According to some reports originating outside the city, New Orleans, on a per capita basis, was considered, “The murder capital of the world.” It was during this time that mob bosses in New Orleans and throughout the state became targeted by the nation’s new focus on elimination of organized crime.
Senator Robert Kennedy’s investigative committee on organized crime brought New Orleans crime bosses before his committee to testify in Washington. The testimony was broadcast live on television. Most of those being investigated plead the Fifth Amendment, but the investigation brought press and public attention to the problem and put New Orleans and its crime bosses squarely before the national public eye. When Kennedy unleashed his national campaign against organized crime, New Orleans and its crime bosses were singled out as being some of the worst.
Tension among crime bosses, as well as pressure on law enforcement, resulted from the new unwelcomed press attention. During this investigative period, the crime and law enforcement scene was stirred like a pot of hot spicy gumbo. New Orleans was now under increased pressure to do something about its historic crime problem.
The city took the new crime attention in stride, as it did most public concerns. It tried to maintain its crime anonymity and uphold the status quo. There didn’t seem to be any fear regarding the consequences. The city had faced unsettling accusations many times and in many different ways in the past. Instead of facing the issues, then as now, the city’s reaction to controversy was to grab it by the scruff of the collar, stare it in the eye, and then party all night celebrating the good life — as through good times and Fat Tuesday might never come again.
For Wade Hanna, growing up in a tough neighborhood of this city was not what people saw on posters describing life in the Big Easy. The French Quarter of that era was dangerous, and street gang activity was as prevalent as organized crime. Crime also took its toll on local businesses and the tourist trade. Much of local government was strongly guided by certain influential families and organizations. State government was dominated by a host of colorful personalities that included Earl K. Long during the early '50s and '60s, followed by Jimmy Davis in 1964. Tourists in the '50’s and '60’s who traveled or were guided through the beautiful parts of the city and surrounding areas always came away with pleasant stories, historical insights and a good meal.
New Orleans, like most large cities, had gangs within specific ethnic, racial, and geographic territories. If you lived or traveled in certain parts of the city, life could be very dangerous. During the '50s and '60s, the territorial lines separating various areas were clear to local residents, especially teenage males, who were smart enough to stay away from boarders of questionable locations. The most widely-recognized sections of New Orleans were Downtown, the French Quarter, Trumme, Garden District, Uptown, Irish Channel, the Projects, Magazine Street, City Park, Elysian Fields, Lakefront, Meterie and the Riverfront, which included the “docks” area.
With few exceptions, all of these areas were gang territories during the '50s and '60s. Each of the sections had multiple gangs who fought each other over territory in order to maintain dominance. Gang territory boundaries were well known by other gangs. Certain areas like the Projects, and parts of Tumme, were dominated by African-American and Latin gangs. There were also Irish gangs, Italian gangs, and a few ethnically mixed gangs. Gangs in certain territories came in different strengths and sizes and held various levels of control over an area. Some gangs were extremely violent; others were more interested in commerce and in growing their illegal trade of theft or extortion, emulating their more senior brothers in organized crime. During this period, police patrol cars would not venture into the most dangerous and crime infested areas at night, even if they received a call for help.
All of the city areas affected by gangs were not geographically far apart by car. In 1960s, depending on traffic conditions, a person could get from one area to the farthest point of any other by car in less than an hour.
Wade Hanna grew up in an area moderately affected by gangs. In his daily life, he would sometimes encounter and be influenced by their activities, threatened by their leaders, and encouraged many times to join. But somehow, during all of his trying youth, Wade Hanna managed to stay clear of becoming a gang member.
It was a time in which, if you had a car with a radio and a little change in your pocket, you were on a roll in the Big Easy. Wade had these things, but on his road there would be bumps, turns, and twists which would almost cost him his life on more than one occasion. Wade didn’t look for trouble. He often went out of his way to avoid it.
But trouble found him.
3
Wade was the middle child of three children. His younger and older sisters were nine years apart. The siblings were far enough apart in age that they never had the same school friends or mixed in the same social crowd. His older sister Kate married young and left home at 18 before Wade really got to know her. Wade and his younger sister Barbara were friendly but had little in common because of their age differences. They never became close.
Wade’s parents were a normal somewhat dysfunctional upper-middle-class New Orleans family of European descent. His father was a chemist working in middle management for the same big oil company he started with after graduating college. Except for a few business trips during the year, Wade’s father lived a relatively quiet life at home. He had a workshop at home, and in his spare time Wade would help him with various “fixing” projects that ran the gamut from the new technology air conditioning units to lawn mower repair.
Wade’s father had served in the Army during WWII as an officer and chemist and had spent some time overseas. He never talked about the war or the time he spent in the service. He was proud to have served, but anytime he was asked about the war he would dodge the question and quickly change the subject.
Wade’s two uncles also served during the war in different branches of the service and received Distinguished Service medals for their performance. At family gatherings it became clear to Wade that his family was very proud of their military service to the country. At these family events, Wade’s father would politely participate in wartime conversation when he had to, but would usually settled into the quietness that reflected his generally mild-mannered “chemist” temperament.
Wade’s father didn’t do much with him as he grew up. However he was often quick to give opinions about the economy, government, and what Wade needed to do. The few times his father raised his voice were when Wade made a mistake, forgot something, or was the cause of a problem. When his father did become extremely upset, he would inflict beatings with his straight razor strap. But generally, his father stayed out of childrearing, leaving raising the kids to Wade’s mother. In his father’s stern view of the world, failure was unacceptable at any level. Wade was to excel in everything he did, but his father offered him little in the way of specific advice on exactly how excellence was to be achieved. Wade was expected to figure the details out for himself.
In school an “A” grade was not rewarded but considered acceptable. Receiving a “B” was considered to indicate slipping, and a “C” or below was considered failure and punishable. Wade’s early relationship with his father was at best “strained.” Little communication occurred between them except that involving Wade’s listening to talk about “standards” and “expectations,” along with opinions about whether or not he was meeting them. His father’s basically quiet demeanor, combined with a complete lack of interest in discussing anything in Wade’s life, left an empty void that did not begin to heal until many years later.