Artifacts

“Sometimes the objects remember what the stories forget.”

From soda bottles and silver teapots to postcards, photographs, and newspaper clippings, each piece here helped complete a puzzle that had been quietly scattered across generations. These artifacts are not just memorabilia. They are clues, anchors, and echoes. Together, they helped bring the story of Ghettos to Gangland into focus and transformed silence into understanding.

This front-page article from The New York Times reports that Black Hand crimes, including bombings, kidnappings, and extortion, had doubled that year, reaching their peak in New York City. It describes how law enforcement was overwhelmed and largely powerless to stop a surge of violence orchestrated by secret criminal societies operating within immigrant communities. Featuring mugshots, extortion notes, and scenes of devastation, the article captures the fear gripping the city and marks the emergence of organized crime as a permanent part of the urban landscape.

“Black Hand crimes doubled in the year just ended… 1911 reached high water mark and police are helpless before a society of bomb men and kidnappers.” The New York Times, December 31, 1911

This article reveals the shocking scope of a massive federal crackdown on a multimillion-dollar bootlegging ring headquartered at 91 Mulberry Street. The operation—once linked to Lucky Luciano—involved corrupt police officers, Treasury agents, and the Polotnick brothers, including Jack Polotnick, the author's great-grandfather. With over 100 people indicted and 74 already arrested, the raid exposed how deeply organized crime had infiltrated both law enforcement and everyday commerce. The article includes rare photos of the suspects and the interior of the crime hub, confirming that what looked like a warehouse was actually a front for a five-million-dollar criminal empire.