Gerald Chapman

Gerald Chapman , known as The Count of Gramercy Park, and The Gentleman Bandit, was an American criminal who helped lead an early Prohibitionera gang from 1919 until the mid1920s. Chapman was the first criminal to be dubbed Public Enemy Number One by the press.

Gerald Chapman was born George Chartres in August 1887 to parents of Irish heritage. Arrested for the first time in 1902 at age fourteen, Chapman was incarcerated for most of his early adult life. While serving time for bank robbery, he was transferred from Sing Sing to Auburn State Prison, and became acquainted with highly educated Danishborn con man George Dutch Anderson in 1908. With Anderson as his mentor, Chapman became a voracious reader and a selfstyled gentleman, often affecting a British accent. Following both mens paroles in 1919, they began bootlegging operations in Toledo, Miami and New York City over the next two years.

Source: Wikipedia