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A True Story of Genealogy, Hidden History, and ORGANIZED CRIME
by Todd Ennis
GHETTOS TO GANGLANd
a Genealogy Journey
A DNA test was supposed to confirm what Todd Ennis already knew about his family. Instead, it shattered everything.
What began as a casual search for his great-grandfather’s immigration records quickly spiraled into a multi-generational mystery—one that led from Ellis Island to the shadowy backrooms of Prohibition-era Brooklyn. Behind the false names and forged papers were buried secrets: ties to the Black Hand, Murder Inc., and the very roots of American organized crime.
As Todd followed the paper trail, family legends unraveled. A soda bottle from the 1900s wasn’t just a relic—it was a breadcrumb in a mafia infrastructure hidden in plain sight. Names changed. Identities were erased. And behind the cousins who once played scrappy street kids in The Bowery Boys lay real stories of bootleggers, mob enforcers, and feared kingpins who lived and died by a code of silence.
Ghettos to Gangland is part true-crime saga, part deeply personal journey into the secrets we inherit—and the truths we’re forced to face.
For readers drawn to ancestry, mafia history, and the invisible threads that bind blood and identity, this is an unforgettable story of legacy, lies, and the power of digging deep—no matter what you find.
"INDICT 6 COPS, 97 IN ALCOHOL RING QUIZ," blared the Daily News headline on August 2, 1938, exposing a sprawling bootlegging operation tied to Lucky Luciano.
The 1938 Exposé That Changed Everything
In 1938, federal agents raided a bootlegging warehouse tied to one of the most sophisticated alcohol distribution rings in New York. Nearly 100 people were arrested. Six police officers were implicated. Investigators called the warehouse a “critical nerve center”, still humming with the influence of Lucky Luciano—even after his conviction.
Among those arrested were two names I never expected to see: Jack and Harry Polotnick—my great-grandfather and his brother.
They weren’t mob bosses. But they weren’t bystanders either. They were inside the operation, connected to a machine that had outlived Prohibition and kept running in secret.
I didn’t find this in a family scrapbook. I found it in the pages of a forgotten newspaper—an exposé that forced me to see my own history in an entirely new light.
About TODD
Todd Ennis is a construction developer, genealogist, and storyteller based on Long Island, New York. A lifelong seeker of hidden histories, his search into family roots uncovered forgotten names, mafia ties, and the secrets that shape identity.
Through DNA, archives, and relentless curiosity, Todd brings the past to life—inviting others to explore where they come from and what legacies they leave behind.