My family was one of the first Italian families to settle in New Orleans, arriving in 1830, 50 years before the surge, when tens of thousands of Italians fled Palermo.
As our families grew they began to spread out into the wild-lands surrounding New Orleans, places like the Atchafalaya basin, Barataria, Slidell, and Biloxi. In no short order they began to gain control over cargo handling to include fruit and vegetable shipping.
My Great-Grandfather and his brother started selling lemons in 1934. They also were involved in the sale of apples , pears , figs, coconuts, coffee, sugar, and Perique tobacco, a much sought after, strongly flavored and fermented tobacco only found in Louisiana.They were involved in a myriad of other businesses, some legal, some not so much such as rum smuggling and sports betting.
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The Mississippi Gulf Coast Mafia
Non-FictionI grew up the son of a mafia soldier. My Father worked for the Little Man Carlos Marcello of New Orleans. This is a recollection of memories from my childhood growing up in New Orleans and The Mississippi Gulf Coast. This is a non-fictiona...
