By the 1890’s the French Quarter was known as Little Palermo, with the recent immigration of Sicilians to New Orleans. There was a turf war between the Provenzano and Matranga gangs, leading to the killing of Chief of Police David Hennessy. A not guilty verdict led to 11 of the 19 indicted being lynched. The national newspapers first used the word Mafia to cover the big story back then.
