Irish Mob vs Italian Mafia: The Bloody Battle for Brooklyn Docks

The Brooklyn waterfront was one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in America. It was the gateway through which the wealth of the world flowed into New York City — and for decades, it was ruled not by politicians or police, but by mobsters.

In the early 20th century, the Irish White Hand Gang and the Italian Black Hand fought a bloody war for control of the docks. It was a battle waged in the alleys of Red Hook and Vinegar Hill, in saloons thick with smoke, and on the piers where longshoremen lived and died by their loyalty. At its center were larger-than-life figures: Dinny Meehan, Wild Bill Lovett, and Peg Leg Lonergan — men who carved their names into Brooklyn’s history with bullets and blood.

This is the story of poverty and immigration, of betrayal and ambition, and of how the Brooklyn docks became the stage for one of the most violent gang wars in American history. The Irish Mob vs the Italian Mafia — a battle that shaped organized crime for generations.

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