True Crimes of Black Hand New York

In Part 2 of Raffaele Cascone’s story, we dive deeper into the life of the “King of Mulberry Street.” Joanne Sperando, Cascone’s great-granddaughter, returns to share more about her notorious ancestor. The tale follows Raffaele, his brother Domenico, and two blood-related families—the Siniscalchis and the Santaniellos. After Domenico is publicly humiliated by these families, the fallout lands Raffaele back in jail on new murder charges—drawing unexpected support from infamous and wealthy figures, even as a vendetta threatens to bring it all crashing down.

This is Part 1 of the story of Raffaele Cascone, the “King of Mulberry Street”—an Italian immigrant determined to make his mark in early 20th-century New York City amidst murder charges, death row, and a world of vendettas.Through family accounts from Cascone’s great-granddaughter, we uncover the ambitions that shaped his world, and the dangerous path he forged in a city rife with crime and opportunity.

When promoting Pay or Die in 1960, Ernest Borgnine often spoke about his decision to turn down the role of Al Capone, saying, “I’ve played plenty of villains in my day, but I could never portray a real-life person who I knew had done so much evil and caused so many people tragedy.”How does actor and director John Turturro walk that line between authenticity and stereotype? Find out in our interview, where we explore everything from Pay or Die to The Sopranos—and a lot of family and career history in between!