White Hand Gang
Encyclopedia
The White Hand Gang was a collection of various Irish American
gangs on the New York
, Brooklyn
, and Red Hook
waterfronts from the early 1900s to 1925 who organized against the growing influence of Italian gangsters. Their name was chosen in response to the Sicilian Black Hand gangs and carried the implication that the Irish gang was the "white" counter to the growing presence of what they considered "non-white" Italian gangsters and Italian immigrants. They were known to be virulently anti-Italian and particularly violent, with members killing each other, contributing to the unstable leadership which led to the gang's demise. The most prominent of the early bosses was Bill Lovett
, who replaced former leader Dinny Meehan
. Meehan was shot and killed while sleeping in his home with his wife at his side. Lovett aggressively confronted the Italian gangs until his death on November 1, 1923. Passed out at a bar, Lovett was shot several times before Sicilian assassin Willie "Two-Knife" Altieri killed him with a meat cleaver.
Lovett's brother-in-law Richard Lonergan
, who had become leader before Lovett was killed, began an even more aggressive attack against Vincent Mangano
, Albert Anastasia
, and Joe Adonis
, who had begun moving in on the waterfront. On the night of December 25, 1925, Lonergan and five of his men (Aaron Harms, James "Ragtime" Howard, Paddy Maloney, Cornielius Ferry, and James Hart) entered the Adonis Social Club, a Mafia
-owned South Brooklyn
speakeasy
, during a Christmas
celebration. Lonergan and the other White Handers, according to witnesses, were intoxicated and being unruly with the Italian patrons. Lonergan himself loudly and openly called nearby customers "wop
s", "dagos" and other ethnic slurs. When three local Irish girls entered the club escorted by their Italian dates, Lonergan chased them out supposedly yelling at them to "Come back with white men, fer chrissake!". It was at that moment that the lights went out and gunfire was heard. When the lights came on Lonergan, Harms, and Ferry lay shot to death on the dance floor. Police suspected visiting Al Capone
, who had been forced to leave New York in 1921 after an altercation with a White Hand gang member, but there was no evidence and the case was dropped. Without strong leadership, the White Hand disappeared, and by 1928, the Mafia completely controlled the waterfront.
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
gangs on the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, and Red Hook
Red Hook, Brooklyn
Red Hook is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 6. It is also the location where the transatlantic liner, the , docks in New York City.- History :...
waterfronts from the early 1900s to 1925 who organized against the growing influence of Italian gangsters. Their name was chosen in response to the Sicilian Black Hand gangs and carried the implication that the Irish gang was the "white" counter to the growing presence of what they considered "non-white" Italian gangsters and Italian immigrants. They were known to be virulently anti-Italian and particularly violent, with members killing each other, contributing to the unstable leadership which led to the gang's demise. The most prominent of the early bosses was Bill Lovett
Bill Lovett
William "Wild Bill" Lovett was an Irish-American gangster in early 20th century New York.-Beginnings:Born in New York City, Lovett first fell in with the local Irish gangs around the Brooklyn waterfront as a teenager. The day after America's entry into World War I, Lovett enlisted in the U.S. Army...
, who replaced former leader Dinny Meehan
Dinny Meehan
Dennis L. Meehan was the leader of the White Hand Gang in the 1910s. Dinny Meehan was described by the police as "the most desperate gang leader in Brooklyn."...
. Meehan was shot and killed while sleeping in his home with his wife at his side. Lovett aggressively confronted the Italian gangs until his death on November 1, 1923. Passed out at a bar, Lovett was shot several times before Sicilian assassin Willie "Two-Knife" Altieri killed him with a meat cleaver.
Lovett's brother-in-law Richard Lonergan
Richard Lonergan
Richard "Peg Leg" Lonergan was an American underworld figure and labor racketeer. He was a high-ranking member and the final leader of the White Hand Gang...
, who had become leader before Lovett was killed, began an even more aggressive attack against Vincent Mangano
Vincent Mangano
Vincent Mangano , born Vincenzo Giovanni Mangano, also known as "The Executioner" as he was named in a Brooklyn newspaper, was the head of the Mangano crime family from 1931 to 1951. His brother Philip Mangano was his right hand man and de facto, or substituto, underboss of the crime family which...
, Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia was boss of what is now called the Gambino crime family, one of New York City's Five Families, from 1951-1957. He also ran a gang of contract killers called Murder Inc. which enforced the decisions of the Commission, the ruling council of the American Mafia...
, and Joe Adonis
Joe Adonis
Joe Adonis , also known as "Joey A", "Joe Adone", "Joe Arosa", "James Arosa", and "Joe DiMeo", was a New York mobster who was an important participant in the formation of the modern Cosa Nostra crime families.-Early years:Adonis was born Giuseppe Antonio Doto in the small town of Montemarano,...
, who had begun moving in on the waterfront. On the night of December 25, 1925, Lonergan and five of his men (Aaron Harms, James "Ragtime" Howard, Paddy Maloney, Cornielius Ferry, and James Hart) entered the Adonis Social Club, a Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
-owned South Brooklyn
South Brooklyn
South Brooklyn is a region or composite neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, encompassing areas of Cobble Hill, Red Hook, Gowanus, Park Slope, and Boerum Hill. Thus it is roughly encompassed by Brooklyn Community Board 6, which in turn approximates the southern half of the 18th...
speakeasy
Speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition...
, during a Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
celebration. Lonergan and the other White Handers, according to witnesses, were intoxicated and being unruly with the Italian patrons. Lonergan himself loudly and openly called nearby customers "wop
Wop
Wop is a pejorative racial slur for people from Italy that originated in the United States but is also used in the UK. There is an urban myth that the term "wop" is an acronym for "without papers" as many of the Italian immigrants did not have identification or visas...
s", "dagos" and other ethnic slurs. When three local Irish girls entered the club escorted by their Italian dates, Lonergan chased them out supposedly yelling at them to "Come back with white men, fer chrissake!". It was at that moment that the lights went out and gunfire was heard. When the lights came on Lonergan, Harms, and Ferry lay shot to death on the dance floor. Police suspected visiting Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
, who had been forced to leave New York in 1921 after an altercation with a White Hand gang member, but there was no evidence and the case was dropped. Without strong leadership, the White Hand disappeared, and by 1928, the Mafia completely controlled the waterfront.
Further reading
- Pietrusza, David. Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003. ISBN 0-7867-1250-3
- Schoenberg, Robert J. Mr. Capone. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. ISBN 0-688-12838-6
- Downey, Patrick. Gangster City: The History of the New York Underworld, 1900-1935. Barricade Books, 2004. ISBN 156980267X
External links
- The White Hand Gang also referred to as The Lovett Gang & Lonergan Gang, a collection of newspaper articles from the New York Times.