The Five Points slum was a bad place. Not only was it a vermin-infested den of squalor, but it was also the breeding ground for thousands of thieves, pickpockets, prostitutes, con men, extortionists, and murderers. But even though the area was notorious, it was home to teeming masses of new immigrants and those not wealthy enough to move further “uptown” to more affluent neighborhoods. It was a place where bloodlines were forged as gangs battled each other for control — and it produced some of the most infamous gangsters in American history.

The Gangs in Film

Martin Scorsese's movie The Gangs of New York was actually based on a 1928 book by Herbert Asbury. The sensationalist book detailed the lives and crimes of the early gangsters who lived among the crowded masses. Primarily Irish immigrants, the gangs boasted colorful, even goofy, names like the Dead Rabbits and the Roach Boys. They were part extortionists, part political muscle. They operated under the protection of political bigwigs like the notorious Boss Tweed and his Tammany Hall cronies.

The Five Points Gang

One of the earliest Mafia incubators was the Five Points Gang. It was an incubator in the literal sense. Most of the members were young kids! But from these inauspicious beginnings, some of the earliest Mafia figures emerged — products of their new homeland. Paul Kelly (whose real name was Paolo Vaccareli) led the Five Points Gang, whose roster included such mob all-stars as Johnny Torrio and Al Capone.