| Name | Portrait | Life | Comments |
| William Howlett | | 1834–1853 | He and Nicholas Saul were the co-leaders of the Daybreak Boys during the early 1850s. They were both hanged for murder when they shot and killed a watchman while robbing the brig William Watson. |
| Nicholas Saul | | 1833–1853 | Co-leader of the Daybreak Boys with William Howlett. He and Howlett were convicted and hanged for murder after killing the watchman during the robbery of the brig William Watson. |
| Bill Johnson | | fl. 1850 | A close associate, but reportedly ineffectual, member of the Daybreak Boys. A participant in the robbery of the brig William Watson with William Howlett and Nicholas Saul, he was so drunk that "he was unable to lend a hand at the oars" and was later arrested with them after a gunfight with police at their Slaughter House Point headquarters. Of the three, Johnson was sentenced to life imprisonment and the others to be hanged. |
| Sow Madden | | fl. 1850 | Member of the Daybreak Boys during the 1850s. |
| Sam McCarthy | | fl. 1850 | Known as "Cow Legged Sam", he was the last leader of the Daybreak Boys before its breakup by Police Chief George Washington Matsell. He eventually abandoned the Daybreak Boys to join a burglary gang operating in the Five Points. |
| Bill Lowrie | | fl. 1850 | Took over the leadership of the Daybreak Boys with Slobbery Jim after Howlett and Saul were hanged. After Slobbery Jim left New York for the murder of Patsy The Barber, he and the gang operated out of his bar, The Rising States, with his girlfriend Molly Maher until his arrest for in a dock robbery and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. |
| Slobbery Jim | | fl. 1850 | He and Bill Lowrie succeeded Howlett and Saul as leaders of the Daybreak Boys. Slobbery Jim was later forced to flee the city after murdering fellow member Patsy the Barber. |
| Patsy The Barber | | d. 1855 | Member of the Daybreak Boys during the 1850s. His murder by Slobbery Jim forced the gang leader to flee the city. |
| Molly Maher | | fl. 1850 | Criminal associate of the Daybreak Boys and girlfriend of Bill Lowrie and later Sam McCarthy. |
| Pete Williams | | fl. 1850 | Dive keeper whose Slaughter House Point dive bar and gin mill was used as a headquarters for the Daybreak Boys. |
| Name | Portrait | Life | Comments |
| Monk Eastman | | 1880–1920 | One of the last great gang chieftains who founded the Eastman Gang and feuded with Paul Kelly and the Five Points Gang over control of New York's underworld at the turn of the 20th century. |
| Jack Zelig | | 1882–1912 | A longtime member of the Eastmans, "Big Jack" Zelig took over the gang following the death of Kid Twist and was perhaps its last powerful leader prior to his murder by Red Phil Davidson in 1912. His murder, although never proven, was thought to have been motivated by his testimony as a star witness in the Charles Becker murder trial. |
| Red Phil Davidson | | 1882–? | A criminal associate of the Five Points Gang supposedly involved with its leader Jack Sirocco to murder Jack Zelig the day before his testimony in the Becker-Rosenthal murder trial. |
| Tommy Dyke | | | Associate of Chick Tricker and manager of his Bowery dive bar. He was also a political organizer and head of the Lenny & Dyke Association. |
| Richie Fitzpatrick | | 1880–1905 | Former lieutenant to Paul Kelly who defected from the Five Points Gang to join Monk Eastman during their gang war. Killed during a struggle for leadership of the Eastmans with Kid Twist. Invented a method of execution later used in the 1974 film The Godfather. |
| Vach Lewis | | 1882–1908 | Former circus strongman known as "Cyclone Louis". A close associate of Kid Twist, he was employed as his bodyguard and was later ambushed and killed alongside Kid Twist by Five Points gunman Louis Pioggi. |
| Charles Livin | | | A veteran member and longtime lieutenant to Monk Eastman known as "Ike the Blood". He was ambushed and killed by several unknown members of the Gopher Gang at a dive bar at Seventh Avenue and Twenty-Eight Street. |
| Chick Tricker | | | Saloon keeper and lieutenant of Jack Zelig who, with Jack Sirocco, later fought Jack Zelig for control of the Eastman Gang. Among his many establishments, he owned a Park Row saloon which competed against Jack McManus's New Brighton dance hall with their underworld feud eventually resulting in McManus's death. |
| Max Zwerbach | | d. 1908 | One of Paul Kelly's lieutenants known as "Kid Twist", who defected to Monk Eastman during the Eastman-Five Point gang war. He succeeded Eastman as leader of the gang after the murder of Richie Fitzpatrick, another rival for leadership, in 1905. He and Cyclone Louie were later gunned down by Louis Pioggi three years later. |
| Kid Dahl | | | A close associate of Kid Twist, he is believed to have killed Richie Fitzpatrick on his orders and later took over the East Side stuss game run by The Bottler. |
| Jack Sirocco | | 1882–1954 | A lieutenant under Jack Zelig, he and Chick Tricker formed a separate faction and battled Zelig over leadership of the Eastman Gang. |
| Chris Wallace | | | Young criminal associate of Monk Eastman who was arrested with Eastman for the infamous street mugging of which resulted in Eastman's 10 year imprisonment in Sing Sing. |
| Charley Torti | | | A criminal associate of Jack Sirocco, he attempted to kill Jack Zelig during the gang war against the Jack Sirocco-Chick Tricker faction. |
| Julie Morrell | | d. 1911 | Criminal associate of Jack Sirocco who was killed in a filed attempt to murder Jack Zelig. |
| Diamond Charley | | | Bowery drug peddler who organized and later monopolized the selling of chloral and morphine. |
| Carroll Terry | | | Coney Island dancing girl and girlfriend of Kid Twist. |
| Name | Portrait | Life | Comments |
| Paul Kelly | | 1876–1936 | Former pugilist and founder of the Five Points Gang, he was the longtime rival of Monk Eastman with whom he battled over control of New York's underworld at the turn of the 20th century. He ruled over the city for a brief time after Monk Eastman's downfall, but his power declined after a failed attempt on his life by Biff Ellison and Razor Riley in 1906 forced him to close the popular New Brighton Dance Hall. |
| Nathan Kaplan | | 1891–1923 | A former member of the Five Pointers known as "Kid Dropper", he and Johnny Spanish formed a group of ex-Five Point gang members involved in labor racketeering. He and Spanish soon fell out however, their gang war becoming known as the second "Labor Slugger War", and controlled "labor slugging" until his murder by Louis Kushner. |
| James T. Ellison | | 1862–? | Former bouncer and criminal associate of Paul Kelly. In 1906, he and Razor Riley attempted to kill Paul Kelly at his New Brighton headquarters. Although they shot him three times, Kelly survived and Ellison was captured in 1910, imprisoned in Sing Sing, and eventually committed to an insane asylum where he died years later. |
| Pat Hogan | | | Criminal associate of Paul Kelly known as "Rough House Hogan". He was present with Kelly when Ellison and Riley attacked him and later testified against Ellison at his trial. |
| Jack McManus | | d. 1905 | Saloon keeper, pugilist and longtime bouncer known as "Eat 'Em Up" McManus. He was the "Sheriff of the New Brighton" and was killed in an underworld feud with Chick Tricker. |
| Louis Pioggi | | 1889–? | A young Five Points gang member known as "Louie the Lump", who gunned down Eastman leader Kid Twist and his bodyguard Cyclone Louie in a dispute over Coney Island dancing girl Carroll Terry in 1908. |
| John McCarthy | | | Criminal associate of the Five Point Gang involved in prostitution and running panel houses. In 1888, he was involved in a gunfight with Whyos lead Danny Driscoll over prostitute Beezy Garrity which resulted in her death. |
| Bill Harrington | | d. 1908 | Bodyguard of Paul Kelly, he was shot and killed by Razor Riley while protecting the gang leader during the failed attempt on his life. |
| Joe Hickman | | | Five Point gang member known as "Itsky Joe", known as the last leader of the gang before its breakup. |
| Cora the Blonde | | | Popular New Brighton showgirl and girlfriend of Bill Harrington, she was present with Harrington when Ellison and Riley attempted to kill Paul Kelly at the New Brighton dance hall in 1908. |
| Johnny Torrio | | 1882–1957 | Leader of the affiliated-James Street Gang, the group included future organized crime figures such as Al Capone, Frankie Yale and Charles Luciano. |
| Name | Portrait | Life | Comments |
| Marty Brennan | | | A high-ranking leader of the Gophers, he and Newburgh Gallagher were among those convicted during the NYPD's campaign against the city's street gangs and eventually sent to Sing Sing. |
| One Lung Curran | | d. 1917 | An early member and later leader of the Gophers. He was well known in Hell's Kitchen for attacking policemen and stealing their uniforms, later becoming a popular trend in the underworld. |
| Edward Egan | | | A lieutenant under Owney Madden, he disappeared shortly after Madden's conviction for the murder of Patsy Doyle. |
| Razor Riley | | | A well-known member of the Gophers who, with Biff Ellison, attempted to murder Paul Kelly and take over the Five Points Gang. Kelly survived the attempt however and Riley eventually died from pneumonia while hiding out in Chinatown. |
| Newburg Gallagher | | | He and Marty Brennan were leaders of the Gophers and among those arrested during the NYPD's campaign against the city's street gangs. |
| Chick Hyland | | | Another lieutenant to Owney Madden. He was later imprisoned for four years. |
| Owney Madden | | 1892–1964 | The last leader of the Gophers. He later became a successful bootlegger with Bill Dwyer during Prohibition and eventually retired to run the underworld resort in Hot Springs, Arkansas. |
| Stumpy Malarkey | | | A prominent member of the Gophers during the turn of the 20th century. |
| Johnny McArdle | | | He and Art Biedler killed Patsy Doyle. He was sentenced to thirteen years imprisonment for his role in the murder. |
| Jack Mulraney | | | Known as "Happy Jack" due to a facial disfigurement which made him appear to have a permanent smile. He later killed Paddy the Priest, a well-known Hell's Kitchen saloon keeper, for jokingly asking about his smile. |
| Battle Annie | | | Popularly known as "Queen of Hell's Kitchen", she led the female contingent known as the Lady Gophers during the 1870s. |
| Art Biedler | | | Veteran gunman who was convicted with Johnny McArdle of killing Patsy Doyle and sentenced to eighteen years imprisonment. |
| William Mott | | | Known as "Willie the Sailor". He was allegedly involved in planning the murder of Patsy Doyle and was present with girlfriend Margaret Everdeane when Doyle was murdered. |
| Buck O'Brien | | | Co-led the Gophers with Owney Madden, O'Brien controlling the area from Forty-Second Street to Fifty-Ninth and from Ninth Avenue to the Hudson River. He was an occasional rival of the Parlor Mob. |
| Tony Romanello | | | A close associate of Owney Madden, he was one of several members attacked by Patsy Doyle, who was then attempting to take over the Gophers. Romanello was shot and stabbed after taunting Doyle of losing his girlfriend Freda Horner to Owney Madden. |
| Bill Tammany | | | A third lieutenant of Owney Madden. He was eventually sent to Sing Sing to serve a 15-year prison sentence. |
| Margaret Everdeane | | | Associate of the Gophers and girlfriend of William Mott. She and Freda Horner were later accused of setting up Patsy Doyle to be killed by Owney Madden, but later testified against the gang leader resulting in his conviction. |
| Freda Horner | | | Associate of the Gophers and girlfriend of Owney Madden. Freda had previously been seeing Patsy Doyle and agreed to lure him to a saloon where Owney Madden ambushed and killed him. She and Margaret Everdeane later testified against Owney Madden at the trial for Doyle's murder. |
| Ida The Goose | | fl. 1900–1910 | Manhattan showgirl subject to a brief gang war between the Gophers and the Eastman Gang known as the "Ida the Goose War". |
| Paddy the Priest | | d. 1911 | Well-known Hell's Kitchen saloonkeeper and criminal associate of the Gophers. He was killed by "Happy" Jack Mulraney for supposedly making a comment regarding his facial disfigurement. |
| Patsy Doyle | | d. 1914 | A minor member of the Gophers who attempted to take over the Gophers from Owney Madden, then still recovering from an attempt on his life, and was later killed by Madden after being lured to a saloon by former girlfriend Freda Horner. |
| Name | Portrait | Life | Comments |
| James Coffee | | | One of several leaders of the Hook Gang. |
| Terry Le Strange | | | One of several leaders of the Hook Gang. |
| Suds Merrick | | | One of several leaders of the Hook Gang. He was eventually succeeded by Bum Mahoney after the arrest of his three top men Tommy Bonner, Johnny Gallagher and Sam McCracken. |
| Tommy Shay | | | One of several leaders of the Hook Gang. |
| Slipsley Ward | | | The principal lieutenant to Bum Mahoney, he was imprisoned for attempted to steal a schooner single-handed from a crew of six men. |
| Tommy Bonner | | | A leading member of the Hookers and an associate of Suds Merrick. He was arrested with Sam McCracken and Johnny Gallagher for the 1874 robbery of the canal boat Thomas H. Brick and imprisoned in Auburn Prison. |
| Johnny Gallagher | | | Another leading member of the Hookers and criminal associate of Suds Merrick. He was arrested with Sam McCracken and Tommy Bonner for the 1874 robbery of the canal boat Thomas H. Brick and imprisoned in Auburn Prison. |
| Sam McCracken | | | A member of the Hookers and associate of Suds Merrick who was arrested with Tommy Bonner and Johnny Gallagher and imprisoned in Auburn Prison for the 1874 robbery of the canal boat Thomas H. Brick. |
| Piggy Noles | | | A particularly infamous trickster of the Hookers who once stole a rowboat and sold it back to its original owner. The boat had been repainted and the victim was unaware that it was his own boat that he had purchased. |
| Bum Mahoney | | | A former member of the Patsy Conroy Gang, the 23-year-old river pirate became head of the gang after Suds Merrick stepped down as leader in 1874. |
| Old Flaherty | | | River pirate and associate of the Hookers. Flaherty was himself the head of a family of criminals and thugs in the Seventh Ward. |
| Name | Portrait | Life | Comments |
| Circular Jack | | | Co-founder and organizer of the Hudson Dusters with Kid Yorke and Goo Goo Knox. |
| Mike Costello | | | A prominent member of the Hudson Dusters, he was the subject of a statewide manhunt by police in New York and New Jersey police for his involvement in the murders of Rubber Shaw and Tanner Smith. |
| Red Farrell | | 1851–? | Burglar and pickpocket, he was considered one of the oldest street criminals still operating in the city by the time of his arrest for pickpocketing in 1922. |
| Ding Dong | | | Colorful member of the Hudson Dusters who led a group of teenage thieves based in Greenwich Village who robbed express wagons by having gang members sneak aboard and toss package to him as he followed the wagon. |
| Rickey Harrison | | d. 1920 | A once leading member of the Hudson Dusters. He was eventually convicted of murder and armed robbery and sent to the electric chair at Sing Sing in 1920. |
| Jack Diamond | | 1897–1931 | He and his brother were both members of the gang during their teenage years. He became a bodyguard to labor racketeer Jacob Orgen during the third "Labor Slugger War" and later became a notorious gunman and bootlegger during Prohibition. |
| Goo Goo Knox | | d. 1921 | Co-founder of the Hudson Dusters with Circular Jack and Kid Yorke. He was eventually killed by John Hudson in an underworld dispute over bootlegging. |
| Rubber Shaw | | d. 1919 | One of the Hudson Duster's last leaders, Rubber Shaw was killed in a drive-by shooting in retaliation for the gangland murder of Marginals leader Tanner Smith only a few days before. |
| Honey Stewart | | | One of the early prominent members of the Hudson Dusters. |
| Kid Yorke | | | Co-founder of the Hudson Dusters with Circular Jack and Goo Goo Knox. |
| Name | Portrait | Life | Comments |
| Patsy Conroy | | 1846–? | Fourth Ward river pirate and founder of the Patsy Conroy Gang. He and Larry Griffin were eventually convicted of robbing Robert Emmet's home in White Plains in 1874. |
| Wreck Donovan | | | |
| Bum Mahoney | | | An associate of Joseph Gayles, he and Billy Woods accompanied him on the ill-fated robbery of the brig Margaret in 1873. He and Woods threw Gayles overboard, believing him to be dead, but he was brought back onto the boat by Mahoney when Gayles regained consciousness but threw him back into the river after he died. Later associated with the Hook Gang and Old Flaherty's criminal family. |
| Joseph Gayles | | d. 1873 | River pirate and waterfront thug known as "Socco the Bracer". A chief lieutenant of Patsy Conroy, he was killed in a gun battle with police after failing to hijack to brig Margaret with Bum Mahoney and Billy Woods. |
| Billy Woods | | | He accompanied Joseph Gayles in the 1873 robbery of the brig Margaret. During the ensuing shootout with police, he attempted to keep Gayles from coming back aboard the boat but was dissuaded by Mahoney. |
| Denny Brady | | | River pirate and burglar who co-led the robbery of the brig Mattan with Larry Griffin in 1873. He was eventually convicted of robbing a house in Catskill. |
| Pugsy Hurley | | | |
| Beeny Kane | | fl. 1870 | |
| Scotchy Lavelle | | | River pirate and bouncer who later opened a saloon on Doyers Street. He served as a mentor to Chuck Conners early in his political career. |
| Larry Griffin | | | River pirate and burglar who, with Denny Brady, led the robbery of the brig Mattan in 1873. Griffin was eventually convicted of robbing the house of Robert Emmet in White Plains. |
| Kid Shanahan | | fl. 1883 | Gang leader and river pirate. In 1883, he was convicted of the attempted hijacking of the sloop Victor while anchored in Flushing Bay. |
| Tom The Mick | | | |
| Name | Portrait | Life | Comments |
| Joe Baker | | | East Side Gang leader involved in a gang war with Joe Morello and the Morello crime family. |
| Big Nose Bunker | | | Gang leader who ran a dive bar near Johnny Camphine's saloon. Involved in a fight with a waterfront thug, he was stabbed six times in the stomach and four of his fingers were chopped off. He arrived at a nearby police station where he asked for a surgeon to reattach his fingers but died from blood loss before an ambulance could arrive. |
| Ralph Daniello | | d. 1925 | Labor racketeer known as "Ralph the Barber", he was allied with Philip Paul during the first "Labor Slugger War". |
| Benjamin Fein | | | Underworld figure who, with Joseph Rosenzweig, controlled "labor slugging" and labor racketeering in New York until the first "Labor Slugger War". |
| Abie Fisher | | | Gang leader and labor racketeer allied with Philip Paul during the first "Labor Slugger War". |
| Porkie Flaherty | | | Gang leader and labor racketeer active in the Lower East Side. He was one of several men allied with Philip Paul during the first "Labor Slugger War". |
| Jimmy Haggerty | | d. 1871 | Philadelphia gang leader and bank robber. "Wild Jimmy" Haggerty was killed in a barroom brawl by Reddy the Blacksmith in 1871. |
| Pickles Laydon | | | Gang leader allied with Philip Paul during the first "Labor Slugger War". |
| Benjamin Levinsky | | 1893–1922 | Gang leader and labor racketeer. Killed by rival William Lipshitz in 1922. |
| Billy Lustig | | d. 1913 | Gang leader and labor racketeer allied with Philip Paul during the first "Labor Slugger War". |
| Punk Madden | | | Gang leader and labor racketeer allied with Philip Paul during the first "Labor Slugger War". |
| Albert Rooney | | 1892–? | Founder and leader of the Fourteenth Street Gang. He was one of the last gang captains of the "Gangs of New York" period and was one of the high-profile underworld figures to be convicted during the NYPD's campaign against the city's street gang from 1911 to 1914. |
| Joseph Rosenzweig | | | Organized crime figure who controlled labor racketeering with Benjamin Fein prior to the first "Labor Slugger War". |
| Philip Paul | | d. 1914 | Gang leader and labor racketeer known as "Pinchy Paul". He led a coalition of independent gang leaders against Joseph Rosenzweig and Benjamin Fein during the first "Labor Slugger War" until his murder in 1914. |
| Joseph Quinn | | 1861–1887 | Alleged gangster and rival of Whyos leader Danny Lyons who was killed in a dispute over prostitute Kitty McGowan. |
| Abe Roch | | | Independent gang leader and labor racketeer known as "Little Rhody". He was involved in the first Labor Slugger War as an ally of Philip Paul and later testified at the trial of Joseph Rosenzweig. |
| Frank Salvatore | | | Former bootblack and Tammany Hall political organizer known as "Mike the Dago". Around the turn of the 20th century, he founded the Young Chuck Conners Association and displaced Conners as the political boss of Chinatown. |
| Benjamin Snyder | | | Labor racketeer under Joseph Rosenzweig who murdered rival Philip Paul. He eventually agreed to become a witness for the state resulting in the conviction of Rosenzweig and other "labor sluggers" operating in the city. |
| Name | Portrait | Life | Comments |
| Captain Anthony J. Allaire | | 1820–1903 | Head of the Eighteenth police precinct, overseeing the area between Houston and Fifth Street, he was responsible for driving out and breaking up the Dutch Mob in 1877. |
| Detective Charles Becker | | 1869–1915 | Police detective who, as head of the Gambling Squad, used strong arm tactics to extort illegal gamblers. His role as an underworld figure was revealed when he was convicted and executed for ordering members of the Lenox Avenue Gang to murder gambler Herman Rosenthal. |
| Inspector Thomas F. Byrnes | | 1842–1910 | Police chief and head of the NYPD Detective Bureau from 1880 until 1895. During his career, he was responsible for the arrests of countless gang leaders and other criminals of the era. He was also the detective in charge of the murder investigation of Bowery prostitute and supposed Jack the Ripper victim Old Shakespeare. |
| Daniel D. Conover | | 1822–1896 | Civil servant whose appointment by Governor John King as the city street commissioner was blocked by the Mayor of New York Fernando Wood in favor Charles Devlin. The position was said to have been bought for the sum of $50,000 and resulted in the Police Riot of 1857. |
| Sergeant John D. Coughlin | | 1874–1951 | Police inspector involved during Chinatown's Tong wars. He was charged with the protection of Chinese comic Ah Hoon prior to his murder by the Hip Sing Tong. |
| Captain Timothy J. Creedon | | 1840–? | Police official implicated in police corruption investigations during the 1890s. Admitted that he had paid $15,000 to "fixers" for Tammany Hall in exchange for his position. |
| Captain William S. Devery | | 1854–1919 | The last superintendent of the New York City Police Department police commission, "Big Bill" Devery was later appointed its first police chief. |
| Detective Joseph M. Dorcy | | | Police detective who pursued and captured a number of high-profile criminals, most notably, Whyos gang member Johnny Dolan in 1875 and embezzler Leon L.J. Bernard in 1876. |
| Deputy Commissioner George Samuel Dougherty | | 1865–1931 | Police official who led detective squads in numerous raids during the NYPD's first campaign against New York's street gangs resulting in the arrests of over one hundred gang members. |
| Commissioner Simeon Draper | | 1804–1866 | Police commissioner during the Police Riot of 1857 and later Collector of the Port of New York during the American Civil War. |
| Commissioner Richard Edward Enright | | 1871–1953 | Police commissioner from 1918 to 1922. He investigated Tammany Hall's "Honest" John Kelly and his links into illegal gambling including having his Vendome Club under surveillance. |
| Inspector Joseph A. Faurot | | 1872–1942 | Police detective and fingerprint expert involved in the Becker-Rosenthal trial. He convinced the widowed Becker to remove the silver plate, placed on the coffin itself, which claimed that Governor Whitman had murdered her husband and would likely be prosecuted for criminal libel. |
| Captain George W. Gastlin | | d. 1895 | First leader of the "Steamboat Squad" which eventually cleared out the waterfront area of river pirates, including breaking up the Hook Gang, by 1890. |
| Captain William H. "Big Bill" Hodgins | | 1856–1912 | Head of the Elizabeth Street Station. He and a group of Chinese-American merchants helped negotiate a truce between Four Brothers, Hip Sing and On Leong Tongs during the Tong wars. |
| Chief George Washington Matsell | | 1811–1877 | Police chief who battled river pirates in the Fourth Ward and later the area between the Seventh Ward and Corlears' Hook during the 1850s. His force of detectives and volunteer civilians were eventually able to break up the area's biggest gang the Daybreak Boys. |
| Inspector George W. McClusky | | 1861–1912 | Police official who led the NYPD Detectives Bureau and was involved in the Becker-Rosenthal trial. |
| Captain John H. McCullagh | | 1842–1893 | Police official who closed down a number of well known panel houses including Shang Draper's operation which led to the breakup of his criminal gang. |
| Captain Charles McDonnell | | 1841–1888 | Police official who investigated vice districts, especially forced prostitution and white slavery, and arrested procuress "Jane the Grabber". |
| Commissioner Douglas I. McKay | | 1879–1962 | Senior police official who organized and led the NYPD's first campaign to rid the city of street gangs. Supported by reform Mayor John Purroy Mitchel, he also instituted police reforms. |
| Sergeant John J. O'Connell | | 1884–1946 | Police detective assigned to the District Attory's office. He led a police squad against Owney Madden and Tanner Smith arresting the gang leaders after a gun battle. |
| Inspector Joseph Petrosino | | 1860–1909 | Police detective and first chief of the NYPD's "Italian Squad". He was one of the earliest law enforcement officers to investigate organized crime and was later murdered in Palermo, Sicily while tracking down Black Hand extortionists. |
| Captain Max F. Schmittberger | | 1850–1917 | Police official implicated during investigations into police corruption. Testified that, as a police sergeant in the Tenderloin district, he collected payments from saloons, illegal gambling houses and other establishments and delivered to then precinct captain William Devery. |
| Patrolman Dennis Sullivan | | | Police officer assigned to the Charles Street police station who waged one man war against the Hudson Dusters. He was successful in arresting ten gang members single-handed before he was ambushed and brutally attacked by a group of the gang. A poem mocking the incident was later composed by its leader One Lung Curran and remained a popular underworld verse for a number of years. |
| Inspector Alexander S. Williams | | 1839–1917 | Police detective known as "Clubber Williams", who oversaw the Tenderloin and Gas House districts. In 1871, he led a "strong arm squad" into the district and was successful in breaking up the Gas House Gang. |
| Captain Cornelius Willemse | | 1872–1942 | Police detective who patrolled the Lower East Side, Chinatown and the Tenderloin district as well as briefly heading the NYPD Homicide Division. |
| Commissioner Arthur Woods | | 1870–1942 | Senior police official who succeeded Douglas McCay as police commissioner and continued the NYPD's campaign against the city's street gangs. |
| Name | Portrait | Life | Comments |
| Peter Cooper | | 1791–1883 | |
| Richard Croker | | 1843–1922 | Succeeded John Kelly as leader of Tammany Hall and remained a dominant influence in the city's politics up until the turn of the 20th century. Croker had a long history of receiving kickbacks and bribes from saloons, brothels and gambling dens throughout his political career but was cleared by the Lexow Committee. He was involved in bare-knuckle boxing and alleged to have been involved in the leader of the Fourth Avenue Tunnel Gang during his youth. |
| Thomas F. "Big Tom" Foley | | 1852–1925 | Saloon keeper and political organizer for Tammany Hall, "Big Tom" Foley employed Monk Eastman and his gang to commit election fraud on behalf of the political organization. He later served as a mediator between Eastman and Paul Kelly during the gang war between the Eastmans and the Five Points Gang. Foley Square in Lower Manhattan is named for him. |
| Warren W. Foster | | 1859–1943 | Attorney, judge and secretary for Tammany Hall. He was involved in the sentencing of many underworld figures between 1910 and 1915. |
| William J. Gaynor | | 1849–1913 | One-time Mayor of New York who publicly remanded the NYPD of police brutality after a meeting with gang leader Tanner Smith who claimed had been beaten by police when he and Owney Madden had been playing cards. He later passed Order No. 7 which prohibited an officer from using his club unless he could prove his life was in danger. |
| Hugh J. Grant | | 1857–1910 | Tammany Hall candidate who defeated Abram Hewitt to become Mayor of New York in 1888. His election was a result of a split between the Democrat-affiliated Tammany Hall and New York County Democracy parties. Previously closed saloons, dive bars and other establishments resumed operations, but few were able to recover from Hewitt's reforms. Much of the traditional vice district of Sixth Avenue shifted to the old Tenth Ward by 1890. |
| Abram Stevens Hewitt | | 1822–1903 | Although Tammany Hall had supported Hewitt in his election campaign, Hewitt attacked Tammany political organizers by closing down a number of illegal establishments, including those owned by Billy McGlory, Frank Stephenson, Harry Hill and Theodore Allen. He also shut down underworld saloons and dive bars in Satan's Circus and other such vice districts. Became mayor in 1886 amid charges of election fraud by Henry George supporters. |
| Max Hochstein | | | Attorney and political "fixer" for Charles "Silver Dollar Smith" Solomon. |
| Bill Howe | | 1828–1902 | Founder of the Howe and Hummel law firm who represented a number of underworld figures with his partner Abe Hummel throughout the 19th century. |
| Abe Hummel | | 1849–1926 | Co-founder of the successful law firm Howe and Hummel with Bill Howe with whom they represented many of the city's criminal figures up until the turn of the 20th century. Five years after the death of Bill Howe, "Little Abe" Hummel was convicted of suborning perjury and sentenced to one year imprisonment. |
| John Kelly | | 1822–1886 | Longtime leader of Tammany Hall during the mid-to late 19th century. Known as "Honest John" Kelly, he was involved in graft and illegal gambling. |
| Dan Kerrigan | | 1843–1880 | Tammany Hall political organizer, saloon keeper and noted pugilist who once fought Australian Kelly in a three and a half hour bout. |
| George Law | | 1806–1881 | A leader of the Know Nothing movement, he lent the NYPD use of his clipper yacht the Grapeshot to apprehend Lew Baker and bring him back to New York to stand trial for the murder of William "Bill the Butcher" Poole. |
| John Purroy Mitchel | | 1879–1918 | Reform candidate who defeated William J. Gaynor to become Mayor of New York. He rescinded Order No. 7 and worked with the NYPD to launch the city's first major campaign against the New York underworld from 1910 to 1914. |
| George Opdyke | | 1805–1880 | Succeeded Fernando Wood as Mayor of New York. During the New York draft riots, he worked with both the NYPD and the military to restore order in the city. His home was targeted by rioters but were turned back by a fifty-man citizen guard. |
| Charles A. Perkins | | 1869–1930 | District Attorney who battled against labor racketeering in New York during the first "Labor Slugger War". He also helped prosecute many of the city's notorious criminals during the NYPD's campaign against the street gangs in New York from 1911 to 1914. |
| Horatio Seymour | | 1810–1886 | Governor of New York. During the New York draft riots, he and Mayor George Opdyke were able to convince Archbishop John Hughes to address the rioters to disband. |
| Alfred E. Smith | | 1873–1944 | A powerful member of Tammany Hall from the turn of the 20th century up until the Second World War. Democratic candidate during the United States presidential election of 1928, he was the first Irish Catholic to run for the presidency of the United States. |
| Charles S. Solomon | | 1843–1899 | Tammany Hall political organizer known as "Silver Dollar Smith". Solomon was the political boss of the old Tenth Ward district and owner of the Silver Dollar Saloon in Essex Street across the street from Market Street Court. |
| Tim Sullivan | | 1862–1913 | Was perhaps one of the most influential and powerful political figures in Tammany Hall during the turn of the 20th century. "Big Tim" Sullivan was also the first politician to form relationships with organized crime figures such as Monk Eastman and Paul Kelly. |
| Tim Sullivan | | 1869–1909 | Younger cousin of Tim Sullivan known as "Little Tim". |
| Edward Swann | | 1862–1945 | District Attorney who succeeded Charles Perkins and continued efforts to prosecute labor racketeers during the "Labor Slugger War" period. He was unable, however, to gain enough evidence against many of those charged by Perkins and forced to dismiss indictments for a number of union officials and organized crime figures in 1917. |
| Robert Van Wyck | | 1849–1918 | The first Mayor of New York after the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Richmond were merged with Manhattan. He was a longtime ally and supporter of NYPD Police Chief William Devery despite Rev. Charles Parkhurst's evidence of his corrupt administration. |
| Charles S. Whitman | | 1868–1947 | District Attorney who prosecuted a number of high-profile criminals and underworld figures, most notably, police detective Charles Becker and the Lenox Avenue Gang for the 1912 murder of gambler Herman Rosenthal. |
| Fernando Wood | | 1812–1881 | One of the city's most colorful political figures, he was an early member of Tammany Hall and served as the Mayor of New York during the 1850s and early 1860s. |
