Jack Mahaney

Jack Mahaney was an American criminal, sneak thief, confidence man and gang leader in New York City during the late19th century. He was also one of the most notorious prisoner escapees of his time, popularly referred to as the American Jack Sheppard, successfully escaping from virtually every major prison in the eastern United States including The Tombs and Sing Sing. Mahaney also escaped from custody which included wellpublicized incidents where he jumped from a train without injury.

Jack Mahaney was born in New York City in 1844. When he was 10, his father died and he was sent to a boarding school by his mother. He was, by all accounts, a mischievous student who was frequently in trouble at the school and eventually ran away after being flogged repeatedly by teachers. When police found him, Mahaney was in company with a gang of teenage dock rats and was placed in the House of Refuge. He escaped from the juvenile institution, along with a dozen other youths, and fled to the Five Points.

Source: Wikipedia