EPISODE · Sep 7, 2026 · 15 MIN

The Black Hand Letter: How Anonymous Extortion Letters Sparked New York's Early Mafia

from A History of the American Mafia Podcast: Organized Crime, Mob Families, Bosses, Gangsters, Prohibition, Criminal Trials, and the Rise of La Cosa Nostra · host Podily & Josh Linsk

From inked threats to a template for modern extortion, this episode traces how the black hand letters that plagued early 1900s Italian‑American shops on New York’s Lower East Side laid groundwork for organized crime’s rise, influenced law‑enforcement tactics, and evolved into the structured operations of La Cosa Nostra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Sep 7, 2026

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The Black Hand Letter: How Anonymous Extortion Letters Sparked New York's Early Mafia

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This episode was published on September 7, 2026.

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