Getting Away with Kidnapping in Omaha

On December 18, 1900, Pat Crowe and an associate kidnapped fifteen-year-old Edward A. Cudahy, Jr., son of a wealthy Omaha meat packer, and held him for $25,000 ransom. Since kidnapping had been an infrequent crime, Nebraska had no kidnapping statute. Because of this, Crowe was tried and acquitted on other charges. Although many professed outrage at the verdicts, Crowe had become something of a folk hero. In this episode, we explore this crime in the 1976 article titled “A Really Spectacular and Truly Named Desperado: Pat Crowe and the Cudahy Kidnapping” by Garneth Oldenkamp Peterson. #Crime #Omaha #Kidnapping