By 
It was common knowledge that the early 20th century policeman was “on the hunt” more often than not. Yet no policeman was more blatantly corrupt than Police Lieutenant Charles Becker, head of the “Strong Arm Squad” in New York City at the turn of the 20th century. While Becker and his crew were supposed to be riding around the city for vices such as gambling and prostitution, he was, in fact, making deals with the owners of such illegal establishments, where he would receive substantial amounts of cash from them. , and in return, would turn a blind eye to his activities. It was reported that despite Becker’s annual salary being only $2,250, he had amassed a fortune of over $100,000.
Herman “Beansy” Rosenthal was a petty crook of very little distinction, and even less attractive on the streets. Every time Rosenthal opened a gambling house, they shut it down in a matter of weeks. Finally, Rosenthal found his dream place on West 45th Street, near Broadway. But this time, Rosenthal finally saw the light, and took on as a partner, none other than police lieutenant Charles Becker. This arrangement worked pretty well for a while, but New York Mayor William Jay Gaynor began hearing rumors that Becker might not be doing his job properly. Mayor Gaynor began to tighten the screws on Becker, so Becker decided that he had to make a big splash, thus showing his proper loyalty to the law. Becker knew that no one could care less what happened to Rosenthal offline, so he raided Rosenthal’s joint, which was part of Becker’s, and even arrested Rosenthal’s nephew.
Rosenthal told Becker that this was not the proper way for a “partner” to act. Becker told him not to worry; that it was all a show for the mayor. Becker promised that Rosenthal’s nephew would soon be released and the place would be back up and running before long. However, District Attorney Charles Whitman felt differently. He immediately suggested Rosenthal, Rosenthal’s nephew, and several employees of Rosenthal’s joint. Rosenthal saw through the double cross. He ran straight to Whitman and spilled the beans about his connection to Becker. At first, Whitman turned a deaf ear to Rosenthal, so Rosenthal repeated his story to Herbert Bayard Swope, a police reporter for “The New York World.” Swope wrote several articles repeating what Rosenthal had said about the actions of the New York City police department, forcing Whitman to finally crack down.
On July 16, 1912, Rosenthal was scheduled to testify before a grand jury. Becker knew that he was in serious danger of going to jail for a long time, so he contacted Big Jack Zelig, whom the police considered “The Most Dangerous Man in New York City”, to get him charge of the Rosenthal situation. The price was $1000 and Zelig subcontracted the work to four of his best men; Harry “Gyp the Blood” Horowitz, Frank “Whitey Lewis” Muller, Lewis “Lefty” Rosenberg, and Frank “Dago Frank” Ciroficci.
At 2 a.m. the morning he was scheduled to testify, Rosenthal had just finished eating in the dining room of the Metropole Hotel on West 43rd Street. When he stepped out into the warm night air, the four gunmen shot Rosenthal to death with lead, then escaped in a hit-and-run car. Within an hour, Swopes woke Becker from a deep sleep, and Becker immediately launched an investigation into Rosenthal’s murder. The first to be arrested was Zelig, and he immediately spilled the beans, implicating Becker. The four gunmen went into hiding, but were captured a few weeks later.
On July 29, 1912, according to Zelig’s testimony, Becker was arrested for the murder of Herman “Beansy” Rosenthal. But even from jail, Becker had long tentacles. His next move was to make sure Zelig didn’t testify against him in court. On October 5, 1912, the day before he officially outed Becker, Zelig, now to Becker, “The Most Dangerous Rat in New York City,” was shot to death on a streetcar by “Red Phil” Davidson.
Even without Zelig, the case against Becker and the four killers was too strong. All five were tried, convicted and sentenced to die in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison. The four gunmen were executed on April 13, 1914, but Becker did not give up without a fight. Her last chance to save his life was to plead for clemency to the new governor, who happened to be the same Charles Whitman, who had arrested Becker and prosecuted his case. Whitman refused to commute his sentence, and Becker was electrocuted in July 1915.
Becker tried to have the last word from his grave, when he ordered his wife to place a silver plaque on his coffin reading: “Charles Becker. Killed July 13, 1915. By Governor Whitman.”
Before Becker’s body was buried, the silver plate was removed by state police.