1. The Most Significant Mob Hit Backfired Horribly on the Mob
Perhaps no single mob hit had a more significant or longer lasting impact on the Italian-American mafia than one that took place on October 15th, 1890, in New Orleans, claiming the life of the city’s police chief. Rival Sicilian crime families had been engaged in a turf war over control of the waterfront, and when the violence spilled over, the citizens clamored for the authorities to do something about it. When the police chief launched an investigation of mafia activities, he was gunned down as he was walking home from work. His last words before expiring were “the Dagoes shot me“. The backlash was immediate, and 19 mobsters were arrested and prosecuted.
In a first trial of 9 of them, the defendants successfully tampered with the jury, and despite overwhelming evidence, 6 were acquitted while the other 3 had hung juries. The following day, March 14th, 1891, a mob numbering in the thousands, including some of New Orleans’ most prominent citizens, stormed into the prison housing the defendants, and lynched 11 of them. It was biggest single mass lynching in American history. It had a salutary effect, by demonstrating to the mob that America was not the Old Country, where criminals could get away with brazen defiance of law and order. In response, the mob adopted strict rules against targeting law enforcement, even preemptively killing mafiosi who threatened to go after cops or prosecutors.
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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading
American Mafia History – “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn
Am-Pole Eagle – The Man That Al Capone Feared
Encyclopedia Britannica – Jim Colosimo
Crime Magazine, October 14th, 2009 – The Guileless Gangster
Encyclopedia Britannica – Salvatore Maranzano
Gangster Report – The Last Purple: Harry Millman
J Grit – Abe “Kid Twist” Reles, Gangster, Murder Inc.
Mafia History – What Do We Know About Frankie Yale?
Mob Museum – Who Killed Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel?
National Crime Syndicate – How Did Joe Masseria Get Killed?
New York History Blog – The Corpse in the Grey Suit
NY Daily News, December 15th, 2015 – Paul Castellano Hit, 30 Years Later
Ozy, October 15th, 2017 – The Heroin Don’s Last Meal
Ranker – Most Violent Mob Hits