Mob Hit incites riot in New Orleans
Mob Hit Incites Riot In New Orleans, April 12, 2013
Mob Hit Incites Riot in New Orleans … In October of 1890, Chief Hennessy was assassinated by the Mafia.
The fateful scene in The Godfather, in which Michael Corleone guns down Captain McCluskey and the infamous Turk, Sollozzo, is pure fiction. You may even recall the plotting beforehand, when Michael broaches the idea and Tom Hagen smartly slaps it down, affirming that, “Nobody has ever gunned down a New York police captain and gotten away with it.”
As a crime novelist, I agree that there is always a little truth in fiction. And here’s a bit of history for you: In October of 1890, in the city of New Orleans, Police Chief David Hennessy was gunned down on the street while walking home. At the time of his death Hennessy had been investigating feuding “Sicilian” gangs in the Quarter. Gasping his last breath in Charity Hospital, Hennessy was purported to have whispered that “the damn dagoes got me.”
Nineteen men of Italian origin were arrested; ten were charged with the murder. A long trial ensued, fervently covered by the newspapers. Emotions were running high, and when a jury acquitted seven of the men and a mistrial was declared for the remaining three, the city erupted. A mob formed outside the parish prison on Treme Street, demanding justice. Forcing their way inside, the enraged vigilantes killed eleven Italian prisoners. Those they didn’t shoot outright were hanged.
Since most of the men were not American citizens, the Unites States paid a whopping twenty-four thousand dollars in reparations to the victim’s families. But the townspeople and their municipal leaders, spurred on by a fomenting media, applauded the violence. Eventually, a grand jury concluded that the Mafia did exist in New Orleans, and that it had been responsible for the murder of Chief Hennessy.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]
All this … one hundred and twenty-three years ago. And in New Orleans, which makes me wonder if Louie Morelli’s ancestors were involved. Then again, that’s fiction. Louie’s a figment of my imagination, or is he? One of these days I’ll have to write the story of how his family seized control of the city.
Patricia Bellomo is the author of the crime and mob thriller books, Louie Morelli’s Mistress, Stella di Mare, and Louie Morelli’s Daughter. Books available on Amazon.com.
Photo courtesy of NOLA Times-Picayune. (Archives.)
