Sunday, December 29, 2024
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Monday, December 23, 2024
Sunday, December 22, 2024
Friday, December 13, 2024
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Saturday, December 7, 2024
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
Bertha Liebbeke earned the reputation of being one of the Midwest’s most notorious pickpockets. She would search out a well-dressed man, ideally with a diamond-studded lapel pin. Bertha would then “accidentally” stumble into the helpless victim, pretending to faint into his arms. While he attempted to help her, Bertha would relieve the gentleman of his valuables or wallet. This trick earned her the nickname “Fainting Bertha.” Authorities from Illinois, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska knew Bertha and her tricks. Her aliases included Bertha Liebke, Jennie Jennings, Bertha Nixon, J. Armstrong, Carrie Jones, Bessie Milles, and Menni Swilson, and Bertha Siegel, the name on her Omaha Police Court mug shot.