In chapter 1 of Accordion Crimes by Annie Proulx, the main crime is the shooting of the chief of the police. The crime happens on a November night, a night when the accordion maker is convinced to go out to the Golden Dagger by his friend Cannamele to relax. It is while the two are hanging out at the bar that the police suddenly swoop on the gathering and arrest all Italians therein.

The accordion maker’s son, Silvano, is captured by the police when he runs after his captured father in the streets outside the bar. Although many of the captured men are released a few weeks later, the accordion maker and his son remain behind bars because of their silence, which the police find “conspiratorial.”

The Americans believe that the Italian gangs in New Orleans are to blame for the shooting of the chief of the police. The issue goes to the courts, and the jury finds the nine accused Italians not guilty of the murder. This ruling ignites an uprising among the Americans, who then call for a meeting at the statue of Clay to rectify this error in judgment. The meeting organizes a mob of people who throng the jailhouse and murder the arrested Italians. The accordion maker is one of the many Italians killed by the mob of people.