Itâ??s no secret that immigrants to the United States provide one of the easiest targets for criminals. Most often the criminals who prey on new arrivals are members of the same community, many of whom arrived shortly before their victims.
In the late 19th century, in the years before the Mafia evolved into the American organized crime empire weâ??re all familiar with, a fictitious secret society known as â??The Black Handâ? preyed on Italian immigrants. I call the Black Hand fictitious because while â??itâ? did exist, of course, there was no organizational structure and most Black Handers operated on their own or in very loose groups of friends or families.
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