so. Dash builds his case well: he tells the story of Becker's life as well as many gangsters and politicians who will eventually effect the case. Satan's Circus was an area around Broadway in New York City that was filled with brothels and gambling dens. Police officers took graft (bribes) from these places so that they could continue to operate. The graft went all the way up to the district attorney and mayor on occasion and recipients ended up with amounts in the millions. Becker himself took in what would be $500,000 in today's money while he was working on a task force to stamp out graft. He crossed a small time gambler named Herman Rosenthal who determined to get revenge on Becker and the rest of Satan's Circus by spilling the beans on all the cozy arrangements to a new district attorney, Charles Whitman, who was trying to make a name for himself. Quickly Rosenthal ends up dead, Whitman decides that Becker did it and pushes the suspects in custody until they come up with a story that Whitman likes: Becker hired Bald Jack Rose to get some gunmen and take Rosenthal out. Becker's first trial was a farce that was thrown out by the appeals court. The second trial was better but despite the weak evidence, the jury found Becker guilty of first degree murder, and he was sentenced to death in the electric chair. Dash makes a good case for Becker's innocence (at least of murder, his guilt for graft is unquestioned). Dash does a terrific job of creating scene, establishing characters and building a story out of history. It's a fascinating read on the way politics in old New York worked through Tammany Hall and the power that gangsters held.