The Sicilians come to New Orleans

By Mike Simmons

The Mafia originated in Sicily in the 1800s. Beginning as groups of citizens who banded together to protect the villages from bandits and criminals, their tactics eventually turned criminal. In the late 1800s, some Mafia members emigrated to the United States, specifically New Orleans.  

Illegal activities included racketeering, illegal gambling, loan sharking, smuggling, bootlegging, and the one that affected businesses daily, extortion. The mafia infiltrated the community slowly. Soon, most of the businesses – especially those originating from Italy or Sicily – had regular visits from members demanding money. If the business owner did not pay, violence was done to them. Sometimes it resulted in murder. The businessmen and the media referred to these regular visits and demands as “The Black Hand Society.”   

Such was the case when Sicilian Guiseppe Spennazzio, a member of the Black Hand Society, paid a visit to the saloon and grocery store of tough old Joseph Manzella at Decatur and St. Philip Streets. Mr. Manzella and his daughter Josephine ran the store every day.  

On Wednesday, July 13, 1910, Spennazzio, who had recently emigrated from Sicily, called at the store and demanded money, asking if it was forthcoming. He was apparently not happy with Mr. Manzella’s answer who threw him out of his store. Spennazzio pulled a pistol and shot the store owner in the chest. Manzella, who are also armed, shot at Spennazzio as he was collapsing, but missed.  

The brawny old store owner raised a daughter who took after him. When Josephine heard the shot that killed her father, she ran to the store and grabbed her revolver. When she saw Spennazzio running out of the store, she chased him and began firing at him.  

The police were called. When they arrived, they found a dead store owner with his sharpshooter daughter hovering over him, weeping, and they found a dead Sicilian nearby with three shots near the heart. Deadeye.