Albert J. Adams

Albert James Adams (May 22, 1845 – October 1, 1906), known as "The Policy King" and the "Meanest Man in New York," was an American racketeer.

He was born in Massachusetts and lived in Rhode Island before he moved to New York City in 1871 as a brakeman for the railroad.

The anonymous testifier at the Lexow Committee in 1894 said: "[the principal policy backers in this city are] Al Adams.

After a 1901 raid on his gambling operation by F. Norton Goddard, the police estimated that he was making more than $1 million a year, and after his conviction in 1903 it was revealed that he had been allowed to stay at the Waldorf-Astoria until he was sentenced.

He was also President of the Amalgamated Goldmines Company, whose holdings included a mine in Guanajuato, Mexico.

[3] He committed suicide at the Ansonia Hotel in 1906 after losing several million dollars by investing in a business venture with his eldest son.