New Orleans has always been a hotspot for crime, historically having one of the highest murder rates in the country. New Orleans' prolific crimes can be traced back to the 19th century, when New Orleans was expanding its ports and trade; groups fought for the power to control revenue flows. Eventually, organized crime groups and mafia families fought for control of the ports, types of trade, and groups of workers they could control. These fighting led to murders, assassinations, and other crimes that continue to this day. The police lost control: they did not intervene to interfere with illegal activities because they were paid by criminals or feared being killed by the mafia. The lack of police intervention caused private citizens to intervene, creating lynch mobs to combat crime and eliminate criminals. The founders of the American Crime Family, Charles and Antonio Matranga moved to New Orleans from Sicily in the mid-19th century to work. They opened a saloon and a brothel, which would become the base of their mafia. They used the Italian dock workers' racket to earn most of their money. The Provenzano family had control of all fruit shipments from South America. The Matranga family threatened to go to war with them over the fruit, but the Provenzanos decided to let them take part of the money made from the operation to avoid a gang war. They ended up having a war over the grocers, which ended in the deaths of many Matranga. The war attracted the attention of the police after a while, which led to police chief David Hennesy being shot dead by members of the Matranga. Nine members of the Matranga crime family were tried for the murder, but before they could be convicted or freed, a lynch mob worried that they might be freed, attacked them in their holding cells. Eleven mobsters (nine on trial plus two visitors) died from injuries sustained during the attack. None of the participants in the lynching were charged with murder, because it would be too difficult to figure out which members of the mob actually killed them. This series of attacks is probably one of the best examples of how the criminal punishment system in New Orleans has been affected. by the expansion of trade and ports.