The Curse of the Black Hand: The 1911 Unsolved Murder of Giovanni Baptiste Arecchi
Friday Oct 21st, 2022
In the early 1900s fear had spread throughout Italian communities throughout America with the terror of the Black Hand. Using methods of extortion similar to members of the Camorra and the Mafia, the Black Hand Society utilized tactics involving threatening letters being sent to a victim, demanding something, usually monetary compensation in return. If the demands were not met, they were usually met with violence, even murder. The demands, written in scribbled Italian dialogue, were full of spelling errors and included crude symbols such as guns, skulls, or perhaps a blood-covered knife - complete with the almost childish caricature of the blackened silhouette of a black hand.
