#28 Bertha Liebbeke was known as one of the Midwest’s most notorious pickpockets. She targeted well-dressed men, ideally those with diamond-studded lapel pins, by stumbling into them and pretending to faint, falling into their arms. This trick earned her the nickname “Fainting Bertha.” Her scam came to a halt when she was arrested in May 1903.

Home »
#28 Bertha Liebbeke was known as one of the Midwest’s most notorious pickpockets. She targeted well-dressed men, ideally those with diamond-studded lapel pins, by stumbling into them and pretending to faint, falling into their arms. This trick earned her the nickname “Fainting Bertha.” Her scam came to a halt when she was arrested in May 1903.

Rare Mugshots from the Wild West’s Most Notorious Outlaw era, 1860s-1910s

#28 Bertha Liebbeke was known as one of the Midwest’s most notorious pickpockets. She targeted well-dressed men, ideally those with diamond-studded lapel pins, by stumbling into them and pretending to faint, falling into their arms. This trick earned her the nickname “Fainting Bertha.” Her scam came to a halt when she was arrested in May 1903.

Places & People