Subtitle: 100 True Tales of Murders and Mobsters, Scandals and Scoundrels
Author: Jon Blackwell
Subject: Regional / Crime
Paper ISBN 0-8135-4177-8
Pages: 320 pages, 109 b&w illustrations
Publication Date: December 2007

“Blackwell has a keen eye for the amusing, the intriguing and, ultimately, disturbing side of New Jersey’s past. Each of the 100 stories is a tightly packed case of dynamite that highlights irony and poetic justice. … History may repeat itself, but there is hardly a dull moment.”
—Asbury Park (N.J.) Press

“100 tasty bites … a gift for the reader who loves history, colorful crime stories and the state second to none when it comes to spectacular political corruption.”
—The Trentonian

“There’s a reason Tony Soprano is from New Jersey. In “Notorious New Jersey,” author Jon Blackwell shows the state’s reputation for hard cases is well deserved.”
—New York Post

“Jon Blackwell takes a walk on the wild side of New Jersey history to introduce the reader to the Garden State’s leading crooks, con men, killers, and other lowlife, all described in fast paced, entertaining style. You wouldn't want to invite these characters into your living room, but they make for a lively reading experience.”
—Marc Mappen, coeditor of the Encyclopedia of New Jersey

“Definitely take the tour—a bullet-riddled ride you won’t forget.”
—Rob Polner, coauthor, New York Notorious: A Borough-By-Borough Tour of the City’s Most Infamous Crime Scenes

It’s a common complaint in New Jersey: We’re not taken seriously. New York City is the place of skyscrapers, glitz, and glamour; New Jersey gets mocked as the land of swamps and malls. But there is one area in which our often-overlooked state deserves to be recognized for total supremacy. It is second to no place for spectacular corruption and crime.

Notorious New Jersey is the definitive guide to murder, mayhem, the mob, and corruption in the Garden State. With tabloid punch, Jon Blackwell tells riveting accounts of Alexander Hamilton falling mortally wounded on the dueling grounds of Weehawken; Dutch Schultz getting pumped full of lead in the men’s room of the Palace Chop House in Newark; and a gang of Islamic terrorists in Jersey City mixing the witch’s brew of explosives that became the first bomb to rock the World Trade Center. Along with these dramatic stories are tales of lesser-known oddities, such as the nineteenth-century murderer whose skin was turned into leather souvenirs, and the state senator from Jersey City—David Friedland—who faked his death in a scuba accident in the 1970s in an effort to avoid prison.
 
Blackwell also sheds light on some historical whodunits—was Bruno Hauptmann really guilty of kidnapping the Lindbergh baby? Who was behind the anthrax attacks of 2001? And could Jimmy Hoffa’s body really be under the end zone at Giants Stadium? Not forgotten either are notorious characters who may actually be innocent, including Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, and those who have never been convicted of wrongdoing although they left office in scandal, including Robert Torricelli and James McGreevey.
 
Through 100 historic true-crime tales that span over 300 years of history, Blackwell shows readers a side of New Jersey that would make even the Sopranos shudder.

Jon Blackwell is a journalist who has often written about New Jersey. He was an editor at the Asbury Park Press and a reporter at the Trentonian and is now a copy editor at the New York Post.