In November 1874, a Scranton newsboy found a man dying at the foot of an embankment on Mifflin Avenue. What followed was a murder investigation that led straight to the city's own Chief of Police, and then, stranger still, a year-long political war over who actually held that job. This one has it all: a mob beating, a bribed mayor, three simultaneous police chiefs, and a family legacy that outlived the scandal.
A deadly 1875 encounter leaves one man dead and the shooter haunted, sparking a gun control debate 150 years ago.
Scranton's Red Light DIstrict was alive and well in the early 1900s, and Mary Gregory was one of its more well-known characters.
On December 18, 1928, Marco Pasco was shot while walking to work in Scranton, resulting in his death shortly after arrival at the hospital. Known for his violent past, Pasco left behind a large family. Despite police investigations and multiple suspects, his murder remains unsolved to this day.
In 1928, Italian immigrants in Scranton were particularly violent. Dynamite was the weapon of choice used to intimidate and exact revenge of their targets and ideological enemies. The Black Hand, present for decades, was now joined by fascists and anti-fascists during Mussolini's reign in Italy. Read about how the city was rocked by attacks leading up to the Great Depression.
