Author, lecturer and researcher Allen Hornblum was at Holmesburg Library last week to discuss Philly’s Irish Mob: The Mythic K&A Gang.
The talk was related to one of his books, Confessions of a Second Story Man: Junior Kripplebauer and the K&A Gang.
Hornblum was joined by Chick Goodroe, a member of the gang, which specialized in residential burglaries.
Hornblum has said he enjoys writing and talking about some of the infamous people and events that came out of Philadelphia that nobody else has addressed.
In his research for Confessions of a Second Story Man: Junior Kripplebauer and the K&A Gang, published in 2005, Hornblum said some members of the gang told him that if their names were included in the book, he’d find himself at the bottom of the Delaware River with cement boots.
Goodroe, on the other hand, was pleased to be included.
The gang consisted of a lot of men from Kensington. The crimes generally took place from the early 1950s to the late 1970s, ending due to the crooks aging.
At the time, Kensington was a nice neighborhood, where residents cleaned their steps, could walk safely at night and left their doors unlocked, and factory jobs were plentiful.
The K&A gang, though, made its living another way. Crew leader Willie Sears called it “production work,” according to Hornblum. Goodroe termed the burglaries a “piece of work.” They didn’t have an interest in honest work.
“You’re making a dollar and a quarter an hour,” Goodroe said.
Often, gang members – many of them high school dropouts – would wait for a Kensington business owner to close shop for the night and follow him home. When they knew nobody would be home during the day, they’d burglarize the house.
“I did day work,” Goodroe said.
Having keys to any alarm system was helpful, and a house could be cleaned out of jewelry, cash, gold coins and other valuables in no more than 15 minutes.
“They were smart. They were shrewd. They were crafty,” Hornblum said.
“It was like Christmas or Hanukkah,” Goodroe said.
Some gang members were like Robinhood, buying drinks for everyone at local bars.
Hornblum said the crime spree widened, and burglaries were committed everywhere from Bar Harbor, Maine to Boca Raton, Florida.
The gang members still alive are in their 80s. Goodroe is 82.
“This is a part of Philly history that’s going to be gone,” Hornblum said.
Hornblum said gang members never wanted to hurt anyone and did not carry guns. He called the activity “disorganized crime,” with crews working in small teams.
Goodroe, who lived near F Street and Allegheny Avenue, worked alone so he didn’t have to share what he swiped and so nobody could rat him out.
Goodroe told the crowd he got started at age 18 with a burglary in Santa Monica. He escaped jail time by agreeing to leave California. He also did jobs in the Northeast, Hazleton (which he called “the bank”) and suburban towns like Lower Merion.
“I loved Montgomery County,” he said.
Goodroe had a good lawyer in Steve Lacheen, who became a close friend. The onetime burglar even spoke at Lacheen’s recent funeral.
Over the years, Goodroe spent short stays in places such as Holmesburg Prison and Eastern State Penitentiary.
“It was the price you paid,” he said.
Goodroe once tried to break into Don Ho’s penthouse in Hawaii. He committed his last burglary in the late 1980s in South Florida.
The gang members and their burglaries are part of those infamous Philadelphia events and people Hornblum enjoys writing about and discussing.
Goodroe enjoyed reminiscing about his actions.
“Am I sorry about it? No,” he said. ••
To schedule Hornblum for a talk, email ahornblum@comcast.net.
