| John Frank Oldfield | |
| Birth Date: | January 2, 1867 |
| Death Date: | May 25, 1916 (aged 49) |
| Birth Place: | Ellicott City, Maryland |
| Spouse: | Margaret Galena Oldfield |
| Parents: | Hamilton Oldfield |
| Nickname: | Frank Oldfield |
| Office: | Sheriff of Howard County |
| Office2: | Postal Inspector #156 |
| Term Start: | August, 1896 |
| Termstart2: | March 7, 1899 |
| Term End: | 1899 |
| Termend2: | 15 November 1911 |
| Appointer: | Governor Lloyd Lowndes Jr. |
| Appointer2: | United States Postmaster General James Albert Gary |
John Frank Oldfield, who went by the name "Frank Oldfield," was an early law enforcement pioneer in undercover investigations. He was one of the most famous investigators in the country, whose exploits were covered intensively by newspapers of the day.[1] He has been called "the central Ohio version of Elliot Ness." He was a United States Postal Inspector who, working alongside other inspectors, the US Marshals, and the Pinkertons, infiltrated an American branch of the Italian-based Black Hand Society, called the "Society of the Bananas," at the turn of the 20th Century.[2] [3] [4] [5]
The infiltration lead to the arrests of these gang members; Sam Lima, Giuseppe Ignoffo, Sererio Ventola, Sebastian Lima, Salvatore Arrigo, Vincenzo Argio, Francesco Spadaro, Augustino Marfisi, Pippino Galbo, Orazio Runfola, Cologero Viccario, Salvatore Rizzo, and Salvatore Demma.[6]
State's Attorney William Louis Day prosecuted in the trial against this criminal enterprise. By 1911, eleven of these men were sent to prison, making this one of the first organized criminal convictions in American history.[7] [8] [9]
On 15 November 1911, Oldfield tendered his resignation and went into business as a private detective, investigating high-profile white collar crime.Oldfield died in 1916.