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Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia Paperback – August 18, 2010

by Thomas Hunt (Author), Martha Macheca Sheldon (Author)

4.5 16 ratings

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Second Edition: 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. Comments on the book's First Edition: "Deep Water is a worthy addition to the organized crime canon and the greater body of books on Civil War-era America." - Scott M. Deitche, author and Blogcritics reviewer. "Deep Water is a memorable reading experience... This book will force a reassessment of a famous event in the history of American organized crime." - Dr. Peter Dale Scott, author. Deep Water was SILVER MEDAL winner, regional nonfiction category, 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards.

About the Author

Thomas Hunt publishes Informer, a quarterly journal on the history of crime and law enforcement (informer-journal.blogspot.com). He also publishes the American Mafia history website (mafiahistory.us), the MobNews current events blog (mob-news.blogspot.com), and a Deep Water blog (jpmacheca.blogspot.com). He contributed to the Australian-published reference book, Mafia: The Necessary Reference to Organized Crime (Millennium House, 2009). Several of his articles were published in the On the Spot crime history journal. He served as Managing Editor of the Putnam County (NY) Courier, the Bethel (CT) Beacon and the Pawling (NY) News-Chronicle; Assistant Editor of the New Milford (CT) Times and of Aviation Digest magazine; and Publisher and Editor of the Danbury (CT) Weekly Tribune. He holds a bachelor's degree in history and journalism. Born in the Bronx, NY, he lives with his wife and their three children in New Milford, CT. Martha Macheca Sheldon, descendant of the Macheca line, is an authority on her family history. Discovering and telling J.P.'s life story has been her obsession since first learning "the family secret" over a decade ago. She has assembled a network of Machecas determined to unearth long-buried family truths. Graduating as a daughter of the Sacred Heart, she majored in the Arts at Washington University. There she met her late husband, Stephen, a cartoonist and painter. They lived for a time in Los Angeles, where they produced television commercials for Gardner Advertising. In between commercials, Sheldon worked for an interior design company. She volunteered at a major hospital, serving as Director of Public Relations and Director of Volunteer Patient Representatives on the auxiliary board. She helped create the guidelines and job description for the Patient Advocacy Representative Program. Sheldon was also a member of the hospital's Risk Management Board. She lives with her daughter in St. Louis, Missouri.

Print length

412 pages
Language

English
Publication date

August 18, 2010
Dimensions

6 x 1.03 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1453732691
ISBN-13

978-1453732694
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Mike Dash
227
Hardcover
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (August 18, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 412 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1453732691
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1453732694
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.33 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.03 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,070,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,436 in Legal Thrillers (Books)
- #1,562 in Organized Crime True Accounts
- #2,541 in Political Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 16 ratings

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Thomas Hunt

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Tom Hunt edits and publishes the journal, "Informer: The History of American Crime and Law Enforcement," the Writers of Wrongs (writersofwrongs.com) blog of crime historians and the American Mafia history site (mafiahistory.us). He moderates several online forums and has written/co-written articles for various publications.

He authored 2016's "Wrongly Executed? The Long-forgotten Context of Charles Sberna's 1939 Electrocution." He partnered with Michael A. Tona in the two-volume 2013 historical biography, "DiCarlo: Buffalo's First Family of Crime." He partnered with Martha Macheca Sheldon for "Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia," silver medalist in the 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards. He contributed a history of the U.S. Mafia for "Mafia: The Necessary Reference to Organized Crime," published by Millennium House in 2010. He has contributed research and editing to many other historical works.

Born to an Italian-Irish family in the Bronx, NY, he attended Catholic schools in the Bronx and Danbury, CT. He earned his bachelor's degree in history and journalism from Charter Oak State College in CT. Longtime residents of New Milford, CT, he and his wife have lived in Whiting, VT, since 2012. They have three grown children.

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Rose Keefe

Death in the Crescent City

Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2008

Verified Purchase

On a chilly fall night in October 1891, New Orleans Police Chief David Hennessey was shot by unknown assailants near his home, and died several hours later. After a rumor spread that his last words were "Dagoes did it", anti-Italian sentiment seized the city. Nineteen men of Italian birth or descent were accused of orchestrating the chief's murder. When a court of law declared them not guilty, a mob stormed the jail where they were being held and killed eleven of them. Some were beaten and shot, others were hung. This mass lynching remains a dark spot in New Orleans history.

In Deep Water, Hennessy's assassination and the mass slaying of his suspected killers is revisited from the perspective of J.P. Macheca, a fruit-shipping merchant with intricate ties to the city's corrupt Democratic ring and evolving American Mafia. Legend has credited Macheca with being the earliest Mafia `godfather'. Authors Thomas Hunt and Martha Sheldon make a convincing argument for the theory that the lynching of Macheca and ten of his alleged co-conspirators was not a random and rabid act of mob retribution for Hennessey's death, but rather a spectacular execution whose victims had been chosen well in advance.

The book is also an engrossing look at Louisiana history during the Civil War / Reconstruction period. J.P. Macheca fought for the Confederacy, and during the postwar years, he behaved less honourably by moving in Sicilian underworld circles and instigating vicious attacks on African Americans. His fortunes declined when he did not soften his rougher instincts to stay in tune with the gentrification of the times. His export business failed, his old friends and allies abandoned him, and the final stop in his downward spiral was a bullet in the skull.

6 people found this helpful

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Jenn

A decent, if not tedious, read.

Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2014

Verified Purchase

I got this book to learn more about the mafia influence in early New Orleans. It seemed very thorough and well researched, so I feel it succeeded in providing what I was looking for. I learned a great deal about the beginnings of the mafia there and how their influence molded that city; and how that violence clearly affected future behavior. I applaud the authors for what clearly seemed to be a lot of hard work.

My only complaint on the book… and this is purely my preference… is that it gets overly obsessed with genealogy, names, and detailed geography of the city.

What I mean by that is that it will very often deviate from a story line in order to not only list all names involved, but the details of their family life, work or family history… sometimes even of (in my opinion) inconsequential characters. Why do I need the entire family and work history of one witness that never appears in the book again? This along with overly detailed descriptions of streets and other areas that an uninformed reader might not know made the book very distracting from the direct story that was being addressed. Had they provided a map with all those street names I still would have had to stop reading constantly to get a complete picture as to where they were referring.

Perhaps I am a product of an easily distracted generation; or perhaps it's just my overall distaste for reading name upon name upon name (of people and streets that I don't know intimately), but it was highly distracting and pulled me out of the overall picture that was being painted. I consider Tolkien to be extremely guilty of this too… yet many people love his writing. I simply choose to overlook that aspect of his writing. Still I find it annoying and unnecessary to the story telling.

For me the book would have been a more pleasant and smooth read if it was not so peppered with that. I can fully appreciate the amount of research done - as evidence in the bibliography - but the book would have gotten it's point across just fine without the added distractions.

Again… it's just a personal preference. I still believe it's a well done and thorough book and I am glad that I bought it and took the time to read it.

One person found this helpful

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S. Kane

Excellent. An engaging and informative read.

Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2013

Verified Purchase

This book, about the life of Joseph Macheca, is not only highly engaging but extremely informative. The history of New orleans during this time period has been meticulously researched. Excellent book!

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scoop

Deep Water: Deep in history and intrigue

Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2007

As I was reading Deep Water, I found the book open up to a time long ago but not so far away. It is an insight into how one family affected it's community politically and financially. It is truly an education in the behind the scenes working of the Mafia. How they come together in secret to control everything from the slave trade to fixing elections. The Mafia formed unions to control the ports bringing in food stuffs and guns. Deep Water doesn't stop there. It covers the daily life of a family dealing with jealousy and vengeance. It is a complete work of a time which has been covered up until now.

4 people found this helpful

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sr perricone

Good Research Material.

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2017

Verified Purchase

Using it as research material for another book on the subject. I don't understand the title and the connection to the subject matter. But I am more concerned with the author's treatment of this very sad episode in New Orleans history. There were, however, some leaps and assumptions, but one can expect that because of the age of the subject matter.

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Rick Warner

Joseph Macheca's True History

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2008

Verified Purchase

Tom Hunt, writing with a relative of Joseph Macheca, a 19th-century merchant and victim of the 1891 New Orleans mass lynchings, puts everything together to give readers a full account of the background to the lynchings and the rise of the New Orleans Mafia. Highly recommended for the Mafia researcher.

2 people found this helpful

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D. Ballard

Great!!

Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2008

I would just like to say that I found this book very informative.
I would recommend this book.

One person found this helpful

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