Gangsters of Harlem : the gritty underworld of New York's most famous neighborhood

"For the first time in paperback, author Ron Chepesiuk chronicles the little known history of organized crime in Harlem. African American organized crime has had as significant an impact on its constituent community as Italian, Jewish, and Irish organized crime has had on theirs. Gangsters are every bit as colorful, intriguing, and powerful as Al Capone and Lucky Luciano, and have a fascinating history in gambling, prostitution, and drug dealing. In the late 1800's, Harlem became a highly fashionable neighborhood."-- Provided by publisher For the first time ever, author Ron Chepesiuk chronicles the little known history of organized crime in Harlem. African-American organized crime has had as significant an impact on its constituent community as Italian, Jewish, and Irish organized crime has had on theirs. Gangsters are every bit as colorful, intriguing and powerful as Al Capone and Lucky Luciano, and have had a fascinating history in gambling, prostitution and drug dealing "For the first time, journalist Ron Chepesiuk provides a look at the underworld of the Big Apple's most famous neighborhood. Harlem was a highly fashionable white neighborhood in the late 1890s - but during the early twentieth century, East Harlem became the base for the Morello-Terranova gang, one of the first Italian American crime families."--Jacket