True Crime Philadelphia: From America’s First Bank Robbery to the Real-Life Killers Who Inspired Boardwalk Empire

Reporter Canavan debuts with a lively survey of the bloody and sometimes bizarre history of crime in Philadelphia, from the forgotten (in 1787, while Philadelphia hosted the Continental Convention, a witch hunt resulted in the stoning death of an elderly woman) to the well-publicized (in 1947, infamous bank robber Willie Sutton escaped from a Philly prison). In the 1930s, tailor Paul Petrillo masterminded the largest mass murder plot in U.S. history, selling arsenic to unhappy housewives to poison their husbands. The crimes netted a total of $100,000 in life insurance money, led to the conviction of 23 people, and sent two to the electric chair. The city was also the home to the first kidnapping for ransom, in 1874, and the country’s first bank heist, in 1798. And it’s the resting place of serial killer H.H. Holmes of The Devil in the White City fame, who was hanged in 1896 for the murder of his business partner, Benjamin Pitezel, in 1894. Per his final wish, Holmes was buried in cement to prevent his body from being dissected. Canavan writes with zest about a host of colorful characters and their misdeeds. True crime aficionados will be amply rewarded. (Nov.)