We usually associate the early 20th-century Italian immigrants in New York with the area known as Little Italy in Lower Manhattan. While many Italians did settle in Little Italy, there was a contingent of immigrants from Sicily as well as their rivals from Naples who settled in Harlem around East 107th Street. Obviously, most Italians were not members of a crime family, but the Sicilian Mafia entrenched itself in “Italian Harlem” early on.

As I was researching the area for The Ladies Lantern, I came across a story about a stable on East 108th Street which became known in the local papers as “the murder stable.” An article from The New York Herald on Feb. 13, 1916 states that the stable, where horse thieves kept stolen horses before sending them elsewhere, was associated with fourteen deaths.

Although there were more than two million motorcars on the road by 1916, horses were still a major mode of transportation for goods and for people.

Where there are horses, there will be horse thieves. (In fact, rumor has it that one of my ancestors was a horse thief!) According to the website Gangrule, The History of the Mafia: “It was estimated that five horses and wagons, each worth around $800, were stolen every day in New York. The horses were disguised by trimming their manes and tails with any distinctive marks concealed with dye. Similarly, wagons were chopped, reconfigured and repainted. (NYT. Apr 23, 1911. p.9)” They had “chop shops” before cars!

The carnage began in 1911 when Nellie Lener stabbed a man named Frank Monaco to death for trying to rob her mother’s safe. (There’s some controversy as to whether or not she acted alone.) She was acquitted of the murder but Karma came quickly when Nellie witnessed the murder of her own mother by a man called Zoppo (Italian for “lame”) who was bent on revenge. More murders ensued and hence the name “murder stable” stuck — which made it a perfect place for my characters to meet with Nicolo Morello, the head of the Sicilian Mafia.

When I took a walk to East 108th Street in June of 2025, this is what I found.

On one side of the street the buildings looked much the same as they looked a hundred years ago, but on the other side, the side where the murder stable would have been located, it was entirely different.

According to city zoning maps, the city block was demolished in 1961 to make way for the Franklin Plaza project.

If you want to learn more about the “murder stable,” I recommend the following blogs:
Gangrule: The History of the Mafia
The American Mafia: The History of Organized Crime in the United States.

In the meantime, I hope you’re enjoying The Delafield & Malloy Investigations Series.