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540:. The process took nine minutes, appearing to cause the man intense agony. For years afterward, it was described as "the clumsiest execution in the history of Sing Sing." Becker has been thought to be the "only policeman to be executed for murder in the history of the United States", but in fact two other members of the
496:, who was "intensely biased against Becker" and whose charge to the jury was slanted toward conviction. The verdict was overturned on appeal on the grounds that Goff had been biased and that there was no independent corroborating witness to testify to the events since all of them had been involved in the crimes.
567:(1970), as she became convinced of his innocence in the murder through her research. They suggest that Becker and his fellow officers had stood back and allowed "the street" to "take care of" Rosenthal since they knew that his co-operation with the district attorney's office would put a huge target on his back.
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Three people have been identified as having a major stake of self-interest in Becker's prosecution for murder. Allegedly, District
Attorney Whitman manipulated the evidence to implicate the corrupt Lieutenant. Becker was known to have assets that far exceeded his salary. However, for Whitman, gaining
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In 1902 and 1903, Becker was one of the leaders of a patrolman's reform movement agitating for the introduction of the three-platoon system. It would have significantly reduced the number of hours that the beat police officer was expected to work. In 1906, he was seconded to a special unit working
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substantial sums, later shown to total in excess of $ 100,000, from
Manhattan brothels and illegal gambling casinos in exchange for immunity from police interference. Percentages of the take were regularly delivered to politicians and other policemen. The area was under the patronage of
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Charles Becker married and divorced again. In 1905 he married a woman, Helen, a schoolteacher and later assistant principal. Their daughter, Charlotte Becker, died less than a day after her birth in 1913. Helen Becker always believed that her husband was wrongfully convicted of murder.
584:. He devoted much space to the conduct of the trial and individuals' testimony. Later, he said his reporting on the trial catapulted his career. Lastly, as noted above, Judge John Goff showed his bias and played a major role in gaining a guilty verdict from the jury.
461:, who had made an appointment to interview Rosenthal before he was murdered, alleged that the four gangsters had committed the murder at Becker's behest. Amid a major public outcry following the murder and extensive press coverage, Becker was transferred to
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Feeling vulnerable, Becker gathered evidence, hired experienced defense counsel Louis Grant, and rallied the support of his colleagues. Becker made a powerful entrance to his trial on
October 15, 1896, surrounded by a phalanx of policemen. Commissioner
325:, Crane stepped forward and defended Young. Crane's popularity carried weight in court at the sentencing of Young, and Magistrate Robert C. Cornell dismissed the case. Afterward Crane told reporters, "If the girl will have the officer prosecuted for
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Becker may have been "the only police officer executed for crimes connected to his official performance." He appealed and was retried but was convicted again. The corruption scandal related to the case was one of the most important in
506:"Sure, I told them to put Rosenthal out of the way, but I didn't mean they should kill him. I wanted them to get him out of town so he wouldn't blab. Killing him was Rose's idea and the others. They wanted to save their own skins."
357:, was born in 1899. Six years later the couple divorced, and Howard grew up with his mother and stepfather in the West. His mother married Charles's brother Paul. Howard Becker completed a doctorate in sociology at the
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believes that Becker was guilty because of the testimony of people involved but also he had a strong motive and had shown reckless behavior. The consensus continues to favor Becker's active involvement in the murder.
429:, was irritated by a police raid led by Becker on one of his casinos and the damage they left. He complained to the press that Becker "collected 20 percent of the take" there. In July 1912, Becker was reported by the
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Whitman's office continued to investigate Becker. On July 29, 1912, Becker was arrested at the precinct's closing hour by special detectives from the
District Attorney's Office. He was tried and convicted of
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a guilty verdict for Becker in the sensational murder case would help his own political aspirations, and he is thought to have been elected as governor largely based on his success in that goal.
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as one of three senior police officials involved in extorting money from
Rosenthal's casinos. The day that Rosenthal was due to testify to a grand jury, he was murdered at 2 a.m. as he left the
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were witnessed shooting him from their car, making no effort at disguise. They were separately tried, convicted, and sentenced to death and were ultimately executed.
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The court ruled for a retrial, but in 1914, Becker was convicted again and sentenced to death. He was the first police officer in New York to receive that penalty.
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Whitman, who was then governor of New York, signed Becker's death warrant in 1915 and attended the execution. On July 30, 1915, Becker was executed in
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Cohen, Stanley (2006). "The
Execution of Officer Becker; The Murder of a Gambler, the Trial of a Cop, and the Birth of Organized Crime."
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have been executed for murder: William Ennis (executed on
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in New York. Partly because of Becker's work, Schmittberger was subsequently prosecuted. Deputy Police
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who was a leading prosecution witness in the Becker trial after being given immunity by the district attorney.
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Dash, Mike (2007). "Satan's Circus: Murder, Vice, Police
Corruption and New York's Trial of the Century"
794:"Executions in New York - 1926 - 1940 - DeathPenaltyUSA, the database of executions in the United States"
776:"Executions in New York - 1876 - 1910 - DeathPenaltyUSA, the database of executions in the United States"
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in 1911, Waldo appointed Becker, now a lieutenant, as head of one of the city's three anti-vice squads.
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Delmar, Vina (1968.) "The Becker
Scandal: A Time Remembered." New York: Harcourt Brace & World.
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Becker continued to profess his innocence. The day before his execution, Becker told the warden,
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Beginning with Henry Klein in 1927, a number of authors have suggested that Becker was
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between the 1890s and the 1910s. He is known for the scandal of being convicted of
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out of police headquarters to probe the alleged corruption of Police Inspector
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The Rosenthal murder case is featured in several novels, including:
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in the Bronx on August 2, 1915. He is buried next to his daughter.
879:: The Life, Times and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the
599:(2007). He made no conclusion as to Becker's guilt in the murder.
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was so satisfied with Becker's work that when he was appointed as
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because the known prostitute was in the company of popular writer
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The Strong Arm Squad a Terror to the Gangs. August 13, 1911.
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describe a fictionalized version of this murder in his novel
928:"The Becker case: view of 'The System.'" November 11, 1951.
895:"Three Platoon System Urged by Policemen." August 21, 1902.
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Key Figures in Jefferson Market History - Charles Becker
765:(2007/Reprint, New York: Three Rivers Press, 2008), 329.
229:(July 26, 1870 – July 30, 1915) was a lieutenant in the
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People executed by New York (state) by electric chair
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Sacrificed: The Story of Police Lieut. Charles Becker
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919:"My Story, by Mrs Charles Becker." December, 1914.
904:Entire Force Of Patrolmen In Revolt April 6, 1902.
269:Charles Becker was born in 1870 in the village of
869:Against The Evidence: The Becker-Rosenthal Affair
273:, in Sullivan County, New York. His parents were
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1081:People convicted of murder by New York (state)
1071:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)
660:God's Rat: Jewish Mafia on the Lower East Side
285:as a young man in 1890 and went to work as a
1066:American police officers executed for murder
513:had served as a prosecution witness, as did
1051:20th-century executions by New York (state)
483:Becker (center) being escorted to Sing Sing
19:For other people named Charles Becker, see
1046:20th-century executions of American people
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697:Roberts, Sam (15 July 2012).
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469:Arrest, trial, and execution
222:Becker in uniform circa 1912
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1000:People v. Becker 215 NY 126
988:People v. Becker 210 NY 274
931:The New York Times Magazine
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455:Manhattan District Attorney
445:Frank "Dago Frank" Cirofici
239:killing of Herman Rosenthal
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961:Killer Cop: Charles Becker
587:New York police historian
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576:Herbert Bayard Swope
565:Against the Evidence
380:Max F. Schmittberger
335:Frederick Dent Grant
157:and Charlotte Becker
814:Dash, Mike (2007).
798:deathpenaltyusa.org
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620:F. Scott Fitzgerald
490:first-degree murder
427:Tenderloin District
402:Criminal activities
345:Marriage and family
235:first-degree murder
203:Cause of death
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922:McClure's Magazine
914:The New York Times
906:The New York Times
897:The New York Times
742:The New York Times
703:The New York Times
612:, named after the
603:In popular culture
589:Thomas A. Reppetto
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459:Charles S. Whitman
281:. Becker moved to
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141:Ossining, New York
881:1919 World Series
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818:. New York.
761:Mike Dash,
648:Kevin Baker
639:Harry Stein
555:Controversy
519:Sam Schepps
415:'s leader,
1025:Categories
841:References
265:Early life
190:Lieutenant
169:Department
54:footnoting
877:Rothstein
824:cite book
653:Dreamland
530:Sing Sing
511:Jack Rose
494:John Goff
463:the Bronx
337:, son of
291:beer hall
243:bookmaker
182:1893–1912
149:Relatives
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889:Articles
306:Broadway
118:New York
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614:gambler
351:Ontario
327:perjury
323:hearing
287:bouncer
279:Bavaria
662:(2000)
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143:, U.S.
846:Books
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749:2019
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