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SPEAKER_01: Hi, it's Jenny. We're currently gearing up for season three of Encyclopedia Wamanica. In the meantime, we're mixing things up, bringing back some of our favorite episodes in many week-longish themes. Our current theme is Troublemakers. Stay tuned for a brand new season coming in September. Thanks for listening. This Women's History Month Encyclopedia Wamanica is brought to you by Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz celebrates all women driving change and is indebted to those trailblazing women who punctuate the brand's history, like Bertha Benz and Evie Ruskvist. These women defied the odds to change the auto industry forever, and Mercedes-Benz applauds the tenacity and courage it takes to pave the road ahead. Listen along this month as we share the stories of inspiring women in charge and at the top of their fields, powered by Mercedes-Benz. Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Encyclopedia Wamanica. All month, we're talking about women in the driver's seat. Today's story is about one of the most well-connected, illicit entrepreneurs and criminal financiers of her day. She provided her Lower East Side community with opportunities to make money, employing women and children in her crime syndicate. She grew her business from the ground up, until it was one of the most successful criminal enterprises in the United States. Let's talk about Friederike Mandelbaum. Friederike Weisner was born in Kassel, a city in modern-day Germany, on March 28th, 1825. She was one of seven children born to a Jewish couple named Samuel and Regine Weisner. In her early 20s, Friederike married Wolf Israel Mandelbaum. The couple worked as peddlers before emigrating to the United States in 1850. Friederike and Wolf settled in New York City, in an area of the Lower East Side known as Kleindeutschland, or Little Germany. Friederike and Wolf began working as peddlers again in the Lower East Side. Every morning, the couple would carry their merchandise on their backs and set up on the street to sell. Vendors at the time would do anything they could to get attention from passersby, but they weren't always successful. The life of a peddler didn't bring in nearly enough money to support Friederike and Wolf's family, which by then included four children. During the Panic of 1857, hundreds of businesses failed, banks closed, and thousands of people lost their jobs. This had a profound impact on the deeply indigent communities living in the Lower East Side. In the aftermath, ever greater numbers of destitute children began to roam the streets, selling what they could. Eventually, they graduated to pickpocketing and looting street vendors. Rather than showing disdain towards what some called street urchins, Friederike had the idea to form business relationships with these children. She would buy their stolen goods to resell for a profit. Friederike also became a valued associate to adult thieves thanks to her ability to speak both English and German. Friederike and Wolf used the money that they earned selling stolen goods to sign a lease on a building with a store on the ground floor. The front of the space operated as a dry goods store, and the back was used by Friederike to conduct her fencing business. Friederike soon became known as Mother Mandelbaum, Marm, and Queen of the Fences. In accounts of her appearance, Friederike was said to have the eyes of a sparrow, the neck of a bear, and fat cheeks. She was six feet tall and said to be between 200 and 300 pounds. She wore a feathered fascinator on top of her tightly rolled black hair. She spoke only when she had to, and her favorite saying was, It takes brains to be a real lady. Throughout their marriage, Friederike was the brains behind the family crime business, while Wolf played the role of the silent husband. In 1875, Wolf died, leaving Friederike to raise their four children on her own. In order to make ends meet, she decided to expand her circle of contacts. She networked at her synagogue and at the neighborhood beer and oyster halls. She was a fixture at the Eight Ward Thieves Exchange. Local politicians even stopped by her store in the hopes that she would help rally the Jewish vote for them. The newspapers at the time called Friederike the greatest crime promoter of all time, the person who first put crime in America on a syndicated basis, and the nucleus and center of the whole organization of crime in New York City. She could estimate the value of stolen goods with a quick look. It's said that a large portion of loot stolen during the Chicago fire of 1871 ended up in and then out of Friederike's possession. Friederike began to employ more than just thieves as her business grew in size and sophistication. She hired engravers, cap drivers, and defense attorneys, Big Bill Howe and Little Abe Hummel. Friederike paid their firm an annual retainer of $5,000. She also took one person into her confidence, a colleague named Herman Stout. Friederike had strict policies when buying goods. She demanded sellers stand in her sight during the deal. After the transaction, Stout would take the goods to one of Friederike's warehouses where she had a series of hiding places. Friederike would regularly recruit and train new thieves as a way to expand her business and keep ahead of her primary competitor, John Grady of the Grady Gang. She allegedly opened a school of crime near police headquarters. At the school, named Marms Grand Street School, children could learn from professional pickpockets and thieves. More advanced students would learn the skills needed for burglary, safe blowing, confidence schemes, and blackmail. The institution thrived until it enrolled a prominent police official's son. After that, Friederike shut down the school for good. Friederike personally mentored a select number of highly qualified thieves. One of her best known mentees was a famed international art thief, Adam Worth. Friederike also had a fondness for female crooks. Among the thieves she mentored were big New York names like Big Mary, Queen Liz, Little Annie, Old Mother Hubbard, Kid Glove Rose, and Sophie Lyons. Friederike's most favorite associates had access to her Bureau for the Protection of Criminals, a fund that provided bail money and legal representation to members of her circle. That said, she did not show the same respect to the wives of thieves who were sent to prison. She refused to lend any money to them. She said most women were wasting life being housekeepers. In the spring of 1884, a plan was hatched to bring Friederike's operation down. At the time, Friederike was one of the most successful criminals in the United States. She handled an estimated five to $10 million in stolen property. The New York District Attorney hired Detective Gustav Frank of the Pinkerton Detective Agency to infiltrate the crime family. After taking lessons from a silk merchant, Detective Frank was able to conduct business with Friederike. When police raided Friederike's warehouse, they discovered the silks Detective Frank sold her and enough stolen goods to put her away for life. Friederike, her son Julius, and Herman Stout were arrested in July of 1884. In December, Friederike was released on bail and fled to Ontario, Canada with a million dollars. In Canada, she opened a store and lived a normal life away from crime. Allegedly, when her youngest daughter died, Friederike snuck into New York one last time to attend the funeral. She supposedly watched the procession from afar before returning to Ontario, where she remained for the rest of her life. Friederike died in 1894 at the age of 68. Her body was brought back to New York to be buried. It was reported that mourners who attended her funeral were pickpocketed. All month, we're talking about women in the driver's seat. For more on why we're doing what we're doing, check out our newsletter, Womanica Weekly. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Encyclopedia Womanica. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Talk to you tomorrow. I want to tell you about another show I think you might like. Birthful is a show created and hosted by advanced birth doula, postpartum educator, and child sleep consultant, Adriana Lozada. The show provides informative interviews and inspiring birth stories. Popular topics include choosing a doula, mastering breastfeeding, navigating hospitals, baby sleep, and the role of partners. Birthful gives listeners tools to inform their intuition. 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