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THE SECRET (STRONG ARM) SQUAD

In 1911, Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo appointed Becker to head an elitegroup of police strongmen which Waldo proudly called The Special Squad, but christened in

the press as The Strong Arm Squad.In aNew York Times article dated Aug. 13, 1911, the headline read:

THE STRONG ARM SQUADA TERROR TO THE GANGS

Lieut. Charles Becker waspicked to be in command of the Strong Arm Squad. He looks

the part, standing over six feet in his socks, tipping the scale over 200 pounds, broad-shouldered,

with eyes, jaw, and fists of a fighter.

The Strong Arm Squad was right up Beckers alley, because it gave him and his boys

carte blanche to crack heads whenever they deemed it necessary, and that was often. The Strong

Arm Squad was comprised of, according to the Times, twenty huskies whose sole duty is totravel around the city and hand out generous doses of strong-arm medicine to any and all whoshowed unmistakable signs of being in need of it.

The Strong Arm Squad wore no police uniforms, nor did they dress like police detectives.The Strong Arm Squad wore the attire of the times associated with ruffians, longshoremen, andthe rabble in the streets who were committing mayhem on the general public. In other words, theStrong Arm Squad dressed to blend in with the crowd they were looking to beat up, then arrest;in either order, as they saw fit. These 20 men were plucked from various precincts because theyhad earned the reputation for their fighting capacity, for their judgment in making arrests, and fortheir ability to back up their arrests.

In fact, the last two criteria had nothing to do with the selection of the Strong Arm Squad.The first criteria was all that was required to be given the opportunity to legally crack heads.

According to the Times article,

The Strong Arm Squad consisted of such thugs as Alex Whitman, the strong man of thePolice Department, and his brother Nathan Whitman, who has been dubbed the Yiddish

Irishman.Then there was Conlon, the strong arm dude. Old Sleuth Faubel, Joe

McLaughlin, known as Eat Em Up Alive, and finally Boots Trojan, who knows all the gangsand whom Becker describedas good as four ordinary men to go into a muss with.

Beckers squad of thugs knew what Waldo wanted and they provided it in spades. Waldowas interested in arrests all right, but that was secondary to beating the crap out of whomeverBecker deemed worthy of such actions. Waldos thinking was: strike fear in the hearts of the

underworld element and they will stop doing whatever they are doing. Of course, this tacticnever works and only makes the hard men harder when they finally get released from prison.

Whenever arrests were made, the New York Citys Magistrates were regaled by theprisoners tales of cruel and abusive treatment by Becker and his gang. However, Beckeralways denied these claims, and thanks to the interference of Police Commissioner Waldo, nocharges were ever brought against Becker and his thugs.

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With his ruthless reputation flaunted frequently in the press, Becker was in an even betterposition than he was before to do what he did best: shake down prostitutes and known New YorkCity gamblers; especially in the Tenderloin. In fact, Becker was such a commanding presence inthe Tenderloin - he was christened The Czar of the Tenderloin.

With his squad of goons behind him, Becker went on a rampage, closing down 100

gambling joints in the period of nine months. Of course, Becker took care of those who took careof him. If the proprietor of a gambling house came across with the proper amount of cash,Becker would ignore the gambling houses existence. And if that were not possible if Waldocame down with a direct order to close down that particular diveBecker would tip off thegambling house owner in advance, so that when Becker finally did axe down the front door ofthe gambling den, all of the establishments best gambling paraphernalia had been secreted

away, and only decrepit tables and gambling wheels would be axed, or confiscated. Big-shotgamblers were also tipped off, so when Beckers men made their arrests in their favored

gambling houses, the arrestees were nonentities, with no bucks to back up their play with Becker.According to Mike Dashs fine tome Satans Circus, Becker was raking in so much cash

that he personally banked, between Oct. 1911 and July 1912, an average of $10,000 a month.

Becker had 15 bank accounts dotted throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Some weresolely in his name; some in joint accounts with his wife, and others under fictitious names.Becker also had safety deposit boxes in several banks filed with cold, hard cash; sometimes asmuch as $2,000 in one such box.

This brings us back to Herman Rosenthal.