Confessions of a Second Story Man: Junior Kripplebauer and the K & A Gang

From the 1950s to the 1970s, from Bar Harbor to Boca Raton, the ragtag crew known as the K&A Gang robbed wealthy suburban neighborhoods with assembly line skills. It was hard to imagine a more unlikely crew of successful thieves, writes Allen Hornblum. [They were] two-fisted, beer-guzzling, ear- and nose-biting hoodlums from a blue collar section of Philadelphia called Kensington. The gang infuriated homeowners up and down the East Coast, while baffling police. Confessions of a Second Story Man follows the gang as they move in and out of homes, courtrooms, and prisons, and even go on the run. Hornblum describes the transformation of the K&A Gang from a group of blue collar thieves to their work in conjunction with numerous organized crime families and their role in making Philadelphia the meth capitol of the nation. It is a compelling read about a fascinating bunch of hoodlums.