'Blackhand' was a method of extortion introduced in the early 20th century by the Black Hand, hence the name.
History[]
Blackhand was known by this name because of Don Massimo Fanucci's Black Hand criminal organization, which took power in the 1900s. The method included roughing up the owner of a racket, threatening physically, or beating up unlucky nearby innocents to convince the proprietor to help his family. The strategy gained Fanucci all of Hell's Kitchen, which he ruled with an iron fist. The strategy was used even after the don's death in 1920, becoming synonymous with the word "extortion", as the Mafia used these methods repeatedly.