This story was first published in August 2017.

Mayors, murderers and myth-inspirers: New Jersey certainly has its fair share of infamous characters. But where are these people from?

After choosing the most famous people from each county of New Jersey last year, we decided to flip the switch and round up our most legendary ne'er-do-wells. In compiling this list, we considered figures both living and dead --- though to be included, they had to have spent their formative years in New Jersey and/or committed their most famous public sins here. We didn't just limit ourselves to convicted criminals, either; anyone whose actions caused a ruckus and brought upon them infamy was eligible.

Check out our choices and runners-up below --- and let us know which dubious characters we might have missed in the comments.

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Photo from the Alfred M. Heston Collection of the Atlantic City Free Public Library

Atlantic County - Enoch "Nucky" Johnson

Of all of the corrupt politicians to pass through Atlantic City, Johnson was certainly the most legendary. By leveraging Prohibition, the Galloway native became the boss of the political machine that controlled Atlantic City from the 1910s through 1941. His reign would later serve as the inspiration for the HBO series "Boardwalk Empire." Johnson was eventually sent to jail in 1941 for for income tax evasion; he was fined $20,000 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

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Atlantic County runners-up

Michael Matthews: The mayor of Atlantic City from 1982 to 1984 who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for extortion. He was paroled in 1990, and died in 2014 at the age of 79.

Jack Abramoff: The man who refers to himself as "America's most notorious lobbyist" was born and lived in Atlantic City before moving to California when he was 10-years-old. Abramoff was at the center of a Native American lobbying scandal that engulfed Congress when it was exposed in 2005.

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Photo by Richard Raska | For The Star-Ledger

Bergen County - Anthony Provenzano

Provenzano was born in Manhattan, but he didn't begin to make a name for himself until he dropped out of high school and started driving trucks in Hackensack. Provenzano would eventually become a union leader with the Teamsters, a role that would lead to him becoming a prime suspect in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. Provenzano died of a heart attack in 1988.

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Bergen County runners-up

Lisa "Sister Souljah" Williamson: The activist-hip-hop artist was born in the Bronx, raised in Englewood and graduated from Rutgers. The racially-charged statements she made in response to the 1992 Rodney King riots inspired the term "a Sister Souljah moment."

Brian Williams: Once the anchor NBC's Nightly News; the Ridgewood native lost his anchor spot after he was forced to apologize for lying about an Iraq War story.

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Photo courtesy of the Burlington County Historical Society

Burlington County - James W. Wall

Wall, who made a name for himself as the mayor of Burlington, was a prominent voice for the Copperheads, a group of Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and called for immediate peace with the South. After Abraham Lincoln's victory, Wall began working for the New York Daily News (unrelated to the present-day Daily News), a paper notable for racist and pro-confederate views.

Wall was arrested as a political prisoner on September 12, 1861, and was held for several weeks until he pledged allegiance to the Union. (He later represented New Jersey in the U.S. Senate for about two months in 1863 following the death of Senator John Renshaw Thomson.)

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Burlington County runner-up

Joe Mulliner: "The Robin Hood of the Pine Barrens" was a Tory outlaw who in 1779 went on a crime spree against people in South Jersey that supported the American rebels. In 1781 he was arrested and convicted for high treason, and then hanged in Burlington

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AP Photo

Camden County - Howard Unruh

Unruh lives in infamy for conducting the "Walk of Death" in 1949, when he walked through his Camden neighborhood on a shooting spree. He killed 13 people in 12 minutes; the victims ranged ranged from a 2-year-ol boy to a 68-year-old woman. In the middle of it all he had a phone conversation with Philip Buxton, a reporter for the Camden Evening Courier. Unruh was found criminally insane and spent the rest of his life in the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital. His last public words, said to a psychologist, were "I'd have killed a thousand if I had enough bullets."

Unruh died in 2009 at the age of 88.

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Camden County runner-up

Fred Neulander: A Cherry Hill rabbi who hired two men to kill his wife in 1994, while he was having an affair with a Philadelphia radio personality. The media circus that would come to envelope the case forced the trial to be moved to Monmouth County. Neulander is still in prison.

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Image courtesy of the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office and Patricia Martinelli

Cape May County - Ernest Ingenito

Ingenito, who was born in Wildwood, went on a shooting spree in 1950, killing five people and injuring four more. He was targeting his wife Theresa Mazzoli, whom he killed, and her family. The shootings were split between Franklin Township and Minotola.

At the time, New Jersey judges could not sentence people to life without parole, so Ingenito was released in 1974. He was arrested again in 1994 for sexually assaulting the daughter of his girlfriend; he was found guilty on 29 charges over a six year span. Ingenito died in prison in 1995.

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Image courtesy of the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society

Cumberland County - Charles Landis

Landis was born in Philadelphia, but he literally founded Vineland so he gets a pass here. In 1875, after a string of articles questioning the sanity of his wife, Landis walked into the office of the Vineland Independent and shot Uri Carruth, the paper's editor, in the back of the head. He claimed insanity as his defense and was found not guilty.

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Cumberland County runner-up

Dinshah P. Ghadiali: Born in India, Ghadiali moved to NJ in 1911 and established a Spectro-Chrome therapy practice in Malaga. Ghadiali claimed that he could cure people of any illness by exposing them to various shades of colored light. The practice continues as the Dinshah Health Society, and is still based out of Malaga.

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Tony Kurdzuk | For The Star-Ledger

Essex County - Charles Cullen

After admitting to 40 murders, Cullen is the most prolific serial killer in New Jersey history --- but experts believe he may be the most prolific killer in American history. (Some experts estimate that his real victim count numbers in the hundreds.) The West Orange native worked as a nurse in hospitals across New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. Cullen used his work to kill victims be introducing lethal combinations of drugs into their IV drips.

On March 2, 2006, Cullen was sentenced to 11 consecutive life sentences. He has to serve 397 years before being eligible for parole.

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Essex County runners-up

Abner "Longie" Zwillman: Called the "Al Capone of New Jersey," Zwillman was a Jewish mob boss that was born in Newark. He was most active during prohibition, during which he built his empire by smuggling whiskey into the Garden State from Canada.

Anthony Michael Juliano: This Newark native was responsible for at least 27 bank robberies in New York City and Boston between 1973 and 1975. He was placed on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list on March 145, 1976 and was captured in Virginia a week later.

Mark Rudd: Raised in Maplewood, Rudd was a founding member of Weather Underground, the radical-left group that conducted a string of bombings and attempted to stir riots to protest the Vietnam War.

Chris Christie: Between Bridgegate, Beachgate and a historically-low percent approval rating, the former governor kind of forced our hand.

Martha Stewart: The Nutley native served a five month prison term for securities fraud and obstruction of justice, but the businesswoman remains beloved.

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Tim Hawk | For South Jersey Times

Gloucester County - Justin Robinson

Slim pickings for Gloucester County has us focused on the present. On October 20, 2012, at just 15 years old, the Clayton native killed 12-year-old Autumn Pasquale and tried to hide her body in a recycling bin. Robinson and his brother, Dante Robinson, were arrested on October 23, 2012; Dante was later released from jail after pleading to obstruction. Robinson is currently serving a 17 year sentence for aggravated manslaughter; he is not eligible for parole until 14 years have been served.

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The Jersey Journal file photo

Hudson County - Frank Hague

Nobody ran a political machine quite like Hague, who some called the "Granddaddy of Jersey Bosses." Hague served as the mayor of Jersey City from 1917 until 1947. Hague had his fingers in all levels of New Jersey politics, serving as the head of a political machine he called "The Organization."

When Hague died, he was estimated to be worth $10 million despite his annual salary ranging between $7,500 and $8,000. He never listed another source of income.

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Hudson County runners-up

G. Gordon Liddy: The chief operative in President Nixon's White House Plumbers unit, Liddy was convicted of conspiracy, burglary and illegal wiretapping for his role in the Watergate scandal. Liddy was raised in Hoboken.

Richard Kuklinski: This Jersey City native was a contract killer for the mob who was convicted for five murders, but likely killed dozens more. He was known as "The Iceman" for his method of freezing bodies in order to mask the time of death.

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Hunterdon County - John Garrison

Born in 1824 in Little York, between Alexandria and Union townships, Garrison would find his infamy in the Wild West as the legendary figure of "Liver Eating Johnston," a man with a reputation for killing Native Americans and then eating his victims.

After deserting the Navy during the Mexican-American War, Garrison changed his last name to Johnston and moved to Alder Gulch, Montana. It was in the Wild West where he developed his alleged taste for human flesh. Garrison's legend inspired Robert Redford's 1972 film "Jeremiah Johnson."

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Hunterdon County runner-up

Isidore Heath (Campbell) Hitler: America's most famous Nazi dad, Hitler's notoriety began in 2008 when the Greenwich ShopRite refused to sell him a cake with Hitler written in the icing. Since then, he has legally changed his last name to Hitler. He is the founder and leader of the white supremacist group Hitler's Order.

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Robert Eberle | For The Star-Ledger

Mercer County - Joseph M. Harris

In October 1991, Harris, a native Trentonian, had a samurai sward and a grudge. The longtime postal worker killed his former supervisor, Carol Ott, and her boyfriend in Ott's Wayne home before heading to the Ridgewood Post Office and killing two mail handlers.

Harris was sentenced to death in 1993. He appealed the death sentence, but died in his cell in 1996 just two days before a hearing with the state Supreme Court.

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Mercer County runners-up

Amy Locane: The former "Melrose Place" actress, born in Trenton, was part of a fatal DWI in Montgomery in 2010. Locane's blood alcohol level was found to be three times the legal limit; she was convicted of vehicular homicide and assault by auto.

Dennis Rodman: The Trenton native is a five-time NBA champion with his fair share of minor legal issues, but he is most infamous for his eccentricity on and off the court. Recently, that has meant frequent and highly publicized travels to North Korea.

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Tony Kurdzuk | For The Star-Ledger

Middlesex County - Jesse Timmendequas

Timmendequas, a graduate of Piscataway High School, raped and murdered 7-year-old Megan Kanka in 1994. The case garnered national attention, with the focus intensified by the fact that Timmendequas had a history of sexually assaulting girls that were Kanka's age. The case spurred New Jersey law makers to pass "Megan's Law," which created a state sex offender registry.

Timmendequas was initially sentenced to death, but he was still on death row when New Jersey did away with the death penalty in 2007. His sentence was then changed to life without parole.

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Middlesex County runners-up

Jim McGreevey: McGreevey, who grew up in Carteret, was the nation's first openly gay governor. Unfortunately, that milestone is overshadowed by the circumstances that led up to the announcement. McGreevey was forced to resign after appointing his secret lover, Israeli citizen Golan Cipel, to serve as homeland security advisor.

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Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Monmouth County - Michael "The Situation" Sorrentino

The only member of MTV's hit show "Jersey Shore" that is actually from New Jersey, Sorrentino was raised in Manalapan after being born in Staten Island. His role in the show alone would be enough to qualify as infamous in the Garden State, but Sorrentino's, er, situation is more complex than that.

In 2014, Sorrentino and his brother Marc were charged for fraud based on accusations that their business, S Corporations, was used to pay personal expenses without reporting income. Federal investigators said the pair owed taxes on $8.9 million. Sorrentino was sentenced to eight months in prison; he started his term on January 15.

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Monmouth County runners-up

Joel Parker: The 20th governor of New Jersey supported the Civil War, but staunchly opposed President Abraham Lincoln. Parker, working with the state legislature, barred New Jersey troops from voting in the 1864 election because he feared they would vote for Lincoln.

Titus "Colonel Tye" Cornelius: Born into slavery in Colts Neck, Cornelius was a black loyalist who fought for the crown during the American Revolution. He was known as a feared and effective master of guerrilla tactics.

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AP Photo/Greg Gibson

Morris County - Linda Tripp

The Hanover Park High School graduate was a confidante of Monica Lewinsky. Tripp burned that bridge when she secretly recorded Lewinsky's phone calls during the aide's affair with President Bill Clinton. During the investigation into the Lewinsky scandal, Tripp turned her recordings over to investigator Ken Starr in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Tripp's recordings led to Starr expanding his investigation into the actions of President Bill Clinton.

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Morris County runner-up

Eddie Leonski: A native of Kenvil, Leonski was a serial killer who murdered three women in Melbourne, Australia while serving as a G.I. in WWII. He became known as the Brownout Strangler. The film "Death of a Soldier" is based on Leonski, and the Netflix show "Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer" has an episode focused on Leonski.

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Patti Sapone | For The Star-Ledger

Ocean County - Robert O. Marshall

Though born in Queens, Marshall had been a long-time resident of Toms River when he hired two men in 1984 to kill his wife so he could collect on a $1.5 million insurance policy. Marshall died in prison in 2015. The bestselling book "Blind Faith" is based on the Marshall case; it was later adapted into an Emmy-nominated TV show of the same name.

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Ocean County runner-up

James Moody: Hailing from Little Egg Harbor, Moody remained loyal to the British crown during the American Revolution. In 1777, a patriot militia marched on his farm to try and force him to pledge loyalty to the American cause. Moody escaped the militia, and went on to fight for the British in the Revolution. After the war, he fled to Nova Scotia and became a political figure.

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Robert Sciarrino | For The Star-Ledger

Passaic County - Teresa Giudice

Yes, Paterson's Giudice gained her infamy primarily through her role on "Real Housewives of New Jersey," but her reputation goes deeper than that. Giudice served 11 months in federal prison for fraud.

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Passaic County runner-up

Gaetano Bresci: Born in Tuscany, this Italian anarchist emigrated to the U.S. and made a living as a weaver in Paterson before returning to Italy and assassinating King Umberto I.

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Salem County - Henry Thomas Ellett

Like Gloucester County, Salem County is lacking in infamous residents. Unlike Gloucester County, however, we're taking it way back for Salem County. Born and raised in Salem, and educated at Princeton, Ellett would travel South before finding infamy. Ellett moved to Mississippi, where he became a state senator and worked to help the state secede from the Union during the Civil War. Ellett died on stage in 1887, while he was delivering a welcome address for President Grover Cleveland.

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Photo courtesy of the Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission

Somerset County - Jane Gibson

Gibson found her moment of fame as The Pig Woman, the star witness in the Hall-Mills Murders. Gibson was the only person who claimed to be a witness to the 1922 crime. Because of her ailing health, Gibson was wheeled into court on a hospital bed. The trial became a media circus; nothing would surpass it in terms of sheer amount of newspaper coverage until the Lindbergh Kidnapping.

Gibson may also serve as the inspiration for The Pig Lady, a modern Somerset County myth about a woman with a pig face who uses an ax to kill unsuspecting travelers.

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Somerset County runner-up

Matthew Heikkila: On a January night in 1991 in Bernards Township, Heikkila carried out an ambush murder of his adoptive parents, because he felt that they favored his brother Joshua and he wanted money to celebrate his girlfriend's birthday. Investigators found two spend shotgun shells at the scene; one had "mom" written on it while the other was inscribed "mom and dad."

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Robert Sciarrino | For The Star-Ledger

Sussex County - Giuseppe "Joseph" Tedesco

Tedesco's 2010 murder of Alyssa Ruggieri rocked Hopatcong. Angered because Ruggieri had not come to his birthday celebration, Tedesco showed up at her door with a gun, entered the home and shot her to death. On July 17, 2013, Tedesco was sentenced to 70 years in prison; he won't be eligible for parole until he is 84 years old.

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Sussex County runner-up

Rodman M. Price: a Newton native who served as New Jersey's 17th governor from 1854 to 1857, pushed hard for the Garden state to secede from the "Northern confederacy" and join its "Destiny with the South."

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Courtesy of the New Jersey Historical Society, Newark, N.J.

Union County - Aaron Burr

Thanks to Broadway, most of America knows that Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Yes, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel with honor on the line, and that challenge led to America's new favorite founding father being mortally wounded on a July morning in Weehawken.

But Burr's sketchy actions go beyond that: the native of Elizabeth was arrested for treason for his "Burr Conspiracy." Allegedly, Burr was angling to seize 40,000 acres of land in Louisiana and Texas from Spain for himself, and to then create an independent nation from that. Burr denied the accusations and was eventually acquitted, but the damage was down. He exiled himself to Europe after the trial, and eventually returned to the U.S. after changing his last name to Edwards.

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Union County runners-up

Charles Kushner: The father of current presidential advisor Jared Kushner, the elder Kushner grew up in Elizabeth before founding Kushner Companies and creating a Realestate empire. He was convicted in 2005 of making illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering.

Andrew Fastow: The former CEO of Enron, who grew up in New Providence, lost his job and spent five years in federal prison after the energy company declared bankruptcy.

Harrison Williams: A Plainfield native, Williams represented New Jersey as a Senator from 1959 to 1982. He was forced to resign after being caught taking bribes in the FBI's Abscam sting operation.

Artie Lange: The oft-troubled comedian was raised in Union township.

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Warren County - Jason Voorhees

Okay, sure, Voorhees isn't a real person. But options are few and far between for Warren County, and honestly can you do better? The fictional character is the killer at the center of the Friday the 13th horror franchise.

Warren County gets to claim the killer because Friday the 13th was filmed in and around Hardwick, Blairstown and Hope. The Boy Scout's Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in Hardwick served as the setting for Camp Crystal Lake; the camp is still open and active. (And, yes, we also chose Voorhees as the most famous person from Warren County for want of options.)

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Looking for more about New Jersey's dirty laundry?

Unspeakable acts: The 21 most notorious murders in New Jersey history

Heinous people: The lunatics | N.J.'s most notorious murders

Career-enders: State of corruption: N.J.'s most infamous political scandals

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Mark Rudd was raised in Irvington. Rudd grew up in Maplewood.

Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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