"The Camorra is to Naples what the Mafia is to Sicily." Ironically, the New York branch of this secret criminal society did not receive much recognition in it’s own right, and would be relatively obscure were it not for the bitter rivalry with it’s Sicilian counterpart.
Lt. Joseph Petrosino dedicated his career to the fight against Italian-American crime organizations such as the Black Hand and Camorra. He even travelled to Sicily in an effort to extradite fugitives to New York and research the backgrounds of Mafia figures operating in the US. This investigation lead to his death in 1909.
Founded by Monk Eastman, the Eastmans were a tough bunch of Jewish gangsters from Lower East Side Manhattan. Archenemies of the Five Points Gang, their story is one of corrupt politicians, a dirty cop and spectacular gangland shoot-outs.
The Five Pointers were New York’s most powerful gang in the opening years of the 20th century, and some members rank among the more influential mobsters in American history. Alumni include infamous criminals Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Johnny Torrio, Frankie Yale, and of course, Paul Kelly.
The early years of the gangster who "made" Frankie Yale and Al Capone two of the most powerful men in the country. Torrio was a member of New York’s infamous Five Points Gang before he launched a more successful career as part of "Big Jim" Colosimo’s Chicago Outfit.
Englishman Owen "Killer" Madden took over the remnants of the Gophers gang when he was only 18 years of age. He founded the Cotton Club, host to stars such as Duke Ellington ,and he became La Cosa Nostra's representative in Hell's Kitchen and later in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
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