Vendetta

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Summary

Based upon the 1977 book of the same name by Richard Gambino, Vendetta is a compelling portrait of prejudice, and a shameful incident in New Orleans history. Louisiana planters recruited Sicilians ...

Based upon the 1977 book of the same name by Richard Gambino, Vendetta is a compelling portrait of prejudice, and a shameful incident in New Orleans history. Louisiana planters recruited Sicilians during the late 19th century as a substitute for slave labor. Yet within only a few short years, immigrant entrepreneurs assumed economic control of the New Orleans docks. Economic rivalry between the Sicilians and the local business establishment created bitter ethnic tension that the business community exploited. Businessman James Houston is head of a cabal that sees a means to more than one end, devising the murder of the Irish police captain while framing an Italian. Nineteen Italian men are arrested, with nine going on to trial. Thanks to the efforts of their honest lawyer and his investigator, the jury returns a verdict of innocent. Before they can be set free, the mayor incites mobs, who break into the prison and lynch them. Officially, this crime was never solved.

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