Men of No Reputation: Robert Boatright, the Buckfoot Gang, and the Fleecing of Middle America (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781682262597)

Swindler. Murderer. Scoundrel.

Robert Boatright was one of Middle America's greatest confidence men. Although little remembered today, his story provides a rare glimpse into America's criminal past. Working in concert with a local bank and an influential Democratic boss, "this dean of modern confidence men" and his colorful confederacy of con men known as the Buckfoot Gang seemed untouchable. A series of missteps, however, led to a string of court cases across the country that brought Boatright's own criminal enterprise to an end. And yet, the con continued: Boatright's successor, John C. Mabray, and his cronies, many of whom had been in the Buckfoot Gang, preyed upon victims across North America in one of the largest midwestern criminal syndicates in history before they were brought to heel.

Like the works of Sinclair Lewis, Boatright's story exposes a rift in the wholesome midwestern stereotype and furthers our understanding of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American society.

Author: Kimberly Harper
ISBN-10: 1682262596
ISBN-13: 9781682262597
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Language: English
Published: 02/28/2024
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.75w x 0.94d