The First Gangster Kingpin of New York
About this episode
The episode explores the life and influence of Monk Eastman, a notorious gangster in early 20th century New York.
Monk Eastman ruled the depraved streets of turn-of-the-century Manhattan with fists and absolutely zero regard for human life, commanding an army of 1,200 thugs who terrorized the Lower East Side. At the height of his power, he was pulling cash from every racket you could think of while rigging elections for Tammany Hall and overseeing street violence so extreme that cops needed reinforcements just to enter his territory. Eastman represented a true transition in the evolution of the underworld, when crime became organized. All that, and he managed to become a war hero too, before the street life finally caught up with him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: The Underworld Podcast
Topics covered
- organized crime
- history
- New York
- gangsters
- true crime
Keywords
- Monk Eastman
- gangster
- Tammany Hall
- Lower East Side
- organized crime
- New York history
- true crime
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Tammany Hall
Places: Lower East Side, New York
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