John "Red Rocks" Farrell (–?) was an American criminal, thief and member of the Whyos, a prominent New York street gang during the mid-to late 19th century. One of the more colorful members of the gang at the height of its power, he spent nearly half his life in correctional institutions. In late 1891, Farrell was convicted of drugging and then robbing a man and sentenced to two years imprisonment in

Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north ...

. He was released in November 1893 and returned to the

Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. ...

where, two months later, he was charged with the robbery of an ex-police officer, 65-year-old James McGill, on the evening of January 9, 1894. McGill claimed that he had met Farrell and was invited to share a drink with him. McGill agreed but recalled losing consciousness after two drinks and awoke the next morning in a jail cell at the Eldridge Street Police Station. He was missing $140 in cash as well as his watch and chain, worth another $150. Farrell was arrested days later and tried at

The Tombs ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

police court where he faced a five-year prison sentence."Ex-Policeman Drugged And Robbed; "Red Rocks" Charged with Repeating a Crime for Which He Has Been in Prison". New York Times. 23 Jan 1894 Farrell is one of several Whyos to appear in the 2003

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

''Dreamland'' by Kevin Baker.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Redrocks 1850s births Date of birth unknown Place of birth unknown Place of death unknown Year of death unknown People from Manhattan American gangsters of Irish descent Whyos American people convicted of robbery