Soapy Smith

Jefferson Randolph &quote;Soapy&quote; Smith was the slickest article that ever hit the West. He set up his tripod and suitcase on a Denver street corner in the 1880s and started his spiel. The &quote;suckers&quote; flocked around and got thoroughly taken. Everyone listened to Soapy and he began laying down his own brand of law, soon commanding a band of criminal characters whom he protected through his influence with politicians and policewomen on his payroll. He became America's first racketeer, eventually leading the Skagway underworld until a bullet ended his career.