The Fiber-Rich Vegetable That Once Started A War Between Farmers And The Mafia
Phil Clarke Hill/Getty Images (Phil Clarke Hill/Getty Images)
The men came at night, machetes in hand, and destroyed the crops of farmers who refused to play ball. It was the 1920s, and New York City's Mafia menace had come to California's Central Coast farms for their crop that was beloved by Italian Americans who couldn't get enough of them back East. The vegetable at the heart of this war between gangsters and growers was the fiber-rich artichoke. The spiny vegetable is originally from the Mediterranean region, where dishes like Sicilian stuffed artichokes were enjoyed. They had only been an agricultural commodity in the United States since the early 1900s. Five California counties south of San Francisco Bay were, and remain, the industry's epicenter.
Ciro Terranova, "the Artichoke King" of New York, who was part of the Morello crime family, one of the first American Mafia organizations, had a stranglehold on the New York City side of the artichoke market and charged whatever he wanted for the baby artichokes Italian-Americans craved. He became the undisputed king after winning a war with a rival New York gang in 1916. But that wasn't enough for Terranova.
He moved on to the California artichoke growers and forced them to only sell to him at reduced prices. Farmers who fought back suffered crop losses, had their produce stolen, and witnesses disappeared. Armed posses fought the gangsters, but in the end, the Mafia won. Then, in 1935, things began to change thanks to New York City's mayor.
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A New York City mayor helped free the farmers
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On the morning of December 21, 1935, New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia appeared at the Bronx Terminal Market with two horn-tooting police officers who loudly blew their trumpets to get the attention of the hundreds of vendors and workers at the open-air market. The mayor stood on a truck bed and read a proclamation banning the "sale, display, and possession" of small (baby) artichokes. "I know you dealers are honest men, and as long as I am mayor, no racketeers, thug or punk is going to intimidate you," he told the crowd (via the United Press).
La Guardia kept the artichoke ban for a week, stripped Terranova of his ability to legally deal in vegetables, and banned the gangster from entering the city under threat of violence. Meanwhile in California, farmers agreed with La Guardia's actions, even though it initially hurt their bottom line, but considering they'd been losing about $1 million a year (the equivalent of more than $24 million today) to the Mob, it was a fair trade-off. Eventually, Terranova lost his artichoke kingdom and died broke three years later. California's artichoke farm sector grew exponentially and today is responsible for 99% of all the artichokes in the country, along with a ton of other agricultural products. So the next time you're enjoying this vegetable, whether it's fresh or canned artichoke hearts, thank La Guardia for helping to free the farmers from the Mafia's death grip.
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Source: Crime
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