William "Mush" Riley ( fl. 1870–1878) was an American businessman, saloonkeeper and underworld figure in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York during the late 19th century. The owner of a Centre Street

dive Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

, he was a longtime Five Points personality and associated with many noted criminals of the era. Riley was said to have acquired his name for his fondness of eating corn meal mush dipped in hot brandy.Petronius. ''New York Unexpurgated: An Amoral Guide for the Jaded, Tired, Evil, Non-conforming, Corrupt, Condemned, and the Curious, Humans and Otherwise, to Under Underground Manhattan''. New York: Matrix House, 1966. (pg. 201) His saloon was located near other Five Points characters such as English-born pickpocket

Tommy Taylor Thomas Taylor (29 January 1932 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer, who was known for his aerial ability. He was one of the eight Manchester United players who died in the Munich air disaster. Career Taylor was born in Smithies, ...

, Moss, Frank. ''The American Metropolis from Knickerbocker Days to the Present Time''. London: The Authors' Syndicate, 1897. (pg. 24–25)

bare-knuckle boxer Bare-knuckle boxing (or simply bare-knuckle) is a combat sport which involves two individuals throwing punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time without any boxing gloves or other form of padding on their hands. It is a regulated ...

Jack McManus and Boiled Oysters Malloy, who owned the popular basement resort known as ''The Ruins'' just a few doors from Riley's place. Asbury, Herbert. ''The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the New York Underworld''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. (pg. 176) Riley, according to underworld lore, once served an extravagant dinner to Dan Noble, Mike Byrnes, Dutch Heinrichs and others. When his guests complimented him on the meal, noting the odd flavor of the main course, Riley revealed they had been served a

stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables and ...

made from a

Newfoundland dog The Newfoundland is a large working dog. They can be black, brown, or black and white. However, in the Dominion of Newfoundland, before it became part of the confederation of Canada, only black and Landseer (white-and-black) coloured dogs were ...

. On July 15, 1878, Riley was apprehended by Canadian authorities in Toronto and taken back to the United States where he was charged with complicity in a street car robbery in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

that had resulted in the

garroting A garrote or garrote vil (a Spanish word; alternative spellings include garotte and similar variants''Oxford English Dictionary'', 11th Ed: garrotte is normal British English spelling, with single r alternate. Article title is US English spellin ...

of a John Buckley two weeks earlier. Five others were also arrested for their involvement in the robbery, most notably the group's ringleader, Will Tomkins."The Bold Robbery In Troy; All The Thieves In Custody". New York Times. Jul 16, 1878

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