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Hunt discusses Danbury CT murder

The 1909 Mafia murder in Danbury, Connecticut, was the discussion topic at the Danbury Museum and Historical Society on Oct. 8, 2009. Thomas Hunt, coauthor of Deep Water, spoke to a small audience of 15 people about the slaying of farmer Giovanni Zarcone and that event's connections to the Morello Mafia organization of New York. He traced Zarcone back to his Sicilian roots in Bagheria and tracked his eventful life from his arrival in Manhattan in 1901, through the infamous Mafia Barrel Murder of 1903 to his ambush on a quiet country road on July 27, 1909.

On the 100th anniversary of the Danbury murder, Hunt published a detailed history of the event in his quarterly periodical, Informer: The Journal of American Mafia History. The Oct. 8 discussion was arranged by Brigid Guertin and Diane Hassan of the Danbury Museum and Historical Society.

The text of his Oct. 8 remarks can be downloaded through the Scribd.com service:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/20841805/1909-Mafia-Murder-in-Danbury-text

(A free Scribd account is required for download.)

The July issue of Informer, featuring the history of the Zarcone murder, also can be downloaded from the Scribd.com service:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/20054920/Informer-v02n3-2009-July

Hunt to discuss 1909 Mafia murder

Deep Water coauthor Thomas Hunt will discuss "The 1909 Mafia Murder in Danbury, Connecticut," on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009, 7 p.m., at Huntington Hall, Danbury Museum and Historical Society, 43 Main Street.

A collection of images, news clippings and maps related to this topic is available through the Scribd.com service:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/20569384/1909-Mafia-Murder-in-Danbury

Deep Water wins Silver Medal

Deep Water is the Silver Medalist in the South Region Nonfiction category of the 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards. The final "IPPY" competition results were announced this afternoon. Awards Coordinator Jim Barnes noted that this year's contest attracted more than 3,100 entries.

"The quality of entries this year is totally amazing, and we're seeing better designed books, reading higher quality writing and being exposed to a more widely diverse collection of concepts," he said. "We've been impressed with the in-depth research in our nonfiction and current events entries..."

Deep Water selected as IPPY semifinalist

Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia has been selected as a semifinalist in the Independent Publisher Book Awards. Competing in the South Region Nonfiction category, Deep Water is one of five category semifinalists. Final award winners will be announced May 23, 2008.

This year's Independent Publisher Awards competition drew in 3,100 entries from 49 U.S. states and 17 other countries. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded in each category. The awards presentation is scheduled for May 30 at BookExpo America in Los Angeles.

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/ ).