I'd like to float a theory about our great city of New London and I’d welcome any comments for or against it, online or at my email, jon.c.gaudio@gmail.com.

In cities around New London like New Haven, Hartford and Providence, the Mafia has had, since the early 20th century, a significant presence. Why, then, was the Mafia never able to gain a foothold in New London? The dominant group of Italian immigrants living in New London (predominantly in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood) were Anarchists — a major political movement of the early 20th century. And if Anarchism can be boiled down to one philosophy, it’s the abolishment of hierarchy, or a power structure — whether that hierarchy is religious, governmental, corporate or criminal. Since the Mafia is a top-down structure of “Made Men,” Capi, lieutenants and soldiers, Fort Trumbull Anarchists fought hard — at times violently — to keep them out.

Growing up, I always thought that my own Italian-American experience was pretty much the same as every other Italo-American. We were from southern Italy or Sicily (the poor part of Italy). We respected authority — the priest, our parents, our teachers, the school principal. We woke on Sunday morning to the smell of onions and basil sauteed with meatballs and sausage. After church, our extended family gathered around someone's dinner table for spaghetti, meatballs, sausage and bracciol’ (beef rolled around garlic, cheese, maybe prosciutto and slowly cooked in tomato sauce). Someone brought sfogliatelle from Lucibella's in New Haven. On Sunday, it wasn’t “lunch” but rather called “dinner.” No football games with friends; it was family day. The scent of espresso told everyone it was soon time to start leaving. (Goodbyes often took longer than dinner.)

Most Italian Americans I’ve met had the same experience, more or less. Until I came to New London and met a 90-year-old man who grew up in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood. He wasn't from southern Italy but from Le Marche. He proclaimed himself "Anarchist" and proudly expressed disdain for the church and hierarchy of any kind. His childhood Sundays were spent at the Italian Dramatic Club (IDC). His father was a prominent anarchist in the IDC. This was a time of both prohibition, the rise of the Mafia and the rise of Mussolini’s Fascism. In 1928, a group of anarchists (one of them being this 90-year-old’s father) ambushed and beat up four black-shirted fascists on Shaw Street. When one of the fascists got away and was going to testify in court against the perpetrators, he was soon found floating, dead, in the Mystic River at Willow Point. To this day, no one knows who killed him.

To American Nativists in 1928, Italians (as well as Jews, Greeks and other non-Nordic immigrants) were considered immigrant scum, rapists and murderers. Many Italian-Americans found a sense of national pride in strongmen, whether it be Benito Mussolini or Al Capone. But to the Fort Trumbull Italian Anarchists, both Fascism and the Mafia ran counter to their deeply held beliefs that all men were equal. Neither the Mafia nor Fascism could gain a foothold in our fair city.

Which is not to say there was no vice. There was a “tenderloin” district of bordellos on Bradley Street (now gone) that prospered across the street from the police station. Gambling was everywhere. And, of course, being the era of prohibition, bootleggers abounded. In fact, there were more saloons, distilleries, gin joints and kitchen bars in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood than anywhere else.

Mafiosi refer to their organization as “cosa nostra,” which means “our thing.” The Fort Trumbull Italians, however, wanted no part of that “thing.”