Molasses Gang 2019618 224954986 2008-07-11T04:32:35Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other {{Expand|date=January 2007}} {{Cleanup|date=December 2007}} The '''Molasses Gang''' was a New York street gang during the 1870s. Formed in 1871 by [[Jimmy Dunnigan]], the Molasses Gang were primarily made up of sneak thieves and minor criminals who were highly publicized in the New York press for the comedic methods of their robberies. One such tactic was to enter a local store and ask the owner to fill a member's hat with [[molasses]], explaining that it was a bet among the other members to see how much molasses the hat would hold. When the hat was filled, the gang member would pull the hat over the shop-owner's head, blinding him while the gang members looted the store. The gang was not taken very seriously among the other gangs of the period, however, and often walked out in the middle of robberies when such activities bored them. As the gang continued to commit similar crimes, police decided to take action and by 1877 most of the gang had been arrested. ==References== {{Illustrated Wikipedia|Molasses comic.jpg}} * {{cite book | last = Sifakis | first = Carl | title = Encyclopedia of American Crime | location = New York | publisher = Facts on File Inc. | origdate = 1982 |date= December 2000 | edition = 2nd Edition | id = ISBN 0-8160-4040-0 }} [[Category:Defunct gangs of New York City]]