"The Queen of Fences" at 79 Clinton Street
"It did not seem possible that so much wealth could be assembled in one spot...There seemed to be enough clothes to supply an army. There were trunks filled with precious gems and silverware. Antique furniture was stacked against a wall and bars of gold from melted jewelry settings were stacked under newspapers. There were scales of every description to weigh diamonds." - Journalist, upon discovering "Marm" Mandelbaum's hideout Born in Prussia in 1818, Friederike Henriette Auguste Wiesener may not have seemed like an underworld queen at first blush. At 250 pounds, with a ruddy complexion and beady eyes, she was no looker, but what she lacked in beauty she made up for in shrewdness. She set her sights upon Wolfe Mendelbaum, who she wooed with bland, easily-digestible cooking to cure his "chronic dyspepsia." The two wed in 1847 and moved to New York City, with Wolfe going first to earn money for Freiderike's travel. By 1854, the Mandelbaum...