Adam Worth started his career as a professional deserter during the American Civil War but it wasn't long before he made a name for himself as a fraudster and bank robber in Manhattan's notorious Bowery district. Much more than a talented crook, Worth's ability to imitate the upper classes and move amongst them gave him ample opportunities to rob them blind.

His most audacious coup - the theft of the world's most valuable painting - was an act which cemented his notoriety around the world and earned him an enduring place in fiction, as the model for Conan Doyle's evil genius, Professor Moriarty.