From The Peopling of New York City

Contrary to popular belief, Italian Americans had crime rates no higher than that of other immigrant groups. Television and films such as The Godfather, The Valachi Papers, and Mean Streets popularized the Italian mafia, or La Cosa Nostra. Because of this, many people stereotype Italians with criminal behavior.^{[1] [2]}

Contents 1 New Orleans 2 Giuseppe 3 Charles (Lucky) Luciano 4 References 5 See also

New Orleans

New Orleans was the site of the first major Mafia incident in America. On October 15, 1890, the New Orleans Police Superintendent David Hennessey was murdered. Hundreds of Sicilians were arrested, and 19 were indicted for the murder. They got an acquittal, which spread rumors of bribery and intimidated witnesses. The citizens of New Orleans were outraged and organized a lynch mob, killing 11 of the 19 defendants. ^[3]

Giuseppe

Giuseppe Esposito was the first known Sicilian Mafia member to emigrate to the U.S. He along with six other Sicilians fled to New York after murdering the chancellor and a vice chancellor of a Sicilian province and 11 wealthy landowners. He was arrested in New Orleans in 1881 and sent back to Italy.^[4]

Charles (Lucky) Luciano

In 1906, Salvatore Lucania, also known as Lucky Luciano, moved to the Lower East side of New York City. In 1907, he was first arrested. By 1915, he had joined the Five Point Gang and made friends with figures such as Al Capone. In the early 1920s, he was in control of prostitution with Joe Adonis and by 1925, he had become a millionaire. In 1931, he had killed Maranzano, the leader of the Five Point Gang and became the leader of syndicate.^[5]

References

1. ↑ http://law.jrank.org/pages/1624/Organized-Crime-History.html
2. ↑ http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Ha-La/Italian-Americans.html
3. ↑ http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/orgcrime/lcnindex.htm
4. ↑ http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/orgcrime/lcnindex.htm
5. ↑ http://www.gambino.com/bio/charlesluciano.htm

See also

• Return to Crime
• Return to Italians