The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931

by David Critchley

While the later history of the New York Mafia has received extensive attention, what has been conspicuously absent until now is an accurate and conversant review of the formative years of Mafia organizational growth. David Critchley examines the Mafia recruitment process, relations with Mafias in Sicily, the role of non-Sicilians in New York’s organized crime Families, kinship connections, the Black Hand, the impact of Prohibition, and allegations that a "new" Mafia was created in 1931. This book will interest Historians, Criminologists, and anyone fascinated by the American Mafia.

Genres: History, Crime, Nonfiction, True Crime

362 pages, Hardcover

First published September 17, 2008

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a groundbreaking Mafia history reference work. Though not without a few errors (both of commission and omission), this book corrects many of the factual errors that have crept into Mafia histories through the past century and presents the most accurate picture yet of the early New York Mafia.

The author examines every detail with a highly critical eye, assembling his history from vital records, police and prison records and court transcripts. He also puts fellow Mafia historians under the microscope, meticulously analyzing the flaws in their research and their reasoning. The text is enhanced by the addition of dozens of images, many of which are published here for the first time.

Researchers will be delighted to find that more than 100 of the book's 348 pages are dedicated to endnotes, bibliography and annotated index.

"Origin" is somewhat handicapped by the author's revisionist agenda, by his ivory-tower writing style and by its own misleading title and oppressive price tag. Casual readers will probably wish to steer clear. However, this is a must-have for any crime historian.

[Walt · Rating 5 out of 5]

An overwhelming amount of data and analysis make this one of the most thoroughly researched books on this topic. I have read it three times and learn new things with each reading. It is dense, it is heavily referenced, and it is easy to read. The writing style allows for a little choppy-ness with the transitions between ideas and topics; but the overall work is remarkably well organized.

[Bill Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an astounding piece of social analysis, which I would eagerly recommend to anyone studying the history of organized crime in the United States or even globally, as the book also discusses the transnational connection between U.S. Mafia groups and their ancestry. Certainly at times it reads like a Viking saga, except most of the names of who slaughtered whose cousin are Italian instead of Scandinavian. This book especially serves to debunk some of the myths about the Mafia as monolithic, nationally centralized or all-powerful. Though the author argues against comparing the Mafia to a centralized and bureaucratic business, the description here certainly supports the theory that the organizational complexity and variety typical of legal social organizations also applies to criminal groups. The book also contains much in the way of history that is both informative and at times entertaining. I will offer the following trivia question as an example: The 1914 assassination of Barnet Baff resulted from his involvement with which of the “oldest” rackets in New York City? A) Numbers running B) Loansharking C) Bootlegging or D) The live poultry industry; the answer of course is D (pp. 72-75): “. . . The poultry racket [was] one of the ‘oldest’ in New York. . . .The sector was rife with unethical when not illegal, practices that attracted ‘wily, scheming and in some cases dangerous’ figures. . . . From 1902, Barnet Baff entered the poultry business as a wholesaler. In 1910, he became a receiver but also operated slaughterhouses where the birds were ritually dispatched[.] . . . By means of the economies so achieved, Baff forced the key slaughterhouse men to ‘sue for terms of peace,’ by buying car lots of poultry from him at above quotation prices. Baff used identical economic leverage to force butchers to buy his surplus stock at a premium price. He also made his own deliveries, angering the trucking company and Teamsters Local 449 unionists. . . . ‘Baff was cordially hated by everyone . . .’ . . . The aim [of Baff’s slaying] was ostensibly the laudable one of eradicating an ‘overcropping’ malpractice pursued by Baff, involving the starving of chickens for slaughter until they reached the city where they were fed a combination of sand and gravel that increased their weight but swindled unsuspecting customers. . . . Although the Baff murder was an extreme case, corruption and the use of violence to achieve commercial objectives were thus no strangers to the [poultry] industry[.] . . . [As late as 1928] . . . [b]ombs, incendiary devices and gases were deployed against dealers, butchers and market men.”

[RJ Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly fantastic written and researched book. It is the best book on the subject that I have ever read.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this review before reading the book so you know what to expect.

First and foremost, this is NOT a purely narrative book. It is to an extent, but it is also an academic book. What I mean is that sometimes Critchley is more focused on correcting other writers on the topic than he does with telling the facts or stories. It is a little bit annoying, but you have to realize that this is the goal of the book. Like I said, not purely narrative, but absolutely is a mix of narrative and academic work.

That leads me to my second point, if you want to read this book, it is absolutely helpful to have some background on these years. The book is extremely detailed and well researched, but Critchley probably had a page limit so he definitely doesn't get extremely detailed about any particular people except the Neapolitans, and that's just because not a lot has been written about them.

All that being said, plain and simple, it's a good book. Do yourself a favor and realize that this book is also academic. You'll probably get annoyed at how much time he spends saying others are wrong, but that is the point of the book. And secondly realize that, to have a full grasp and appreciation of this book, you should have a fairly good background on a lot of this topic. Unfortunately, I really was only familiar with Giuseppe Morello and the Terranovas. That means it was a lot of new information for me to handle. A lot of names and topics are covered in this book so it is easy to get confused. That is why I really recommend having some kind of background on the topics at hand. In the end, though, I am glad I read it even if I don't remember everything.