Joe Colombo Jr. was the son of a powerful, ruthless, flashy, publicity-loving mob boss. Joe Sr. was larger than life and as audacious as they come. One would expect his namesake to follow in his criming footsteps, which he did. In his own way. Junior joined in on a half-baked criminal plan, only for the whole thing to go south. The impact of his arrest, though, would go on to change the culture and even one of Hollywood's biggest films.

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He was America's first super-wealthy faith healer. You could also say he was America's first religious robber baron. His name is John Alexander Dowie. After many arrests, lawsuits, and court fights, Dowie decided it would be best if he and his thousands of followers started their own town. And he named it Zion City. He ran his spiritual utopia like a company town in coal country. Things worked well for the wannabe Old Testament-style patriarch, right up until Dowie decided to lead a holy crusade to save the people of Gotham from their wickedness. They say if you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere. John Alexander Dowie certainly put that to the test!

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A prototype for generations of crooked politicians and media figures to come, Horatio Bottomley knew how to work the public. Whether defrauding them with fake sweepstakes or holding boisterous hate rallies, Bottomley was a pro at making a name for himself while making plenty of coin, as long as there was plenty of the right champagne on hand.

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