MARGALIT FOX
The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum: 
The Rise and Fall of an American Organized Crime Boss

 

In 1850, Fredericka Mandelbaum came to New York in steerage and worked as a street peddler. By the 1870s, she was an admired high society philanthropist—and America’s most notorious “fence,” passing millions in stolen luxury goods through her Lower East Side shop. She put the “organized” in crime, hiring crews and coordinating robberies across the U.S. to become one of the most unusual entrepreneurs of the Gilded Age. 

Margalit Fox is known for her New York Times front-page obituaries for Betty Friedan, Maya Angelou, Maurice Sendak, and many others. 
Winner of the William Saroyan Prize, Fox has also written numerous books, including Conan Doyle for the Defense and The Confidence Men.