Punk Madden
| Peter Madden | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Punk Madden Slippery Madden |
| Known for | New York gang leader and labor racketeer; ally of Philip "Pinchy" Paul during the "Labor Slugger War". |
| Home town | Manhattan, New York, United States |
Peter "Punk" Madden (fl. 1910-1914) was an American thief, gang leader and labor racketeer allied with Philip "Pinchy" Paul during the first "Labor Slugger War" against Joseph "Joe the Greaser" Rosenzweig and Benjamin "Dopey Benny" Fein.
In June 1914, Madden was arrested for his suspected involvement in a street mugging. His arrest taking place shortly after midnight, he successfully escaped custody twice before finally being returned in the prison attached to the Yorkville Court at the end of the day. It was during one of these escapes that he visited the office of District Attorney Charles S. Whitman in which he claimed he was not being given a "square deal" by police and asked for protection. He made another, and this time successful, escape attempt from The Tombs three months later.
On June 17, 1914, Madden was arrested for complicity in the mugging of a Mrs. Artha Ingram, a collector for the Phips Model Tenements, near her office at East 31st Street. He was taken in by police, matching the description given by the victim, and identified by Ingram as one of the three attackers. He was taken to Yorkville Court by the arresting detective for trial where he pleaded not guilty. The detective then left Madden in a temporary detention room while he left to fill out paperwork for the prisoner's pedigree and when he returned two minutes later Madden had disappeared. There were two exits in the room, one past the complaint room where the detective was and the other through the courtroom, however no one saw Madden use either of these exits. Although several theories were later suggested, Madden himself refused to say.
He remained missing for over two hours before arriving at the District Attorney's office and approached Lloyd Willis, a secretary for District Attorney Charles S. Whitman, explaining he had walked from the courthouse and asked for protection from the police who were trying to "frame him up". He admitted he had been in the area where the mugging took place and had heard from bystanders that a woman had lost her purse, but denied his involvement. Madden was given assurances by Assistant District Attorney Aaron J. Conlon that he would receive a fair trial and sent for police to escort him back Yorkville for trial.
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