Sesame Street Gangsters

Lefty (right) and his boss (left).

Although Sesame Street is meant to represent a child-friendly, and somewhat idyllic, New York City street, the neighborhood has a network of seedy underground criminal organizations. These groups are run by an assortment of suspicious characters, most commonly for the purpose of shady and illegal activities such as alphabet trafficking, black marketeering and robbery. Comprised mainly of Anything Muppets, these gangs are typically composed of a crime boss and his lackeys (often named Lefty).

The most commonly seen criminal on Sesame Street is Lefty, a shady-looking salesman in a trench coat, who appeared in several recurring Sesame Street sketches discretely selling hot items to passersby (usually Ernie). Lefty spoke in a whispery voice as he attempted to unload such boosted items as the letters U and O, an invisible ice cream cone, and even exotic elephant artwork. These sketches can be found on Lefty's own page. Lefty's boss (a Fat Blue Anything Muppet performed by Jerry Nelson) appeared in a few sketches with his lackey, often in a dark alley or abandoned warehouse after dark.

There were also a gang of criminals who secreted their own secret knock. The group was comprised of Benny (a Green AM performed by Richard Hunt), Lefty (a Fat Blue AM performed by Jim Henson) and their boss (a Lavender AM performed by Jerry Nelson). To date, the characters have only appeared in one sketch.

Lefty (Fat Blue Anything Muppet).

Benny (left) and his boss (right).

Sketches

Picture	Theme	Earliest Known Appearance	Description
	‎Lefty recites the Alphabet	Episode 0261	Lefty is told the alphabet by his boss, who wants him to repeat it back to him. When he repeats it, he gets a lollipop in return.
	Carrot Delivery	Episode 0433	Part 1: Lefty delivers some carrots to his boss, but the boss orders him to get more carrots (in 13 seconds). Part 2: Lefty delivers more carrots to his boss, but the boss orders him to get the most carrots he can find (in 15 seconds). Part 3: Lefty delivers the rest of the carrots to his boss. The boss reveals that the carrots are for his pet rabbit (a real rabbit), which he shows to Lefty.
	Number 20	Episode 0434	Lefty's boss sends Lefty to get a number 20.
	The Golden An	Episode 0668	Lefty's boss tells Lefty the plan for what to do with the Golden AN, which they have just stolen. Lefty is to put in the tan van, give it to Dan, who will take it to Fran. However, Lefty can't remember the plan very well and has to repeat it, which results in a police officer named Stan hearing the plan and giving him "ten days in the can for stealing the Golden AN." The skit ends with Lefty being taken away, saying, "I should have ran." SesameStreet's YouTube Channel (YouTube) Online releases of this sketch have the beginning edited.
	3 knocks	Episode 0722	Benny and his boss have been waiting for Lefty for a long time. Benny wonders how they will know when it's Lefty at the door, so he informs him that Lefty will knock three times - their secret knock to enter their hideout. Lefty forgets, so they won't let him in until he finally gets three knocks. When they let him in, the boss informs him that if he forgets the number of knocks again, he's in big trouble. So, to test his memory, the boss and Benny lock themselves out and knock the door to see if Lefty knows which is the correct number. He forgets once again, which gets him very worked up and runs out of the hideout, leaving the other two locked outside.