The Camorra is a secret criminal society from Naples, Italy. Amidst the flood of Italian immigrants who poured into the harbours of 19th century New York and New Orleans, a number of Camorristas fleeing the Naples authorities set up Camorra families on American soil. In New Orleans, the Camorra was controlled by two Neopolitan brothers, Joe and Peter Provenzano. New Orleans was a busy port filled with boats carrying fruit from Latin America. The Provenzanos controlled the docks and dock-workers were forced to stop unloading cargo from boats unless the captains paid kick-backs to the Camorra.
The Italian island of Sicily is the powerbase of another secret society, the Mafia. Competition between the two groups in Italy has always been intense, and the rivalry was continued in the US. As the Sicilian immigrants began to outnumber the Neopolitans, the Mafia began to vie for power with the Camorra. Though there were possibly others before him, Giuseppe Esposito was the first known Mafia boss in the Americas. For years, Esposito and the Provenzanos avoided prosecution by paying off the police and politicians. However, one detective named David C. Hennessy proved incorruptible and was a liability to the criminals and to his dishonest police colleagues.
When Hennessy arrested one mafioso, the gangster escaped deportation by informing on his boss, Esposito. Based on this evidence, Hennessy arrested Esposito outside a Catholic church just before mass. The Mafia don was deported to Italy but not before his police benefactors fired Hennessy. However the detective had earned a reputation as a man willing to fight organized crime despite the consequences. When the state of Louisiana elected a reformist governor, Hennessy was not only reinstated, but became Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department. He made it his mission to stamp out organised crime and particularly the Mafia.
During his reign in the 1880's, the New Orleans Mafia was run by two families, the Matrangas and the Machecas. Through intimidation and violence, they seized control of the docklands from the Provenzanos. This resulted in a vendetta between the Mafia and Camorra, vendetta being the Italian term for revenge by murdering an offender and his/her relatives. This type of feud quickly spirals out of control as whole families become involved in more and more slayings, each killing being avenged by multiple killings, which are themselves avenged by further vendetta.
In a private meeting with Joe Provenzano and Antonio "Tony" Matranga, Hennessy made it clear that the police force was no longer under their control and that if the fighting didn't stop, they would both be prosecuted. For a while, the war began to ease off, until the Matrangas put Joe and Peter Provenzano’s grocery store out of business. Stock was destroyed several times and customers were driven away because the Provenzanos would not pay protection money to the Mafia.
In April 1890, five Mafiosi were ambushed by gunmen at around midnight in the New Orleans docklands area. Tony Matranga was killed and his brother Carlo "Charles" Matranga was wounded in the shootings that newspapers dubbed "The Midnight Vendetta". Hennessy followed through on his threats by cracking down on the criminals. In his efforts to deport gangsters, he sent photographs and details of all known Mafia and Camorra members to Italy, hoping that the Italian authorities could identify any fugitives wanted in their country. The two officials he contacted were murdered by the Sicilian Mafia before they could respond to his request.
In July 1890, Hennessy received an anonymous letter demanding he stop his probe into Mafia activities. The blackmailer made it clear that failure to comply would result in the superintendent’s death. By this time, Hennessy was conducting a completely solo investigation since his entire staff had been bribed or threatened. Shortly after the menacing letter, local Mafia informer Giuseppe Mataino was found dead. Someone had beaten him, burnt his head in an oven and cut his throat.
Meanwhile, David Hennessy found an ideal source of information in the Provenzano family. The Provenzano brothers and some of their associates were due to stand trial on October 17 1890 for ambushing the Mafia. Hennessy saw the Camorra as the lesser of two evils and struck a deal with the Provenzanos. If they told him everything they knew about the Mafia, in Sicily and the US, he would speak at the trial on their behalf. The Provenzanos would thus be killing two birds with one stone: saving their own skins and removing their rivals.
Though the Provenzanos fulfilled their side of the bargain, the super' never got a chance to speak at their trial. On October 15, he and his friend Captain Bill O'Connor left the police station at approximately 11:00pm. The two policemen were near Hennessy's house when they went their separate ways. As Hennessy approached his home, a young teenage boy later identified as Aspero Marchese was waiting for him. Marchese ran past Hennessy blowing a whistle, prompting two gunmen two step down off the porch while two more emerged from the bushes. The men opened fire with shotguns, hitting the police chief six times. Hennessy drew his revolver as he hit the ground but was shot in the back at point blank range. Amazingly, he managed to fire off three rounds at the fleeing assassins but failed to hit his mark. His security guard J.C. Roe witnessed the shooting and was also wounded by gunfire.
Cpt. O'Connor was still nearby and rushed to the Hennessy home after hearing the discharge of the guns. According to O’Connor, he asked Hennessy who had shot him and the police chief replied: "The dagoes did it." At 9:06 the following morning, Hennessy died in hospital. He was 32 years old, one of the youngest police superintendents in the country. As he lay in the hospital bed, the citizens were reduced to a state of hysteria and the every Italian in New Orleans was accused of being a gangster and a murderer. Eager for revenge, the police rounded up as many Italians as they could find. At the time of Hennessy's death, over 50 were in custody. That night, the number had risen above 200.
A grand jury indicted 19 men for the murder. Among them were Carlo "Charles" Matranga, Macheca, 4 other known members of the Mafia and 13 men who seemingly had no involvement in any type of crime. Former District Attorney Lionel Adams defended the suspects and case resulted in a mistrial when a court stenographer slipped into the jury room. 15 of the men were re-indicted and a new murder trial began on February 16 1891. Again, Lionel Adams lead the defence and DA Charles Luzenburg was the prosecutor.
It was an unfair trial right from the start as both sides attempted to fix the proceedings. The two key witnesses, J.C. Roe and Captain O'Connor refused to testify, probably due to coercion from Matranga and his men. Some of the suspects had been indicted based solely on the fact that they were Italian and Judge Joshua G. Baker dismissed the charges against 6 defendants as soon after the trial began. Many outraged anti-Italians and witnesses greedy for reward money fabricated evidence, and the defence was quick to point out the inconsistencies in their stories. After the closing statements on March 13, Judge Baker ordered the jury to find Carlo Matranga and one of his men, Bastion Incardona not-guilty because the prosecution had not produced a single shred of evidence against them throughout the trial. Bumbling on the part of the prosecutor meant that cases against 3 others: Monasterio, Bagnetto and Scaffidi resulted in mistrials. The 4 remaining defendants were found not-guilty.
There was public outcry as jurors were accused of taking bribes from the Mafia. Jurors told reporters that their decision was based on inconsistent evidence and impatience in the jury room. Meanwhile, 9 of the defendants were detained at Orleans Parish Prison. They had been acquitted of murder but were now being charged with "ambush with intent to murder", technically a separate offence in the state of Louisiana. The day after the trial, lawyer W.S. Parkerson placed the following announcement in a local newspaper.
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MASS MEETING!
All good citizens are invited to attend a mass meeting on SATURDAY, March 14, at 10 o'clock a.m., at Clay Statue, to take steps to remedy the failure of justice in the HENNESSY CASE. Come prepared for action.
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An angry mob gathered at the Clay Statue and stormed the prison. Three of the suspects: Macheca (head of the Macheca Mafia family), Scaffidi and Monasterio were shot inside the jail. Two more, Polizzi and Bagnetto were dragged outside, beaten and lynched from lampposts. The entire city was thrown into chaos as rioters entered the Italian section of the city, destroying property and beating citizens. 6 Italians who had no connection with the murder trial were shot dead that night, bringing the death toll to 11.
In the wake of the massacre, charges against the remaining 4 surviving defendants were dropped, adding to the fury of the vigilantes. The presiding Judge Marr stated that it would be impossible to find an impartial jury in the state of Louisiana. The contents of David Hennessy's records on the organized crime became public knowledge and the entire country was gripped by anti-Italian paranoia. The violence spread to other states and the word "Mafia", previously unheard of, was now on everyone's lips. And to the average American, Italy and Mafia meant the same thing. A number of murderers were brought before a grand jury who refused to indict them, despite strong evidence. Italy broke off diplomatic relations with the US until the government agreed to pay $20,000 compensation to the victims' families. The fact that they had been exposed to the world was a blow to the Mafia, but as an interesting side-effect, the New Orleans Incident also strengthened the organisation by driving a wedge between the Italian community and the rest of the country. Faced with violence and discrimination, secret societies such as the Mafia and Camorra were the only means of protection for many Italian immigrants.
Dexter S. Gaster succeeded Hennessy as Superintendent. He retained the post until 1895 and always wore his badge upside down as an act of mourning for his predecessor.
