Tong Wars
One of the earliest organized crime groups originated in China. The contemporary Chinese criminal groups, called triads, all trace their roots back to this old tradition. As Chinese immigration to America increased in the late nineteenth century, a new organization emerged. Called tongs, these groups were formed to provide assistance and support to the new immigrant experience. But the tongs soon became powerhouses in the criminal underworld.
Chinatowns are known for their vibrant, touristy atmospheres, with lots of restaurants and trinket shops. But at one time the darker specter of criminal gangs dominated, which became worrisome to community leaders. After the tong wars, the gangs decided to keep the fighting to a minimum to keep the area a place where they could make money off tourism. Capitalism at its finest!
Rumble on Canal Street
Two of New York City's most powerful tongs, the Hop Sing Tong and the On Leong Tong, had a bitter rivalry in the early part of the twentieth century that reached across to Chinatowns in other parts of the country. Disagreements over gambling, opium dens, and liquor dealings brought dozens of killings in the narrow, crowded streets below Canal. But by the time the Mafia was on the rise, things had settled into a quiet storm. The warring tongs had made peace in 1911, cutting off their ponytails to symbolize the new relationship. But, as you'll see in Chapter 21, gangs were still a problem in Chinatown, and a far more sophisticated Chinese crime group would eventually gain control of the Asian underworld.
