Dan Slater: The Incorruptibles: A True Story of Kingpins, Crime Busters, and the Birth of the American Underworld

Join The Incorruptibles author Dan Slater as he presents this harrowing tale of early twentieth century New York, revealing the true story of an immigrant underworld, a secret vice squad, and the rise of organized crime.

In the early 1900s, prior to World War I, New York City was a vortex of vice and corruption. On the Lower East Side, then the most crowded ghetto on earth, Eastern European Jews formed a dense web of crime syndicates. Gangs of horse poisoners and casino owners, pimps and prostitutes, thieves and thugs, jockeyed for dominance while their family members and neighbors toiled in the unregulated garment industry.

But when the notorious murder of a gambler attracted global attention, a coterie of affluent German-Jewish uptowners decided to take matters into their own hands. Worried about the anti-immigration lobby and the uncertain future of Jewish Americans, the uptowners marshaled a strictly off-the-books vice squad led by an ambitious young reformer. 

The squad, known as the Incorruptibles, took the fight to the heart of crime in the city, waging war on the sin they saw as threatening the future of their community. Their efforts, however, led to unforeseen consequences in the form of a new mobster class who realized, in the country’s burgeoning reform efforts, unprecedented opportunities to amass power. 

In this mesmerizing and atmospheric account, drawn from never-before-seen sources and peopled with unforgettable characters, Dan Slater tells an epic and often brutal saga of crime and redemption, exhuming a buried history that shaped our modern world.

To join the event in person | Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A graduate of Colgate University, New York Film Academy, and Brooklyn Law School, Dan Slater has written for more than a dozen publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, GQ, and the New Yorker. The New York Times called his last book, Wolf Boys, “unforgettable,” and the Chicago Public Library named it the best book of the year. His new book, The Incorruptibles, about the Jewish underworld of the Lower East Side, was published to wide acclaim this past summer. The New York Post called it “required reading,” and Amazon selected it as the best book of July. The New York Times called The Incorruptibles “unrivaled,” and chose it as an editor’s pick. The Wall Street Journal wrote that it’s “a deeply researched and fluidly written corrective to the conventional picture of what life was like on those mean streets.” Raised in Minnesota, Dan lives in New England with his wife and their two sons.

GET THE BOOK

• Borrow: NYPL Catalog


• E-Book app: SimplyE, available on iOS and Android

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ACCESSIBILITY NOTES

In-Person

• Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue.


• You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.


• This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

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All programs are subject to change or cancellation. All programs are subject to recording and photography.

The 7 Stories Up Series at SNFL is made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).

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