Hook Gang

Hook Gang

Irish-American
Membership (est.)	50–100
Criminal activities	armed robbery, theft, hijacking, river piracy
Rivals	Patsy Conroy Gang short tails

river pirates

harassed shipping from 1866–1876.

river pirates

and permanently broke them up in 1876

The Hook Gang was a

in 1876.

History

The Hook Gang was formed during the mid-1860s following the American Civil War. Based from New York's Corlear's Hook waterfront on the East River, the gang numbered between 50 and 100 members including James Coffee, Terry Le Strange, Suds Merrick and Tommy Shay. The gang became known for attacking and hijacking shipping. One early robbery took place when James Coffee and Tommy Shay forced a local eight-man rowing club at gunpoint to row the boat to the Brooklyn shore. Within 50 yards of the shore, the rowing team were ordered to jump out and swim to the beach while Coffee and Shay escaped with the boat.

One gang member,

after attempting to hijack a schooner sailing past Pike Street, killing three of the six-man crew before he was detained by the remaining crew members.

The gang's downfall occurred when a member by the name of Wallace attempted to hijack a rowboat which contained off-duty police detectives on a fishing trip. After Wallace's arrest, the idea for a Police "Steamboat Squad" was formed. The remaining members of the gang were arrested by police in 1876.

See also

• Charlton Street Gang
• Daybreak Boys
• Patsy Conroy
• Patsy Conroy Gang
• Sadie Farrell
• George Gastlin (Steamboat Squad)

References

• ISBN 1-56025-275-8
• Sifakis, Carl. The Encyclopedia of American Crime. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001.
  ISBN 0-8160-4040-0