The Execution of Officer Becker: The Murder of a Gambler, the Trial of a Cop, and the Birth of Organized Crime

"Lieutenant Charles Becker was the only New York City police officer ever executed for murder. He was convicted of orchestrating the slaying of a minor-league gambler with major-league ambitions named Herman "Beansie" Rosenthal in the summer of 1912. After two showcase trials, Officer Becker died in Sing Sing's electric chair in 1915. The case was front-page news in New York City for three years and its effects were felt in City Hall, the state capital, and throughout the nation. Nearly a century later, there is still good reason to doubt Becker's guilt. Although he was clearly a dirty cop, he may have had nothing to do with the murder of Rosenthal."--BOOK JACKET.