Active: 1890–1920

The Black Hand Society, a loose collection of Sicilian and Italian gangsters and freelancers, targeted communities across the United States where large numbers of Italian immigrants settled, extorting money from some of the wealthier people by threatening violence if the victim did not pay a fee.

La Mano Nera

Prior to 1903, extortionists (people who obtain money through force or intimidation) signed their threatening letters with the names of Old World criminal societies, such as the Mafia (which was based in Sicily, an island south of Italy) and the Camorra (based in Naples, Italy). But that year, a case in which an extortionist signed his letters “La Mano Nera” received a great deal of publicity. A sensational story appeared in the New York Herald, and other newspapers followed. Soon many extortionists began to sign their letters with the fear-inspiring...