Charles Becker

Charles Becker
BornJuly 26, 1870
DiedJuly 30, 1915(1915-07-30) (aged 45)
RelativesHelen Becker
Howard P. Becker and Charlotte Becker
Police career
DepartmentNew York City Police Department
Service years1893–1912
RankLieutenant
Cause of deathExecution by electrocution
Becker in uniform circa 1912

Charles Becker (July 26, 1870 – July 30, 1915) was a lieutenant in the New York City Police Department between the 1890s and the 1910s. He is known for the scandal of being convicted of first-degree murder and subsequently executed for the killing of Herman Rosenthal, a bookmaker and gambler, in 1912 near Times Square.

Becker may have been "the only police officer executed for crimes connected to his official performance."[1] He appealed and was retried but was convicted again. The corruption scandal related to the case was one of the most important in New York City’s early 20th century Progressive Era.

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