True crime Philadelphia : from America's first bank robbery to the real-life killers who inspired Boardwalk empire

Serial killer H.H. Holmes built his murder castle in Chicago, but he met the hangman in Philadelphia. Al Capone served his first prison sentence here. The real-life killers who inspired HBO’s Boardwalk Empire lived and died here. America’s first bank robbery was pulled off here in 1798. The country’s first kidnapping for ransom came off without a hitch in 1874. A South Philadelphia man hatched the largest mass murder plot in U.S. history in the 1930s. His partners in crime were unhappy housewives. Catholics and Protestants aimed cannon at each other in city streets in 1844. Civil rights hero Octavius V. Catto was gunned down on South Street in 1871. Take a walk with us through city history. Would you pass Eastern State Penitentiary on April 3, 1945, just as famed bank robber Willie Sutton popped out of an escape tunnel in broad daylight? Or you might have been one of the invited guests at H.H. Holmes’ hanging at Moyamensing Prison on a gray morning in May 1896. It still ranks as one of the most bizarre executions in city history. Or, if you walked down Washington Lane on July 1, 1874, would you have been alert enough to stop the two men who lured little blond Charley Ross away with candy? You might have stopped America’s first kidnapping for ransom, the one that gave rise to the admonition, “Never take candy from a stranger.” The case inspired the Leopold and Loeb kidnapping. Then there was the bank robber whose funeral drew thousands of spectators and the burglary defendant so alluring that conversation would stop whenever she entered the courtroom. Mix in murderous maids, bumbling burglars, and unflinching local heroes and you have True Crime Philadelphia. Who Would You See First If You Walked The Streets Of Philadelphia In 1961 Or 1874 Or 1945? Would You Walk Up Fairmount Avenue On April 3, 1945 Just As Famed Bank Robber Willie Sutton Popped Up Out Of A Prison Tunnel In Broad Daylight? You Might Have Been One Of The Invited Guests At Serial Killer H. H. Holmes' Hanging At Moyamensing Prison On The Gray Morning Of May 7, 1896. It Still Ranks As One Of The Most Bizarre Executions In City History. Perhaps You'd Stroll Past Mary Hill's Picture-perfect Mansion At Tenth And Pine Just As Her Corpse Was Thrown From A Second Story Window In 1868? Or, If You Walked Down Washington Lane On The First Day Of July 1874, Could You Have Stopped The Two Men Who Lured Little Blond Charley Ross With Candy? It Was America's First Kidnapping For Ransom, The One That Gave Rise To The Admonition, Never Take Candy From A Stranger. The Case Remained In The Headlines For So Long That It Inspired The Leopold And Loeb Kidnapping In 1924. Would You Be Sitting On Your Front Stoop On Sunny Alma Street In 1961 As Richie Blaney, Clad In A Freshly Ironed Shirt And Bermuda Shorts, Turned The Key On His Sedan, Igniting The Dynamite That Blew Most Of His Body Into The Back Seat And Sent His Car Hood Aloft Over The Rowhouse Roofs? Philadelphia Is A City Of Firsts - First Zoo, First Library, First Computer, First Hospital, First University, First Stock Exchange, First Art Museum, First Volunteer Fire Department. It Also Boasts The First Bank Robbery, The First Octo-murder, First Kidnapping For Ransom, And The First Arsenic Murder Ring Complete With Soothsayers, Demon Lovers, Womanizing Witch Doctors And The Evil Eye. Al Capone Served His First Prison Sentence Here. H.h. Holmes Met The Hangman Here. The Real-life Killers Who Inspired Hbo's Boardwalk Empire Lived And Died Here. Add To That Murderous Maids, Bumbling Burglars, Self-made Widows And Some Unflinching Local Heroes. "A tour through Philadelphia that highlights the locations within each neighborhood where crime occurred"-- Provided by publisher