The Italian Squad by Andrew Paul Mele

The Italian Squad by Andrew Paul Mele

At the turn of the twentieth century, thousands of Italian immigrants left their home country for the United States and, particularly, New York City. A small minority of the immigrants were members of a criminal syndicate that largely victimized fellow immigrants. The most common crime was a type of extortion known as "Black Hand." The methods of extortion were particularly violent, and included kidnapping, arson, and murder. The New York Police Department, unable to speak the language and unaware of the traditions of the immigrants, was virtually helpless in dealing with them. In 1904, Italian-American Lt. Detective Joseph Petrosino formed a group of Italian detectives to deal exclusively with the extortion crimes and the criminal underworld of Italian society in New York which had become known in the American press as "The Black Hand Society." This book tells the story of The Italian Squad from its inception, through Petrosino's death, to the squad's expansion into Queens and Brooklyn.

The late Andrew Paul Mele had retired from the Brooklyn Public Library. The author of six books and several short stories, his articles appeared in the Staten Island Advance and the Italian Tribune. He lived in Staten Island.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781476679051
ISBN 10	1476679053
Title	The Italian Squad
Author	Andrew Paul Mele
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	McFarland & Co Inc
Year published	2020-01-29
Number of pages	204
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.