Alphonse Capone grew up in the Brooklyn slums and was thrown out of school in the sixth grade for attacking his teacher. While working as a bouncer at the Harvard Inn for Frankie Yale, then head of the Unione Siciliane, Capone cracked many a drunk's skull and was himself cut across the cheek, thus acquiring the nickname "Scarface". By 1919, Capone was suspected of two … [Read more...] about Alphonse Al Capone, “Scarface”
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Have We Sacrificed Security For Liberty?
This week is National Police Week in the U.S. (ending with the Congressionally enacted Peace Officers Memorial Day today on the 15th). According to statistics published by the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund, law enforcement deaths are up 29% and 29% by gunfire, specifically, from this time last year. Over the past few years, cop killers are targeting the … [Read more...] about Have We Sacrificed Security For Liberty?
SLUM GANGS – The Roots of Organized Crime
New York City's street gangs of the 19th Century included the Plug Uglies, Kerryonians, Dead Rabbits, Chichesters, Roach Guards, Whyos, Shirt Tails and others, all of whom committed robberies and engaged in turf wars. In 1863 such gangs also partecipated in the anti-Civil War draft riots, in wich hundreds died. The 1890s saw a huge influx of European immigrants arriving … [Read more...] about SLUM GANGS – The Roots of Organized Crime