Hunt interviewed for Newsday article

Thomas Hunt, coauthor of Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia and publisher of The American Mafia website ( http://www.onewal.com/ ) was interviewed recently by reporter Keiko Morris for a New York Newsday story.

Giovanni Zarcone, resident of Brooklyn and owner of a Manhattan butcher shop, was among those arrested in connection with 1903's infamous Barrel Murder. Secret Service agents keeping an eye on the activities of the Morello Mob, a band of counterfeiters and extortionists, noticed Barrel Murder victim Benedetto Madonia in the company of the Morello group within Zarcone's butcher shop the night before Madonia's lifeless body was found on a New York streetcorner crammed into a barrel. They surmised that a wagon belonging to Zarcone had been used to move the remains. They couldn't make the charges stick, however. Zarcone and the rest of the accused were let go.

Over the next few years, several of the suspects died violent deaths. Investigators decided that the Morello Mob was eliminating witnesses to the Madonia murder. Though Zarcone moved himself and his family to a farm in Danbury, CT, the Morello Mob appears to have caught up with him there. He was shot to death outside of his home in the summer of 1909, his body dropped at the front doorstep.

Thomas is a longtime researcher into the activities and personalities of the Morello Mob. Some of his work can be found at the still under construction Caged Wolves website ( http://www.cagedwolves.com/ ).

Deep Water shines a "penetrating light"

“In their frank telling of Macheca's epic life story, authors Thomas Hunt and Martha Macheca Sheldon shine a penetrating light into the shadowy dealings of Gilded Age New Orleans. They present a convincing case for the inextricability of organized crime and organized politics in that era... Along the way, they document some of the more significant and colorful events in Louisiana history.”

- Joseph Maselli
FounderAmerican Italian Renaissance Foundation
New Orleans, LA

Positive review from Blogcritics

Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia earned very favorable notice from Blogcritics.org reviewer Scott M. Deitche.

"...This is one of the more foundational organized crime books ever written...," Deitche wrote in a review published yesterday. "Thomas Hunt brings the story alive through his rich attention to details. You can practically smell the fetid air of the New Orleans waterfront."

"...Rich familial history [is] intertwined with the background history," Deitche noted. "I think in teaming with Martha Macheca Sheldon, Hunt made a smart move. Anecdotal family stories bring a dimension to the Macheca saga that you rarely get from a general Mafia book. Not wanting to lavish too much praise on the authors, but it's always exciting to find a new way to approach a subject..."

The review concluded, "Deep Water is a worthy addition to the organized crime canon and the greater body of books on Civil War-era America."

The full text of the review is available online at: Blogcritics.org.

The review already has been picked up and republished on Boston.com (the Boston Globe's website) and Cleveland.com (the Cleveland Plain Dealer's website).

Scott M. Deitche is an authority on organized crime. He is the author of two books on the Tampa, Florida, crime family: The Silent Don and Cigar City Mafia.

St. Louis event a "huge success"

Martha signs a copy of Deep Water.

We wish to express our thanks to all who came out to tonight's reading/booksigning event in St. Louis, MO. Management of the Ladue Crossing Barnes and Noble was surprised by the large turnout and termed the event a "huge success." We also wish to thank Jennifer L. Lynch, community relations manager of the Barnes and Noble store, for her assistance in planning the event.

Booksigning in St. Louis on June 19

We invite you to attend a reading and booksigning for Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 19, in the Ladue Crossing Barnes and Noble in St. Louis, MO.

Hardcover and paperback copies of Deep Water will be available for sale before and during the event.

Coauthor Martha Sheldon, a descendant of the New Orleans Macheca family, is a native of St. Louis. She is a graduate of Villa Duchesne Sacred Heart and of Washington University. She has held volunteer positions with SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, Malcolm Bliss Mental Health Center and Barnes Jewish/Christian Hospital. She and her daughter reside in the city.

This is the second signing event for Deep Water, which was released in February by iUniverse.

Deep Water signing draws a crowd

We wish to express our thanks to all who helped make tonight's booksigning event in New Orleans such a success, in particular John Macheca, Andrew Dodenhoff, and Britton and Deb from Garden District Book Shop. The event, originally scheduled for 5-7 p.m., had to be extended to 9 p.m.

We were delighted by the large turnout and by the opportunity to meet with former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu and his wife Verna, American Italian Foundation President Joseph Maselli, historical researcher Doug Casey of Metairie and historian/entrepreneur Fernando Cuquet of Mississippi, as well as the many descendants of the Macheca clan who stopped in for the event.

Tom speaks with Fernando Cuquet.

Martha meets with Joseph Maselli.

The authors are interviewed by Christopher Tidmore (99.5 FM).