Under the Clock

Book excerpt: This is the real story of the beginnings of the Mafia in the United States. It tells for the first time what actually happened as the control of the rackets - extortion, protection, carting and hauling, the cement industry, beer and liquor distributorships - and of the New York waterfront was wrested away from the Irish racketeers by the gang of Italian immigrants who called themselves."The Black Hand" and were under the total domination of Battista Balsamo, the original "Godfather". He appeared an honorable, reasonable, and just man. He was the vicious head of the Mob. Filled with rare photographs and documents, peopled with an extraordinary gallery of men and women of the infamous underground, written on ten years of solid research, Under the Clock recounts in painful detail the monumental gangland war that raged for five bloody years,punctuated by poison,knives, and guns, between the Irish "White Hand" and the Italian "Black Hand.". Here is the true story of the resultant Mafia empire - including its emperor, Al Capone - which was ultimately penetrated by the you, dedicated, ambitious New York D.A. - Tom Dewey.