This Is The Single Craziest Thing You Never Knew Happened In Louisiana
By Kezia Kamenetz|Published March 21, 2016
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Kezia Kamenetz
Author
Kezia Kamenetz is a native to southern Louisiana and lives in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans currently. When not writing about all the amazing things to be found in her state, her central passion is dreams and the wisdom they can offer, which you can learn more about by visiting KeziaVida.com
While Louisiana, and New Orleans in particular, has never been a stranger to violence, the reaction to police chief David C. Hennessy’s death in the late 19th century was perhaps the most wild and most overlooked event of the time. Here’s the single craziest thing you never knew happened in Louisiana—and perhaps the most shocking moment in Louisiana history:
David Hennessy was born in 1858 and made New Orleans headlines when he captured a notorious Italian criminal, Giuseppe Esposito.
This arrest was significant because of the strong chokehold Italian crime families had over criminal justice in the city at the time. Later, when Joseph A. Shakespeare was elected mayor in 1888, he made David Hennessy his police chief.
After making changes in the police force for the better, Hennessy also continued to make enemies among the Italian crime families.
Hennessy died a day later, and named that Italians murdered him, although he did not say which ones. At the time, he was involved in a case where two Italian families, the Mantrangas and the Provenzanos, were battling for rights at the port.
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Hennessy had been very popular among New Orleanians and there was immense pressure to find his killers.
Eventually 19 men were indicted for the murder and kept at the local prison. These trials did not go as planned, however. A series of acquittals and mistrials made locals believe that justice was not going to be served.
It also served to introduce the term mafia to America more generally and was a seminal event in the decades long struggle between Italian crime families and local law enforcement.
David Hennessy’s tomb can be found today in Metairie cemetery.
Louisiana has had some truly crazy things happen, but I think this is the single craziest thing to ever happen in Louisiana. What do you think is the most shocking moment in Louisiana history? Did you already know about this moment? Let us know your thoughts!
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