The early years of organized crime in California were marked by the division of various Italian street gangs such as the Black Hand organizations in the early 20th century. The most prominent of these was the Matranga crime family, a gang ran by relatives of Charles Matranga, founder of the New Orleans crime family. Their legitimate business was in fruit vending. Otherwise they used threats, violence, arson and extortion to control the Plaza area, which was the heart of the Italian American community of Los Angeles at the time. Its first leader Orsario "Sam" Matranga, started leading the family in 1905. Sam's relatives Salvatore Matranga, Pietro "Peter" Matranga, and Antonio "Tony" Matranga were other members of the gang, which carried out the typical extortionate activity associated with