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Set in the Gilded Age of New Orleans, this historical biography conveys J.P. Macheca's epic life story, as it finally sets the record straight on the 1890 assassination of Police Chief David Hennessy and the 1891 Crescent City lynchings. A longtime street warrior for the corrupt and ruthless New Orleans Democratic machine, Macheca was also the patron of the fledgling American Mafia in southern Louisiana. His underworld connections brought him into conflict with Hennessy and ultimately cost him his life. Macheca and ten other men implicated in Hennessy's assassination were killed while held within Orleans Parish Prison. The incident is remembered as the largest lynching in American history. However, the authors argue that Macheca's life was ended not through the spontaneous rage of a lynch mob but through a calculated act of betrayal by Macheca's former friends and allies.As Macheca's life story unfolds, Deep Water examines the many momentous events of his time and place, including Civil War, federal occupation, Reconstruction, violent political and racial division. The authors illustrate the deliberate influence of the Democratic "Ring" on the growth of the Mafia criminal society, and they underline the inextricability of organized politics and organized crime in the period.
From the authors: "Since Deep Water was first published in 2007, additional information became available on a number of subjects we felt would be of interest to readers. This information included details of J.P. Macheca's financial, social and personal life, as well as links between the New Orleans Mafia and underworld organizations in Tampa, Dallas, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. The second edition includes these new finds in addition to a foreword by the late Joseph Maselli, an expanded photo section, additional information on New Orleans crimes attributed to the Mafia and an expanded Epilogue."
The list price of this edition in softcover is $25.95.
Deep Water is also now available in the Amazon Kindle
electronic format and can be downloaded through the Kindle store at a price of just $9.99.