Frederika Mandelbaum
Frederika Mandelbaum, born in Germany to Jewish parents, emigrated to the United States in 1849. She and her husband, Wolfe, opened a dry-goods store in lower Manhattan, which eventually served as a front for her true business: fencing stolen goods. By 1855, Mandelbaum became a central figure in New York's criminal underworld, establishing a highly efficient operation for receiving, concealing, and reselling stolen property. It is estimated that she facilitated the fencing of goods worth between seven and ten million dollars over her career, while also mentoring many pickpockets and thieves, including notable criminals like Adam Worth and Sophie Lyons.
Despite numerous police inquiries, her extensive network and payoffs allowed her to evade legal consequences for many years. In 1884, however, the Pinkerton detective agency successfully gathered evidence against her, leading to her arrest. Before her trial, Mandelbaum fled to Canada, where she lived until her death in 1894. Recognized as one of the most successful fences in American history, her life and criminal enterprise have prompted modern interest, particularly regarding her role in providing opportunities for women in crime, despite the morally complex nature of her legacy.
Subject Terms
Frederika Mandelbaum
American fence
- Born: c. 1830
- Birthplace: Hesse-Kassel, Germany
- Died: February 26, 1894
- Place of death: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Cause of notoriety: Mandelbaum was the largest fencer of stolen property in nineteenth century New York. She was arrested for possession of stolen property but was able to escape to Canada at a time when no extradition laws were in place.
Active: 1855-1884
Locale: New York, New York
Early Life
Frederika Mandelbaum (freh-deh-REE-kah MAN-dehl-bahm) was born in Germany of Jewish parents. In 1849, she emigrated to the United States with her husband, Wolfe, settling in were chosen. In 1854, she and Wolfe opened a dry-goods and haberdashery store in lower Manhattan. Entertaining lavishly with her ill-gotten wealth and weighing more than 250 pounds, Mandelbaum was one of the most recognized and colorful hostesses of New York’s booming criminal society.
Criminal Career
By 1855, the haberdashery store had become a front for Mandelbaum’s real business—being a fence, or a person who receives stolen goods from thieves and resells them for illicit gain. Criminals from throughout the city delivered their stolen goods to Mandelbaum and members of her gang. All items were carefully examined, and any identifying marks and labels were removed before Mandelbaum resold them. By all accounts, Mandelbaum brought an unprecedented efficiency and enterprise to the fencing racket. It is estimated that over her criminal career, Mandelbaum fenced between seven and ten million dollars’ worth of stolen property.
Some reminiscences indicate that Mandelbaum cared for her gang with motherly solicitude, in particular, the numerous pickpockets, male and female, she trained. For example, Adam Worth, known as the Napoleon of Crime, began his criminal career as part of the Mandelbaum racket, as did Sophie Lyons, a famous confidence woman. It was alleged, but not certain, that Mandelbaum financed the notorious three-million-dollar heist of the Manhattan Savings Bank in October, 1878.
Legal Action and Outcome
Mandelbaum was the subject of numerous police inquiries starting in 1862. However, her system for obliterating the identity of stolen goods and moving them through her various warehouses was so efficient and her payoffs to police so extensive that no action against her was successful. Finally, in 1884, New York district attorney Peter Olney bypassed the police and employed the Pinkerton detective agency to infiltrate Mandelbaum’s racket. On July 22, 1884, on the basis of the evidence accumulated by the Pinkerton detectives, Mandelbaum was arrested for possession of stolen property. She was released on a twenty-one-thousand-dollar bond. Shortly before her scheduled trial on December 4, 1884, she absconded to Toronto, allegedly with a fortune of nearly one million dollars. With no extradition law in effect, she remained in Canada and died there on February 26, 1894.
Impact
Frederika Mandelbaum was the most successful and notorious fence in American history. For twenty years, much of the plunder swiped by New York City’s criminal elements passed through her system. Modern-day interest in the nineteenth century gangs of New York has sparked interest in the Queen of Fences. Scholarly interest has focused on Mandelbaum’s prowess and capability in managing her criminal enterprise. She has also been cited for providing poor women with career “opportunities” as pickpockets and thieves and as a feminist pioneer of organized crime. Nevertheless, it seems misguided to assess Mandelbaum’s impact as anything other than that of a successful criminal purveyor of stolen goods and a fugitive from justice.
Bibliography
Asbury, Herbert. The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the New York Underworld. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2004. First published in 1927, this classic account of the nineteenth century criminals of the Five Points and other sections of lower Manhattan inspired Martin Scorsese’s 2002 film of the same name. It includes a vivid account of Mandelbaum’s lavishly furnished New York home and soirées.
Morton, James. Gangland: The Early Years. London: Time Warner Books, 2003. A carefully researched, lively account of the gangs of New York, London, and Paris, and the forceful response of urban police, such as the Pinkertons.
Van Emery, Edward. The Sins of New York: As “Exposed” by the “Police Gazette”. New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1930. A history of crime in New York City according to its crime newspaper.