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diff --git a/42010.txt b/42010.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 3f1fbce..0000000 --- a/42010.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6362 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Barrel Mystery, by William J. (William -James) Flynn - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: The Barrel Mystery - - -Author: William J. (William James) Flynn - - - -Release Date: February 4, 2013 [eBook #42010] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BARREL MYSTERY*** - - -E-text prepared by D Alexander, JoAnn Greenwood, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images -generously made available by Internet Archive (http://archive.org) - - - -Note: Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - http://archive.org/details/barrelmystery00flyniala - - - - - -THE BARREL MYSTERY - -by - -WILLIAM J. FLYNN - -Chief of the United States Secret Service -Author of "The Eagle's Eye" - - - - - - - -New York -The James A. McCann Company -1919 - -Copyright 1919, by -the James A. McCann Company -All Rights Reserved - -Printed in the U. S. A. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. THE BARREL MURDER 1 - - II. WHAT WAS THE MOTIVE FOR THE MURDER? 18 - - III. ORGANIZED TERRORISM 23 - - IV. COUNTERFEIT BILLS APPEAR 31 - - V. THE GREENHORN'S STORY 44 - - VI. DON PASQUALE, BLACK-HAND SKIRMISHER 51 - - VII. THE PLANT OF THE COUNTERFEITERS 65 - - VIII. THE COW THAT CAUSED A DOUBLE MURDER 83 - - IX. THE SOCIETY 85 - - X. MEETING THE ARCH-BANDIT 88 - - XI. THE BLACK-HANDER'S POLICE PROTECTION 97 - - XII. A KNOCK AT THE DOOR AT 2 A. M. 110 - - XIII. THE BLACK-HANDERS IN SESSION 117 - - XIV. PRINTING THE BAD MONEY 130 - - XV. SOME "AFTER-DINNER" CONFESSIONS 140 - - XVI. EVADING THE GANG IN VAIN 148 - - XVII. CAUGHT AGAIN! 157 - - XVIII. PINCHING THE GREENHORN 169 - - XIX. THE "BLACK-HAND" DOCTOR 172 - - XX. THE "BLACK-HAND" TESTAMENT 199 - - XXI. "THE VERMILION FLOWER ON THE BIG TOE" 203 - - XXII. THE GENTLE ART OF WRITING "BLACK-HAND" LETTERS 206 - - XXIII. FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A BADLY WRITTEN LETTER 215 - - XXIV. METHODS OF BLACKMAILING 221 - - XXV. TRACING A LETTER 226 - - XXVI. "BLACK-HAND" PROPAGANDA 239 - - XXVII. THE WATCHWORD OF THE "BLACK-HANDERS" 262 - - - - -THE BARREL MYSTERY - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE BARREL MURDER - - -Where the East River swims around the foot of Eleventh Street is an -old abandoned wooden dock that looks more like the broken skeleton of -a buried wreck than the thing it used to be. A covey of barges are -huddled against the wharf opposite, and this wharf gradually becomes -solid pavement where the lumber yard begins. It fronts the street with -the most dilapidated board fence in Christendom made up of broken odds -and ends covered with a crazy patchwork of corrugated iron scrap -stained and rusted by the weather. If an old-time pirate--one of those -romantic devils with scarred and battered features and a black patch -over one eye--should suddenly peer at you through one of the many -cracks in the splintered stockade you could not be very surprised; in -fact, you would almost expect it to happen. - -Farther up is a livery stable, a mere hole in a pile of bricks, once -red now slavered over with white-wash once white. Outside is a man -clipping the mane of a truck horse with its harness dragging in the -filth. On the corner is a saloon, such as you find on the East Side, -shouldering against the dry dock storage for live poultry with chorus -of cackling inmates. On the corner opposite is a huge, green cheese of -a building occupied by various small manufacturers. The third corner -bulges with the huge cisterns of the gas works soiled and smeared with -soot and fumes. The fourth corner has become historic. Every Secret -Service man in the city knows what is on the Northwest corner of East -Eleventh Street and Avenue D. They know the old, battered red brick -walls that belong to the New York Mallet Works, walls that look as if -they have been scarred by a fusillade of machine guns, walls with -rusted chicken-wire netting before windows that are never cleaned -except when the rain is drumming against them, walls that are broken -by a huge portal closed by a worm-eaten, wooden gate quite in keeping -with the whole thing. There is a ramshackle tenement next door with -rooms for rent and shutters all drawn--shutters that were doubtless a -shrill green once upon a time but now camouflaged by the blasts of -blistering sun and cutting rains into a crazy-quilt of strange hues, -shutters maimed and broken and dangling and just hanging together. The -only open aperture in the weird and forbidden dwelling is the -entrance, breathing filth and the sour odor of poverty. Crowding close -to the tenement is an almost cavernous fodder and feed store, its -broken, soiled windows half-hidden behind shattered boards and laths -from which remnants of bill-posters, stained and ragged, flutter now -and then. A heap of rubbish, garlanded with a jumble of rusty wire and -battered tin cans, adorns the broken curb. A pair of cast-off baby -shoes with buttons dangling are sailing on a pool of dirty water. - -Desolate as the spot is it appeared even more so on the morning of -April fourteenth, 1903, in the haze and the drizzling rain of an early -hour. But Mrs. Frances Conners, an Irish woman, did not notice these -things as she crossed the spot on her way to the bakeshop to get rolls -for breakfast. She was used to the place. Wrapped up in the red -sweater affected by East Side women and bending her head under her -umbrella, she paid no attention to the very things that would have -made a stranger pause and gaze. As she slipped across the corner, -however, she noticed a barrel standing on the curb in front of the -mallet works. That barrel was not there the day before. It was quite a -big barrel, the kind they use for shipping sugar. Her feminine -curiosity was aroused and she retraced her steps. In this instance -curiosity revealed a deed that horrified the entire country, -frightened the citizens of New York, and threw the Detective Bureau at -Police Headquarters into a panic. The revelation also brought home to -many people the disquieting realization that there were assassins in -our midst that defied the efforts of our police to cope with them. - -An overcoat was thrown over the top of the barrel. It was fairly damp -but not quite wet, indicating that it could not have been there very -long. Mrs. Conners raised the coat. Quickly she let it drop and -screamed. There was a man's body crushed into the barrel. The body was -in a doubled-up position, both feet and one hand sticking over the rim -of the barrel. - -Summoned by Mrs. Conners' screams the neighborhood was on its feet in -an instant. A panicky crowd gathered on the fateful corner listening -with gaping mouths and blanched faces to the frightened chatter of the -Irish woman. Morbid curiosity prompted a few to raise the coat and -take a look. Every time this was done some of the women would scream -hysterically. - -A policeman came running up. The body in the barrel was still warm -when the officer examined it after rolling the barrel over and -dragging the victim out. About the dead man's neck was wound a strip -of gunny-sack. When removed it revealed more than a dozen wounds any -one of which would have resulted in death. An ambulance surgeon came -at a gallop. He declared that the man could not have been dead more -than two hours at the most. - -The corpse was taken to the Union Market Police Station. The -examination made there led to the conclusion that the victim was a man -about the age of forty. His complexion was swarthy and his ears were -pierced with rings. The clothing about the dead man's body was of good -quality, and there was nothing about the physical make-up to indicate -that he belonged to the laboring class. The forehead was of the high, -receding type, and it was partly covered with thin, curly hair of a -light-brown tinge. The moustache was turning grey. On the left cheek -were two scars an inch or more in length forming the letter "V" -inverted. It was an old scar. - -A closer inspection of the body revealed that at least two weapons -must have been used by the assassin or assassins. A narrow, two-edged -blade had evidently been used for inflicting the wound just below the -left ear. This stab was made by a powerful hand for it was at least -three inches deep. A wound above the Adam's apple penetrated sheer to -the spinal cord, and was doubtless done by the same weapon. Numerous -other and smaller wounds were of a like character. A slash extending -from ear to ear across the throat was probably done with a long, sharp -blade. - -In searching the clothing of the dead man a little brass bound crucifix -was found. It was of foreign make with a Latin motto on the scroll work -above the figure of the Saviour, and a skull-and-cross-bones at the -base of the crucifix. This was found in a waistcoat, in which we also -located a silver watch-chain similar in make to those common to the -peasantry of Southern Italy. The crucifix was one that is not common -to any locality. There was an overcoat on the body, and in one of the -pockets two handkerchiefs were found, one of which was small in size -and faintly perfumed. The only identification mark on the clothing was -on the shoes, which were marked "Burt & Co., opposite Produce -Exchange." The shoes were worn, and there was a small patch on one of -them. The gunny sack about the throat was marked by the blood stains -only. Stencilled on the barrel were the initials "W & T" on the bottom; -on the sides "G 233." It was a regulation sugar barrel, and the bottom -was covered with about three inches of sawdust soaked with blood. Onion -peels and some stubs of cigars of the stogie make were scattered in the -sawdust, the kind of cigars that are sold in Italian stores and -bar-rooms. A charred note in the handwriting of a woman was found in -the barrel. Two written lines were in part legible: "Giorne che -venite--subito l'urgenza." Translated the words might read: "Day that -you come--suddenly the urgency." - -Every device of detection known to the New York Detective Bureau was -brought into service. Inspector George W. McCloskey, head of the -bureau in person, aided by picked men, scoured every nook and corner -of New York in an effort to learn, first of all, the identity of the -victim. The whole uniformed force was also instructed to follow any -little lead of information which might indicate a connection with the -murder. No identification, however, developed. - -I read of the murder in the afternoon newspapers. This was on April -fourteenth. I recalled certain unusual activities among the band of -"Black-Handers" on the night of April 12, which was about thirty-odd -hours before the murder must have been committed. It came to my mind -that I had seen a face new among the members of the gang. I went to -the morgue and looked at the dead man. I identified him as the -stranger who recently appeared at the haunts of the Black-Handers. -(When I say Black-Handers, I mean also counterfeiters.) Two other -Secret Service men also identified him. The body was taken out of the -ice and measured according to the Bertillon method. - -For some time prior to the murder I had been closely in touch with -Morello, with Lupo and others of their band. I had them under -surveillance for the purpose of arresting them on a charge of -counterfeiting. - -On the night of April 12, having accumulated considerable information -concerning this band, I personally picked up the trail and followed -several members of the band from their counterfeiting headquarters in -the cafe at Elizabeth and Prince Streets. Just around the corner from -this cafe was the saloon of Ignazio Lupo, another rendezvous of the -gang. In the rear of Lupo's saloon Giuseppe Morello conducted an -Italian restaurant. - -Trailing along, I followed several of the gang to the butcher store of -Vito La Duca, at No. 16 Stanton Street, which is just east of the -Bowery. Among those present in the store was Morello, whom I had -arrested four months previously for counterfeiting. He was the only -one of the gang which I had arrested who had escaped conviction. Two -others of the men present were Antonio Geneva and Domenico Pecoraro, -both of whom I knew well. And while the three whom I have already -named were in animated conversation near the rear of the shop, a -fourth man, a face new to me, stood apart from the others near the -door. He was the same man found less than forty hours later in the -barrel. - -While the conversation took place in the rear of the shop I saw a -piece of bagging being hung up as a curtain over the glass in the door -leading from the street into the store. It was but a few minutes later -that I saw a covered wagon driving up to the door. Two men hopped down -from the seat and entered the shop. One of them came out again after a -couple of minutes and drove away. Shortly after eight o'clock that -evening the visitors left La Duca's store. They split up into two -groups, the stranger going toward the Bowery with Morello and -Pecoraro. - - * * * * * - -I communicated with Inspector McCloskey, then in charge of the -Detective Bureau at Police Headquarters, and told him what I have just -related. Immediately there was a rounding up of the gang, my men -pairing off with the headquarters detectives and locating eleven of -the members of the Black-Hand Society. Here is the list of those -arrested as suspects for the murder: - -Giuseppe Morello, of No. 178 Chrystie Street. - -Ignazio Lupo, of No. 433 West Fortieth Street. - -Messina Genova, of No. 538 East Fifteenth Street. - -Vito La Duca, of No. 16 Stanton Street. - -Pietro Inzarillo, of No. 226 Elizabeth Street. - -Domenico Pecoraro, of No. 198 Chrystie Street. - -Lorenzo Lobido, of No. 308 Mott Street. - -Giuseppe Fanara, of No. 25 Rivington Street. - -Giuseppe La Lamia, of No. 47 Delancey Street. - -Nicola Testa, of No. 16 Stanton Street. - -Luciano Perrino, of No. 47 Delancey Street. - -Perrino was also known as Tomasso Petto. He was known among the -members of the Black-Hand aggregation as "Il Bove," meaning "The Ox." - -Here was certainly a murderous aggregation of the most pronounced -criminal type. They were all of them from Sicily. Most of them were -armed with a revolver, some also had knives and even stilettos. On -Morello the police found a .45 caliber revolver. A knife was tucked -away in the waistband of his trousers, a cork being fixed at the point -of the blade so that it would not scratch his leg. Petto, the Ox, -whom Inspector McCafferty of the detective bureau, and I arrested -later, carried his pistol in a holster and a sheath for his stiletto. -Most of the suspects had permits from the New York Police Department -to carry revolvers. It was this incident, practically, which brought -on the crusade against, and the passing of the law forbidding, the -carrying of dangerous weapons. - -The prisoners were presently hurried to the Morgue, where each of them -had a look at the dead man. They were asked individually whether they -knew him. The answer was the usual one--a shrug of the shoulders and -the words "No understand," "don't know." Morello and Pecoraro were -both asked whether they knew the dead man, but denied that they had -ever seen him; this in face of my seeing the two in the company of the -man now dead less than forty hours before he was murdered. The dead -man still remained without a name, and without a friend or relative -coming to claim kinship. - -Information began to percolate into my office which induced me to take -a trip to Sing Sing prison in an effort to bring about the -identification of the dead man. It was plain to me already then that -the police force was failing in its efforts. I resolved to take a -personal interest in the murder and to clear it up if possible. - -At this point, let me inform the reader that an anonymous letter was -addressed to Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino of the Italian Detective -Squad, then a part of the New York Police Department. This letter -proved to be of value in elucidating particulars aiding us in -identifying the man found murdered in the barrel. The Lieutenant -showed this letter to me. Knowing that Petrosino was the best man in -the Police Department to handle the situation, I asked him to go to -Sing Sing Prison to investigate. - -Petrosino took along a photograph of the murdered man. Several of the -convicts failed to identify the photograph, but the third man -questioned by Petrosino, Giuseppe DePriema, looked at the photograph -and said: "That is Maruena Benedetto, my brother-in-law. What has -happened?" - -DePriema completed the identification by corroborating the watch chain -and the crucifix. He also described accurately the scar on Benedetto's -face. At first, DePriema was terror-stricken. Later on, however, he -grew angry, as only the Sicilian bent on murder can get angry. He -gave us the Buffalo address of Benedetto, and told us all about the -dead man's business as a stone cutter. DePriema said that his -brother-in-law had been out of work for some months past, that he had -left Buffalo to associate himself with a band of counterfeiters in New -York. - -It is my personal opinion that if the New York police had not -blundered after arresting the gang named the murderer would have been -located in short order. The police made the mistake of locking up the -gang together, so that they could speak and plan together. Each man -should have been incarcerated separately. The detectives also failed -to examine all the letters and all the papers taken from the prisoners -when searched. - -Returning to New York from Sing Sing, Petrosino came directly to me. -Together we went to Police Headquarters and asked to be shown the -letters and papers taken from the suspects. Among the litter I found a -pawn-ticket for a watch which had been pledged at a Bowery pawnshop -for one dollar on the day of the murder. The ticket was found on -Petto, the Ox. It was positively identified by the wife of Benedetto, -who was brought on from Buffalo. Certain markings and engravings were -described by Mrs. Benedetto, which could have been known only to one -closely acquainted with the time-piece. - -With this evidence to proceed upon, Petto, the Ox, was indicted by the -Grand Jury, after being held without bail on the murder charge. -Meanwhile, the other suspects were turned out by Police Magistrate -Barlow because there was not sufficient evidence to hold them on the -murder charge. Murder in the first degree was the charge against -Petto. - -From then on evidence began to accumulate that convinced me personally -of the existence of an organized "Black-Hand" society in New York -City. Eminent counsel was engaged and a large fund raised by the -criminal associates of Petto, the Ox, to fight for his freedom. During -the time that Petto was incarcerated, information came to me that each -and every one of the gang was from the same town in Sicily; a place -named Corleone, about twenty-seven miles from Palermo. It was in -Palermo that Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino, of the New York Police -Force, was murdered eventually while in quest of special information -for Police Commissioner Theodore Bingham. We also ferreted out the -significant fact that in order to gain the inner circle of the secret -society, which was furnishing funds for the defense of Petto, the -applicant would have to be from the town of Corleone. - -When Petto had been held in the Tombs Prison for more than four months -his attorney asked that he be released on his own recognizance, the -attorney stating that there was not sufficient evidence upon which to -bring the accused to trial with any fair hope of convicting him. No -sooner was Petto released than he disappeared from his accustomed -haunts with the gang in New York. - -But Petto did not escape the eye of the Secret Service. He was traced -to Pittston, Pa. Nor did Petto escape a blood relative of the murdered -man. Probably I had better explain at this point that there is an -unwritten law among the Italians of southern Sicily that when a member -of a family is murdered, the crime must be avenged by a blood relative -of the murdered person. If no blood relative is available, a kinsman -by marriage assumes the task. - -Petto soon became the leader of a band of black-handers who preyed -upon the Italian miners in Pittston. Then one night, when the streets -were slippery with a cold, drizzling rain, there came an ominous knock -at his door. Petto sensed that something was wrong. He made ready for -any emergency and drew his big revolver. But the unknown visitor was -quicker than the murderer of Benedetto, and the aim was certain. Five -bullets stopped the Black-Hander forever. A dagger was sunk into the -heart of Petto, the Ox, to make doubly sure that he was not playing -'possum. Beside the warm body of Petto his revolver was found fully -loaded. The hand holding the revolver was partly shot away. On his -body was discovered a little brass-bound crucifix with a -skull-and-cross-bones at the Saviour's feet, an exact duplicate of -that taken from the body of the man found in the barrel. As far as the -police records show, the avenger of Benedetto has never been -apprehended. Whether the avenger has since suffered a fate similar to -his victim I cannot at this moment say. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -WHAT WAS THE MOTIVE FOR THE MURDER? - - -How do I know that Petto, the Ox, murdered Benedetto? you would ask. - -And what could be the motive for his crime? - -Follow me a little further. - -In January, 1903, several months before Benedetto's body was found in -the barrel, three Italians were arrested in the City of Yonkers. They -were Isadoro Crocervera, Salvatore Romano and Giuseppe DePriema. The -latter is the brother-in-law of the barrel-murder victim. The three -men were apprehended by the local police in Yonkers on the charge of -passing counterfeit five-dollar notes of the National Iron Bank of -Morristown, New Jersey. The Secret Service men were well aware that -these notes were being imported from Italy by the Morello gang. - -When I was called into the case, the Yonkers police, who made the -arrest, told me that the three men were accompanied by another -Italian, a short fellow, who got away. Knowing the ways of the gang, -it was plain to me that the escaped Italian was the treasurer of the -crew passing the counterfeit money. Such a treasurer is always hiding -in the distance with the greater bulk of the counterfeit bills for the -purpose of making a get-away if the passers get into trouble and are -arrested. The treasurer is supposed to rush away to the secret meeting -place of the Black-Hand Society, where a counsel is held to decide -just what plan to follow in the effort to get the members who have -been arrested out of their peril. - -From the description given me of the Italian who made his get-away I -recognized him as a counterfeiter already registered in the files of -the Secret Service as Number Six. I was also able to identify -Crocervera and DePriema as members of the Corleone gang. - -My next move was to bring the Yonkers officers to New York and place -them where they could have a good look at Number Six. The officers -identified the man without hesitation. Number Six was arrested, -therefore, on February 19, and gave the name of Giuseppe Giallambardo. -He got six years. - -The Black-Handers were puzzled. They could not understand how it -happened that Giallambardo had come into the toils unless one of the -three men arrested had "squealed." And perhaps I should say right here -that the gang never realized they were ever under surveillance, and -that every move made by them individually was noted in the daily -reports of Secret Service sent to Washington. - -When Crocervera and DePriema were brought to my office I knew -in advance that neither of them would talk, having had the -characteristics of the men recorded long before they were arrested. -However, in order to give Crocervera the impression that DePriema had -told me a lot of the workings of the gang, I hit upon the idea of -keeping DePriema in my inner office for several hours while Crocervera -remained in an outer office. I was timing my effort for a purpose. As -DePriema was leaving, I stepped to the door with him and shook his -hand warmly and patted him on the back in order that Crocervera, -seeing the performance, might gain the impression that DePriema had -confessed all he knew about the gang. Naturally, the object of this -move was to tempt Crocervera to talk and give information important -to the government. But Crocervera did not talk. The subsequent arrest -of Giallambardo served to strengthen the impression already planted in -the mind of Crocervera that DePriema had betrayed him, and we -overheard Crocervera telling this to the members of the gang while -they were in our office. - -The gang was not in position to take revenge on DePriema, as he was in -Sing Sing prison, where the three men had been sent upon conviction on -the charge of passing counterfeit money. Following the hereditary -Sicilian custom, the gang then proceeded to select a blood relative of -DePriema and mark him for murder. There being no male blood relative -of DePriema on this side of the Atlantic, the Black-Hand Society -decided that the nearest male relative must pay the penalty for -DePriema's treason. Benedetto, the brother-in-law, was chosen as the -sacrifice. - -These details of the motive of the murder, and the society's choosing -Petto, the Ox, to do the killing were confessed to me several years -later by members of the gang after I succeeded in convicting them for -counterfeiting and had them sentenced to long terms in the Federal -Penitentiary at Atlanta, Georgia. - -As to the identity of Benedetto's kinsman, who made certain of his aim -at Petto, the Ox, near the Italian rendezvous where "Il Bove" held -sway in the little Pennsylvania city, I can only answer at the present -writing that the kinsman was not DePriema, because the latter was -still in Sing Sing Prison when the murder of the man in the barrel was -avenged. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -ORGANIZED TERRORISM - - -From what has been related so far, I presume the reader may gain some -idea of the dangerous type of men whom I refer to as members of the -Black-Hand Society. - -You are now familiar with the kind of punishment meted out to one whom -the gang suspects of having betrayed a member. You have also been -acquainted with the Sicilian custom of revenge by way of an actual -example showing how the slayer of the man in the barrel came to his -end in a manner that is as certain as daylight follows darkness. It is -the racial idea of the antique Hebrew law, "An eye for an eye and a -tooth for a tooth." The Sicilian "vendetta" demands a life for a life. -You may have noted further that the police of New York and the -machinery of the law failed to track down the slayer of the man in the -barrel. A circumstance that makes it singularly difficult for the -authorities to cope with this type of criminals is that the Sicilian -does not ask the police for help when a member of his family is -murdered. He keeps it quiet. And as quietly a blood relative of the -slain person assumes the responsibility which we Americans place on -the police and the courts. The end of Petto, the Ox, shows exactly -what happens when individual vengeance succeeds in place of justice -meted out by a court of law. - -The reader will remember that when the criminal band, which the police -rounded up in connection with the barrel murder, were turned out by -the police magistrate, because there was insufficient evidence to hold -them for the murder of Benedetto, the suspects dropped out of sight as -far as the police of New York were concerned. - -The Secret Service kept its eagle eye on them, however. Every suspect -was carefully "shadowed" by a special operative. We expected that they -would gravitate back to their haunts, and they did. We spotted them in -such places as the cafe of Pietro Inzarillo, at No. 226 Elizabeth -Street, and in the dark, little Italian grocery shop of Ignazio Lupo, -at No. 8 Prince Street, which is just around the corner from -Inzarillo's place. We also located suspects loafing around the dingy, -garlic-smelling restaurant of Giuseppe Morello, tucked away in the -rear of Lupo's grocery shop, like an evil thing afraid of the light of -day. - -Criminals wanted by Uncle Sam are not suffered to drop from the sight -of the Secret Service. Members of this gang were busy in the -counterfeit money line. The government was necessarily interested in -following their movements. Consequently I stayed right on the job with -my men at trailing and spotting the suspects. After a while I had in -my possession quite a neat bundle of facts that gradually disclosed to -us the impulse and the motives behind this crime-hardened gang of men. -I say without the slightest hesitation that the basic, underlying -motive of these men is a fierce and uncompromising _passion to get -rich quick_. That is what makes them murderous criminals. It is the -same get-rich-quick impulse that we find among unscrupulous business -men and gamblers, but it is of a much more dangerous caliber and -pregnant with every sinister motive to the most horrible and debased -forms of crime. It is true that the "Black-Handers" got a pretty good -start in this country before the authorities were alive to the danger, -but it is also true that the Secret Service did finally succeed in -rounding up the leaders and their henchmen, reducing the nefarious -operations to a minimum. Had this not been done just about the time it -was actually done, the "Black-Hand" Society would have increased its -stranglehold upon the population to a point where the police might not -have been able to guarantee the personal safety of the citizens. Even -at the present time, when the authorities may be said to have the -situation well in hand, the danger of renewed "Black-Hand" activities -by other groups would not be removed if the Secret Service were to -relax its vigilance for ever so short a time. The threat of -Bolshevism, already flaring upon the horizon, as a menacing torch over -murder-maddened mobs defying law and order, would be a welcome -brother. In the chaos created, if the Red Bolsheviks should ever -succeed in demoralizing this country, the malefactors of the -"Black-Hand" Society would thrive as maggots in a cheese. A mixed -brand of terrorism would soon show its evil head, a mixed brand that -would bring every decent citizen to shudder at the mention of BLACK -BOLSHEVISM. - -In looking into the motives of the men who represented the Sicilian -Mafia, or "Black-Hand" Society, in this country, I was fortunate to -elucidate not a few particulars that go to show how these criminals -actually operate. - -The Black-Handers here would terrorize their less courageous -countrymen from the provinces of Southern Italy. They had been at this -form of blackmail for some years. Lupo and Morello were the leaders. -The money obtained by blackmail and threats of various kinds was -divided among a few men, but most of the funds went to Lupo and -Morello. As fast as Morello got money he would farm it out by -acquiring a barber shop or set up a man in a shoe repairing shop. He -also invested in several Italian restaurants. Lupo was in the habit of -putting his money into Italian grocery stores. He soon became one of -the greatest importers of olive oil and Italian lemons in New York -City. It is known that more than $200,000 was accumulated by the two -leaders in a few years. This estimate is based on testimony submitted -by people who have complained since of the way in which they were -terrorized. - -Lupo and Morello were an ideal combination to force leadership upon -the "Black-Handers" in this country. Morello was the rough, bearish -and hairy-looking monster, cruel as a fiend, and always unshaven. Lupo -was the well-dressed, soft-spoken, slick-looking "gent" of pretended -refinement. He, too, was cruel and heartless. Lupo was the business -man of the two. Morello had in his make-up more of the cunning of the -born criminal. He was cautious like the fox and ferocious like a -maddened bull. Lupo was always suggesting new business ways for the -investing of the blackmail money. To Lupo's scheming brain can also be -traced the proposition to build a tenement house with such funds as he -and Morello could spare from the various barber shops and the -importing ventures in which they were interested. - -They built one tenement house and sold it at a profit. They built -several other tenement houses and likewise sold these at a profit. -Every time they would take the money and reinvest in more buildings. -It was also at Lupo's suggestion that a scheme was concocted to form -an association for building purposes with the object of selling stock -in the association to Italians from Southern Italy only and -exclusively. The association was called the Ignatz Florio Association -of Corleone. - -The main purpose of this association was to accumulate sufficient -funds to erect two rows of Italian tenements in One Hundred and -Thirty-seventh Street and One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Street and -Cypress Avenue, in the Bronx. Stock in the association was placed on -sale for three dollars and five dollars per share. When the dividends -came due, payment was made or the dividend turned over to the account -of the holder of the stock. The tenements went up in quick succession. - -Lupo and Morello finally succeeded in getting the control of the -association entirely in their own hands. They used the funds to -develop their business ventures, Morello specializing in barber and -shoe shops, Lupo sticking to his olive oil importing enterprise. Some -of the contractors who put up the tenements were paid, and some were -not. Those who had furnished materials for the buildings received some -manner of payment, but there were several who got nothing. Law suits -began to threaten the two leaders. The holders of the stock began to -inquire rather insistently about dividends. - -At this juncture, Lupo and Morello stuck their heads together and -hatched a deep-dyed scheme for making counterfeit money. They would -establish a large counterfeiting plant. They would take the -counterfeit stuff and give it to the stockholders in the association. -For every thirty-five cents which the association owed to a holder of -stock Morello and Lupo would give one full dollar in counterfeit -money. The person receiving the counterfeit money would be obliged to -dispose of it according to the directions given by Lupo and Morello, -who held themselves competent to instruct the members of the -association so that the bad money could be disposed of without risk of -arrest. This counterfeiting scheme was hatched in the summer of 1908 -in the rear of Morello's evil-smelling, dingy little spaghetti joint. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -COUNTERFEIT BILLS APPEAR - - -In May, 1909, counterfeit two-dollar and five-dollar bills began to -appear in many of the large cities, such as New York, Philadelphia, -Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Chicago and Boston. Some of the bills were -distributed as far away as New Orleans. The simultaneous appearance of -the bills in so many different cities indicated quite plainly that a -large band was operating in the distribution of the bad money. - -Ever since Lupo and Morello and his associates were arrested in 1908, -and were turned out by the Police Magistrate because there was not -sufficient evidence to hold them for the barrel murder, I had not lost -sight of them. They were being trailed all the time, day and night. As -a result of my watchfulness, I learned many things that have since -proven to be very useful to the government in its efforts to keep the -counterfeiting of money down to a minimum. - -Among other things, I learned that Morello made frequent trips to -Chicago and other cities where the counterfeit money seemed to -flourish. Morello made a flying trip to New Orleans on one occasion -when my men tracked him all the way. When his train arrived in -Philadelphia we knew he was on board; when the train reached Baltimore -we knew he was on the train, and when he arrived at Washington we knew -where the "Black-Hand" leader was; and so on, till he arrived in New -Orleans. On his arrival there certain Italian confederates were -waiting for him and escorted their chief to a little Italian cafe -where a conference was held in a back room lasting a little longer -than two hours. Immediately after the conference was over, Morello -took the next train back to New York. - -Now enters into the story a man by the name of Antonio Cecala. -Remember the name of this man, for he plays an important part in the -game for the remainder of the story. Cecala, whom we will establish -here as the third executive bandit in the Lupo-Morello group, made -trips to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Buffalo. Cecala proved a -valuable aid to the two "Black-Hand" captains. - -Lupo was tracked by Secret Service men to cities where the counterfeit -money was circulating. Another thread of investigation disclosed the -not unimportant fact that there were members of the Ignatz Florio -Association scattered all over the United States, especially in the -populous centers where the five- and two-dollar counterfeit bills were -being circulated. Besides, I was getting information daily from banks -and merchants that the bills were being "pushed on the market" in -abundance. I also learned that Italians from Corleone, Sicily, were -the only Italians who were trusted in these centers by the -Morello-Lupo gang, pointing to the probability that the bad bills were -being circulated and "pushed" through native Corleonians exclusively. - -Another clue showed that the bills were being manufactured somewhere -in the immediate vicinity of New York City. I fine-combed the State of -New York upon learning this. Naturally, my attention was focused on -the Corleone Italians in New York City. In this way I gathered that -Lupo had fled from his creditors, to whom he owed money in connection -with his Italian grocery stores business. I finally succeeded in -locating him living in Ardonia, New York, which is not very far from -Highland on the Hudson River. - -Past experience with these Morello-Lupo counterfeiters had taught -me not to make an arrest until I had the net completely woven -around the men who made the money. It is futile to arrest the -"pushers-of-the-queer"--that is, the men who distribute the bad money -among the little Italian grocery stores and shoe shops, small -merchants, and the like. The arrest of these men only serves to warn -the manufacturers of the bad money that the Secret Service is on the -trail. The factory then closes down, and it is moved away to another -location. Even if a conviction of the distributor of the bad money is -obtained, no definite information can be obtained from the convicted -man. He could not tell the government anything of value even if he -wished to "squeal." As a rule, all that a "pusher" or distributor can -tell is where he got the bad money. - -Here is where Antonio Cecala looms up as a very important criminal -factor in the counterfeiting game as plied by the Black-Handers under -the leadership of Lupo and Morello. Remember this: _Lupo and Morello -always remain in the background_. Cecala was the connecting link -between the two leaders and the "pushers-of-the-queer." - -Cecala was the man who got in touch with those who wanted to buy the -counterfeit money to circulate it at the rate of thirty-five cents on -the dollar. - -Cecala was careful to deal only with men whom he knew--men who were -from Corleone. He would pick six of these as his deputies. These -deputies would choose six others, and so on. Cecala made business -trips to other cities and took the orders for counterfeit money. He -also had the say as to whom should be the agent in each city directly -responsible to him. These various deputies were required to give their -O. K. before any money would be sent to or given to any person by -Cecala. - -As soon as Cecala would receive a request from a deputy for money to -be passed to certain Italians asking for it, it was Cecala's job to go -to Lupo and Morello and obtain their sanction before the money would -be handed along down the line from the distributing plant to the -person buying it at thirty-five cents on the dollar for the obvious -purpose of "pushing" it off on some unwary store-keeper. - -The reader can now readily appreciate that with a crafty organization -like this the "pusher" could not testify, even if he desired, that he -had got the bad money from either Lupo or Morello. In fact, the -"pusher" never even heard of either of the leaders except in some -indirect way. Always, however, when the money was passed over to the -pusher by one of Cecala's deputies or remote subordinates a sinister -warning was given not to "squeal" if caught--a warning always -portentous with the threat of murder. - -To "squeal" meant fatal punishment. The man in the barrel is grim -testimony to that fact. - -At about this time I had pretty good evidence that the leaders of the -counterfeiting gang were none other than Morello and Lupo, as I had -suspected from the outset. Still, the time was not ripe to make -arrests that would result in dead-sure convictions. It is true the two -leaders could be arrested and charged with the making of these -counterfeit notes, but where was the evidence connecting them with -either the passing or the manufacture of the bills? - -Let me here recite the case of Giuseppe Boscarini just to help the -reader appreciate how very difficult it would be, at that juncture, to -get Lupo and Morello involved in a way that would satisfy a court and -jury that they were legally guilty of making and of passing -counterfeit money: - -While in Pittston, Pa., I learned that a man in that city named Sam -Locino knew Boscarini, a New York agent of the Black-Hand Society. -After talking with Locino for some time he told me that Boscarini had -made several trips to Pittston lately, and that Boscarini was willing -to sell counterfeit money to him. When Locino mentioned Boscarini's -name I felt sure that the Pittston man was talking of one of Cecala's -most active deputies. - -In order to see how far Locino could go with Boscarini, and whether -Cecala's deputy would turn counterfeit money over to Locino, I made -the latter write a letter in the Sicilian dialect to Boscarini asking -the deputy of Cecala to send a sample of the counterfeit money in -order that Locino might see what it was like and whether he thought he -would be able to get rid of some of it in Pittston. - -When Locino had finished the letter I took it over to the post office, -and with the Mayor of the city and the Chief of Police as witnesses I -had the letter registered and addressed to Boscarini. I came back on -the same train that brought the letter to New York, and when Boscarini -signed for it at the registry window, this act of his was noted down -by men of the Secret Service. - -The next day Boscarini went to a sub post office on the Bowery and -bought a special delivery and a two-cent stamp. He placed the stamps -upside down on a large white envelope. An agent of the Service saw him -buy the stamps and place them on the envelope; also, the agent saw the -fictitious return address which Boscarini put on the envelope: the -agent saw this as Boscarini put the letter into the slot at the -sub-station. - -I returned to Pittston on the same train with the letter and notified -Locino that the letter was addressed to him at the General Delivery. -He got the letter and opened it in my presence. It contained a -counterfeit two-dollar bill and a counterfeit five-dollar bill of the -kind made by the Morello gang. - -Then I sent Locino to New York and gave him thirty-five dollars with -which to buy one hundred dollars' worth of the counterfeit money from -Boscarini. I saw to it that the genuine money was secretly marked for -the purpose of "getting" it on some member of the gang when the raid -would come and in which I contemplated taking Morello and Lupo -together with Cecala, Boscarini and others. - -Locino contrived to meet Boscarini at Mulberry and Prince Streets, and -the two talked it over. An appointment was made by Boscarini to meet -Locino again on the same day. - -One of the things I had ferreted out meanwhile was to locate the -headquarters for the distribution of the bad money as being at No. 231 -East Ninety-seventh Street. Secret Service men had hired apartments -across the street from this place, and were watching every one that -entered and left the place. Their view was interfered with by great -boxes of macaroni and other Italian groceries piled high in the -windows of the store. My men also learned that it was here, behind the -macaroni boxes, that secret conferences were being held between -Cecala, Morello, Lupo and others. A conference would never last more -than fifteen minutes. The store was run by Morello, Lupo and others. -It was a wholesale store. The small Italian grocers in New York were -compelled to make their purchases there at the peril of being wrecked -by a bomb if they did not. To this store went Boscarini when he left -Locino at Mulberry and Prince Streets. At the Ninety-seventh Street -store Boscarini met Cecala and several others of the gang. Returning -to meet Locino, Boscarini handed over a roll of bills to the Pittston -man. Secret Service men saw the bills handed over. Locino handed the -bills to me. When the bills were examined they were found to be -counterfeits of the same make as those previously sent to Locino in -the letter. - -Even then we made no arrest. It would have been a foolish piece of -business at that time, for I was busy on other ends of the case -pulling in valuable threads of evidence. After the lapse of a week -Locino came to New York from Pittston and purchased more of the -counterfeit money from Boscarini, giving in return genuine money, -which was secretly marked. - -Finally the time arrived when the government had evidence which was -deemed sufficient to convict most of the band. The raid was made. When -Cecala was seized and searched there was found on him two of the -genuine bills with the secret marks which I had placed on the bills -given to Locino. - -Locino's testimony, the reader will see, was necessary in order to -secure a conviction of Boscarini and Cecala. By Locino's telling what -part he had played in the game the government was put in position to -verify the following complete chain of evidence: Locino writing the -letter to Boscarini and asking for the counterfeit samples; Boscarini -receiving the letter, and receipting for it; Boscarini posting the -answering letter to Locino, the letter on which the Secret Service man -saw the stamps placed upside down on the long white envelope. Then, -further, Locino receiving the letter at the General Delivery, and his -opening it in my presence and finding the counterfeit two- and -five-dollar bills. Locino could testify that he got counterfeit money -from Boscarini and had given him the genuine money secretly marked in -return for the spurious bills, thus directly connecting Boscarini with -the charge of passing spurious money. Also, Locino could verify my -testimony of secret marks being placed on the bills, so that when the -marked bills were found on Cecala, Locino could identify them as the -ones he had given to Boscarini in return for the counterfeit money -passed by Boscarini to him. Locino could thus connect Boscarini and -Cecala. Other evidence connecting Cecala with Boscarini was in my -possession, but which I need not give here. It merely served to -corroborate the testimony of Locino. - -Locino was perfectly well aware what it meant to go on the witness -stand and "squeal." He had heard of the man in the barrel. After some -weeks of thinking the matter over Locino loosened up and declared that -he had an ancient wrong to right! He never explained to me further -just what his grievance against the "Black-Handers" was. He finally -made up his mind to take the stand and tell what he knew. - -Needless to say that Boscarini was sentenced to fifteen years in the -Federal Penitentiary at Atlanta, Georgia. But it is worth mentioning -here that shortly after Boscarini received his sentence Locino was -shot twice in the back of the head at Pittston. He survived, however, -and is confident that he will be able to take care of himself for many -years to come. - -The point I want to make clear by relating this story of facts is as -follows: - -I traced the connection of Cecala with the passing of these -counterfeit bills by finding the genuine money with the secret marks -on him. Nevertheless, I had not reached the leaders, Lupo and Morello, -who were still in the background serenely confident that they could -not be legally implicated in the passing or the manufacturing of the -counterfeit bills. - -True, we could prove that Cecala and Morello and Lupo had met many -times, and that they had been to the houses of one another and eaten -at the same table. Other evidence of a like nature could be produced; -but such evidence was not sufficient to convict the two leaders of the -charge of either passing, having in their possession, making or -causing to be made, any of the counterfeit notes which were being -poured into the great centers of population at one and the same time. -Had I stopped with Locino's testimony, I never could have got the -leaders. But the Secret Service never leaves the trail of the -counterfeiter, and the way in which the long arm of the government -reached out for the "Black-Hand" leaders, who loomed in the shadowy -distance like the silhouettes of devils incarnate, will be told here -for the first time. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE GREENHORN'S STORY - - -In the latter part of June, 1907, a young Italian landed in New York -from the southern part of Italy. He was an ambitious sort of clever -chap. He not only spoke his mother tongue well, but he had a good -command of Spanish and French and was posted on several of the -dialects current in the "boot" or southern part of Italy. He knew very -little of the English tongue, however. Among his various -accomplishments he was also a practical printer. - -The career of this young man up to the time of his landing at Ellis -Island is significant, to say the least. He was a native of the little -town of Cananzero in Calabria, one of the provinces of southern Italy. -He had been a teacher there and had taught technical subjects. Later -on he taught in private, and finally became an instructor in -government schools. From Italy he had gone to Brazil, where he spent -seven years of his time. He had engaged in teaching school there, and -he had also worked at the printing trade in Rio de Janeiro, the -capital of Brazil. At one time he had been engaged by the Italian -Consul at Rio de Janeiro to assist that official in legal matters. - -The young man's name was Antonio Viola Comito. - -In course of time he proved to be the connecting link that joined the -chain of evidence identifying Lupo and Morello legally and -inseparately with the counterfeiting gang which manufactured and -distributed the counterfeit money in the summer of 1909. His own story -in full, which has never been made public before, is given here. This -story of his contains many statements which ought to interest the -public, statements that were not divulged by Comito even at the trial -where he was the pivot upon which turned the conviction of the most -notorious and troublesome band of counterfeiters this country ever -knew. As a result of his damaging evidence, the gang vowed to destroy -him. He has changed his identity completely meanwhile, however, and -was last heard from in South America, where he is very prosperous. He -has a good deal more courage than his own story, as told by him, would -indicate. He will never be reached by the Black-Hand gang without -several of them paying with their lives for his. He is confident of -that. - -Comito's own story follows: - -"The reader will pardon me, if, in reading this story of my life in -New York, there are errors of language and periods not well expressed. - -"During the latter part of 1908 and a good part of 1909, I had -occasion to know many malefactors who horrified me from the very -start, and whom I gradually came to fear as I studied their brutal -character. I refrained from denouncing these men to the police because -I was constantly in danger of losing my life had I done so. - -"These men were the leaders of the notorious 'Black-Hand' Society, -which spreads terror among the Italians all over the United States. -While among them I studied the badness, the power, the brutality and -the arrogance of the counterfeiter and the assassin. - -"They were not a very civil lot. They were villains incarnate. One of -their characteristic traits is that one alone would not commit a -crime because of cowardice. When a 'job' was to be executed it was -always carried out by three or four directed by a 'corporal,' who was -put in charge by the head bandit. This 'corporal' bossed the job, -remaining all the while in the distance so that in case the operations -of those committing the deed were discovered by the police the -'corporal' would be sure to escape and report the circumstances to the -head bandit of the society. The head bandit would in turn notify all -the other members, when a counsel would be called at which steps would -be taken to aid those apprehended by the police. - -"What puzzled me not a little was the fact that when it came to going -to trial for an offense no eye-witness would ever appear in court to -tell of the crime with which the members under arrest might be -charged. Those arrested usually gave fictitious names, and when placed -on trial they were always freed. These men governed their association -by secret orders. They operated on a vast scale and extended their -crime even to the kidnapping of little children." - -At this point Comito enters a long apology to those people of Southern -Italy who are good citizens and law-abiding. He does not refer in -this article, he says, to the honest Sicilians, who labor and earn -their living honestly. It is of the malefactors, he says, that he -speaks. - -Comito then tells of entering New York and meeting his brother at the -Battery. He relates his sensations at seeing the tall buildings of New -York and the hurrying crowds in the noisy streets. - -After going to the home of his brother in Bleecker Street, Comito -says: - -"During the dinner I was carefully advised by my uncle, an intelligent -man and very cautious, having served the Italian government for twelve -years as non-commissioned officer in the line infantry. He said, 'Do -not acquire bad friendships. Be careful of traps that strangers may -lay for you. There exists in New York a band of malefactors which bear -the name of Black-Hand. Every day this band commits crimes, -assassinating persons, setting fire to houses, breaking in doors, -exploding bombs, and kidnapping children.' - -"He told me also never to tell any one where I worked and how much I -earned. He advised me to think only of bettering my condition and -that of my family, because in America, in time, the man with a good -will can acquire a good position." - -Perhaps these words that follow may be of interest to the reader in -getting an insight into the mentality of the newly arrived immigrant. -Says Comito: - -"My only wish was to work and put aside something; to economize, and -so help the condition of my family and provide some day for my -daughter that she might have a profession. I did not think of evil, -and hoped from day to day to find occupation. I was a printer, and, -though I did not know English, I felt confident of finding work in -some Italian printing-office." - -Comito then tells of finding employment in the Italian printing house -of M. Dassori, at No. 178 Park Row, where he was getting along well. -He tells of sending money to Italy to his wife and children. He tells -of his brother here introducing him to honest Italians of the working -class and of how he joined the order of the Sons of Italy and also the -Foresters of America. Comito then relates his rapid rise in the -Foresters, mentioning also how he became Supreme Deputy of the Order -of the Sons of Italy, besides being chosen a member for the Congress -of Italians abroad, which was held in Rome in 1908. He dwells on his -losing employment because of lack of work in the place where he was -employed. After getting employment again he finds himself once more -out of a place, about the beginning of September, 1908. He tells very -frankly of taking up with a lady named Caterina and how they shared -the apartment which he furnished as well as his means afforded. He and -Caterina lived together, he says, "respecting one another as husband -and wife." Describing his affair with Caterina, who, by the way, -enters in some measure into the counterfeiting story, Comito says: - -"I, together with Caterina, lived agreeably, and what was earned -weekly was divided equally, and we did not take into account which -earned the more or the less. We made an honest front with friends. I -discharged my duties with the societies with zeal." - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -DON PASQUALE, BLACK-HAND SKIRMISHER - - -Here is where Comito gets into touch with a skirmisher, if I may use -the word, of the Black-Handers. The skirmisher is the scout for Lupo -and Morello who are, as usual, in the distance, their minds ablaze -with the idea of getting rich beyond the dreams of Aladdin by a bold -counterfeiting stroke. Comito is a printer out of work. Lupo and -Morello have agents who tell them of such things. Comito might be the -man to run a printing press and print the counterfeit bills. And so, I -will turn you over to Comito. Listen to his own story once more: - -"On the evening of November 5, 1908, I was at a meeting of the Order -of the Sons of Italy, being a duty I owed the society as Supreme -Deputy to attend the meetings of the different lodges. As was the -custom toward the end of the meeting I chatted with the various -members of the order, some of whom I knew by name and others whom I -knew only by sight. - -"That same night a member by the name of Don Pasquale, a Sicilian, -came to me, clasped my hand, and without further ceremony said: -'Professor, will you take a walk with me? I have something to say that -might interest you.' - -"When we were outside, Don Pasquale said to me: - -"'I know you are seeking work and that you are a good printer. A -friend of mine is proprietor of a printing shop in Philadelphia. If -you wish I can recommend you; but you must go to Philadelphia to -work.' - -"'It makes no difference to me where I work,'" was Comito's answer. - -Don Pasquale got Comito's address and said that he would arrange to -have his Philadelphia printer friend meet Comito at the latter's home. -Comito then explains that the title "Don" is used by Sicilians as a -mark of respect among the working class, and that the word "Uncle" is -employed in addressing people advanced in years in the same sense. - -Comito recalls the knock on his door on the morning of November 6. He -says: - -"I opened and saw Don Pasquale with his friend. I motioned them to -enter and sit down. Don Pasquale said: 'Mr. Comito, I present to you -my friend, Don Antonio Cecala, proprietor of a printing shop in -Philadelphia.' - -"'Are you a printer?' asked Cecala. - -"'Yes,' I answered. - -"'Well,' he continued, 'I am the proprietor of a shop in Philadelphia -and in need of a trustworthy man who can take care of my affairs when -I am absent looking out for my business as an inspector of Singer -Sewing Machines. You can come to an agreement with me and establish -yourself with your wife in Philadelphia. In that way I can be sure of -your honesty,' said Cecala to me. - -"'But,' I replied, 'I don't think that I am going to your printing -shop to act as boss. You have other men that work there?' - -"'Yes, there are other men, but they are not capable for the trade I -have because they do not do this kind of work.' - -"And saying this, Cecala showed me some money order blanks, stamped -envelopes, commercial papers and some hand bills. I replied that it -was just such work that I could do, and that if the men employed by -him were not able to do such work they were not printers. - -"'Well, as you are a practical man at such work, you may remain alone -in the shop and will assume full responsibility. Therefore, prepare -your things and tell your Mrs. not to continue working. However, if -she wants to work in Philadelphia, then she may do so. Together you -will soon be rich.'" - -Cecala agreed to pay the rent due for the rooms occupied by Comito and -his mistress, besides what he owed elsewhere. The weekly salary was -agreed upon, and in the event that Comito should not care to remain at -the job he was to receive his return fare to New York. - -The reader will appreciate the humor of this arrangement as he gets -along further in the story. - -"'Then you wish that the lady come with me?' - -"'Surely. The lady is necessary for you.' - -"'But don't you want me to go first and find a house to live in?' - -"'There is no need of that. The house is ready. It is my property.' - -"'When you say that you will provide for everything, I am ready to -leave to-morrow.' - -"In the evening Caterina came home from work. I told her what had -happened. She did not care to leave her work, adding that we were -without means and could not afford to undertake the trip. I assured -her, however, that all expenses would be paid, and she finally -consented to come along. We prepared the household furnishings for -shipment, Cecala insisting that we take all the stuff with us." - -Comito then tells of being taken to a photo-material store. Cecala -bought a camera, some plates, bath platters, chemicals, a tripod, -paper, and a case. Comito was induced to go to the printing house, -where he had been formerly employed, and make a "dicker" for the -purchase of a printing press. The press was secured and everything was -made ready for the trip to Philadelphia. Then Cecala called and -introduced a certain "Don Turi," otherwise Cina, as his godfather. "He -is a rich proprietor in Philadelphia," said Cecala. "Do not mind his -ordinary clothes; he is a man of gentle manners." Comito's own -description of the rough looking Cina adds a streak of humor to the -situation. As to "gentle manners" Cina almost maimed Comito when he -shook hands with him. Comito was also introduced to a fellow by the -name of Sylvester. - -It was two o'clock in the afternoon on the same day that the whole -pack of them--Cecala, Cina, Don Pasquale and Sylvester--rushed into -the little apartment of Comito, and, as he says, "without any talking, -began to label the furniture." This move was made after Cecala had -paid the rent that morning. - -Comito had not put any address on his stuff because Cecala had assured -him that all the furniture would be put on a wagon, and that the wagon -and all would go under his name to Philadelphia. Comito observed a -bundle labeled: "A. Cina, Highland, New York." - -Turning to Cecala, he said: "Don't we go to Philadelphia?" - -"A--ha, ha, ha--a, ha, a, ha, ha, ha, ha," leered Cecala. "This is the -place the boat stops and then we go twenty minutes by foot. Have no -fear; we will go by carriage." - -"Do we not go by rail?" - -"No," grunted Cecala. "It costs too much, and we cannot load all your -goods on the train." - -Upon inquiring what time Cecala expected to arrive at Philadelphia, -Comito was informed about eight o'clock, and that it would be all the -better to arrive after dark because "no one will see what we are -doing, and we will give an accounting to no one." Cecala also assured -Comito that there would be no delay once they got off the boat, but -that they would hurry to Cecala's house where "we will eat and drink -wine and warm ourselves." - -In this manner Comito's fears were lulled to sleep by the promises of -future prosperity that were held out to him. There would never be any -more worry or struggle for gain as far as Comito was concerned, -according to the assurances of Cecala and the others. Life would flow -along like a pleasant dream with no worries of any kind! - -"It was about 4:30 P. M. of that same day, November 11, 1908, when I -and Caterina, together with Cecala, Cina, Don Pasquale and Sylvester, -went on board the boat," continues Comito. "I was fully convinced that -we were going to Philadelphia. I was quite happy thinking that by -working honestly I would prosper. When we were about two hours out -from the pier Cecala came to me and said: - -"'Mr. Comito, we are about to make a bad showing.' - -"'Why?' I asked. - -"'Because I have not enough money to pay the fares of all of us.' - -"'Why pay for all?' - -"'Because they are my friends, and my godfather. Then, too, you saw -how they worked.' - -"'But they could have remained in New York.' - -"'No. They will help put up the press, etc.' - -"'This is just a circumstance,' explained Cecala. 'I imagined that -Cina had money to spare, but he has forgotten his pocketbook. We are -short five dollars.' - -"Not knowing what to do about it, I remained silent. After a while -Cecala turned to Caterina and inquired: 'Mrs., have you any money with -you?' - -"'I have just five dollars,' Caterina replied innocently. - -"'Well, give it to me because I need it. I will give it back -to-morrow, as soon as I get to the house,' suggested the bandit. - -"Caterina stepped aside and produced a five-dollar bill from her -stocking where she had hidden it for an emergency. - -"I took Caterina aside and asked her why she had given the money to -Cecala. She said it would be all right, that she would get it back -to-morrow. I did not talk any more. I took a rest on a lounge, until -about nine o'clock, when I heard the boat's whistle. It was the signal -of our approaching a dock. I jumped up, thinking I was at -Philadelphia, and woke Caterina. I was surprised when Cecala informed -me that Philadelphia was a little farther on, and that we would get -off at the next stop. Making further inquiries as to the location of -Philadelphia, I was informed in a very brutal manner by Cina that he -did not know when the boat would arrive, but he guessed about one -o'clock. Right then and there it dawned on me that I was not dealing -with honest people, but with a dangerous pack who were probably trying -to get me into a trap. - -"When Caterina heard that we would not arrive until one A. M., she -spoke cross to me and said that if any harm came to her I was -responsible. I consoled her as well as I could and resumed my rest on -the lounge. - -"It was about half-past twelve that night when a long, resounding toot -that echoed in the mountains announced our arrival at a stopping -place. When the deck hand announced the name of the place, which did -not sound very much like Philadelphia, I asked Cecala whether we -should go ashore here. - -"He said yes. - -"It was a freezing cold night. There was snow on the ground. Caterina -and I were chilled to the bone and very nervous. - -"'We will all stop at my godfather's for the night, and, if necessary, -for a day or so until we are rested,' announced Cecala. 'From there we -will continue our trip to Philadelphia, which is one station beyond -this place. We will do the rest of the journey by wagon. - -"'This is Highland,[1] New York,' said Cecala, when I inquired the -name of the place. - -"After a short wait in the dark near the dock we heard a wagon rushing -up at top speed. It was driven by a man whom Cecala introduced me to -as another godfather of his who was named Vincenzio Giglio. Cina and -Giglio are brothers-in-law and own the place where I was to stop that -night, Cecala told me. - -"We arrived at Cina's house and found a table prepared for dinner. -While Cina invited Caterina and me to sit down, the wives of Cina and -Giglio brought on stuffed chickens, young goats meat, baked potatoes, -wine. The dessert was of cheese, apples and pears, raised, Cina said, -on the premises. - -"My furniture was placed in a house near that of Cina and I was left -there to live with Caterina on scanty fare and without money until, as -Cecala told me, the printing shop would be in readiness. I was told to -have my mail directed at the box in Highland, New York, where Cina had -his mail sent. There were five little children playing about in the -Cina house. I heard Cecala tell Cina to make out a list of food-stuffs -needed saying that he would see Ignazio (Lupo) and have him ship it up -to the farm. - -"Cecala then took his departure to look after his business as a -'Singer Sewing Machine Inspector.'" - -For three days after arriving at Cina's, Comito says, he and Caterina -ate at Cina's table. They were waiting for the supplies to arrive -from Lupo, and which Comito and Caterina were to eat at their own -table. Concerning this time Comito says: - -"In the three following days, Caterina and I ate at Cina's table while -we were waiting for supplies. The conversation was about nothing but -homicides, assassinations, and robberies. At times I thought my hair -would stand on end, but I tried my best to appear unconcerned even -when Caterina glanced at me in dismay. - -"On a certain cold and rainy day, I shall never forget, while we were -all huddled around the stove, Cina began to spin his yarns and -boasted, among other exploits, that he had been a trusted man of the -notorious bandit Varsalona. In this way Cina had became implicated in -the murder of a school teacher in his native town, Bevona, in the -province of Girgenta, Sicily, and had been obliged to flee the country -and make his way to America. Cina also remarked that he was married in -Tampa, Florida, where he had worked for seven years as a cigar maker. -He married the sister of his intimate friend Giglio. - -"As we were about to go to bed that night I told Caterina that we had -better plan to get back to New York somehow. There was no longer any -doubt in my mind but that we were in the hands of confirmed criminals. - -"'How about the fare?' answered Caterina. 'I have no money at present. -If you want money ask godfather Cina.' - -"I did not sleep a wink that night. I was blaming myself for having -induced Caterina to come along. In the morning I hurried over to talk -to Cecala to make arrangements for our return to New York, but to my -surprise Giglio informed me that Cecala and Don Pasquale had gone the -night before to New York. - -"I complained to Giglio of the manner in which Cecala had left me -behind with Caterina without money or return fare to New York. - -"With apparent good grace Giglio replied that I should have a little -patience and wait until Cecala returned. - -"'Think of eating and drinking. Don't worry. Enjoy yourself,' he said -with a grin. - -"The manner of Giglio's talk quieted me a little and calmed my nerves; -he also said that when it was not raining I could go about the farm to -see what was cultivated and could roam around and forget about -returning to New York. - -"Caterina and I had to worry along in that godforsaken place until -December 7, 1908, when I was informed that we would be moved to the -printing shop. A wagon was coming for our furniture at three o'clock -in the morning." - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] Highland is about seven miles from Ardonia, New York, where the -reader will remember I had discovered Lupo was in hiding after he ran -away from his creditors. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE PLANT OF THE COUNTERFEITERS - - -"And a truck did come about three A. M., December 8, 1908. Along with -us came Giglio and another man named Bernardo, a man with a ruddy -complexion and a large mouth. We crossed through the village and after -about two and a half hours' ride arrived in front of an old, deserted -stone house situated in the woods, off the road about twenty paces. -Bernardo said laughingly: - -"'Here is the printing shop. Don't you like it?' - -"'No,' I replied. - -"'Tell that to Cecala when he comes,' said Cina. - -"'But this is no place for a printing shop,' I continued, Caterina -watching me with glaring eyes. - -"'Come, don't lose time,' roared Cina. 'Unload the stuff before some -one comes along and we are seen.' - -"'I will go back with Caterina.' - -"'Where to?' inquired Cina. - -"'To the house where I was; then to New York.' - -"'The house where you were is rented to a party coming from New York. -You cannot stay in my house because there are too many children there. -When Cecala comes you can speak to him.' - -"'But I don't want to stay alone here in the woods.' - -"'Have no fear. My brother-in-law and Bernardo will stay with you. And -then, of whom are you afraid? No one passes on this road except at 10 -A. M., when the letter carrier goes by.' - -"By the time this conversation ended my furniture was all inside the -door. Cina told Giglio to get the stove ready for it was very cold. -Cina hinted that he was going away soon. Hearing Cina say this, I told -him I wanted to return to the village. - -"'You are crazy,' he said. 'Have you money to pay me for returning -your goods? Besides, I am not going to the village. I am going six -miles in the other direction to buy hay for the horses. Cecala may be -back to-morrow. Talk to him. My brother will bring you stuff to eat. -So, why worry?' - -"Later, I overheard Cina whisper to Giglio: - -"'I got close to Caterina, who was in the door-step almost crying, and -tried to comfort her, saying that when we were left alone we would get -away. - -"'Where is the fare?' Caterina is supposed to have asked him. - -"Finally Cina departed. Giglio and Bernardo remained and began to -arrange the furniture as best they could. - -"Calmed of my anger, I went into the house and looked around. I found -a large room that served as a kitchen and a back room for a store-room -on the ground floor. Up the stairway and on the second floor I found -three small rooms and a large room. Another flight of steps led to a -garret. In the large room on the second floor I saw the press. It had -been brought there while I was remaining at the farmhouse near Cina's. -It was the same press I had dickered for. There was a dilapidated bed -in one of the three small rooms on this floor, which Giglio had fixed -up the best he could under the circumstances. As I was looking around -the place I was convinced that I had been led into a trap of some -kind, but it never entered my head that I had been brought up there -for the purpose of printing counterfeit money! I thought that perhaps -they wanted me for printing obscene literature, such as is prohibited -by law, but on looking closer I did not discover any type, and my mind -began to get busy trying to figure out what a press without type and -accessories could be intended for placed in a desolate house in the -backwoods. - -"It must have been about eleven o'clock that morning when I saw a -short-set man, possibly twenty-five or thirty years old, driving up. -He was a man of dark complexion with a large moustache, dressed like a -farmer with big shoes and red handkerchief around his neck, wearing a -cap 'A la Sicilian.' He proved to be Cina's brother Peppino. He -entered the house and said that he was bringing the supplies. He set -down a bag of 100 pounds of potatoes, about forty pounds of flour to -make bread, a bottle of olive oil, a case of macaroni, olives, smoked -fish, salt, kerosene, onions and a small form of cheese, as well as -twenty small cans containing tomato sauce. Unloading this stuff -without ever uttering a word, the short-set fellow waved his hand at -Giglio and Bernardo as he started on his way. Before leaving the -house, though, he uttered the words 'Be careful.' - -"Giglio now ordered Caterina to cook, saying that he was hungry. -Caterina, realizing that she had to deal with bad people, prepared a -meal. Four days went by and on the fifth Giglio and Bernardo left, -saying that they were going to get something to eat as the provisions -brought by Peppino could not last much longer. We were then living on -baked potatoes and plain bread. - -"I remained alone with Caterina in that isolated house for two days -without seeing any one. It was snowing. I could not go out. Those days -passed like so many years. Caterina was taken ill with a fever. I -almost despaired. Where could I go for help? I knew no one and there -was no house nearby. During those awful days suicide was continually -in my mind. Then again the thought would come to me--why should you? -What for? Why abandon my wife, my parents, my relatives? No, I -reflected, better fight it out to the end and see what those bandits -have up their sleeve. - -"On the morning of December 15, 1908, it was snowing large flakes and -it was bitter cold. There came a knock on the door. Cecala and Cina -entered. Both of them laughed boisterously when they saw me. - -"This angered me, and I declared that I was not to be treated any -longer as if I were a child. - -"'Very well,' said Cecala. 'If you were a child you would never do for -us. We are dealing with you because we know that you are a serious and -intelligent fellow, otherwise ... well, don't shout when you talk to -us. You must calm yourself because you are dealing with gentlemen and -not with villains.' - -"'I know that; but your actions are not those of gentlemen.' - -"'When you know more then you will not talk so much,' said Cecala in a -low tone. - -"Caterina had heard voices and was coming downstairs: - -"'Mr. Cecala,' she said, 'it is necessary that I go to New York -because I am ill and feverish. Give me the fare and I will go.' - -"'In this weather?' asked Cecala. - -"'Yes.' - -"'When?' - -"'To-day.' - -"'Go away; I have no money.' - -"'You have no money? Give me back the five dollars that I gave you on -the boat.' - -"'I have only two dollars, which I need very much.' - -"'You do not consider me sick?' - -"'Surely I do. So much that we have brought a chicken to cook.' - -"'I don't cook because I am not well, and I am cold,' promptly assured -Caterina. - -"'Madame,' continued Cecala with mock courtesy, 'be happy in the -thought that in a month from now we will all be rich. All these queer -ideas will pass from your mind then. Go ahead and cook. Here is the -stuff. From to-morrow on you will not be alone. You will have company, -and you will be happy.' - -"Cecala now turned abruptly to me saying in a sinister tone of voice: -'Don Antonio, come upstairs. I have news for you.' - -"We entered the large room where the press was standing. Cecala took a -package from his coat pocket. 'Here is the work that we must execute. -We must print counterfeit money!' His rat-like eyes froze me to the -spot. 'Here are the plates. Compare them with the original. Without -any one knowing it we will soon be rich. The money that is to be -counterfeited is the Canadian five-dollar note. Already I have several -requests, and if we can do perfect work we will print a million. I -have brought with me one hundred thousand sheets of paper of four -qualities and different sizes so that we could choose the best grade -from the lot. The Canadian is not hard to counterfeit because there is -no silk in it like in the American money. I am sure that we will -succeed. As to buying the inks, have no fear. In fact, I have already -bought the inks, and will consult with you in choosing the right kind -for this work. No one will come here except our own people. It is just -as well that Caterina remain here. If a stranger should pass and see -the lady he would imagine that there is a family living in the house -and that would not rouse suspicion. So the lady had better stay.' - -"I drew a deep breath. I saw the trap closing around me. As calmly as -I could I replied: - -"'This is not my work. I do not even know how to prepare the press.' - -"'Do not begin to find excuses,' barked Cecala. 'This work must be -done. You will leave here when I tell you that there is no more need -of you. Not before.' - -"'But this is very difficult work. It is out of my line,' I ventured. - -"'No matter. If you are a printer you know how to do it. I will assist -you. Look at these plates. See whether they are all well made.' - -"I looked at the plates and said I could not distinguish which was -which. I saw five pieces of zinc engraved on either side of which was -the 'Bank of Montreal--Canada. Five-dollar note.' The pieces were -separate, according to the colors; that is, two large plates for the -green side, and one black; on the face was a large 'V' printed in the -center, and on the light green the seal in a violet color. The serial -numbers were in red. - -"I explained that there were several things required before any -printing could be done. - -"Cecala now grabbed me by the shoulders and fairly hissed these words -at me: - -"'Don Antonio, you are the person who must execute this work under my -direction and the guidance of some one else that you will know in the -future. _Your life would be lost if you should reveal our secret to -any one._ We are twenty men banded together in this affair, and we -will respect you as one of us. Caterina will be respected as well, and -when we are done we will give her a sum of money to go to Italy; but -you must remain with our society for life. We will provide for you and -better your condition, and that of your family, without ever revealing -to your parents the secret. If you want to write to your brother in -New York and your aunt be careful to say that you are working for a -priest in Philadelphia telling them that the address is a village near -Philadelphia. When you wish to come to New York I must know about it. -I will send your fare and tell you where to find me so that I can give -you the return fare. Courageous persons will help you and guard you in -case there should be some spy on the trail. No one will come to this -place, because the land about the house is our property, and it would -be hard for detectives to discover us without some one taking them -here. This place is not suspected. The money printed here is to be -changed in Canada. No one can suppose that it is printed in this -little village. Without offering any excuses you must do this work. -Knowing that you are a serious man I talk to you with frankness. -During the time that you remain here you will lack nothing to eat, but -you must bear in mind that we are not big capitalists yet, and until -we make some money you must suffer a little.' - -"The voice of the 'Black-Hand' Society had spoken. I was the unwilling -tool. To refuse meant death. So I resolved to play my part as well as -I could and merely answered that I would do what they asked but not to -expect perfect work as I was not a practical plate printer, and had -never seen counterfeit money before nor printed it. - -"Caterina now called us downstairs to eat. At table Cina told Caterina -to abandon the idea of returning to New York. He told her that she was -to remain and cook for the people that would come, that she would be -paid for her work. Caterina made no answer to this. - -"Afterwards I went upstairs with Cina and Cecala and began to set up -the press in the large room near a window that faced the road, Cecala -remarking that there was need of light. - -"Then, after a sinister pause, Cecala began to tackle me again with a -speech: - -"'Don Antonio, I also have American two-dollar plates, but they need -retouching. Some of the lines of the black are not precise. We will -print twenty thousand dollars of the Canadian money in five-dollar -notes, and then fifty thousand of these two-dollar United States -notes.' Saying this Cecala showed me the plates, which he took from -his coat pocket. He made me examine them and I observed that they were -of check letter A, plate number 1111. He wrapped them up in a cloth -and put them in his coat pocket, saying that he would return them when -he brought the inks. The plates for the two-dollar bills were in three -pieces; that is, the green side, the face or black side, and the seal -and counter of dark blue. - -"That night Cina and Cecala slept in the house. In the morning they -went off at a very early hour leaving me alone and promising to return -in a few days. On the morning of December 20th, 1908, Cecala and -Giglio returned in company with another man, a Sicilian, and dressed -like one. The stranger took from a bag the wood blocks that were -needed for the plates which Cecala had had retouched. The stranger was -presented to me as Uncle Vincent. Cecala then told Caterina to prepare -a meal as Uncle had traveled all night and was cold and hungry. - -"We went upstairs to mount the plates on the blocks. Cecala put them -in the chase, and, like an experienced man, made the press ready for -the green side of the counterfeit money. Cecala also prepared the -green ink and then made me print a proof to see whether the work was -correct. We worked that day in making proofs because we could not get -the right shade of green. Finally, we mixed in a little yellow and hit -the right shade of green for the Canadian note. It was necessary, -however, to let the ink dry in order to see whether the shade was -exactly right. That day the whole conversation was of getting rich. -Millions were to come to each of us. They went so far as to figure out -just what would be the share of each at the end of the month, selling -the stuff at 35 cents on the dollar. All were as happy as lords. All -except Caterina and I. - -"At about 4 P. M. Cecala took four of the five-dollar note proofs, -those which were most like the genuine, and left for New York together -with Cina saying that he had to show them to persons more competent. -This left Giglio and Uncle Vincent with me. - -"On December 23, Cina came to the house bringing a wagon load of coal -and after unloading it told me that he received a letter from New York -calling for other proofs but darker in shade. I mixed up some more -ink, and after running off the proofs I handed them to Cina, who took -them away with him. After about eight days I had received no notice of -printing or of the proofs when on January 2, 1909, Cecala and Cina -suddenly returned and ordered that the work proceed. The notes were to -be printed in the last shade of ink that Cecala had prepared. No more -proofs were to be sent to New York, Cecala said, because it was very -dangerous. One of the gang might be picked up and the notes found on -him. They told me to go by the genuine note for shade and that when I -struck off a proof to show it to Uncle Vincent, who was very -proficient. - -"They told me to hurry and to work fast. They needed the two-dollar -notes badly because Cecala had received an order from a Brooklyn -banker for $50,000 counterfeit money. After they were through talking -and gossiping I turned to Cecala and said: - -"'Mr. Cecala, on the fifth instant I must go to New York to attend a -meeting of the Grand Court of the Foresters of America, for the annual -installation of officers takes place on that night. I must necessarily -attend because I am an officer and you will, of course, provide my -fare.' - -"'What do you care for the society?' sneered Cecala. 'We are in so -much need of you, and you are finding new excuses. Leave these things -go and work.' - -"'I must attend.' - -"'Well, I will send your fare from New York. In case I do not come -back, see me at 92 East Fourth Street, fourth floor.' - -"While this conversation was taking place Giglio and Uncle Vincent had -picked out the paper stock of which four thousand sheets were counted -out. Cecala, assisted by me, made the press ready. Experiments were -made to see if the impression was right. After Cecala had got -everything in readiness he told Uncle Vincent to ink the press from -time to time as there was no fountain on it. I fed the press by -putting the sheets in and taking them out as they were printed. Giglio -would take the printed sheets and spread them out in the garret to -dry. - -"At 2 P. M., on January 4th, 1909, the green impressions were -completed on the Canadian notes. Not seeing any one appear with the -fare to New York I gave my watch to Giglio and begged him to go to his -brother-in-law and sell it. Returning the next morning Giglio handed -me one dollar and a half, and said that I was to go on the 2 P. M. -train. His brother-in-law, Cina, would come with the horse and -carriage and accompany me to the station. - -"About noon Cina came. Caterina said she did not want to be left alone -with two strange men, and asked to be taken to Cina's family until I -returned. This was agreed to and Cina left her at his house and took -me to the Poughkeepsie station. I arrived in New York at 5 P. M. and -met Cecala at the station; he feigned surprise at seeing me. He -excused himself for not sending me the fare and explained that he had -no money. - -"Cecala conducted me to Thirty-ninth Street and First Avenue where he -introduced me to a certain Giovanni Pecoraro, a wine merchant. He -invited me to eat some salame cheese and fruit. We drank some wine, -and then Pecoraro told me to return to this store and get two bottles -of liquor, which I was to take to Highland on my way back to the -plant. - -"Coming out of the store, Cecala led me to a house in the same street -near Avenue A where there were six men in a room playing cards. Cecala -called one of them aside--a young man about thirty, and requested him -to give five dollars to me. This young man, whom Cecala called -Salvatore, responded readily and gave me the money as I was leaving. -Cecala now accompanied me to the meeting room of the Foresters of -America. He told me that at 11 P. M. he would call for me and -accompany me to the station, and that I was not to stop over night nor -see any of my relatives. - -"After the meeting I found Cecala and Pecoraro waiting outside for me. -They made me get on a car and go to Pecoraro's store, where I was -given three bottles of liquor and some salame wrapped in one package. -They accompanied me to Hoboken where, at 3 A. M. on January 6, 1909, -I boarded the train for Highland. Arriving there, I found Cina's -brother, Peppino, waiting with a carriage. I got into the vehicle and -he brought me to the stone house, that is, the counterfeiting plant. -The reader will observe that I was shadowed by the 'Black-Handers' -every step of the way. It would have been impossible for me to make a -break-away without courting death. During the month of January, 1909, -the work of counterfeiting at the farmhouse proceeded without -interruption. From time to time Cina would show up with potatoes and -flour. He would examine the work, help for an hour or so spreading the -money on the floor to dry, and then return to his farm." - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE COW THAT CAUSED A DOUBLE MURDER - - -"One day while we were at work on the counterfeit money, Uncle Vincent -told me that he had been a cattle raiser in his home town. He was out -on a farm where he saw a yoke of oxen, which he wanted to purchase. -One of the men who owned the oxen, while arguing about the price, said -something offensive to Uncle. Without saying a word Uncle aimed his -rifle and shot the man in the chest, killing him instantly. The other -man ran away. He was overtaken by a rifle shot and knocked dead about -fifty paces away from the first man. - -"With a double murder on his conscience Uncle Vincent cast about for a -get-away. As he was short of money he searched the first man that he -had murdered and took from him two hundred and fifty lire. Returning -to town Uncle wrote a long letter to his family notifying them of -what happened and took a train for Palermo. There he contracted with a -sail-boat man who landed him at Tunis in Africa. There he found means -to get his fare and went to Tokio, Japan. In Tokio he could not find -work, was forced to steal in order to live, and when he had -accumulated some money he went to Liverpool. He lived in Liverpool -about a year where he existed by theft the same as in Japan. In March, -1902, he left Liverpool for New Orleans. When in America, he said, he -did not lose heart because he knew many friends, _and they had to help -him_, he said. And he uttered these words with the saturnine -confidence of the established 'Black-Hander.'" - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE SOCIETY - - -"'How could you manage in so many different places without knowing the -language?' I inquired, not quite knowing the ramifications of the -Mafia. - -"'I found Italians everywhere, and would get directions from them -until I found some _friends_.' He spoke the last word significantly. - -"'Did you understand English then?' - -"'Did not even dream of it.' - -"'Have you worked while you have been in America?' - -"'Never,' grinned Uncle Vincent. 'Neither do I expect to work. If I -knew the man who invented work, and met him, I would kill him.' - -"'What do you do to live?' - -"'You are too young to know certain things,' he explained with a -veiled glance. 'When you have become well interested in the affairs of -our society you will know _how to live without work_.' - -"'Then you belong to some society which gives you money?' I inquired, -feigning stupidity. - -"'Yes, but not like _your_ societies. When you leave your societies -and join ours you will feel better.' - -"'And what is the price of initiation?' - -"'Nothing.' - -"'How will I be admitted then?' - -"'We must try you with a courageous deed requiring secrecy.' - -"'And what is this society of yours called?' I asked. - -"'It has no name.' - -"'Is it a mutual aid society?' - -"'No.' - -"'Where are its headquarters?' - -"'In all parts of the world.' - -"'In Italy?' - -"'Yes, in Italy.' - -"'Then it must be the Masons?' - -"'What, the Masons? Pooh-pooh! my friend. _Ours_ is a society that -_never ends_ and is bigger than the Masons.' - -"'And when will you allow me to enter?' - -"'I must school you first,' he grumbled, eyeing me suspiciously. 'And -when you become known to the heads, and are respected, then we will -christen you.' - -"'You will christen me?' I exclaimed. - -"'Yes.' - -"'How is that? I have already been baptized in the Roman Catholic -religion, and now you would baptize me again?' - -"'Certainly!' he grinned. 'But it is not a matter of religion. You are -christened into the society. We give you a title that you will bear in -secret, a title that will make you obeyed and respected in all parts -of the world.' - -"'I am curious to attend a meeting of your society.' - -"'In time you will attend; but first, I would have to ask the -superiors.' - -"At this moment I was called by Caterina and the discussion ended. I -had absorbed enough to surmise about the vast, hidden power of the -'Black-Hand' menace reaching as it does with arms steeped in gore all -around the globe." - - - - -CHAPTER X - -MEETING THE ARCH-BANDIT - - -"At the end of January the Canadian five-dollar notes were completed -and cut the size of the genuine. After being counted they amounted to -seventeen thousand five hundred and forty dollars. They were put in an -empty macaroni box and was nailed up and put away for Cecala, who was -to have them exchanged for good money to various people whom he knew. - -"On February 1st, 1909, not having received any word from New York, -Giglio left and went to Cina's house to inquire the cause of the long -silence. Next day Giglio returned, accompanied by Cecala and Cina, and -fixed the press to print the two-dollar notes, check letter A, and -plate number 1111. Having prepared the press Cecala and I fixed some -green ink, but after several attempts to imitate the genuine Cecala -decided we could not do it. That night Cecala gave me five dollars -and told me that on February 4 I was to go to New York. I was to go to -his house and there talk with a party who was capable of preparing the -ink. Then admonishing me not to leave until Cina called for me with a -carriage, Cecala left with Cina and Giglio. - -"On February 4, about eight in the morning, Cina came to the stone -house with Bernardo, the former to accompany me to the station and the -latter to remain with Uncle Vincent and Caterina. I arrived in New -York at noontime and went directly to Cecala's home at No. 92 East -Fourth Street, where I found his wife who gave me a piece of paper -after making sure of my identity. - -"'My husband is waiting at the address written on the piece of paper,' -she said. 'Ask for him in the bank on the ground floor.' - -"The piece of paper contained this address: '630 East One Hundred and -Thirty-Eighth Street.' - -"Arriving at One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth Street I found the house I -was seeking and asked for Cecala. A well-dressed man told me that -Cecala would not return until two o'clock. It was then half after one -and the man told me to return in a half hour. In the meantime I walked -over toward the L station thinking I might meet Cecala. I returned to -the address written on the paper after walking around for about forty -minutes without seeing Cecala. I was told to take a seat and the -well-dressed man telephoned to Cecala, who arrived in a few minutes -and invited me upstairs with him. I went up to a room on the second -floor and there met two men. - -"Cecala introduced me to one of the men who was tall, wrapped up in a -shawl of brown color, of oval face and high forehead. He had dark -eyes, an aquiline nose, dark hair, and dark mustache. He appeared to -be about forty years old. As he was walking about the room I noticed -particularly that this man had one arm outside the shawl and the other -hidden beneath the wrap. Could he be hiding a weapon? The other man -remained seated in a chair. He was about thirty or thirty-five years -old, of medium build with dark curly hair, sallow complexion. His nose -was a little flattened, he had a brown mustache, brown eyes, and wore -a cap 'A la Sicilian.' Cecala introduced the first man as Mr. Morello -and the second as 'Michele, the Calabrian.' - -"Morello bade me make myself comfortable. Then he gave me a piercing -glance and said slowly: - -"'How is it, professor, that you cannot succeed in reaching a color -like the green on the two-dollar notes?' - -"'I told Mr. Cecala from the beginning that this was not in my line of -work,' I replied. - -"'How is it that a printer like you don't know how to mix inks?' - -"'I am experienced in composing and printing books, not in printing -money.' - -"'Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!' ejaculated the bandit comprehendingly. 'So, if you -do not know how to mix the ink the bills cannot be printed?' - -"'Certainly not.' - -"'Well, we will find a man who knows how to prepare the inks, and I -advise you to do the printing carefully so that the money can be -easily exchanged. Save the Canadian notes because they are expensive -to exchange. And just now we are without money and cannot incur extra -expenses.' - -"'I would rather leave this work and return to New York,' I ventured. - -"'You are crazy,' yelled Cecala, who was still present. 'Now that we -are at it we must complete it. If things go right, we will all be -rich; but don't think of betraying us because _your life would be -lost_ if you did. You must never tell any one what you are doing at -the peril of losing your life. If you get into danger because of the -secret we will save you.' - -"Morello eyed me sarcastically. He shot a menacing side-glance at me -and uttered this warning in a low voice: 'Suppose you are arrested. -Well, you must never tell that you know us, because we, remaining on -the outside, can help you at the cost of losing our property. I advise -you to be faithful to us. Remember, you are dealing with gentlemen.' - -"'I understand that,' I said, feigning respect, 'but I am in great -danger alone in the woods with the woman, and if I am taken by -surprise I am ruined.' - -"'How? Are you alone? Where is Uncle Vincent? Is he not there?' - -"'Yes.' - -"'He alone is enough to keep any one away from the house. Soon there -will be other people to help you, and keep you company, and bring arms -and ammunition. The first stranger that is suspected will be killed -and buried in the woods.' - -"Morello spoke this with a saturnine air of unconcern as if he had -been discussing a smoke or a glass of wine. To this man murder was -merely an incident to his trade. - -"The arch-bandit now turned to Cecala, saying: - -"'It would be well to ask Milone (Antonio B.), and see if he is able -to make the green tint.' Milone is the man who made the plates. - -"'Who cares to go to Two Hundred and Thirty-Ninth Street, in the -Bronx, at this hour?' replied Cecala in disgusted protest. 'It can be -done to-morrow.' - -"'No. It is better that we send Nick (Sylvester) to-night,' said -Morello with an air of finality that booked no dispute. - -"'Do what you think, Piddu.[2] Suppose we arrange to send Don -Antonio?' - -"'Do not let him leave us, though.' - -"'I know, and if he has to leave, I will accompany him,' concluded -Cecala almost in a whisper. - -"Cecala now invited me out with him, asked me where did I want to -sleep, and when I told him at my aunt's, he offered to accompany me -there. - -"As we were about to leave the place Morello turned to Cecala and I -overheard him say: - -"'Nino, I wish you would not have the professor come here any more. -You know there are detectives following me and as soon as they see a -suspicious face they arrest him. The other night, as you know, they -arrested father and son while they were going down the stairs.' - -"'I know it,' replied Cecala, 'but what are your suspicions about Don -Antonio?' - -"'Well--er--sometimes you can't tell.' - -"The 'Black-Hand' chief dropped into a brief reverie. Maybe he had a -vague vision of the fate that was to befall him. The other man -present, Michele, the Calabrian, had not uttered a single word during -the entire conversation. - -"After we had left the house Cecala turned to me and said with bated -breath: - -"'The man you saw with one hand is Giuseppe Morello, the same who was -implicated in the barrel murder.' - -"I did not reply because I did not know of Morello; neither did I know -of the barrel murder. I only thought that he really had one arm -because I did not see the other. From time to time Morello had been -snuffing tobacco. - -"'I want you to know all my friends so that you can have an idea with -whom you are dealing, and don't think they are poor, but all -landlords,' now confided Cecala. 'Morello is President of the Corleone -Society (Ignatz Florio) and has in his power four buildings amounting -to one hundred thousand dollars. The other man you met the last time, -Pecoraro, is the proprietor of a large wine deposit, and he has more -property. Giglio and Cina are owners of the estates that you saw. I am -poor because I did not know how to profit. My profession is that of -barber. I had a splendid shop, but the business was poor and I sold -it. Two weeks after I sold the barber shop I got in with Morello and -opened a grocery store in Mott Street. But after two years I was -forced into bankruptcy because all the goods were sold on credit and I -was not paid. Then I opened up two gambling houses, one in Mott -Street and the other in Elizabeth Street. I was getting along well -while I fed the police. When I did not want to give them any more they -began to go against me and forced me to close up.' - -"At the moment I could not understand why it should have been -necessary to 'feed' the police, as he said, not being acquainted with -the methods here." - -FOOTNOTE: - -[2] Piddu is the Sicilian diminutive for Giuseppe, the Christian name -of Morello. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE BLACK-HANDER'S POLICE PROTECTION - - -"'Certainly,' Cecala said. 'In America _everything is prohibited; but -if you pay the police or detectives they will leave you in peace_. In -this land money counts, so that if _you kill any one and have money -you will get out of it_. Morello knows how much money he has given to -detectives to get out free out of three or four cases in which he was -implicated. Even now he is supposed to be watched by the police who do -not care to watch him because they know that they will receive their -bit. The government always holds him under suspicion as the head of -the Black-Handers. When anything happens Morello is always in danger -of arrest, but the same policeman he feeds tips him off and so Morello -goes into hiding. The police then feign to raid his place, but, of -course, the man wanted is never there. Now then, my dear Don Antonio, -that's the way things are done in this country. During the last three -years I am getting along well in my line: that is, I am the head of a -band of incendiaries and earn a little money now and then.' - -"Cecala was disclosing to me a phase of the under-world life of crime -and horror of which I knew nothing at the time. - -"'And what do you do to earn this money? Do you take the objects that -you find in the burned houses?' I inquired. - -"'No,' sneered Cecala with contempt. 'I set fire to the houses to -defraud the insurance companies!' - -"He said this with the pride of a professional expert. - -"'And how do you do it?' I inquired, curious to learn his ways. - -"'Well, you own a store and have insured it against fire. You have -paid up the insurance and do not wish to pay any more, but you want to -realize on the money already paid in. You will send for me to set a -fire. In my manner I will develop a fire in an instant. When the -insurance company pays you the money you pay me a percentage.' - -"'Then perhaps you were the one who set the big fire in Mulberry -Street where so many poor people were burned?' - -"'No!' came the quick response. 'I do not set fire to make accidents -happen. That fire was engineered by a Neapolitan band that were in -accord with the proprietor of the dry goods store underneath. They did -not work it right because they started the fire from the side of the -store and afterwards put explosives on the stairs so that no trace -would be left. If I had had that job there would have been no trace to -tell the story, and the damage would have been done from the store -door. There would not have been so many accidents and the families -would have had time to run into the yard.' - -"'How can you guarantee all this? And what explosive matter do you use -to start a fire?' I inquired. - -"'Glycerine,' mumbled the bandit. 'I mix it with other matters. It -does not smell and leaves no trace of the fire.' - -"'And do you go alone on these jobs?' - -"'No. You always need three or four men. I direct them and they bring -the material. I pay each man five dollars a night.' - -"'And these helpers, do they make much money?' - -"'Quite some--now and then. They risk their hides. But it is not -steady work, you know; only on occasions.' - -"The train arrived at the station and Cecala indicated a seat separate -from him so as not to invite suspicion. At Houston Street he signalled -for me to get off, and when in the street he asked me where my aunt -lived. When I told him in Bleecker Street he said: 'I will accompany -you. Let us go to a drug store near by first. I must ask something.' - -"We went to Spring Street and entered a drug store with a sign over -the door spelling the name of 'Antonio Mocito.' Cecala asked a boy in -the store where the druggist might be and the boy replied that he was -out. Cecala told the boy to inform the druggist that he, Cecala, had -been there and to prepare 'that matter.' - -"'I put this druggist right!' boasted Cecala in a low voice. 'He had a -drug store and did a little business. I suggested to him that he -insure the store against fire. After he had paid up for a little -while, I put fire to it and the company paid him three thousand -dollars with which he put up this new store. So you see, he was -saved!' - -"On the way to my aunt's house Cecala made many suggestions to me -warning me that I was to tell my aunt nothing. He told me to meet him -at his home at six o'clock the next morning. This was at 6 P. M. - -"I leave it to the reader's imagination to picture the condition of -mind I was in after learning of the kind of 'gentlemen' I was obliged -to deal with. I had been caught in a trap set by a band of -incendiaries and Black-Handers enjoying police protection. What good -would it have done me to go to the police about it? What could anybody -in my position do under the circumstances? I thought it would be -better to keep silent and save my life until I had occasion to -denounce the gang. I was secretly awaiting this opportunity without -their knowledge. Then, again, how could I proceed against them without -witnesses? - -"The thought that afflicted me with most concern was the fate of the -lady. I realized that her consent to my desire had caused her to be -mixed up with bad people. I also realized that if we were discovered -by the police, Caterina and I would be the only ones to suffer -because we were alone and without any help from any one and penniless. - -"I summoned all the courage I could muster. I always appeared to be -contented with the orders that were given me, and I executed them -without finding the least objection. - -"I was daily afflicted by the life I was leading, and was continually -disturbed in my mind because I saw that I had not one penny, and when -I asked for money I was bluntly refused. It also worried me to think -that my family believed I was working and making money without sending -any home. Time and again I planned to run away, but how? Where would I -go? I would have to abandon all my things and be left out in the -street. And who would help me? A penniless stranger. - -"On the morning of February 5, 1909, it was snowing and very cold when -I went to the home of Cecala at the appointed hour. He invited me to -sit down and his wife served me with coffee. I saw his five children, -quite sympathetic children, three girls and two boys. In looking at -them I was seized by remorse to think that these innocent children as -the offspring of a criminal would probably be converted into criminals -also in time. Cecala told me brusquely that we would have to leave on -the ten o'clock train in spite of the snow. - -"'When we arrive at Highland there will be no one about the station, -and we will arouse no suspicion,' explained Cecala. - -"'Have you found the man to prepare the ink?' I asked. - -"'Yes. He is coming with us. Here is a dollar. Go to your aunt and -meet us at the Grand Central Station. I am going to Don Piddu's -(Morello's) to get other inks that were bought last night. But now -that I think about it, meet me at the Brooklyn Bridge and you will buy -some green ink, because they would not sell it to me. Say you are a -printer and refer them to the shop where you were working.' - -"'And if they object, what shall I reply?' - -"'I will understand.' - -"'And what kind of ink is it necessary to buy?' - -"'The kind we need are marked in the catalogue.' - -"'And who has marked them?' - -"'A professor who has done other work for me and is very practical at -his work. If necessary, he will come and work together with you.' - -"Cecala took me to a store on Rose Street where he employed sign -language to explain the kind of ink he wanted. A young lady asked -questions in English which I could not answer. Cecala then interrupted -and tried to act as interpreter. I was confused for a moment. Then I -took out a bill head with my name on it which I had used while I acted -as solicitor for work in an Italian printing shop in Mott Street. The -young lady read it, and after about twenty minutes she returned, -giving me three cans of ink and the bill, which Cecala paid. - -"Cecala now directed me to go to my aunt's place before meeting him at -the Grand Central Station in time for the ten o'clock train. There I -met the man who was to assist me in printing the counterfeit bills. -The reader may now appreciate the sagacity of Cecala in leaving me -after coming out of the ink store. It gave him the advantage to meet -the mysterious man who was to help in the mixing of the inks, and it -also gave him a chance to throw anybody off the trail if there were -detectives following. - -"At the Grand Central Station we met the man with the camera. Cecala -bought three tickets for Poughkeepsie. Arriving there we found Cina -waiting for us with a closed carriage. He drove to another station and -then to a ferry where we went across the river to Highland and from -there to the clandestine factory. Supper was waiting for us there, and -we rested till the next morning to start work. During the evening, -Cecala, Cina, Uncle Vincent and the other man played cards while -Bernardo and I chopped wood for the stove. - -"On the morning of February 6, 1909, we got the press ready. The man -whose name I had not yet been given mixed the ink. After taking some -proofs the right shade of green was developed. The unnamed man then -explained to me that by mixing black and yellow I would obtain an -olive green, and by mixing this color with the clear green in the cans -which were brought up from New York, the right shade of green, just -like the genuine money color, would be obtained. He explained this so -that I could mix up more in case the ink he had mixed would not be -sufficient to print the ten thousand sheets of the two-dollar bills, -which would make twenty thousand dollars in counterfeit money. Then -he measured the genuine note and marked where the seal was to be -printed. He also prepared the blue shade of ink for this impression. -He advised me to pay close attention to the black. - -"We were alone in the room while he was instructing me, and I told him -that I had little faith in Cecala and his companions because they did -not give me any money, and made me remain without a penny after having -worked a long time. He told me that I ought to be contented, for I was -dealing with gentlemen. In olden times, he said, men in that line of -work, when the work had been done, would _assassinate_ the one doing -the very work I was doing. _The man was murdered_, he explained to me, -_so that the counterfeiters would not be discovered_ and the secret -revealed to the police. - -"'Is there any danger of my being assassinated after completing this -work?' I asked. - -"'No,' he said, 'there is no danger. You are dealing with good -people.' - -"After he was through with his work he wanted to see how the printing -progressed and how many an hour were struck off. He was trying to -figure whether the work could be completed in fifteen days. - -"We worked at the press until about 4 P. M., when there were over -three thousand sheets printed on one side. This progress seemed to -satisfy the photographer and ink mixer. At about 4:30 P. M., Cina, -Cecala and Bernardo went away with the stranger, leaving Uncle Vincent -behind with me. Before leaving, Cecala said that Giglio would come -next morning to help and, if necessary, Bernardo would return also. -Cecala said that when the green side of the printing was completed, -and I saw that a change in the ink was necessary, I was to leave the -plant and meet him in New York. Hereupon Uncle Vincent declared that -it was necessary to have Bernardo present in order that some one could -be watching outside the stone house and keep an eye out for strangers. -Cecala consented, and Bernardo remained with us to do sentinel duty. -Next morning Giglio came, and he and Uncle Vincent and myself worked -on without interruption. Bernardo, armed with a revolver and a rifle, -remained on the outside, having received orders from Uncle Vincent to -fire a shot into the air in the event of strangers appearing. This -was to be the signal for us. - -"On February 9, 1909, the press was ready for the seal. In the morning -Cina handed me a note from Cecala and a letter from my aunt. Cecala's -note requested me to remain in the house and not come to New York if -there was no urgent need of it. My aunt's note informed me that my -brother was about to be operated upon. I lost no time getting into my -street clothes. I prevailed on Cina to show me the way to the station, -where I boarded a train for New York. - -"My first move was to see Cecala and get some money from him, but I -did not find him at his home. Then I went to Morello's home in One -Hundred and Thirty-eighth Street. Mrs. Morello told me that her -husband was not at home, nor did she seem to know where Cecala could -be found. I hurried to my brother's house, got there just as he was -being removed in an ambulance to the Italian Hospital in Houston -Street. I was without a penny and felt very miserable to think that I -could not help at this moment. - -"After going with my brother to the hospital I went to Cecala's house. -He seemed much surprised that I should have come to New York without -first consulting him. However, when I explained the circumstances, -Cecala approved of my action, but said that he had no money, only two -dollars for the return fare. He assured me, though, that he would see -to it that my brother was put in a private ward. This would be an easy -matter, Cecala said, because he was well acquainted with several of -the doctors at the Italian Hospital. He advised me to leave for the -plant as soon as possible, saying that he had many requests for the -counterfeit money and the customers were waiting for him to fill the -orders. - -"I was always obedient to the orders of the gang, and so after going -to my brother's house and trying to console his wife by assuring her -that I had arranged to have a private room for him at the hospital, I -left for Highland on the 11:40 P. M. train. It was very cold when I -arrived at the little station on the Hudson, and I was almost frozen -stiff trying to find Cina's house in the darkness. I stopped at Cina's -house until the next morning when I was taken in his wagon to the -stone house." - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -A KNOCK AT THE DOOR AT 2 A. M. - - -"About two o'clock on the night of February 12, 1909, there was a -knock at the door of the stone house. Uncle Vincent jumped out of bed -and grabbed his rifle. Uncle was quite pale. Bernardo and Giglio armed -themselves with revolvers. I noticed they were trembling. I went down -to the door without a light and asked: - -"'Who is it?' - -"'We,' replied a feminine voice. - -"'Who are you?' - -"'Open the door, professor.' - -"Hereupon Uncle Vincent hurried downstairs and said: - -"'Ignazio has come.' - -"Bernardo and Giglio lighted a lamp and opened the door. A well -dressed man wearing a fur overcoat and a fur cap, a man about thirty -years old, ran toward Uncle Vincent and embraced him, kissing him on -the cheeks. - -"Following Ignazio (Lupo), came Cecala, Sylvester, Cina and an elderly -man who had gray hair and moustache, a man of more than fifty years -old, elegantly dressed, and wearing a gold watch and chain and a large -diamond ring. After Cecala had introduced me to Ignazio Lupo and the -elderly man, named Uncle Salvatore, they requested Caterina to get up -and prepare a meal, as the early morning visitors were hungry and had -brought meat and wine. The new arrivals were very courteous to -Caterina, especially Lupo, who appeared to be a man of great -politeness. - -"Lupo talked some with Caterina and asked her if she liked the place, -to which Caterina answered that it was cold in the house and that she -suffered from hunger. Lupo assured her that he would see that we were -provided for amply hereafter, and wrote down on a piece of paper what -Caterina suggested in the way of food-stuffs. Lupo then instructed -Sylvester to take the note down to New York to Mrs. Lupo, who would -have the goods shipped up to Highland. We never saw the goods, though! - -"While Caterina was frying about six pounds of meat, Cecala and Cina -unloaded two large grips and several bundles. Lupo opened the valise -and removed two repeating rifles, two revolvers and four boxes of -cartridges. There were about one thousand rounds of ammunition. Lupo -then instructed all the gang in the use of the rifles and the -revolvers, which, he said, would shoot about fifteen shots a minute. -All present complimented Lupo on his foresight, declaring that the -weapons were just the thing. After a little more talk about the arms -every one sat down to eat, except I and Caterina. There were no chairs -left for us. We acted as waiters, serving the 'lords' of the gang! - -"They were eating and drinking joyfully when Uncle Vincent turned to -Lupo and said: - -"'What news are you bringing, Ignazio?' - -"'You all know the news. Besides, Petrosino[3] has gone to Italy.' - -"'If he went to Italy, he is as good as dead,' said Uncle Vincent. - -"'I hope they get him,' was the pious wish of Cina. - -"'He has ruined many of us,' went on Lupo. 'It is enough to say that -he had himself locked up in the Tombs Prison to interrogate the -suspects and uncover crimes.' - -"'Many a mother's child he has ruined,' said Uncle Salvatore -(Palermo), 'and how many are still crying!' - -"'What is more,' continued Lupo, 'I have given Michele, the Calabrian, -his fare to ---- to go and see his family, which was stricken by the -earthquake.' - -"'You have done well,' broke in Cecala, winking an evil eye and making -a peculiar motion. Doubtless this was a secret sign. He lifted his -glass and shouted: 'Let's drink our own health and to hell with that -Carogna!'[4] - -"The 'table talk' now turned on other things, such as the exploding of -bombs by Sylvester, aided by his son and the step-brother of Morello. -It appeared that they had run away after the bomb had been hurled when -they were caught and brought before the judge, where they pleaded -innocence and so escaped the clutches of the law. There was some talk -of Lupo's business failure for a matter of about $100,000; and mention -was also made of the failure of a bank in Elizabeth Street, which was -controlled by Uncle Vincent. - -"In spite of his business reverses Lupo was in good humor and sang -several songs for the company with the bravado of the born bandit. By -and by the lusty gang went to bed, occupying every bed in the house. -Caterina and I remained awake. At daylight, Cina, Sylvester and Giglio -left. The others remained to direct and help in the work. - -"After three days of directing the work at the stone house, and trying -out the guns in the woods together with Uncle Salvatore, Lupo and the -latter departed. Salvatore remarking that he was going to make his -home at Cina's house. Their departure left Uncle Vincent, Giglio, -Bernardo and myself to do the work. - -"About the twenty-third or the twenty-fourth of February, I am not -certain which, I gave to Cina and Cecala the completed work on the -two-dollar notes, that is: twenty thousand and four hundred dollars in -counterfeit money. The bills were put up in packages of one hundred -and bundled into a dress suit case. Then they started to plan the -route for distributing the bad money. Cecala said that he preferred to -go to Philadelphia first; then Baltimore, where he had many friends; -from Baltimore they would cover Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Chicago. The -counterfeit money, after being placed at each of the centers, was to -be placed in circulation on a given day, so that the notes would -appear simultaneously in all the cities. - -"They made me take the plates off the press and hide them under a -plank in the floor together with some ink. Every piece of paper with -any printing on was burned. Before departing they assured Caterina and -I that they would return in a week and give us some good money; also, -they would then tell me whether to continue or suspend the work. - -"A very lonesome week in the dreary old stone house followed. On the -first Sunday in March, 1909, Cina's brother, Peppino, bobbed up. He -had come to take me to Cina's house where certain people from New York -wanted to talk with me. He took a boxful of the Canadian five-dollar -counterfeit bills. The visitors were to determine whether the Canadian -money was good enough to sell or whether it was to be burned up, so -he explained. - -"Upon hearing this I had a presentiment that the day of my being -murdered had arrived. Without saying a word to Peppino and Cina, I -called Caterina aside and told her my fears. I showed her how to use -the rifle. - -"'Caterina,' I said, 'in case I do not return and people come to you -with any excuse, no matter what, to get you, it is a sure sign that -they have assassinated me. Then shoot whoever comes after you, or they -will murder you!' - -"The poor woman began to cry, and I had difficulty in composing her. -Unnoticed by Peppino I managed to steal Uncle Vincent's revolver, and -put it into my pocket." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[3] Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino of the Italian Detective Bureau, -attached to the New York Police Department, was murdered in Palermo, -Sicily, while on a mission for the Police Department then under the -guidance of Commissioner Theodore Bingham. Petrosino had been an -implacable foe of the Lupo-Morello gang. His murder has never been -explained to the public. - -[4] Carogna in the Sicilian dialect means a putrid, dead animal. Among -the Sicilian criminals the word is used to designate anybody that -brings harm to any gang of criminals. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE BLACK-HANDERS IN SESSION - - -"Upon entering the house, which was close by Cina's farmhouse, I saw a -table in a room on the ground floor and around this table were seated -the following bandits: Ignazio Lupo, Giuseppe Morello, Antonio Cecala, -Uncle Salvatore (Giuseppe Palermo), Uncle Vincent, Vincenzio Giglio, -Bernardo Perrone, Nicola Sylvester, besides a man from Brooklyn whom -the gang called Domenico and who was a baker, and five other men whose -names I did not know. Cina was not there, being occupied with his -family, where a birth was expected momentarily. - -"As I stepped in no one motioned to recognize me nor was my greeting -returned. Mechanically I took a seat. After about ten minutes of -sinister silence and ill-boding glances, Cina broke the strain as he -came rushing in with Peppino, his brother, both of them laughing and -shouting like madmen. - -"'A boy! A boy!' they yelled. - -"Cina received the congratulations of the gang. Silence once more -haunted the room. Then Lupo turned to me abruptly and said: - -"'Don Antonio, your work is worthless. It is a rotten job; so much so -that none of it could be sold. Cina and Cecala have risked their lives -in trying to sell it. However, they have sold some four thousand -dollars of the counterfeit money, taking in, all in all, about one -thousand dollars in genuine money. They have expended about two -hundred dollars on their trip to different cities distributing our -product. Therefore, there remains about eight hundred dollars, which -will be divided among the ones that have advanced the first money. If -you had turned out a good job we could have taken in more by selling -it all. As it is about seven or eight thousand dollars have been made -for the stove. - -"'The Canadian money is worthless and must be burned. It cannot be put -on the market. But this is no fault of yours, in this instance. It is -the fault of the one who made the plates. - -"'Now you watch how the money is divided. _If there is any left_, you -get it. These men present will not accept a penny of the remainder -until those who advanced the money have been settled with.' - -"'As my work did not turn out well,' I replied to Lupo, 'give me only -enough to return to New York.' - -"'No,' broke in Morello, decisively. 'We don't know yet whether you -may return to New York or whether you are to continue the work in -company with another man.' - -"'You want money?' asked Lupo. 'Who will give it to you? I have spent -two hundred dollars and now will take that amount. There will then be -but six hundred dollars to be divided.' - -"'Don't do things all your own way, Ignazio,' Morello warned in his -husky voice. 'Let us deliberate and argue this thing out. There are -eight hundred dollars. You have spent two hundred dollars. You get -seventy-five dollars now. I have spent fifty dollars and will take it -now, as I need it very much, as you know. Fifty dollars we will give -to Cina, twenty dollars to Don Antonio, ten to Uncle Salvatore and ten -more to Uncle Vincent, five to Giglio and five to Bernardo; what is -left is needed for the continuation of the work with the other -plates.' - -"'And the man who made the plates, don't you want to give him -anything?' inquired Cecala. - -"'Yes,' was the reply in chorus. - -"'Well,' turning to me, 'take these twenty dollars,' said Morello, -'and return to the house. Await there the decision whether you are to -return to New York or not.' - -"I accepted the money and tucked it into my pocket. Then I was driven -to the stone house in a carriage accompanied by Cina's brother -Peppino. - -"During this session with the gang some of them got busy and started -to burn up the Canadian five-dollar notes, and a portion of the -two-dollar American notes. These were the notes returned as worthless -by the gang. While throwing the notes into the stove Uncle Salvatore -and Peppino exclaimed from time to time: - -"'What a shame. They might all have been sold.' - -"Once more at the stone house I explained to Caterina what had -happened. I told her that they had given me the twenty dollars and -that I was going to go to New York and not return; of course she was -to come along with me. But after thinking it over we resolved that our -appearance was so miserable that we had better remain a while longer. -There was also the ever-present danger that if we ran away from this -gang we would be murdered. We abandoned the idea, therefore, and -stayed at the stone house awaiting the orders of the gang. - -"We were not kept waiting long. Next morning, Salvatore Cina came to -the house in a very happy mood. He told me that I could not return to -New York because the work was to be continued with other and better -plates for the two-dollar notes. The five-dollar notes were to be -continued, and we were to print until five million dollars had been -struck off the press. This amount, he said, would make us all rich. -Then the work was to cease. He told me that it had been decided to buy -a horse and carriage for the exclusive use of the stone house. I was -to go to New York and meet Cecala who would introduce me to the man -who was to direct the work from now on. I was to tell Cina the day I -intended going to New York. - -"After arranging that Giglio and Bernardo were to remain with -Caterina, while I was in New York and Uncle Vincent went to Newburgh -on business, I said that I would be ready for my trip in two days. -Then Cina left me after he had warned me not to tell any of the -secrets of the place, explaining how hard it was for the police to -discover the plant. He declared I must be happy in the thought of -future wealth. - -"On March 7, 1909, Cina returned to the stone house with a carriage, -bringing Giglio and Bernardo to keep Caterina company. He drove me to -the Highland station, and I got aboard the 11 A. M. train for New -York. Arriving at the Grand Central station I was met by Cecala, who -took me to a house at No. 5 Jones Street. Not finding the party he was -seeking there, he told me to go to my aunt's house and return to the -Jones Street address at eight o'clock that evening and ask for Don -Peppe. - -"That same evening at the appointed hour I went to the Jones Street -house and inquired in a grocery store on the street floor for Don -Peppe. A woman indicated to me the door where I knocked. A bald-headed -man, about forty-five years old, with a nice light brown moustache -opened the door. - -"Cecala was there seated in a chair. He introduced me to the man who -opened the door saying that he was Giuseppe Calichio, a lithograph -engraver, alias Don Peppe. Cecala turned to Calichio and said: - -"'Don Peppe, we are in need of your work. This man (indicating me) is -a printer, but he is not capable of doing the work that we require. -You must go with him and continue this work. It is already started and -everything will go well. When we have printed two or three million -dollars' worth we will stop. We are in luck.' - -"'Unless we are discovered by the police,' replied Calichio. - -"'Have no such fear,' said Cecala. 'The place where the work is done -is very secure. No one would ever suspect that such a thing is going -there.' - -"'Listen, Cecala,' said Calichio. 'If things happen as they did when I -did work for you before, then I refuse to go. I do not care to work -and risk my life and then get nothing for it.' - -"'No, no,' said Cecala. 'You know that that work did not turn out at -all well.' - -"'I know nothing other than that you caused me to sell my little -printing shop, and I am in terrible condition financially even now as -a result of it. If you want me to do the work you speak about in -company with brother Comito here, you must give me twenty dollars a -week and board. I have a family in Italy to look after, don't forget. -As long as you pay me what I want I am ready to work for you; but I -must be paid in advance. The first week that you fail to pay me in -advance I will cease to work and come home. And what is more, my dear -Cecala, I want good eating and must have wine every day; as you know -there is not a day that goes by without my drinking wine that I do not -get a headache. The wine gives me strength and health.' - -"Cecala's answer to this was characteristic: - -"'Don Peppe, I will do all that is possible to get you twenty dollars -a week, but I must first talk with the others, my friends, as you know -that I am not alone in this undertaking. As to the eating, you will -have all that you want and there will be wine. I will have a barrel of -it shipped to Highland, direct to Cina, who will see that you get some -when you want it.' - -"'Who is this Cina?' asked Calichio, suspiciously. - -"'He is my godfather, whom you will know when you are in Highland,' -said Cecala. - -"'Perhaps he is that farmer whom I saw in Don Piddu's (Morello's) -house last year?' - -"'Precisely,' said Cecala. - -"He continued: 'I will bring the first twenty dollars to-morrow. -To-morrow night you will leave with Comito?' - -"'All right. But first, I must see the plates and examine them to see -whether they are good. If I am to do this work, it must be done -perfectly. You know that I do not do things by halves. I must see -whether the plates need retouching. I will bring my tools. If I am -unable to use them for this work then we will buy some before leaving -the city.' - -"'Have no doubt,' continued Cecala. 'I will come to-morrow morning and -show the plates to you, and you can take them with you.' - -"'Come to-morrow about 10 A. M. with Comito, and not before ten, -because I expect a person on some _personal_ business and do not want -him to see you,' counselled Calichio. - -"During all this talk I did not say a word. On my way with Cecala to -my aunt's house in Bleecker Street Cecala remarked: - -"'Don Antonio, that man Calichio is the professor for the job. In -Italy he has printed for aristocratic families, who were in hard -luck. He printed for these aristocrats about three million dollars in -fifty, one-hundred, five-hundred and one-thousand lire notes. _This -money was worked off in this country on people who were going to Italy -on trips._ Don Peppe is capable of transferring to lithographic stones -the engraving on bank notes and then transfer the engraving from the -lithographic stones on to zinc plates, and in this way perfect the -plates that are necessary for our business.' - -"'Is that how our plates were made?' I inquired. - -"'No. Ours were made by photography and a lot of preparations are -necessary by that method. It is enough to say that I have spent over a -hundred dollars up-to-date for chemicals.' - -"Suddenly Cecala turned on me a whispered: 'Don Antonio, what have you -told your aunt?' - -"'Nothing--why?' - -"'Did she ask where you are working?' - -"'No. She knows that I am working in Philadelphia.' - -"'Good! If she asks with whom you are working in Philadelphia say that -your employer is a priest, and his name is Bonaventure (----).' - -"'Very well,' I replied. 'My aunt is not interested whether I am -working with a priest or with a monk. I have told her that I was -employed in a printing shop, nothing else.' - -"'Good! You are an intelligent man, and that is why I and all my -friends like you Calabrians, because you are secretive and are never -corrupted. I knew a Calabrian who was arrested with counterfeit notes -on him, once, and the policemen made him all kinds of promises and -even punched him, in their effort to learn from him who had given him -the counterfeit money to exchange; but he never told a word. He never -squealed.' - -"I made no reply; only shook Cecala's hand and went to my aunt's. - -"The next morning, I forget whether it was the 9th or the 10th of -March, I went at the given hour to Calichio's house, where I found -Cecala examining the zinc plates for the two-dollar American notes, of -the check letter C, plate number 1110. - -"Calichio carefully examined the plates with a magnifying glass. He -explained to us that the acids that were used for washing the plates -were too strong and had destroyed some fine lines and that it would be -necessary to retouch the plates and so raise the missing lines. He -would do it himself, Calichio said, if the proper tools were brought -to him. Cecala quickly answered that the tools would be bought -immediately and that we were to prepare to leave for Highland that -night. We then went to a hardware store on the Bowery, and Calichio -selected some chisels and other tools, for which Cecala paid. As soon -as we were out of the store Cecala gave Calichio his first twenty -dollars in advance. Turning to me, Cecala said: - -"'Don Antonio, Don Peppe and I are going to buy some chemicals. You -can go away and be at Jones Street to-night at 10 P. M. ready to -leave. Buy what you need, because you will not return to New York -until the work is completed.' - -"I went to a store and bought a pair of shoes for myself and a pair -for Caterina. I also bought some little delicacies of food for her. - -"That night the three of us left on the 11 P. M. train for Highland. -Arriving there at 2 in the morning, we were met at the station by -Peppino Cina with a carriage. He told us that we must go directly to -the stone house and not stop at Cina's farm because a strange face -might arouse suspicion among the neighbors. We did not work that day. -We took a much-needed rest." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -PRINTING THE BAD MONEY - - -"Calichio was up at an early hour and set to work retouching the -two-dollar American note plates. He fixed the plates on wood blocks, -made the press ready and got the right impression, prepared the ink -and struck off proofs on several kinds of paper to see the effect of -the ink and get the correct shade. He also prepared some chemicals -with which to dampen the paper and give a darker shade. Having -succeeded in getting the right shade of green Calichio explained that -the color was the same as on the genuine notes and that all they -needed now was the paper. - -"Cecala then said he would leave immediately and have the paper -shipped forthwith. Turning to me Cecala gave instructions for me to be -busy only at feeding the press. Don Peppe was to direct the job. I to -obey the latter in every detail. Cecala then took the proofs and put -them in his pocket, saying that he would show them to Ignazio and Don -Piddu (Lupo and Morello) and mark the difference between this and the -first job, which was mine. - -"Two days later Nick Sylvester came and brought with him a suit-case -full of paper which he gave to Calichio saying: - -"'To-morrow Ignazio will come to see how the work is going along. In -the meantime you can proceed with the work and print. I will remain to -help you.' - -"When Lupo arrived the next morning in company with Cecala and Cina -they all came up to the work room. After examining the work they -praised Calichio, telling him that they ought to give him a gold -medal. As for me, I was deserved of a dirty, leather medal, the -bandits hinted. - -"Turning to me Lupo said, 'This homely Calabrian doesn't even deserve -to be looked at. The work he did should have been _burned on his -head_.' - -"I did not reply, but played the simpleton. - -"After examining the work Lupo turned to Uncle Vincent and said: - -"'Uncle Vic--guess what's happened?' - -"'What?' - -"'Petrosino was killed in Italy.' - -"'Honestly?' - -"'Honestly. The papers are talking about it.' - -"'I said it,' continued Uncle Vincent, 'that if Petrosino went to -Italy they would kill him.' - -"'Who was the hero? He deserves a medal,' said Cecala. - -"'And where have they killed him?' continued Uncle Vincent. - -"'In Palermo.' - -"'Then it means that it was _well done_,' said Uncle Vincent, -significantly. - -"'Certainly. The way it was done it could never fail,' said Lupo. - -"'And----,' Cecala said. 'This was death becoming him. How many sons -of mothers he has condemned for nothing.' - -"Hearing all this I asked: - -"'Who is this Petrosino?' - -"'He was the head of the secret police in New York,' replied Cecala. -'A homely man! Worse than the Bubonic Plague.' - -"'I never heard of him.' - -"'You will never meet him,' said Cecala dryly, the others grinning. - -"'Then it was successful?' continued Uncle Vincent. - -"'Certainly,' replied Lupo. 'It could not be successful in New York -because he guarded his hide. Here he toted a revolver in his coat -pocket and was guarded by two policemen a short distance behind him.' - -"'It is a good example for the policemen,' continued Uncle Vincent. -'No one will now dare to go to Palermo. There they will find only sure -death.' - -"Cina did not talk any because he was intent on spreading the -counterfeit notes out on the garret floor. When he came downstairs to -the workroom, however, he said: - -"'As soon as we can we must celebrate for joy; just now we will be -content with a glass of wine.' - -"They all went downstairs and sat at a table conversing in low voices -and I could not understand what they said because the press made a -noise and interfered with my hearing. - -"I and Uncle Vincent continued to work at the press under Calichio's -directions. Sylvester would take the notes as they were printed and -spread them out on the floor in the garret to dry. Bernardo was -stationed outside armed with rifle and revolver to guard the house and -to 'spot' any person who might pass or prowl about the premises. - -"In the afternoon of that day Lupo, Cecala, and Cina went outside and -had some sport trying out their revolvers against the trees. When they -returned Lupo asked Calichio how long it would take to print the ten -thousand two-dollar bills. About twenty days was Calichio's estimate. - -"Lupo then told Calichio that he would leave the plant, but would -return at the end of the month and bring plates for five-dollar -American notes. He addressed Calichio as 'dear Don Peppe' and told him -to be prepared for the work and to take particular pains with the -five-dollar notes, because he intended sending some of them to Italy. - -"'Have no doubts,' replied Calichio. 'I have never done any work that -was useless, and you know it. My work has always been perfect.' - -"'Bravo, Don Peppe, we know that you are a professor at it,' said -Cecala. - -"That same night about six P. M. Cecala, Lupo, and Cina went away, -leaving me with Calichio, Uncle Vincent, Sylvester, and Bernardo. - -"During that month (March, 1909) we worked without interruption -printing the two-dollar notes. About the 27th, the first twenty -thousand dollars of the counterfeit two-dollar notes were ready and -were turned over to Cina and Sylvester, who were to bring them to New -York. - -"After this first job of Calichio's workmanship had been turned over, -on the last Sunday in March Lupo returned in company with Cina, -Sylvester and Giglio, who brought the plates for the five-dollar notes -and about twenty thousand sheets of paper upon which to print the -additional money. - -"Upon receiving the plates Calichio looked them over attentively and -said that they were copper plates and not zinc, and that there was -need of slight retouching. He detected several lines that were not -shown in the photograph on the face of the note. These lines needed to -be etched into the plates in the picture, which represented a farmer -and an old man with a woman and a dog. - -"Lupo explained to Calichio that Cecala was on the road about New -York, Brooklyn and Hoboken, selling the two-dollar notes, but that as -soon as he finished up this work he would return to the stone house -and oversee the work there. - -"Calichio prepared the press, fixed the inks, and printed the first -proofs for the green side of the five-dollar notes. These were -pronounced very good by Lupo and Uncle Vincent and they ordered that -fifteen or twenty thousand of them be printed. Whatever paper was left -was to be used for the two-dollar notes, which were very good and -easily disposed of. - -"On the night of the 29th, or 30th of March, 1909, Lupo left in -company with Uncle Vincent and Cina. Before leaving, however, -instructions were given to Bernardo, Giglio and Sylvester to count the -notes printed daily so that none could be unaccounted for and sold -into circulation. The fear that cheating might be practiced was -evidently in Lupo's mind. - -"We had been working about a week on the green side of the five-dollar -notes when on April 5th, or 6th, Cina came to the stone house and told -us to suspend the work and start in on the two-dollar notes, because -there was a large demand for them from Boston, Buffalo and Chicago, -where customers were anxiously awaiting a new supply. Calichio -immediately got the press ready to print another ten thousand of the -two-dollar notes. - -"It was at this time that I decided not to continue the work and left -the press because I was not spoken to but ignored entirely. Even -Sylvester and Giglio called me by an obscene name and referred to me -in the most distasteful language, horrible to hear because of the -profanity. I told Cina I wanted him to write to Cecala and tell him to -send me sufficient money for my fare to New York. At this Cina -answered in the Sicilian dialect: - -"'You are waiting for me to blow your brains out. Now that we are at -the point where we can earn some money, you get sassy. Here you are -dealing with gentlemen; otherwise, by this time you would be dead. Go -ahead and work. No more of this fussing.' - -"Then turning to Sylvester and Giglio, Cina continued: '(Piciotti) -Boys, watch this Calabrian, and if he don't want to work, shoot him -and make a hole for him in the farm.' - -"After hearing this I felt like a whipped dog and kept my mouth -closed. I went over to the press and started in to work. Calichio came -over to me and said: - -"'Don Antonio, look out. Don't act this way with these people, because -they are all of the (Mala-vita) Mafia and will do you harm in an -instant. As long as you are among them you must obey orders, as I do, -using prudence.' - -"Now it happened that for two weeks Calichio had not received his -weekly salary and he became nervous for this reason. One day, when I -did not want to print on wet paper, he dressed and went away. I, -thinking that he had just gone out, stopped working and waited for him -to return. But at night, when Sylvester, Giglio and Bernardo saw that -Calichio did not return, _they threatened me with death_. Sylvester -pointed a loaded revolver at me saying that he would dig my eyes out; -Giglio, taking an axe in his hand, said he wanted to cut my head off, -but Caterina intervened and the threatening stopped. Sylvester left -the stone house to carry the news to New York. - -"Three days went by without any work being done, then Calichio -returned in company with Sylvester and Cina. Cina handed me a note -from Cecala which informed me that I must obey Calichio's order or -suffer terrible consequences. I worked on against my will under -Calichio's orders." - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -SOME "AFTER-DINNER" CONFESSIONS - - -"One night in the month of April (1909) I was sitting with the bandits -in the stone house and listening to their stories. Calichio, -Sylvester, Giglio and Bernardo were there. Among other exploits -Calichio remarked that he had once printed one million lire for a -baronial family residing at Naples in Italy. This was about fifteen -years back, he said, when his father was alive. - -"Sylvester boasted that his first sentence was for five years in the -reformatory as a minor. He ran away from the reformatory in company -with several other boys and got into the horse-stealing business. He -was sentenced several times for small offenses and he once was -arrested for carrying concealed weapons. - -"During his imprisonment he came to know a certain Terranova, who was -a half-brother of Morello, and they became fast friends. They stole -horses in New York and sold them in other cities at reduced prices; or -they would bring the horses to friends in the country (Highland) and -receive payment. He told of being arrested once when with Morello's -son and brother; they had thrown a bomb into a store in Mott Street. -They were let go because there were no witnesses to the crime. In -concluding his recitation Sylvester said: - -"'One night I went with the Morello brothers and other friends into a -hall where a Jewish wedding was being celebrated. As we entered the -hall we recognized two policemen who had helped us before in our jobs. -Our idea was to steal watches. We succeeded in stealing about fifteen -watches when a Jew I was robbing got onto me. He grabbed me by the -coat and called the police. The policeman knew me and took my part. He -pushed the Jew aside and told him to go away. The policeman said he -knew me to be a fine young man for more than ten years. The policeman -told the Jew he was lying and that if he said any more about the -matter he would be put under arrest. The Jew was crest-fallen, but -went on dancing all the same. As we came outside, I gave three watches -to the policeman, two of silver and one of gold. I disposed of the -others in New Jersey. We divided the proceeds equally among us.' - -"Then Giglio made the boast that the police had never been able to -arrest him. He had been in great danger, though, he said. One night in -the winter of 1906 he went to Newburgh to steal a horse and carriage. -While running away with the stolen property he was shot at twice. -Neither bullet hit him, though, he said. Two months later the same -horse and carriage were sold in Poughkeepsie for one hundred dollars. - -"Bernardo had nothing to relate except the innocent amusement of -having stolen fruit in his native town. The others grinned. - -"On April 26th or 27th the second lot of Calichio's two-dollar notes -were ready. They totalled fifteen thousand dollars and were wrapped up -in rags. Giglio and Sylvester took them to New York. - -"Calichio and I then renewed work on the five-dollar notes, which we -figured on finishing about the middle of May, when a communication -from New York made us stop again on the five-dollar notes, and we -started on the third lot of Calichio's two-dollar notes. During the -month of May, I, Calichio, Sylvester, Giglio and Bernardo all had a -hand in the completion of this third lot of two-dollar notes, which -amounted to $10,000; then, too, we finished up by the end of May -$14,700 of the five-dollar notes. During this period Calichio received -his wages punctually, but he did not let on to me. - -"When the work had been completed I called Caterina aside and told her -that I was going to New York and would not return to the stone house, -as I did not intend to continue at that sort of work. In fact, I -dismantled the press, piece by piece, took the genuine five-dollar -note that was used for comparison, it being the original from which -the plates were made, and said to Giglio: - -"'Don Vincenzio, I am going to New York to seek rooms and will see -Cecala there; I am going because, counting this last batch, I have -printed about $60,000 and have received nothing for my labor.' - -"'You deserve to have your head smashed on a rock,' was the cheerful -reply. 'If the money is not yet sold, who will you see to get paid?' - -"'Cecala.' - -"'Cecala is not in New York. If he were, I certainly would bring him -this last batch of money. We must wait until my brother-in-law comes.' - -"'I don't care whether it is sold or not. I am in a miserable -condition and will not remain here.' - -"'Do as you like, but look out, though, if you do any harm there will -not be a hair left of you.' - -"'I want to go about my own business and do not care about others.' -Thereupon, I took a suit-case with a few rags that I had left and went -on foot to the Highland Railroad station where I changed the -five-dollar bill and bought a ticket to New York. Arriving in the city -I went directly to my aunt's, who was surprised to see me so poorly -clad and in such a miserable condition. I told her that I had had a -quarrel with my employer because he had not paid me. - -"On June 2nd, while walking about my business, I met Cecala at -Bleecker and Carmine Streets. He laughed at me, shook my hand, and -inquired why I had not remained at the stone house in Highland and -continued the work. - -"'I could not continue,' I replied, 'because I was treated too -shabbily there by the others. And why should I continue to work when -no word had come to us from New York for more than two weeks?' - -"'Well, Don Antonio,' said Cecala, 'I will fix all your affairs so -that Caterina will remain in New York, for you and Don Peppe _must -continue the work_. The man who made the plates has been working on -another set of Canadian notes, not like the first that we printed, but -of the same denomination, five dollars.' - -"'Write and let Caterina come now,' I said. 'As to my doing more work -for you, let's talk about that later.' - -"'It is not necessary to write; I will telephone. Come with me.' From -a drug store at Carmine and Bleecker Streets Cecala telephoned to -Highland, or rather to Cina's house. - -"Cina's wife said that her husband had gone with Ignazio (Lupo) to -Newburgh and that she would tell him when he returned. Coming out of -the drug store Cecala handed me ten dollars, saying: - -"'Take this ten dollars and find rooms for yourself. I will provide -for the rest later when Caterina comes to-morrow or the next day. -Your things will arrive in a few days.' He told me to keep him -advised. I could meet him at a barber shop in Carmine Street, he said. - -"Not seeing anything of Caterina, on June 4th I wrote a letter to Cina -at Highland, and requested him to send my things immediately and to -give Caterina the money for her fare to New York. - -"Cina received my letter and got the impression from it that I was -going to tell the police, and he went right over to the stone house to -ship my furniture. - -"On the fifth of June, in the evening, Don Peppe (Calichio) came to my -aunt's house and there told me that he had run away from the stone -house with Caterina because they had threatened to kill him. He said -that the threats were made by Sylvester, Giglio and Bernardo. Hearing -this I hastened out on the stoop and saw Caterina all trembling. She -said: 'I don't know how we escaped--Don Peppe and me.' - -"'Why?' - -"'Bernardo, Sylvester and Giglio wanted to kill us; and Bernardo had -already got hold of a shovel to dig a hole.' - -"'And who gave you the money for the fare?' - -"'Lupo.' - -"'How much did he give you?' - -"'He gave ten dollars to Don Peppe in the presence of Cina, Uncle -Vincent, and the other men, whom I do not know, and he gave me five -dollars.' - -"'Well,' I said, 'to-night you will sleep at my brother's home, and do -not tell him any stories nor let him understand the circumstances of -our trouble. To-morrow I will find a house. Cecala gave me ten dollars -the other day.' - -"I thanked Calichio for getting Caterina out of the stone house to New -York, and then went away leaving Caterina at the home of my brother." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -EVADING THE GANG IN VAIN - - -"On June 6th I rented some rooms at No. 171 Thompson Street and paid -for a month in advance. I then went to the barber shop to find Cecala. -I told him of hiring the rooms and that I needed a deposit to have the -gas turned on. He told me that he would look out for everything in a -day or so when he had the time. He showed a receipt for my goods, -which had been shipped from Highland the day before and which would -soon arrive, he said. He gave me five dollars with which to pay the -charges on my furniture when it would arrive. When I asked him how I -was to get food, he handed me a card and said that I was to go to the -address and say that he sent me and that provisions would be furnished -me. On the card was D. Milone, No. 235 East Ninety-seventh Street. - -"'Will I get what I want there?' - -"'Certainly,' Cecala said. 'Just mention my name and all will be well -with you there.' - -"After arranging with an express company to have my goods taken from -the dock to the Thompson Street rooms, I went to the Milone address -and asked for Cecala. - -"'Who is this Cecala?' inquired a short man of ruddy complexion and -stout face. - -"'Why, don't you know him?' I asked. 'He gave me this address where I -was to come and buy groceries.' - -"'Have you inquired in the bank downstairs?' - -"'No.' - -"'Go and see.' - -"I went down to the bank of one De Luca and found a barrel containing -groceries addressed to Luigi Cosentino. This I had brought to my rooms -in Thompson Street. - -"'You must pay sixty cents,' said the banker, 'right away.' And Cecala -paid the money for me. - -"Going upstairs again Cecala said in the presence of Giglio and -Sylvester: - -"'Don Antonio, we must continue the work. Not in that place (the stone -house), but in another farm that has been rented by Giglio and that -is very far from Highland. We will not work any more with the same -press because it is not very good as to impression. We must buy a new -press, which Calichio is negotiating for now, a new model.' - -"'I will not come again,' I replied, 'because I have found work as a -compositor and I am to go to work to-morrow.' - -"'Don't begin to make trouble. You know all our secrets now and we -can't let you go.' - -"'But why don't you let Calichio continue the work?' - -"'Calichio is no good at the press. You know of what he is capable.' - -"'I cannot go,' I repeated. - -"'Listen, Don Antonio, I promise you that you will not work much. -Print at least the other ten-thousand sheets of paper for two-dollar -notes and the work will be completed. Then we will suspend operations -for the summer, and will begin again in the Fall.' - -"'Mr. Cecala, I will return to print the paper that is left, but you -must give me, at the beginning of August, $400 because I want to -return to Italy; then I will come back to New York in November. Are -you satisfied?' - -"'Have no doubts as to that. By the first two weeks of August I will -give you $500 and not $400, because by that time I will have sold all -the money. But will you return to America?' - -"'Yes, because I am going to Italy only to arrange family affairs.' - -"Calichio now arrived and said that he had found the party who wanted -to sell the press, and he suggested that I go and see the man. At this -juncture Giglio interrupted to say that the press, which we had been -using, had been broken up and thrown into the woods on the farm that -had just been rented in his name for the new location of the plant. - -"'But,' put in Calichio, 'is that farm a place that is at all likely -to be suspected?' - -"'Certainly not,' said Giglio, 'it is far from Highland, about three -hours over the road, and is situated on the Hudson River. It is a -frame house standing by itself so that in working there will be no -noise heard by neighbors. And there is no road where people pass by -the house.' - -"'You mean,' Cecala interrupted, 'that you can work without fear of -being disturbed?' - -"'Not even the flies will disturb us.' - -"'Good,' said Cecala, turning to me. 'Go and see this Riso (the -pressman) and see if he really wants to sell the press.' - -"'Why should I go and not some one else?' - -"'You are of the trade and know whether there are any defects.' - -"'And if he asks me who I am, what shall I answer?' - -"'Tell him you are Cosentino and have a shop on One Hundred and -Fortieth Street.' - -"'Why don't you come with me?' - -"'No,' said Cecala, 'I will wait here.' - -"'It would be better that you come along. Two heads are better than -one.' - -"Cecala was persuaded and together we went to the printing shop to -look over the presses. Riso, the pressman, said that he wanted to sell -the press because he had not enough work to keep it occupied and was -short fifty dollars to pay off the mortgage. He explained that in -order to sell it he must first get permission from the factory people, -who held the mortgage. He bought it about eight months previously. - -"A price of $85 was agreed to. - -"'But,' queried Riso, 'what do you need the press for?' - -"'For a printing shop,' I replied. - -"'And have you a shop now?' - -"'Yes.' - -"'Where?' - -"I gave him the One Hundred and Fortieth Street address suggested by -Cecala before we entered the printing shop. - -"Riso assured me that the press was first class and would turn out -fine work. - -"On June 10th, the next day, the press was paid for and carted off in -a covered wagon. I had taken the press apart without arousing -suspicion that it was to be taken on a long journey. The parts were -taken off because of the danger of leaving them on the press body -while in shipment. On the sides of the closed wagon was the name of -Antonio Armato, Bakery. The man who drove it was introduced to me by -Giglio as his godfather. Giglio explained that the press was to be -carted on godfather's wagon because he had been unable to get an -express wagon at the moment. - -"In order to keep up the bluff before Riso I said to Giglio: - -"'Well, it is just as well. You know where my shop is and can have -this man take the press there. I will remain downtown and attend to -other matters while you take the press uptown.' Cecala squinted at me -admiringly. - -"On the 13th of June Cecala informed me that I was to be ready to go -to Highland at six o'clock the next morning. I was to go to Cina's -house and remain there a day, he said, and then I would be taken to -the new farm. He told me that the press had been shipped and taken to -the house by Sylvester, who had returned to New York. Cecala also said -that he had given Calichio ten dollars with which to pay the fares and -that I was to meet Don Peppe (Calichio) at his Jones Street house -early the next morning and then board the train in company with him. -Money would be forwarded to me as soon as I reached Highland; Cecala -had none with him at the present. - -"'I hope you will not treat me as you did before,' I said. 'Promise to -pay and not pay.' - -"'Have no doubt. I will take in $200 to-night from a man in Brooklyn, -and will send you ten dollars by Giglio.' - -"Cecala said Giglio was in New York then at the house of his -(Giglio's) brother-in-law in Jackson Street. This brother-in-law had -married one of Cina's sisters, but he knew nothing about the -counterfeiting scheme. - -"At five o'clock in the morning of June 14th I went to Calichio's -house and found him packing a suit-case with inks and plates. One of -the sets I remember was the Bank of Montreal design with a baby on the -green side, marvelously clear zinc plates. Calichio told me they were -to be used for making the new Canadian five-dollar notes. - -"'When are they to be printed?' I asked. - -"'When we get to the new farm.' - -"I told Calichio that I certainly would not print any of them at this -season and he suggested that they probably were to be printed in -November. He said: - -"'They will probably be printed in November, at the beginning of the -winter season, for now the waters are troubled. The police is making -arrests daily.' - -"He placed the plates in the suit-case and together we went to -Weehawken Ferry and arrived in Highland at 11 A. M. There found -Peppino waiting for us at the station with a carriage. He drove to his -brother's house (Cina's). There we found Uncle Vincent and Bernardo, -the others having gone to Poughkeepsie on business and left word that -they would return by evening. After lunch I played with Cina's -children while Calichio, Uncle Vincent, Bernardo and Peppino locked -themselves into a room for a conference. About 8 P. M. Salvatore Cina -returned from Poughkeepsie with Sylvester and immediately ordered his -brother to prepare the horse and carriage and take us to the 'Third' -farm." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -CAUGHT AGAIN! - - -"About two o'clock in the morning we arrived, Calichio, Bernardo, -Sylvester, Peppino and Cina, at the 'Third' farm. Peppino returned -immediately from the 'Third' farm to Cina's house. The four of us who -remained slept on straw, there being no mattresses. About three -o'clock the next afternoon Cina brought us some mattresses, pillows -and covers; some food-stuffs and ten quarts of wine. Cina remarked -that this was a splendid place, and that no one could disturb us -there. He gave the following orders: - -"Calichio and I were to remain in the house and work. Uncle Vincent -would watch along the railroad track to see if any strangers came -near. About noontime, Uncle Vincent would come in and do the cooking; -then Bernardo, armed with revolver and rifle, was to do his turn and -guard the farm. He was to be helped in this by Giglio and Sylvester -whenever they were about. Cina said that if Calichio or I wanted to -have our mail addressed to us we must tell our folks and friends to -send it to 20 Duane Street, Poughkeepsie, where Uncle Turi (the -well-dressed man referred to before in this story) had opened a -grocery store. Cina assured me that news would be brought to us daily -from the outside and that a horse and carriage had been brought for -the express purpose of going to and from Poughkeepsie and bringing -groceries. - -"Calichio made the press ready and we began work on the fourth batch -of the two-dollar notes. There was no interruption all that day but, -on the next morning, June 17th (1909), Calichio declared he wanted to -leave for New York because he had had a bad dream during the night and -there was news from his family. - -"Bernardo accompanied Calichio to the station and I and Uncle Vincent -remained alone, walking about the grounds in front of the house. - -"About 11 A. M. Uncle Vincent was preparing macaroni for the noonday -lunch when two well-dressed men and prosperous appearing, driving a -horse and carriage, stopped in front of the house. One man was about -fifty, the other about thirty. They tied the horse to a tree and came -over to me, addressing me in English. - -"'Are you Italian?' - -"'Yes,' I replied. - -"'Have you rented this farm?' - -"'No.' - -"'Who is the owner?' - -"'A man named Giglio.' - -"'Where can I see this Giglio?' - -"'In New York. His wife is sick,' replied Uncle Vincent. - -"'When does he return?' - -"'We don't know.' - -"'We had come to buy this farm and would like to look inside. Will you -permit us to enter and see?' - -"'No,' was Uncle Vincent's instant answer. 'We are not the proprietors -and are here to guard the fruit. Return some other day when Giglio is -here and he will give you permission.' - -"The men assured us that they would get the permission to enter the -house and drove away. When they were gone Uncle Vincent with a pale -face said to me: - -"'Don Antonio, I feel sure these men are detectives. Should they -return there will be others with them and they will arrest us. In case -we fall like mice in a trap don't say who you know. Otherwise we are -all ruined. If they find the press we must insist that we found it in -the house, and don't know to whom it belongs. Let us go and burn what -was printed yesterday in order to avoid suspicion.' - -"'I am not going back,' I answered. 'I am going through the woods to -the railroad tracks to the station and then back to New York.' - -"'If you go away I will not let any one come near the house. And if -those two men return I will kill them.' - -"'Do as you like,' I replied. So saying I took my hat and jumper and -walked along the railroad tracks for about an hour until I came to the -Highland station. - -"I was peacefully at home in Thompson Street on June 20th when Cecala, -Cina and Sylvester arrived. As soon as Cecala saw me he said: - -"'You were very much afraid. You must not be so frightened. The people -who came to the farm were men of a good sort and not detectives. But -you did well in not letting them enter the house.' - -"'Since I am away,' I replied to Cecala, 'do not talk of continuing -the work. I will not return. I don't care to fall into a trap alone, -and you all out of it.' - -"'Better if we remain out. We can help you.' - -"'Bother the help. Leave me in peace. I want to attend to my own -affairs and be at rest.' - -"'No. Now that we have started to print we must finish the paper that -is left unprinted.' - -"'I will not return to the farm. Make Calichio continue the work.' - -"'_You must return and complete the work_,' said Cina with arrogance. - -"After about five minutes of silence Cina again did the talking. He -said: - -"'Very well, we will not return to that farm but in order to have you -content we will draw up a contract and you will appear as Luigi -Cosentino, the proprietor of the second farm. Then you may return and -continue the work without danger. I will telephone to-night and have -the press brought to the stone house. The people nearby the stone -house have seen you before, and when I tell them that the place is -now yours they will not have any suspicion.' - -"'I want to find work here in the city. I have worked for you for -seven months and have received only forty dollars in all for it.' - -"'Well,' said Cecala, 'but I will give you five hundred dollars as -soon as you have finished this last job. Is that satisfactory?' - -"'Surely.' - -"I figured that if I got the five hundred dollars I could return to -Italy and not have any more bother, and so I consented to go back and -complete the work. Cecala and Cina went with me to a notary public in -Elizabeth Street and a contract or lease of the second farm was drawn -up. I appeared and signed as Luigi Cosentino. The person from whom I -rented the farm was one whom I had never seen before. He was called -Salvatore Galasso. The notary gave a copy of the paper to me and -another to Galasso, and Cecala paid the charges. - -"On June 24th (1909) I and Calichio began work anew on the second -farm, at the stone house, and continued until we had finished $13,500 -more of the two-dollar notes. When this amount was printed, Calichio -went to New York and left me with Uncle Vincent, Bernardo and Giglio -to cut to regular size the two-dollar notes and count them and pack -them in bundles of 100 each. This work was done during the month of -July. - -"On the 28th or the 29th of July Cina arrived and stopped all the -work, saying that operations were suspended for the summer. The last -lot printed, he said, was to be divided among fifteen of us. Cecala -had left about twenty days before, and as no word had been received -from him it was supposed that he had been arrested. Turning to me Cina -said: - -"'You, Don Antonio, divide up the money for fifteen persons, and see -what will come to each. Each can sell for himself or exchange them.' - -"'I will not take any of them, that is certain,' I replied, 'because I -have no friends to whom I can sell them. And what is more, I will risk -imprisonment.' - -"'That means that you will leave your portion to me, and in time I -will sell it for you,' said Cina. - -"'I don't want to know whether it is left to you or somebody else. -Only, you will bear in mind that together with Cecala you have -promised $500 with which I was to go to Italy when this work was -completed.' - -"'Well, if Cecala returns and brings good money, you will be given -what was promised you. In the meantime, dismantle the press and give -me the plates, for I must save them. Put them in a box together with -the ink that was not used.' - -"Without losing any time I took some boards and made a box and put -into it the plates for the two-dollar notes, check letter 'C,' plate -number 1110; also the five-dollar copper plates, and the second -Canadian note plates, which had not been used, and some cans of ink. I -nailed a cover over the box, and in the presence of Uncle Vincent, -Bernardo, Giglio and Cina, I gave the box to Cina and he said: - -"'We hope to open this box in November if things go well.' - -"The first Canadian plates--those that had been used together with the -first two-dollar note plates, Check letter 'A,' plate number -1111--were wrapped in some rags and buried in a hole on the farm by -Bernardo. The hole was about two hundred feet from the house in the -woods back of the house. Then all the ink that remained outside was -buried in the woods back of the house; so were all the hundred -thousand pieces of paper of bad prints and proofs, etc., buried there. -The inks, though, were put in a macaroni box before being put into the -ground. - -"I dismantled the press, taking it into four parts, and packed it up -in boards. At six o'clock that evening Peppino Cina came with a truck, -pulled by a team of horses, and the press was loaded onto the truck; -also the box with the plates put on, and the whole business was -covered with hay. Then Uncle Vincent, Bernardo and Giglio were driven -off toward Cina's farm by Peppino Cina. Cina and I took another road -in a carriage and went to his farm. - -"Arriving at Cina's farm at about 11:30 that night we sat down and ate -heartily and drank wine. Towards the end of the meal Cina gave Peppino -(his brother), Giglio and Bernardo each $800 of the counterfeit money, -saying to them: - -"'Boys, the work is done. From to-morrow on each can attend to his own -business. You can take this money and exchange it yourselves. - -"'If we are going to continue, and if we need you, I will advise you, -paying you double what you can earn anywhere else.' - -"Hearing this I said to Cina: - -"'See if you can't give me some money with which I may get to New York -to-morrow, without my looking around for Cecala or anybody else; and -also keep it in mind that by August 15th I get the $500 so that I can -go to Italy. If the money is not given me I will endeavor to get my -passage to Italy and return in November.' - -"'Have no doubts about the money,' said Cina. 'To-morrow I will give -you five dollars. The money that has been promised you will be yours. -In fact, I will bring it to your house as soon as we have it ready, as -we know your address in New York.' - -"Next morning Cina gave me five dollars, and drove me to the Highland -station, where I boarded the eight o'clock train for New York. - -"After being in the city three days I found employment in a printing -shop in Brooklyn and worked there as an honest man, putting away all -thoughts of evil and tried to forget what I had been through in -Highland for the past nine months. - -"On August 12, 1909, I read in an Italian newspaper about the arrest -of some persons who passed some of the notes printed by me. Thinking -that some one might mention my name, I wrote a letter to Cina, -addressed to No. 20 Duane Street, Poughkeepsie, informing him that as -I had not seen any one up to the present, and had not got what was -promised me, I had decided to leave for Italy on August 15th. - -"Then I remained in Brooklyn working, without the gang knowing my -whereabouts. My employment for this period was in the printing shop of -Matteo Vestuto. - -"One Sunday in September I met Calichio on the street. He told me that -he was going to my house to get a suit of clothes that had been sent -down from the stone house with my furniture. - -"'Don Peppe,' said I, 'Caterina is at home and she will give you the -suit which was put away. If you see any of the _Gentlemen_ don't say -that you saw me, because I have written them that I am in Italy.' - -"'I have not seen them any more,' replied Calichio. 'Neither do I want -to see them, after what I have been through. Bear in mind, Don -Antonio, that I have not yet received all the money that is coming to -me, but ----, if they come again to me, I know what to tell them -----.' He went off in a very angry mood. - -"On the 16th of November, 1909, I read in an Italian newspaper of the -arrest of Giuseppe Morello, Antonio Cecala, Domenico Milone, Luciana -Maddi, Giuseppe Boscarini and Leolina Vasi. They were all put under -bail of from seven to fifteen thousand dollars. Three days later I -read in the newspapers that all these 'gentlemen,' whom I knew, were -released on bail, and were at liberty awaiting trial. - -"I became frightened, thinking that these fellows might think that I -had said something to the police as they knew I was dissatisfied with -the treatment they had given me. Losing no time I packed my things and -went to live with an American family in Dominick Street." - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -PINCHING THE GREENHORN - - -"I had been at this place about a month and a half when, on the night -of January 4th, 1910, about eight o'clock, six men came into the house -and, motioning me not to move, declared that I and Caterina were under -arrest. - -"'But who are you?' I asked in Italian. - -"'We are government officers,' one of them replied in Italian, and he -showed me his shield. - -"'Well, the place is at your disposal,' I said, sitting down on a -chair and smoking my pipe, feeling quite sure of myself. - -"When they had finished searching the rooms and us personally they -brought Caterina and I to the office of the Federal Secret Service -(United States Secret Service) and we were taken to the head of the -service, a Mr. William J. Flynn. To him I had no courage to deny what -I had done and confessed all. I assumed all the responsibility for -Caterina, and told everything without any thought of getting off -without punishment. Following my arrest the Secret Service men -arrested Cina, Giglio, Uncle Salvatore, Sylvester and Lupo. On January -26th, 1910, Ignazio Lupo, Giuseppe Morello, Antonio Cecala, Salvatore -Palermo, Giuseppe Calichio and Nick Sylvester appeared before the -Judge of the United States Court to answer the indictment of making -and passing counterfeit money. - -"I appeared before the jury in the Federal Court as a witness, -repeating what I had confessed to the Secret Service men. I did not -contradict myself on cross-examination when the defense tried to show -that I was a Calabrian bandit and had come to America for the purpose -of joking with the law and justice, and that I was telling these -'stories' and thus having eight innocent and perfect gentlemen -condemned. - -"I was not disturbed at the assault made upon my character by the -ignorant Italian press, who through libels and threats of many kinds -tried to shake my determination. I only laughed when I read and heard -of those things. - -"The Black-Hand crowd should be destroyed. The one great blow that -started the downfall of this murderous band of outlaws has been dealt -by William J. Flynn, when he sent to prison the arch-bandits Lupo and -Morello, and the lesser evils, Cecala, Cina, Giglio, etc. - -"My final word here is that my purpose in giving testimony before the -Secret Service was not done to have eight fathers of families -condemned, but for the purpose of removing from among us eight -Sicilian criminals who horrified and preyed upon honest men under the -leadership of murderers of the worst type that are a menace to -civilization. - - "(Signed) Antonio Viola Comito." - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -THE "BLACK-HAND" DOCTOR - - -There are characters in this story of Comito's of whom he never got a -glimpse until the case came to trial. There are still others involved -of whom he never even heard; in fact, not a few big fish are in the -net of the Secret Service whose names will probably never be revealed -to the public. This circumstance does not prevent me, however, from -surrounding Comito's statement with certain additional facts that may -serve to illuminate the plan followed by Lupo and Morello in building -up their sinister organization. - -It often happens that disputes occur among the different elements of -the Italian criminals in New York City and in other parts of this -country. For instance, the Neapolitan element deals almost exclusively -in the traffic of women. Sometimes this business is invaded by a -hostile group from among the Sicilian element. Invariably quarrels -result and the disputes nearly always end in a shooting or a stabbing -affair. - -It is well known to the Service that the quarrels of the Italian -criminals among themselves are settled without the help of the police -whenever this is at all possible. When a gang member is wounded, -secrecy requires that no ambulance be called or a doctor summoned who -is not a friend of the gang. This precaution is easily appreciated -when one comes to think that a call for an ambulance would require the -presence of a policeman and a public report being made of the affair. -Again, should a doctor, who is not known to the gang, be called in, he -is required to make a record of the occurrence and report any -suspicious injury to the police. If there is a death the coroner must -needs be notified. To avoid entanglement and trouble with the -authorities the various gangs have impressed in their service a -physician or two who may be relied upon to bind up the wounds and keep -the affair a secret. Many murders are in this way covered up and -escape the attention of the police and the public. - -There was a man at the trial of the counterfeiters who was unknown to -Comito. Upon this man's testimony Morello expected to prove that he -was ill in the house during the period that he was actually out and -around and very active in the counterfeiting scheme. - -Dr. Salvatore Romano is the man. The doctor perjured himself and -testified to please Morello, whose vengeance he feared. - -After being indicted by the Federal Grand Jury, we were able to get a -statement from Dr. Romano. Incidentally this statement disclosed the -method whereby Morello and Lupo gathered their first money by sending -"Black-Hand" letters to countrymen who were suspected of having money, -or who could in any way be coerced into being useful to the gang. - -Dr. Romano's cross-examination follows: - -Q. Tell us, doctor, from the beginning, how you happened to get mixed -up; start from the time you knew Mr. Morello. - -A. I met him in this country. He was living in East One Hundred and -Seventh Street; we were living at East One Hundred and Sixth Street. -He comes from the same town that my grandmother and mother hail from -in Sicily--Corleone--and while I was studying in my third year at the -College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia, my folks received a -letter from a "Black-Hand" Society. - -Q. Who received it? - -A. My mother. - -Q. She knew Morello how long previous to this? - -A. She had known him on the other side; never had anything to do with -him here. - -Q. About when was it she got this "Black-Hand" letter? - -A. Seven years ago; I was a third-year student in the College of -Physicians and Surgeons. - -Q. What was the substance of the letter? - -A. The substance of the letter was that unless a certain amount of -money was paid they would kill me. Naturally, my folks did not tell me -anything at all about it for fear that I would get excited, neglect my -studies, and so fail in my examinations. The folks kept the thing -quiet for a few days. The "Black-Handers" also said that if anything -were told to the police authorities, _the murder would take place -anyway_--money or no money. You see, my father was not here. I was a -young man, my brother was a small boy, and my family did not know what -to do at the time. My grandmother, though, knew this man Morello to -be mixed up with people of questionable character, and so she went to -him or he happened to meet her (I don't know which); anyway, she -confided the thing to Morello. He said, "All right, don't get excited; -they don't kill people off all at once. Wait until you get another -letter. Then we will see if we can find out the party who writes those -letters." - -Finally, another letter was written. Then a third, and a fourth letter -came. _Morello always took the letters under the pretext of studying -the handwriting and to find out the origin of the letter._ Eventually, -he found out the origin of the letter, he said and-- - -Q. What was the origin? - -A. Never found out. He just said that he had found out that they were -willing to settle for $1,000, but that he would pay $100 and that he -would make sure they returned the money to him after they found out -who he was; he said that we need not worry any more. - -Q. Did you pay the $100? - -A. No. Morello offered to pay the $100 himself and expected to get it -back. He said: "I will pay and see that they return it to me." - -Q. Who would return it? - -A. Those people would return the money again to him. - -Q. He said that he would pay the money and that he would get it back -from the Black-Handers? - -A. Yes. Then the whole thing quieted down and naturally my people -thought they were under obligations to this man Morello. And then when -the danger was over my folks told me about it and remarked about what -a terrible thing we had escaped. - -About three or four months later, Morello came around and said to my -mother: - -Q. Did you hear him? - -A. No. She told me. - -(Continuing) "I have a notion to get married. I'm in with a woman who -has a baby as the result of our relations. Now that I want to get -married, I want to break off this relation, and if it is not -inconvenient to you I would like to bring this baby, this little girl, -to your house until everything is arranged." - -Q. That is the illegitimate child? - -A. She could walk; was over one year old. - -Q. Who was the woman? - -A. I do not know. - -Q. At that time he lived on Chrystie Street? - -A. No. I understand he had a restaurant. Of course, my folks said that -it was no trouble for them. There were three or four women in the -household, and it would be no trouble for them to take care of the -little child. - -Q. All the time you thought that you were under obligations to him? - -A. Yes; just for that thing. - -Q. Don't you know who the woman was? - -A. No; never saw her. - -Q. Sure you didn't? - -A. No. - -Q. Do you know her? - -A. No, she was a Sicilian. I don't know her personally. - -Q. Is she living? - -A. I imagine she is. - -Q. What was her name? What was she called? - -A. Didn't know at all. Probably my grandmother would know. - -Q. Was this after or before the barrel murder? - -A. I think the barrel murder was after that. - -Q. He lived on Chrystie Street at that time? - -A. Yes. And so the baby was brought to our house and we took care of -it, a nice little baby. Nothing happened at all--no disturbance. They -came around to our house about once a week to see the baby. I kept on -studying; never bothered my head about anything at all. I went out -early in the morning and came back late; never bothered much with the -affairs of the family. That baby died. First it got the measles, then -bronchial pneumonia. It was a little over two years old when it died. - -Q. Did Morello marry this woman? - -A. The woman he married is his present wife. He had got her from the -other side. The sister (Morello's) had gone to the other side and -arranged for this marriage. So nothing happened until after I was -graduated. Then these people began to call on me as a doctor. - -Q. He then lived in East One Hundred and Seventh Street? - -A. I think in East One Hundred and Seventh Street, and he began to -call on me; and then the brother-in-law and then cousin, etc., called. - -Q. Who is his brother-in-law? - -A. He has three brothers-in-law, Lupo, Lima and Salima. - -Q. Which one of his brothers-in-law did you treat? - -A. I treated all three of them. - -Q. Are Lima and Salima in this country now? - -A. Yes, in New York City. - -Q. And did you treat other relatives? - -A. I treated all their relatives, and all free of charge. They would -call me; I would examine them, prescribe, etc., but I got no pay. - -Q. Did you ever ask them for any? - -A. No. - -Q. Why not? - -A. On account of the obligations; also the familiarity. Right from the -start I thought that I was doing a wise thing not to ask for money for -my services. - -Q. What did you know about Morello about that time? - -A. My folks had told him all about those letters and he had fixed it -all up; we had no disturbance because we were under his protection. - -Q. Did you know that you were under his protection? - -A. I knew as well as the family did. - -Q. What protection did you think that he could give you? - -A. Receiving no disturbance from the "Black-Handers." - -Q. Did you know that he was connected with the "Black-Handers" then? - -A. I did not know that he was a "Black-Hander," but I knew from the -fact that he had arranged everything that he must have known something -about these people. - -Thus I became the regular physician for these people and never got any -pay. In the meantime I tried to get as much hospital experience as I -could and get out of New York, because, if a man goes out of New York -to a strange place without any experience-- - -Q. Why did you want to leave New York? - -A. Not because I was afraid, not because they were doing anything to -me, but because I was tired of doing work for nothing; I never could -put any money in the bank. - -The whole number of relatives, babies and patients, amounted to about -sixty. It would not be one day, but the next day, and all the time -they were on my hands. And I got no pay. - -My mother was in the same position. My mother is a midwife. I tried to -get hospital experience, and as soon as I was in the position to leave -New York I departed, and I have never heard from him at all except -when I received letters from my mother who told me that they kept on -frequenting the house. - -Q. What was the interview you had with Commissioner Wood?[5] And when -did you have that interview? - -A. That was four or five years before I left New York. The main thing -he wanted to know was whether I knew these people well enough to tell -stories. Whether I could tell him that these people were -"Black-Handers"? - -I had read in the newspapers that they had been in trouble with the -law; but they had treated me fairly well and I said nothing against -these people. Commissioner Wood wanted to know about these letters, -and naturally I did not tell. - -Q. Did you treat Cecala? - -A. No, I never treated him. - -Q. Did you ever treat any of the defendants besides Morello? - -A. No. Lupo, Morello and Palermo. Palermo was operated on for -something. At the time I was called in to give the ether. - -Q. What was Morello's business after he gave up the grocery? - -A. Real estate; then they started the real estate deal, the Ignatz -Florio Association. The way they worked that was--I don't know how -many got together, about nine or ten, and they started in by building -a house and selling it--they said, "We will build a house and sell it -and in that way there will be a big profit and from that profit we get -dividends." They got people to buy shares; the shares were payable, I -think, $5 down and $2 per month. So they came to my mother and she -bought one share for herself, one in the name of my brother, and one -in my name. When they got enough money they bought a lot, built a -house and sold it, and got a dividend of 40 per cent. You could then -either take the dividend, and put the money in your pocket, or leave -it and it would go on the share. So most of the people left their -money to go to their credit. - -Q. Who got the money? - -A. They claimed there was a big boom in real estate and they made -another deal; they got 35 or 30 per cent. dividend. Then they started -to build eight tenement houses, four on One Hundred and Thirty-seventh -Street and four on One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Street, near Cyprus -Avenue. - -At the time they were building, the crash came. - -They took advantage of the prices and said, "We have not enough money -to keep on; the shareholders will have to come together and pay more -money on each share." - -I paid $10 extra on each share. At that time my mother had acquired -eight shares. She had bought another for herself. Then my cousin had -bought two for herself, which she did not want to keep, so my mother -told her she would buy them from her. - -Q. Did Morello know anything about your going to see Commissioner -Wood; did you tell him? - -A. Yes. I-- - -Q. What did you tell him? - -A. I said that Commissioner Wood, when he found out that I would not -give the information he wanted, said that I was just like the rest of -them and then told me that I might go. - -Q. Did you tell Morello before you went down? - -A. No. - -Q. What did Morello say when you told him that you had been down -there? - -A. He said that is the way you have to do everything. - -Q. What do you know about the barrel murder? - -A. Absolutely nothing at all. - -Q. What do you know about Inzarillo? - -A. He is considered of questionable character. - -Q. Do you know the Terranova Brothers? - -A. They are the stepbrothers of Morello. - -Q. Do you know anything about them? Did you treat them? - -A. Yes, quite a long while; they had a disease which required that -they come to my house every day, both Morello and the Terranovas. - -Q. When was that? - -A. That went on for about two years. - -Q. What two years? - -A. The two years just preceding 1907 and 1908. - -Q. Was Morello born with that deformed hand? - -A. Yes. He was so much crippled that they called him "Little Finger." - -Q. Then you did not treat Morello in 1909? - -A. At the time that I stated I did see him at No. 107 East One Hundred -and Thirty-eighth Street; also, I saw him in Rizzo's house, and he -would complain of pains; he was always complaining. - -Q. He was not sick in bed? - -A. No. - -Q. You did not have any consultation with Dr. Brancato? - -A. No. I think that I may have had one consultation with him when he -was at One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Street. - -Q. When? - -A. I think it was before the time I covered. I think it was in -December, 1908, also. - -Q. That means January and February? - -A. No. - -Q. He was not treating Morello? - -A. He was the family physician in a way. - -Q. What do you think of him? - -A. Dr. Brancato? I want to state the fact as honestly as if he were my -brother. I think he was a figurehead, too. - -Q. Did he ever say about what he was going to testify? - -A. He said we were up against a bad proposition. "Let us make our -testimony as light as possible," he said. I asked him how we could -avoid a thing of that kind. They would get us into trouble and we -would have to stand for it. - -Q. Who came to you and told you that you would have to testify? - -A. Nobody; but this is the way it was done: They went to my mother and -began to talk to her. - -Q. Who? - -A. Mrs. Morello and the mother of Morello and the brothers of Morello. -So they went there and began to explain that they had got into very -serious trouble. They also said that the only way-- - -Q. Who? - -A. That he could be possibly saved would be to produce an alibi. I was -to say that he was not out at any time he was accused of being out. I -was to understand that he was the wrong man mentioned in court. They -explained to my mother that the police knew that Dr. Romano had been -their physician. It would be only natural that they call me; I could -then testify that I was treating Morello at the time and he was unable -to get out when, the charges alleged, Morello was around and doing -things in the counterfeiting plant. - -They explained to my mother that there was no other man that could be -called, because no other man would be trusted. The police knew I was -Morello's physician, they said. - -And then my mother asked them not to call me, that it would be putting -me into trouble, and that I would have to abandon the business I had -started. - -They told her that it was an absolute necessity that I come down from -Rochester and testify. If I did not come, they said, Morello would be -sentenced surely. "Naturally," they said, "we think if the doctor -would come down, Morello will be free." - -So my mother wrote to me. "This is the last proposition they are going -to give you," she said. "I think you cannot avoid coming down." - -Q. She wrote and told you about it? Have you got that letter? - -A. No. Naturally I would not keep a letter of that kind. I thought the -matter over. I knew the character of the men I had to deal with. I -knew that if I refused and Morello got a big sentence they would put -the whole thing up to me. I thought of my mother down here going out -and in at night, and I had something to fear. Probably if it had been -for myself only I would not have considered it; I would have looked at -it differently. It seemed that I had no alternative in a case of this -kind. They telegraphed me. - -Q. Who? - -A. The brothers Terranova. - -Q. What did they say? - -A. Be in New York to-morrow to appear in Court for the testimony of my -brother. - -Q. When was that sent to you? When did you get the telegram? Was it a -day or two before you came down? - -A. Yes, but I came down at once. The first time I came I remained here -two days. Not being called, and not being able to leave my business -for such a long period, I rushed back to Rochester. - -Q. When did you come down again? - -A. One week later at the time the detectives were testifying. - -Q. And you came down later? Did you go to your mother's house? - -A. Yes. - -Q. Whom did you see there? - -A. Terranova, Nick Terranova. - -Q. What did he say to you? - -A. "I am very sorry to trouble you. I know what you are losing. I know -that you are doing this for us, but it is absolutely necessary. You -are in no danger at all"--he was all the time in the house--"there -will be no danger for you; you will be all right." - -Q. Did he tell you what you had to say? - -A. He said, "How many times a week do you want to say that you saw -him?" I answered once a week. "I want to make my testimony as light -as possible," I told him, "so as not to get into trouble with the -Court." He said that once a week was probably too little; "make it -twice a week," he said. And I said, if I remember rightly, I saw him -twice a week. - -Q. Did he tell you the time and the period? - -A. He told me the period from the latter part of December to the early -part of March. Of course I could not testify further than that. - -Q. Was Dr. Brancato there? - -A. I was all alone. - -Terranova said to me that when his brother (Morello) comes out of the -Tombs I was to tell him just what I was going to testify to in Court. -This in order to keep Morello from getting mixed up in his testimony, -and also for the additional purpose of keeping Morello's mind at ease -in the courtroom. Terranova told me to come along with him, and he -made me stand in the corner there until he (Morello) came out, and I -was to say he had rheumatism. - -Q. He said that; did Terranova tell Morello you were going to testify? - -A. We had arranged that. - -Q. When did you first see him? - -A. When they were bringing him down from the Tombs to the courtroom. - -Q. Did Terranova speak to Morello? - -A. Yes. He first spoke to Morello. - -Q. And he told him that you were willing to testify for that period? - -A. Yes. - -Q. Then what did you say to Morello? - -A. "I am going to testify for you, that you had rheumatism for that -period, from the latter part of December to the first part of March." - -Q. Up to the time you left for Rochester? - -A. Yes. He said, "Don't fear; we are out; there is no danger at all; -you need not fear, and I tell you that I was not out of the house at -all; nobody saw me and nobody will know the difference, because I was -as pale as a ghost at the time." - -Q. They did not know we had eight men watching them at the time-- - -A. I came the first time, was here two days and was not called; I hung -around the Court and finally had to go back to Rochester and look -after my business. - -Q. When did you first see Dr. Brancato? - -A. The second time I came down to New York. - -Q. Did you know that he was going to testify too? - -A. Terranova told me-- - -Q. What did he say? - -A. "He is going to testify that you were in consultation." Terranova -took me from the courthouse here to Dr. Brancato. - -Q. That is Nick Terranova? - -A. Yes. - -Q. What did you do down in Brancato's office? - -A. We simply agreed as to what we were going to say; that is the time -Dr. Brancato told me "we are up against it." - -Q. On the quiet? - -A. On the quiet. - -Q. Was Terranova there? - -A. He was in the outside room. - -Q. Did he tell you how you would fix it up--he did not treat Morello? - -A. No. Morello was not sick; he had no rheumatism, but complained all -the time of pains. - -Q. Did Dr. Brancato tell you he had not treated him? - -A. We did not argue about that. It was understood. - -Q. It was understood that you had to swear falsely? - -A. _Because we could not do otherwise!_ So they came to me principally -because I was his regular physician and they got Dr. Brancato-- - -Q. To come in after you went to Rochester? - -A. I do not know what Dr. Brancato said. - -Q. Do you know Maria Capellano; she is no relation to you? - -A. Who? - -Q. The trained nurse who said she treated him? - -A. No. - -Q. Do you know Gasparo Candido, the druggist on One Hundred and -Forty-ninth Street, now at No. 23 New Bowery? - -A. No. - -Q. Did you ever have any conversation with Mrs. Morello? - -A. No--the only conversation I had with her was--"Please do that for -the love of the children; try and help my husband." - -Q. Where did you have that conversation? - -A. She came to my house. - -Q. You fixed the whole thing up with the Terranova boys? - -A. With Nick. - -Q. What happened after you got through testifying? - -A. I rushed back to Rochester. - -Q. Have you heard from them since you have been indicted? - -A. My mother told the whole crowd that she would have nothing to do -with them; didn't care what the consequences would be. She said: "You -have ruined my son; the last good thing you have done for us." They -said to her, "Don't worry, everything will be all right." - -She said: "I don't care how it goes; I don't want to see you any -more." - -Q. Did you hear anything about the alibi that you were going to -establish for Cecala? - -A. I heard something when I was in the lawyer's office. - -Q. Were you down in the lawyer's office at all? - -A. Twice. He said: "What is your testimony to be?" I told him, and he -said all right. - -Q. The only lawyer you ever saw? - -A. Yes. - -Q. Terranova was the one who had all the conversation? - -A. Nick, yes. He did the telegraphing. - -Q. How did he sign the telegram? - -A. Terranova. - -Q. Did not sign Nicholas? - -A. No, I don't think he did. - -Q. He was down in Towns'[6] office? - -A. He was; he never left me a minute. - -Q. What conversation did you have with Ponticelli? - -A. Only that I got there before he did. I was introduced to him here. - -Q. By whom? - -A. I do not recall. - -Q. He is a friend of Morello's? - -A. I think he was; lived downtown; they were neighbors. - -Q. Did you not have a store up there? [Rochester.] - -A. No. I went away from New York with a druggist. - -Q. His name? - -A. Bisconti. He went out there [Rochester] for the purpose of setting -up a drug store, and I to set up an office. Naturally, I would be -doing business with him. If I had any patients he would fill out the -prescriptions. We proposed to help one another. We could not set up -the drug store right away, so I rented my office to him and kept some -medicines there; and I wrote my prescriptions and told the patients -that if they wanted they could have the prescriptions filled out right -in the house. That thing did not work because people would pay one -dollar for the visit to me and sixty or seventy cents for the -medicine, and they thought it was a scheme. I told Bisconti that as we -had come to Rochester together I would help him all I could to set up -a drug store there. This was when we parted. - -Q. How long have you known Bisconti? - -A. About three months. - -Q. Did any of the crowd ever give you checks to present at the bank? - -A. No. Ponticelli has a store with three or four men working. He came -to me and asked if I could do him a favor. I had been there only two -or three months. He said that he was doing much business and that as I -was not doing very much he requested me to go and cash a check for -him. It was for $300 made out by Ponticelli himself. - -Q. Did they ever discuss the counterfeit operations with you in any -way? - -A. No. - -Q. The only thing you know about them is that they made you come down -here and testify? - -A. Yes. - -Q. Did they threaten your mother? - -A. No. - -For making this statement, which shows up the methods whereby the -"Black-Handers" operated and tried to escape the punishment of the -court for the offenses with which they were charged, Dr. Romano was -allowed to go free after sentence was suspended. - -Dr. Brancato, the other physician, was tried twice, once the jury -disagreeing and the second time he was found not guilty. - -I have no criticism of the action of the jury in Dr. Brancato's case. -It is simply in line with the "fortunes of war" that the government -was unable to land Dr. Brancato. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[5] Commissioner Wood was at the time referred to here the Deputy -Commissioner of Police in charge of the Detective Bureau of New York -under Theodore Bingham. It was Wood who sent Lieutenant Joseph -Petrosino to Italy on the mission, in the carrying out of which the -Lieutenant was assassinated. In reference to this murdering of -Petrosino, who was the man who went to Sing Sing and got information -from DePriema, which led to the identifying of the man murdered and -found in the barrel, I wish to refer the reader back to that part of -Comito's statement where Comito tells of his visit to Morello's house -in East One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Street, and especially to take -note of the reference there made by Comito to "Michele, the -Calabrian," and the conversation that took place between Morello and -Cecala concerning the Calabrian. Then couple this with the reference -made again to the Calabrian by Lupo (Page 113) in paying Michele's -fare to Italy. - -[6] Mirabeau L. Towns, attorney for the gang. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -THE "BLACK-HAND" TESTAMENT - - -On the person of one Rudolpho Palermo--one of the henchmen of the -Morello-Lupo band--we discovered a small black book closely written in -the nebulous dialect of Sicily. This man was under arrest on the -charge of dealing in spurious money of the United States and Canada. -We felt sure we had in our grasp an important document. After some -little coaxing Palermo finally confessed that the ominous looking -little book contained the rules governing the actions of the -"Black-Hand" Society. - -Palermo is now serving a second sentence of six years in the Federal -Penitentiary of Atlanta, Georgia. - -The following is a translation from the Sicilian patois of the rules -and articles found in the little black book--the bible of the -"Black-Handers": - -_First Article_--Whoever confides to other companions, not belonging -to the same society, the operations and movements of his associates, -or offends a companion by word or deed, seriously or in fooling, or -does not respect the recruits (who cannot be commanded for other than -affairs of the society), or refuses to mount guard at his turn, or -gets drunk or has a quarrel among companions, or when being called by -a companion for business of the society refuses his service without -justified motive, or leaves town for more than one day and does not -let it be known to the society, is punishable by a fine of $20 and -cannot come back to his place. But his associates must be all of one -accord, pro and con, in judging him guilty. In case one of the -companions in the society departs, he must surrender to those -remaining the power of his vote, or he must leave his address so that -the society may notify him of a meeting in the case of new practice, -when he will go to the place at the expense of the interested party. -But if the punished party does not give proof of amending, he will be -unfrocked--in all points remaining honored, however--unless he commits -some infamy. Whenever the society is re-formed there must be an -opinion of the judges as to who merits his place, and who cannot come -to his place, until a meeting of the same society of its own will -takes place, without any one appealing to another body of the society. - -_Second Article_--He who swears falsely on his submission, who draws a -weapon against a companion without a weapon and one of the same -dimensions (always an uncovered point) or pulls a revolver, or has a -duel with any man of the same society without the permission of his -superior, is unfrocked, roundly deprived of his rights, and he who -protects him falls in disgrace without right of appealing to another -body of the society. - -_Third Article_--The companion who knows of an offense committed by an -associate against the society, and does not report it to the society, -falls under the same charge. - -_Fourth Article_--He that does not come at the precise hour of meeting -the blackmailers on the day set for duty will be punished without -warning. If he gives an explanation acceptable to the society, he will -be reinstated; otherwise, he will not participate at the next division -of funds. - -_Fifth Article_--A recruit is entitled to one-fifth of the spoils -procured by or through him for the society. - -_Sixth Article_--The society cannot proceed in any matter without the -consent of all the companions; the opposition of a single vote is -enough to dead-lock the proceedings, provided the reasons given by the -dissenter are satisfactory and convincing to the society. - -_Seventh Article_--If a companion arrives once the council is in -session, his presence cannot alter the agreements entered into. - -_Eighth Article_--Every meeting called is to be known to those on duty -that day, at least twenty-four hours beforehand, except in unusual -cases. - -_Ninth Article_--It is to the disposition exclusively of the head of -the society to establish the place and day of meeting without -objection. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -"THE VERMILION FLOWER ON THE BIG TOE" - - -Q. Where have you acquired the S? [The by-laws.] - -A. Under the Cedar Plains, and passing from the hole of the Beanstalk, -I saw three lamps lighted and one in the center that could hardly -stand. - -Q. Who has formed the plan of S? - -A. Fernando Misprizzi. - -Q. Is he dead or alive? - -A. He lives always, even after the end of the world. - -Q. Since when have you acquired the Sgarro? - -A. Since the scientific tree was planted in the hole. - -Q. With what is the hole covered? - -A. With a very fine carpet where the (Camorrists) blackmailers play. - -Q. What is enclosed in this hole? - -A. The Penny of Crime denied, fought for, and regained. - -Q. How do you demonstrate crime? - -A. Give me a sheet of paper and you will see. - -Q. What does the head of crime wear? - -A. A silk handkerchief with five knots and the Penny denied, fought -for, and regained. - -Q. How many weapons are there? - -A. Thirteen. Five knives--four pairs and one separate, five packs of -cards, three of which are for the ordinary blackmailing and two for -the blackmailing of the experienced; stiletto, small tapper, and -razor. - -Q. Where have you drawn? (blood). - -A. From the right thumb of the right hand. - -Q. What does an experienced blackmailer bear? - -A. A star in front of him (on his forehead) and a vermilion flower on -the big toe of the left foot. - -Q. How many kinds of blackmail are there? - -A. Three--ordinary blackmail that becomes all blackmailers by turn, -bold blackmail which is "that denied, fought for, and regained," and -high blackmail that belongs to the supreme initiated blackmailers. - -Q. What does a highly initiated blackmailer especially bear? - -A. A pair of small scissors, a silver needle, pins, cotton and -taffeta. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -THE GENTLE ART OF WRITING "BLACK-HAND" LETTERS - - -The reader, being now on the "inside" with us, I hope the extracts of -the "black-hand" letters given here will convey some meaning. - -When we had our net closely drawn about the band of counterfeiters led -by Lupo and Morello, we raided the homes of the various members of the -gang. It fell to the lot of operative T. G. Gallagher to be among -those of our men who entered Morello's home and placed the leader -under arrest. - -In this case, the diaper wrapped about the body of Morello's baby -attracted the experienced eye of operative Gallagher. The moment -Gallagher broke into the room where Mrs. Morello was nursing her baby -he noticed that Mrs. Morello tucked something away in the diaper of -the infant. The mother fingered the cloth rather nervously. - -Gallagher suggested to Mrs. Morello that there might be something of -interest to the government wrapped in the cloth that protected the -little Morello, and instantly the mother became very emphatic in her -native manner of making us understand that she "no understand." - -Gallagher is a man of Irish extraction from the environs of Boston. In -other words, he has the humorous instinct. So he suggested that maybe -the poor baby needed a fresh diaper! There was a flash of volcanic -fire in the mother's eye as two strong arms held her secure while -Gallagher removed the cloth from the infant's limbs and exposed the -letters, copies of which are here given. - -The letters concern the admittance into the society of a man who is -questioned by the leaders in New York, and who in turn puts the -responsibility for his admittance up to the Chicago gang. Black -borders adorn both the envelopes and the paper upon which the writer -had scribbled his tale. The first of these letters is addressed to Mr. -Rosario Dispenza, No. 147 Milton Avenue, Chicago, Ill., and is from G. -La Bella Morello, No. 2069 Second Avenue, New York. - - "DEAR FRIEND: - - "In answer to your letter that bears date of the 10th, I hear - what you say in it. Regarding the Council, you have no right - to be present in the meetings. The Council is divided and - separated from the Assembly. But in case that some Councilman - wishes to be present in some meeting of the Assembly, he can - come but only to hear and then has no right to the floor, - neither right to an opinion or right to vote. - - "Have I explained myself? - - "This is for your guidance. Now regarding Calogero - Constantino. To tell you the truth, I have as yet been unable - to persuade myself as to what it is about, the letters to me - have not been satisfying or convincing. There should have - been better explanations. In this manner I cannot answer with - exact judgment and clear conscience. I cannot understand how - it is that Calogero Constantino remains arrested at Bacaluse, - Louisiana, while under the protection of so many good friends - engaged incessantly to make him obtain his liberty, and you - others of Chicago have all this contract on your side. - - "I have said it more than once that I and my townsmen have - always known the Constantino family as a good family, and - none other but very good, and the boss of my town, I am sure, - cannot give you better details, though I doubt if they knew - this family just because they were not to our bearing, but - nevertheless leaning towards good people; have you seen 'the - ox, neither white nor black,' this is their bearing. But not - for this I repeat, always of good people; there have been - born at times people that had given a good account of their - being, honored and respected as always. - - "We of Corleone have never had any dealings with them, - therefore could not try them and appreciate their merits. - Others that have had dealings, that is to say have known - their good merits, and have brought them to make part of our - family. Nothing extraordinary, because certainly would not - have brought them in this land if they had not known their - good merits. They have done well. We, of Corleone, will - appreciate said doings. - - "In your letter you tell me that regarding Calogero - Constantino there is nothing to say, but there should be - exact information, because there are eight good workers sick - to put the work on him and of the eight persons there are - those in danger of their lives. But you must excuse me if I - and others have not understood such language. - - "If you know that Constantino is of good health, also he is - severely of good health, you will take with other townsmen of - yours the responsibility here and also of the town, and we - will do everything. Neither I nor others here can understand - how you ever in your wise thinking write us in this manner. - If I have written to you more than once that this Constantino - family have never been to our hearing. Known to us only by - sight in America as in the town, and then this is not enough. - You surely should not ignore the fact Calogero Constantino - has been missing from New York at least six years. - - "Now, then, I ask you why you write me and others to assume - the responsibility of said individual; if this party could be - admitted, then we assume the responsibility of an individual - that had been seen 'neither born nor raised' and who has - never been known by name or sight. This responsibility you - should ask of others, not us. You see in this that I was - right in resenting De Vito Casiaferro and Enea, and saying - that it is not done that way, in making a person, by not - asking information of the townsmen before making it, that all - these discussions now would not have been. - - "Now you must ask them to assume the responsibility, those - that have made him, not us. Of us you must ask only if we - have anything to say. This, yes, is very correct. But to - assume responsibility is one thing, and asking if we have - anything to say is another thing. There is a great - difference. Therefore, we go in Court, we have undersigned, - upon our conscience and on our honor declare of having - nothing to say upon the conduct and honor of Calogero - Constantino, not regarding him only but also of his family. - All of Corleone. Giuseppe La Bella and brother, Vincenzo, - brother Ciro and brother Coco. - - "PAOLO FRISELLA, - "GAETANO LOMONTE, - "STEFANO LASALA, - "FORTUNATO LO MONTE, - "ANTONIO RIZZO, - "MICHALE CONIGLIO, - "ANGELO VALENTI, - "FRANCESCO MOSCATO." - -This letter was, of course, written in the Sicilian dialect, and was -translated into the foregoing "English," which, the reader will -notice, is not quite the "Queen's own." But the translation was made -close to the Sicilian, and we must take it as we get it. - -The reader will, of course, see that Constantino's admittance to the -brotherhood is in doubt. That is, he is not being accepted into the -society except upon the responsibility of the Chicago crowd. Whatever -help is to be given him in his trouble in Louisiana, where he is under -arrest, must come from the Chicago brethren. Help will come from New -York, perhaps, in the last extreme. This seems to be the burden of the -letter. - -Another letter follows which may also help the reader to a conclusion -as to whether such a thing exists as a "Black-Hand" Society. The -letter is addressed to Mr. Vincenzo Moreci, No. 535 S. Franklin -Street, New Orleans, La. It is dated New York, November 15th, 1909, -and reads as follows: - - "DEAR FRIEND: - - "Am in possession of your two letters, one that bears date - of the 5th, the other on the 10th of November. I understand - the contents. - - "In regard to being able to reorganize the family, for me I - advise you all to do it because it seems it is not just to - stay without a king nor country, but I authorize you to - convey to all my humble prayer and my weak opinion, but well - understood, that those that are worthy and those that wish to - belong, those that do not wish to belong let them go. - - "You tell me that from Palermo arrived good news. I nor the - others of New York have not been formally advised, therefore - I beg of you tell me something about the news from Palermo. - Who has written and whether any commission has decided to - come? I have advised my godfather La Gatutte to have in sight - the one from Morriale. I advise you further that in your last - letter I understood minutely and by wire, and sign the affair - of the friend Vincenzo Antinoro. It is well now we are well - understood. Now for the present the most interesting thing - that I desire and expect is the declaration (statement) of - Giovanni Gulotta regarding the affair Constantino and - Trombone declaration made and signed by his own hands of - Giovanni Gulotta, and then if we are there it's a wonder. - - "I hear in your letter that Sunday three friends left to go - and see him. I will await patiently the answer and hope for - favorable results. Am in doubt that one of my letters may be - lost, because, as I had to say in a previous one to the last, - I had spoken also of the agreement I had made with Calogero - Gulotta. In fact, he told me in this his last that in no - other letter of mine had he understood what I said. - - "I end this moment by sending you the most cordial greetings - of mine and my family to you with all your family and pray - you make it known also to the friend Zito, Piro, Sunsseri, - Benanti and their families as also Vito Di Giorgi. - - "They will also receive many greetings of my brothers and - brothers-in-law and my son Calidu, my godfather Angelo La - Gatutte and all the friends of merit. Many greetings yet from - all the friends of New Orleans that you think. To you a warm - kiss. Your affectionate friend, - - "(Signed) G. LA BELLA. (Morello.)" - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A BADLY WRITTEN LETTER - - -The value of these letters to the gang, and the peculiar information -revealed in them to the Secret Service, prompted the "Black-Hand" -crowd to get together a fund of $500, which was offered by one of the -crowd to a man now attached to the New York Police Department. With -this money the gang intended to bribe this man to get the letters and -return them to Mrs. Morello. Until this man, who was then a member of -the police department and a detective, reads this, he will not suspect -that I even knew of the offer. - -There were other letters containing information of very valuable -character to the Secret Service. - -Now, when the arrest was made, the news spread through East One -Hundred and Sixth Street, where Morello was living, and some of the -scouts brought the information to Nick Terranova, a half-brother of -Morello. Terranova thereupon rushed down to Milone's grocery store at -No. 235 East Ninety-seventh Street to notify the members of the gang -who might be there that Giuseppe had been placed under arrest. - -There was a surprise coming to Nick when he discovered a number of -Secret Service men in charge of the store, and the members of the gang -taken away by the government's officers. He tried to act an imbecile, -and pretended not to understand English when asked for a reason for -his coming into the store. He was as communicative as the proverbial -oyster. - -At the time when Morello was arrested he was in bed with his son. -Under the pillow of each was found a large revolver. Neither father -nor son, it is needless to say, were given the opportunity to reach -the weapons. The son has since been murdered. - -And now that we are on the subject of letters I might relate that when -the members of the gang discovered Comito had confessed what he knew -of the counterfeiting scheme, they tried to locate Comito, who had -been hidden by me. They tried a number of ruses in their efforts to -locate him for the purpose, presumably, of murdering him. - -One of their efforts was characteristic: Secret Service operative -Rubano was thought by the gang to be the man who was communicating -with Comito by mail. This was presumed by the gang without foundation. -However, it was enough for the gang to feel that this was the way in -which I was keeping in touch with Comito. Here is what happened: - -Don Gasparo had a drug store at No. 23 New Bowery, where he also had a -branch post office and received letters there for a number of the -"Black-Hand" crowd. Some one wrote to the postmaster of New York, on a -change of address card, and asked the postmaster to have all of Pietro -Rubano's mail sent to No. 23 New Bowery. - -Now you must sign your own name to the card asking for this change. So -there was the difficulty of getting Rubano's signature to the card -without his knowing it. That was easy for the writer. He forged -Rubano's name on the signature line of the card. The gang was elated. - -They would now get the "Squealer" Comito's letters to the Secret -Service and locate and destroy the traitor. - -But, like the plans of the little field mouse of whom Robert Burns -wrote, the best laid schemes "gang aft agley." - -I asked Rubano if he had made the request of the post office to have -his mail addressed to the New Bowery place, and the detective told me -it was news to him. - -Then information came to me about Gasparo, and I found that the -druggist had good reasons to stand in with Morello. He had formerly -run a drug store up in the Bronx in the near neighborhood of Lupo and -Morello's real estate venture and was a fast friend of Morello. In -fact, he and Morello were co-workers in enterprises that do not -propagate peace on earth and good will among men. - -We started to lay a trap for Gasparo. I sent a number of letters from -different parts of the country addressed to Rubano at the Custom -House, New York, knowing that they would be forwarded to the New -Bowery address. - -The letters were placed in large envelopes of different and pronounced -color and easily distinguishable to the eye when placed in the letter -"R" box in Gasparo's branch post office. - -Then I set Secret Service men to watch those who called for mail and -to shadow any one calling for the large colored envelopes. - -This scheme of mine did not work out, though, to any fruitful end -because of the failure of any of the gang to call for the envelopes -with Rubano's name on them. A number of the gang had gone in and out -of the drug store for days, but not one took away any of the large -colored envelopes. Either they were afraid to take the chance or some -suspicious circumstance warned them off when at the post office -window. Such things as a strange man passing and looking into the drug -store, or the appearance of a stranger in the neighborhood, might have -been sufficient reason for the member who started for the letters to -refrain from asking for them at the last moment. These Morello-Lupo -members are very suspicious, and in dealing with them this trait must -always be considered. - -Another incident of the efforts of the gang to locate Comito may be of -interest at this point when I relate that the gang offered $2,500 to -any one who would reveal to the "Black-Handers" the whereabouts of -Comito. This $2,500 was offered to the same member of the New York -Police Department who was also offered $500 for the return of the -letters, two of which I have given a few pages back. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -METHODS OF BLACKMAILING - - -A threatening letter is sent to a proposed victim. Immediately after -the letter is delivered by the postman Morello just "happens" to be in -the vicinity of the victim to be, and "accidentally" meets the -receiver of the letter. - -The receiver knows of Morello's close connections with Italian -malefactors, and, the thing being fresh in mind, calls Morello's -attention to the letter. - -Morello takes the letter and reads it. He informs the receiver that -victims are not killed off without ceremony and just for the sake of -murder. - -The "Black-Hand" chief himself declares he will locate the man who -sent the letter, if such a thing is possible, the victim never -suspecting that the letter is Morello's own. Of course, the letter is -never returned to the proposed victim. By this cunning procedure no -evidence remains in the hand of the receiver of the letter should he -wish to seek aid from the police. - -Also, Morello is in this way put in close touch with the mental -attitude of the receiver of the letter, and he is in a position to -tell whether the receiver will go to the police or not. - -Morello thus can tell whether to proceed with further threats; he can -also tell what manner of threat is most likely to persuade the -receiver of the letter to part with his money. - -The threat may be the stealing of his little child or the blowing up -of his store or the horrible invitation to expect swift and sudden -death from a knife thrust in the dark. - -Morello was practically the first man to make this manner of blackmail -a commercial success in this country. - -Here are a few samples of letters taken by the Secret Service men from -Morello's house when he was arrested on the charges upon which he was -convicted of counterfeiting United States money. It was for these -letters also that the offer of $500 was made in part. - -The letter which follows had been sent through the mail to Liborio -Bataglia, at No. 13 Prince Street, New York City. Morello had got the -letter back in the usual way that I have just explained. It reads in -the English translation from the Sicilian as follows: - - "MR. BATAGLIA: - - "Do not think that we are dead. Look out for your face; a - veil won't help you. Now is the occasion to give me five - hundred dollars on account of that which you others don't - know respect that from then to now you should have kissed my - forehead I have been in your store, friend Donate how you - respect him he is an ignorant boob, that I bring you others I - hope that all will end that when we are alone they give me no - peace as I deserve time lost that brings you will know us - neither some other of the Mafia in the future will write in - the bank where you must send the money without so many - stories otherwise you will pay for it." - -Here is another letter that had been sent through the mails and -obtained by Morello in the usual manner. It bears a Brooklyn postmark -and is dated September 21, 1908. It was addressed to Rosario Oliveri, -27 Stanton Street. It reads in the translation from the Sicilian: - - "DEAR FRIEND: - - "Beware we are sick and tired of writing to you to the - appointment you have not come with people of honor. If this - time you don't do what we say it will be your ruination. Send - us three hundred dollars with people of honor at eleven - o'clock Thursday night. There will be a friend at the corner - of 15th Street and Hamilton Ave. He will ask you for the - signal. Give me the word and you will give him the money. - Beware that if you don't come to this order we will ruin all - your merchandise and attempt your life. Beware of what you - do. - - "M. N." - -Here is a polite invitation to a proposed victim that he very kindly -dispense with his money. It reads: - - "FRIEND: - - "The need obliges us to come to you in order to do us a - favor. We request, Sunday night, 7th day, at 12 o'clock you - must bring the sum of $1000. Under penalty of death for you - and your dears you must come under the new bridge near the - Grand Street ferry where you will find the person that wants - to know the time. At this word you will give him the money. - Beware of what you do and keep your mouth shut...." - -I summoned a great many of the people to whom these letters were sent -and asked them to tell who they met and how much money they gave to -the "Black-Handers." But invariably these people, some of whom I knew -were victims, would deny that they had met any person in answer to the -letter, and they would also deny that they ever thought of giving any -money to appease the wrath of the "Black-Hand" Society. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -TRACING A LETTER - - -While I was hot on the trail of the counterfeiting gang led by Lupo -and Morello, a letter came to my hand which contained a counterfeit -five-dollar note. The letter was addressed to Andrea Pollara, Portage -La Prairie, Manitoba, Canada. The letter was written in Italian and -translated was as follows: - - "DEAR FRIEND: - - "I enclose a sample of those for $5 and beg you buy five - cents of Griciria (the "black-hand" word for glycerine) which - if rubbed on certain counterfeit bills will give them the - appearance of age, and so make them the more easy to pass, - and rub it on your hands, and then you will do whatever you - want. If you see they will go well, notify me at once and I - will send you as many as you want." - -The note was signed I. P. It was a registered letter and sealed with -black wax by a stamp seal bearing the name of F. Acritelli, No. 243 -Elizabeth Street. The return address on this letter was Giuseppe -Conti, No. 8 Prince Street, New York City. The letter also showed that -it had been mailed at Sub-Station No. 78, which is in the Italian bank -conducted by Pasquale Pati, at No. 240 Elizabeth Street, just across -the street from where the letter had been sealed at Acritelli's -banking place. This Acritelli, by the way, is the father of the former -Coroner Acritelli. - -The initials on the signature of the letter, I guessed were those of -Pietro Inzarillo. This man conducted a little Italian cafe at No. 226 -Elizabeth Street, in the same block where Acritelli's bank was, and -also in the same block where the sub post office station was located -where the letter had been registered. Also, I knew that this Inzarillo -was just around the corner from the grocery store of Lupo, at No. 8 -Prince Street; and in the back of Lupo's cafe, Morello conducted his -Italian restaurant. - -I examined the five-dollar counterfeit bill and saw that it was the -work of the Lupo-Morello gang. - -Then, too, the return address, No. 8 Prince Street, was where Morello -and Lupo were doing business. The problem was how to connect these two -fellows with the writing of the letter. It had been rejected when -brought back there by the letter carrier. - -I hit upon the plan of finding out whether the handwriting was that of -Lupo, which I had reason to believe it was. I remembered that several -of the Lupo-Morello gang were in the Tombs awaiting trial for -counterfeiting. I knew that many of their friends applied to United -States Marshal Henkel for passes to visit the members of the gang -locked up. Two of these were Isadore Crocervera and Giuseppe DePriema. -The latter, by the way, was the brother-in-law of the man found -murdered in the barrel. - -I went to Marshal Henkel and told him what I was after, and made -arrangements with him to get the handwriting of all those who called -and asked for passes to see the two Morello-Lupo counterfeiters. So -whenever the visiting members called at the marshal's office and asked -for passes the marshal pretended that he did not understand and had -the visitors write out what they wished and required them to sign the -request for passes. In this way I obtained the signature and -handwriting of a number of the gang, but failed in the main purpose, -namely, that of obtaining a sample of Lupo's handwriting or his -signature. - -Despite the fact that I was satisfied that the workmanship of the bill -was that of the Lupo-Morello crowd, and though I was confident that -Lupo wrote the letter, yet when the letter was returned to No. 8 -Prince Street nobody there would accept it for Giuseppe Conti, the -information to the letter carrier being that no such person lived -there or was known there. When you know the ways of the Sicilian -criminal this occurrence alone is good grounds for believing that a -great deal more was known about Giuseppe Conti at the Prince Street -address than was given to the letter carrier. - -I hit upon another plan. I knew that Lupo was importing into this -country a large quantity of olive oil, which had to pass the -government officials. Accordingly, I went to see John Hughes, brother -of former Inspector of Police Edward Hughes, who was at one time in -charge of the Detective Bureau at Police Headquarters. I told Hughes -what I wanted. He was in the Custom's service. - -Hughes brought it about so that the consignment of olive oil to Lupo -was held up, compelling Lupo himself to write out a list of the goods -he desired to have admitted over his personal signature. The statement -was then taken to a handwriting expert and also the letter containing -the counterfeit five-dollar bill was placed at the disposal of the -expert, who declared that the handwriting of the letter and that of -the statement written by Lupo for his consignment of olive oil was one -and the same. - -Now I had established a connecting link that would stand the test of -the courts. But there were many other things about the letter that led -me to go further before making any allegation against the wily Lupo. - -It occurred to me it might be well to know why the letter had been -sent away out to a railroad camp in Portage La Prairie. I got men to -work on that end of the case. We found that Andrea Pollara was a -laborer in a railroad camp at the address to which the letter had been -sent. Further, it was established that Andrea Pollara was the agent -of the gang in the camp where a number of Italians were employed -mending and building spurs on the railroad. He had been sent there to -investigate and see whether it was a profitable place in which to -distribute some of the spurious bills. Additional information -disclosed the fact that the railroad camp had moved and the letter -having been addressed to Portage La Prairie, and not being called for, -was returned to the address written on the back, Giuseppe Conti, No. 8 -Prince Street. This cleared up in my mind the reasons for the letter -being sent to the Canadian railroad camp and also the cause of its -being returned. - -Other little connecting links were established over which I was -building a bridge to Lupo in his Italian grocery store. It came to my -mind that Lupo had done quite some business with Banker Acritelli, and -Lupo was also on more than familiar terms with Banker Pati. I knew -that Lupo and Inzarillo were very friendly. It was found that the man -to whom the letter had been addressed to in Canada was not Andrea -Pollara. This was an assumed name. The right name of the -"Black-Hander" was Salvatore Maccari, who had a wife living in New -York City. The net of evidence was closing on Lupo. - -While I was gathering the threads together, the tragedy of the barrel -murder came to public notice. While the police of New York were -groping around in the dark, I submitted information of which I have -spoken previously in this book, and the arrest of a number of the gang -for the murder of the victim in the barrel followed. Among those -arrested was Lupo. When he was placed in custody his house was -searched, and the following letter, written in Italian, was found. It -was postmarked Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, Canada, addressed to -Pietro Inzarillo, No. 226 Elizabeth Street, New York City, dated -September 4, 1902, and translated reads: - - "DEAR FRIEND: - - "By the present I give you the news of my good health and of - all the friends who are with me, and so we hope to hear from - you and all the friends in New York, whom we respect. - Meantime, I beg of you warmly to tell me when the goods - arrive, and to send me the samples of a five in order to see - whether we can do business, prompt answer and samples. I and - all the friends salute you together with the friends over in - New York, I am your friend Andrea Pollara. My address is the - following, Mr. Andrea Pollara, Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, - Canada. P. S. Dear Paolo, I beg of you to send me five - dollars you or Ignazio (meant for Ignazio Lupo) that as soon - as I get my money I will return them to you, nothing else, I - am your friend 'Salvatore Matisi.' Be so kind as to put them - in the letter of your friend, I am sure you will favor me." - -The reader will not require much taxing of his thinking powers to -realize that the returned letter containing the counterfeit $5.00 note -was written in response to the above letter. - -When Lupo was searched we found another clue. A note book was found on -him in which the following entry is recorded: - -"S. Matisi, sent to Canada $5.00--to his wife $5.00--ditto $4.00." - -Opposite this entry, that is, on the opposite page in the note book, -is written: - -"The name Matisi is mentioned a number of times in this book as are -also the names of a number of counterfeiters including Isadore -Crocervera and Giuseppe DePriema." - -These entries were taken to a handwriting expert who declared that the -handwriting was the same as that in the letter which I started tracing -after its return here from Portage La Prairie. These entries, however, -were in English, and I may note here that Lupo wrote English. - -Twelve of the gang were arrested by the New York police when they -rounded up the crowd incident to the barrel murder. Among those -arrested with Lupo was Pietro Inzarillo. When the latter was arrested, -his cafe at No. 226 Elizabeth Street was searched and a letter from -Maccari was found. The letter was postmarked Portage La Prairie, -Manitoba, Canada, dated September 1st, 1902, and addressed to Pietro -Inzarillo, alias Saitta (Lupo's full name being Ignazio Lupo Saitta), -Elizabeth Street, New York. The rest of the address is illegible. The -letter reads: - - "Canada Pacife, August 31, 1902. - - "DEAR FRIEND: - - "With these few words I come to make you a note of my perfect - health, the same I hope to hear from you, you brothers also, - I desire to know how your father has been; therefore I - recommend to you that affair that I left in your charge. If - my Uncle Thomas comes from Ebgostien, do not forget the - affair that is the direction that you have given to Carmino, - do not let it go up in the air. As soon as possible that you - can, make it. Nothing else to tell you. Give my regards to - Paolo Marchese, regards to Giuseppe Morello and John Pecorain - and all the friends that ask for me, with the best of regards - to you, I say your dear friend 'Salvatore Matisi' accept the - regards from Carmelo Blandina. This is the direction--Salvatore - Maccari, P. O. Portage La Prairie Manitoba, Canada." - -No comment is necessary concerning the letter. It speaks for itself as -another thread in the net I was weaving. - -It did not take agents of the Secret Service long to "pick up" -Maccari. He was not aware of the fact that he was under surveillance -for some time prior to May 2, of 1902, when he was placed under arrest -at his home in No. 70-1/2 James Street, New York City. When his -apartments were searched agents of the service looked under Maccari's -bed and found letters written from Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, -Canada, and signed Salvatore Maccari. These letters were addressed to -Maccari's wife, and contained what is termed "rivetting" evidence. -Also, there were letters from his wife to Maccari and addressed to him -at Portage La Prairie. - -When placed under arrest Maccari at first denied that he knew either -Lupo or Inzarillo, and proved to be a proverbial Italian at giving -information to the police. He would not admit that he had ever seen or -heard of either of the two men. He knew nothing about the counterfeit -money, and had never even seen any spurious bills either in this -country or in Italy. He made the sign of the cross and called on the -saints to prove the truth of his lying statements. He declared that he -could not read, neither could he write. - -Later on he admitted that he was intimately acquainted with Lupo and -that Lupo's father and his father were great friends in Italy for -years and that both families were life-long friends. He also admitted -that he was well acquainted with Inzarillo. He also declared that the -letters were written by a friend and signed at his, Maccari's, -dictation. And more evidence was ferreted out. - -The water mark in the billheads used by Lupo in his grocery business -was identical with that in the letter sent to Portage La Prairie, and -having on it the return address of Giuseppe Conti, No. 8 Prince -Street. The envelope upon which the return address was written was the -same make as the envelopes found in the cafe of Inzarillo when that -place was searched following Inzarillo's arrest in connection with the -barrel murder. - -On October 24, 1902, a registered letter addressed to Andrea Pollara, -with the return address P. Inzarillo and Giglio, was returned to Lupo -at his residence, No. 433 West Fortieth Street. Pollara could not be -located in the Canadian camp and so the letter came back. Lupo signed -the receipt for the returned letter. The handwriting was the same as -in the instances already related wherein the "Black-Hander's" -scribbling was identified by an expert. - -I will not weary the reader with further efforts along this line of -reaching one of the big chiefs of the gang as he stood far in the -background, certain of his immunity from any connection in a legal -sense with the distributor of the money his brain had planned to build -up his fortune on. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -"BLACK-HAND" PROPAGANDA - - -The method followed in enlisting Antonio Schiavi into the service of -the gang affords a typical example of the cunning, watchful procedure -of the Lupo-Morello secret propaganda, which was in a fair way to -become of world-wide scope. A gang member, Giuseppe Gudo, managed to -send Schiavi to a drug store where he was sure to meet Antonio -Miloni.[7] - -Schiavi tells of leaving Rio de Janeiro about February 23, 1909, on -the steamship _Gunther_, and arriving in New York in the middle of -February of the same year. While on shipboard he became acquainted -with Giuseppe Gudo, a tailor of Newark, New Jersey. After striking up -a friendly acquaintance with Gudo Schiavi says, and telling Gudo that -he was a litho-engraver, Bono sent him to the drug store of Mocito, -at No. 20 Broome Street, where Schiavi was to ask for Giuseppe -Carlino, another litho-engraver who would get employment in New York -for Schiavi. - -Schiavi never met any Carlino, he says, but Gudo had spoken about him -(Schiavi), the latter learned at the drug store. Accordingly, Schiavi -continued to go to the Mocito store and remained there for a half day -at a time in the hope of meeting Gudo. He was unsuccessful in this, -though, but often met Cecala at the drug store. One day Cecala spoke -to him, Schiavi says, and suggested that with a little money he -(Schiavi) could start in a profitable business. - -Cecala never said much more concerning this business venture, though, -to Schiavi, but one day Cecala made a further suggestion that Schiavi -might help a certain man learn the photo-engraving business. This man, -according to Cecala, had been in the bicycle business, but had given -up this enterprise and was looking around for employment that promised -to be more remunerative. - -Finally, one day at the drug store, he was introduced to Antonio B. -Miloni by Cecala who told Schiavi that Miloni was the man of whom -Cecala had been speaking and who wanted to learn the photo-engraving -business. - -Schiavi and Miloni had an extended conversation, and Schiavi agreed to -go to the home of Miloni and teach him the business. Then for about -six weeks or two months Schiavi went to the home of Miloni daily, and -taught the "Black-Hander" the essentials of the photo-engraving -business. At the end of that time, according to Schiavi, Miloni -discovered that he could proceed by himself and announced to Schiavi -that he (Miloni) had joined the photo-engravers' union. - -About a year or so after this, Schiavi says he met Miloni on Third -Avenue near One Hundred and Fourteenth Street, and Miloni was on his -way home. The latter had in his possession, Schiavi says, a camera and -all the necessaries for photographing. Also, Schiavi says, Miloni took -him along to a photo-engraving supply store at No. 103 Mott Street, -where the "Black-Hander" bought several kinds of the supplies -necessary to the photo-engraving business. - -Schiavi then tells of making a rendezvous of the Mocito drug store -after this incident. He met a man in the drug store by the name of -Don Ciccio (Francesco) who made the drug store a camping place. This -Don Ciccio posed as being in the real estate business and declared -that he was an agent. What manner of agent he was, Schiavi says, Don -Ciccio never made clear. This same Don Ciccio, according to Schiavi, -once asked him whether he were able to make plates for money. Schiavi -informed the real estate man that he could make the plates, but -preferred his liberty to a term in the confines of a jail. Miloni was -present during the conversation between Schiavi and Don Ciccio, -according to Schiavi, but Miloni did not enter into the conversation. -There were others who frequented the drug store and who were -identified by Schiavi as members of the gang now imprisoned on the -charges of counterfeiting. - -In many ways, too numerous to relate, information of this sort came to -me until the Secret Service was facing the onerous task of digesting -and coordinating it for its special needs to keep the legal tender of -the country secure. - -The subtle, round-about manner in which the "Black-Hander" scatters -the seeds of his propaganda so that they will grow and bear fruit of -themselves and disarm suspicion is well-illustrated in the way in -which the attempt was made to inveigle Schiavi. - -Corleone is the home town of Morello and Lupo, the arch-plotters. It -is a place fascinating to the eye of the artist. Nestling at the foot -of Mount Cardellia, in the province of Palermo, Sicily, it lies about -two thousand feet above sea-level and seems to be sailing in the -clouds like a phantom city of the Middle Ages. - -Corleone means Lion-Heart. _Korliun_ it was named by the Saracens, who -founded it and made it a military stronghold in the picturesque -thirteenth century. Something of the savage, marauding spirit of the -Saracen, always a menace to civilization, hovers about the place--a -savagery that has nursed into being a dangerous and powerful arm of -the great Mafia or "Black-Hand" Society of Italy. The town holds only -about twenty thousand inhabitants and there is no industry to speak -of. Palermo is but twenty-one miles to the north of it. There is a -splendid old church in Corleone reminiscent of the time when King -Frederick II colonized these parts with Lombardian peasants as early -as 1237. - -One night in the year 1889, while on his way home, Giovanni Vella, -Chief of the Sylvan Guards, was murdered in a dark street but a short -distance from his residence in Corleone. A bullet had torn its way -through his back and into his lung. Vella lasted but a few minutes -after the shooting, but long enough to cause a nasty tangle for the -police in their effort to solve the murder. Vella lived just long -enough to utter a few remarks that were misused by Mafia influences to -send an innocent man to prison for twenty-two years. - -Anna Di Puma, a neighbor, returning to her house at that hour had just -passed through a dark alley and noticed two men lurking in the shadow. -She passed close and looked into their faces, recognizing one of the -men as Giuseppe Morello, whom she knew very well. - -A couple of minutes later, even before she had reached her door, she -heard a shot and ran back into the alley. There she found Vella lying -in the exact spot where she had seen Morello and his companion -apparently hiding but a few minutes previously. Anna Di Puma told the -neighbors what she had seen. She was also incautious enough to say -that she was going to court to tell on the witness stand just what -she had observed. - -Anna Di Puma was shot in the back and killed two days later while she -was sitting on the door-step of a neighbor's store. - -Morello was arrested and charged with the murder of the Di Puma woman. -He was held in prison to await trial, but powerful influences of the -Mafia were set to work and Morello was discharged for lack of -evidence. The only witness to the murder of Vella was dead. Two -lawyers of his band testified that Morello was in Palermo with them -and not in Corleone on the night the Di Puma woman was murdered. - -Michele Guarino Zangara, living in the next apartment to Morello, who -noticed when the "Black-Hander" arrived home and overheard the -conversation that followed between Morello and his mother, was also -murdered. He was thrown off a bridge one night while on his way home. -He was found the next morning under the bridge dead. This man Zangara -had gone to the accused man's house, three or four days after the -Chief of the Sylvan Guards was murdered, and told the family of the -man unjustly arrested for the crime that he (Guarino) had overheard -Mrs. Morello say to her son: - -"Peppe, what have you done? Now they will come and arrest you," and in -response to this Morello said, "Shut up, mother, they have gone on the -wrong scent." - -Zangara, being a man with a large family, feared to tell what he knew -because he felt sure that Morello would murder him just as he had -slain the Di Puma woman. However, when the accused man, Francesco -Ortonello, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, Zangara -came to the front, declaring that his conscience troubled him to see -an innocent man sent away for the murder of Vella. He went to the -authorities and told them that he was willing to risk his life and -tell the truth for Ortonello. The authorities told Zangara that it -would have been better had he told it during the trial. Now it was too -late. - -A few days after this the murder of Zangara took place. - -Morello was on his way to America at this time, but the "Black-Hander" -had many powerful friends still watchful for his interests, and some -of these attended to Zangara. - -Pietro Milone, a police officer who tried hard to clear Ortonello, was -murdered one night on his way home. The one who slew the officer was -never punished. - -Biaggia Milone lived across the way from the spot where Morello and -his companion were seen hiding, and this woman subsequently admitted -she saw the shooting and that Morello did it. - -This woman is now in New York, and is the cousin of Domenico Milone, -who conducted the grocery store at No. 235 East Ninety-seventh Street, -which was the headquarters and distributing plant for the Lupo-Morello -counterfeit money. The Milone woman has even stated publicly that she -would not testify to what she knows in behalf of Ortonello in an -effort to get the old man out of prison where, she says, she knows he -is unjustly kept! - -Ortonello's father, who tried to have his son freed, was threatened -with death several times, and several shots were actually fired at him -while the old man sat in his own doorway. The marksmanship was not -good and the old man escaped the bullets. - -While Morello was in prison charged with murdering the Di Puma woman -he met Ortonello in the prison. Morello admitted to Ortonello that he -had murdered Vella, the chief of the Sylvan Guards, for which crime -Ortonello was there in the prison awaiting trial. Morello also -informed Ortonello that if he and all his family did not care to join -Vella in the world to come that the whole family had better be careful -of what they said and what charges they made, and that any evidence -tending to show his (Morello's) complicity in the crime must be -suppressed. - -In order that the reader may view the foregoing facts in proper -perspective it will be necessary for me to relate a little of the -politics and the relation of the so-called Mafia to the murders. - -Vella, the murdered chief, was a very active and knowing man. He had -dug up a great amount of evidence against the criminal band of which -Morello was a member, and which was under the leadership of a very -wealthy and powerful young man named Paolino Streva. - -Vella had sworn in public that he would put this band out of business -in and around Corleone. He also had decided to place Morello under -surveillance, which means that Morello would have to be home every -night at a certain time and subject to be called at any hour of the -night by the police who would see whether he was behaving himself. -Also, Morello would be compelled to make reports of his whereabouts -and conduct and what work he was at to Vella whenever the chief should -require it. - -In return for the stand Vella had taken Morello swore publicly that he -would be avenged on Vella for this punishment. - -Vella also knew of the extensive criminal operations of Streva and -that Morello was Streva's trusted lieutenant. Vella knew that Streva -had a great deal of influence with judges and other public officials -and even boasted that certain senators in Rome would do his bidding. -Through this influence Streva managed to get out of prison a number of -thieves, murderers and blackguards who in turn would go to any -extremes for Streva. By crooked politics and sometimes by fear Streva -exerted a baneful influence over the community the same as his uncle -had done before him, the uncle who had handed down the wealth and -political power that the younger man enjoyed. All these things were -well known to Vella. - -A further circumstance must be related here. During the latter part -of 1889, a large number of cattle had been stolen in the neighborhood -of Corleone and the country people were making many complaints. Vella -had been working on the case, and succeeded in rounding up facts and -evidence sufficient to strike a telling blow at the Streva-Morello -team and the rest of the Mafia crowd. The chief was contemplating a -raid on the gang. The Streva crowd, however, were tipped off that the -arrest orders were about to be signed. - -Beyond and behind all this there was a tense political situation. -Vella's term of office was about to expire and election day was not -far off. Streva and his crowd feared Vella, but they knew that they -could not hope to beat the chief for re-election if they opposed him -with one of their own crowd. - -The "Black-Handers" looked the field over and hit upon Francesco -Ortonello, who was a man of upright life and character respected by -his townsmen for miles around. Ortonello's father had been mayor of -Corleone. An uncle was the best-known priest in the southern extremity -of Sicily. Ortonello, though, had never meddled with politics, nor -with the Mafia or any other organization. He was quite content to -mind his own business and devote himself to his family. One day a -committee of influential men called on Ortonello, and after persistent -argument induced him to run for the office of Commander of the Sylvan -Guards against Vella. - -This induced Vella to suspect Ortonello for being in league with the -Mafia and intent on spoiling all the good work done toward wiping out -the plundering band of which Morello was a member. - -Accordingly, with some liquor in him, Vella went to Ortonello's house -and hurled the following at Ortonello, who did not understand the -political conditions that prevailed at the time: - -"So, Ortonello," said Vella in a rage, "you have dropped the mask. I -never thought you were one of the Mafia's puppets. I thought you were -an honest man, but evidently I fooled myself." - -This onslaught in his own house brought Ortonello to his feet. He -grabbed a gun and forced Vella to flee. Now, Ortonello's eyes were -opened. He realized that he had been duped into accepting the -candidacy against Vella. He realized that his clean record of -citizenship was to be used in order to beat Vella. He promptly went -to the authorities and notified them to cancel his name. - -The Mafia was thrown into panic. The bandits knew that Vella would win -if Ortonello did not oppose him. - -The very night following Ortonello's cancelling of his name for the -office, Vella was murdered. - -Previously on the evening that he was shot Vella had been making merry -at the cafe "Stella d'Italia" with a number of public officials and -was well "under the weather," as they say, when he started for home. -He was seen to rest against a lamp-post. A neighbor offered him -assistance to his door but Vella refused. - -As soon as the shooting took place there was a commotion. Vella's -wife, feeling that some such fate would befall her husband, rushed out -terror-stricken and fell prostrate across the dying chief. The -carabineers arrived and with them a crowd of people. Vella was taken -in a dying condition to his house, which became jammed with excited -neighbors. Among those present was Morello. He had hidden his gun in a -pile of rubbish at the river's edge and hurried into Vella's house to -look for developments. The hiding of the gun by Morello was testified -to at the trial of Ortonello by a man named Antonio Caronia, who, by -the way, was not murdered. He was a good shot himself, and had the -reputation of being able to mix it up with any of the Morello crowd -without much fear of the results. - -The commander of the carabineers was a dear friend of Vella's and had -been dining with the chief but a few minutes before the shooting. The -commander asked Vella who shot him and the chief muttered: - -"Cows, cows,--the Mafia." The chief also recited a long list of names -of the men he had been camping after in his efforts to rid the -community of the Mafia band. At this the commander of the carabineers -interrupted the dying chief, and told him he was naming too many men, -and that so many could not have done the shooting. The result, the -commander told the chief, would be that no one would suffer for the -offense. The commander then asked Vella whether he had any quarrels -recently and the chief answered: - -"Yes, I quarrelled with Ortonello yesterday. He wanted to take my job -away--take the bread and butter from my wife and children--and he -threatened me with a gun." - -The commander of the carabineers immediately directed his men to go -and get Ortonello and bring him to the house of the dying chief. - -When Morello heard this order he smiled and departed for his home. It -was upon returning there that the conversation took place which -Zangara declared he had overheard between the "Black-Hander" and his -mother. - -When the carabineers arrived with Ortonello in their custody, Vella -was in his last breaths. When asked by the commander of the -carabineers if Ortonello was the man with whom he had quarrelled on -the previous day, Vella nodded his head and fell back dead. - -Another arrest followed that of Ortonello. It was that of Francesco -Orlando, who was also a candidate against Vella. Orlando was tried and -sentenced to a term of fifteen years, which he served and is now out. -Needless to say that Orlando's sympathies and activities are not -directed toward any movement favorable to the Morello crowd. - -The trial of Ortonello shows the methods of the Mafia--methods that -the Lupo-Morello gang would transplant to this country in the conduct -of the trials of our courts of their criminal brethren if it could be -done by them. Morello's powerful friends brought it about so that the -two attorneys for Ortonello deserted him at the moment the case was to -go to trial so that the unfortunate Ortonello was forced to take a -young lawyer who knew little of the details of the case and who was -not sufficiently versed in the practice of courts. - -But worse still, the two attorneys that deserted Ortonello on the eve -of his trial had all along advised him that his innocence was so -evident that no jury would ever convict him. It was not, therefore, -the attorneys told Ortonello, necessary to go to any great pains to -prove his innocence. The value of this advice to the Mafia crowd may -be brought out more strongly when I tell you that both of these -attorneys were betraying Ortonello and keeping Morello's friend -Streva, the powerful young leader of the Mafia, informed of every move -of Ortonello. They advised Ortonello not to bring out any evidence -that would be injurious to Streva or Morello. It would not be -necessary to do this to prove his innocence, the two attorneys told -Ortonello. - -In vain Antonio Caronia testified in Ortonello's behalf that he had -seen Morello hide the gun in the pile of rubbish at the river's edge -shortly after the shooting took place. To offset this testimony of -Caronia's, the Morello crowd worked upon the police and had the gun -spirited away. Later on, it may be added here, the police official who -was responsible for the hiding of this gun at the time of Ortonello's -trial, was dismissed from the service for his conduct. - -In vain did Ortonello's attorney bring out evidence that the bullet -extracted from Vella's body was much larger than the caliber of the -gun found in Ortonello's home. Testimony was admitted at the trial to -offset this. A Mafia henchman was produced who declared that the -bullet had been made larger because of hitting a bone in Vella's body -and thus flattening the missile. - -In vain was it shown that a grocery wagon had been placed in front of -Ortonello's door more than an hour before the shooting and that this -wagon had to be removed before the carabineers could get admittance to -Ortonello's house when they went after him to bring him to the house -of the dying chief. In vain was it brought out at the trial that -Ortonello was in bed when the carabineers entered his room to take -him into custody. In vain was it shown that he could not have got into -the house or out of it while a grocery wagon was backed up to his door -an hour previous to the time of the shooting and was still there when -the carabineers arrived to arrest him. In vain was it shown that this -grocery wagon had been drawn up in front of Ortonello's door by the -groceryman next door who had come from Palermo that night with a large -amount of groceries, and when the mail stage was to pass, and because -the street was narrow, the groceryman backed the wagon up to the door -and left it there until he could unload his goods. - -In vain did the groceryman testify that he was unloading his wagon -when the shot was fired, that he did not leave his wagon from then -until the carabineers arrived, and that Ortonello had not entered the -house nor come from it during that period. In vain was testimony given -that the grocery wagon, being backed up to the door, prevented -Ortonello from either coming out of the house or entering it. - -In order to contradict the testimony of the grocer and three others -who corroborated him concerning the wagon, friends of Vella went to a -prostitute who lived in the rear of Ortonello's house and paid her -money to testify that she had seen Ortonello after the shooting climb -a rope and enter the rear window of this house. The window was forty -feet from the ground. This woman is now dead, but before her demise -she told the truth and declared that she had perjured herself for the -money given her by the commander of the carabineers. This man was very -bitter against Ortonello because he believed at the time that -Ortonello had murdered his friend Vella. - -To no avail was the testimony of an expert shoe-maker who showed the -court that the footprints examined in the spot where Morello was seen -hiding by the Di Puma woman, just prior to the shooting, were not the -footprints of Ortonello nor of Orlando. - -As further proof of the unfair trial suffered by Ortonello let me -relate that the commander of the carabineers was so convinced of -Ortonello's guilt, and so determined to prove a strong case against -the unfortunate Ortonello that the commander went to the house of -Biaggia Milone and frightened her by threats into testifying that she -had seen Ortonello and Orlando do the shooting, that she had seen -this from the window of her home, and that she had seen the two -surveying the ground on the previous Sunday. This is the Milone woman -whose cousin operated the grocery store in East Ninety-seventh Street, -which was the headquarters distributing plant for the Lupo-Morello -counterfeit money. - -For four years Ortonello remained in prison at Palermo, where the case -should properly have been tried; but the Mafia crowd became frightened -at the public sentiment that was being aroused in behalf of Ortonello -and feared that if he were tried at Palermo, where he was so well -known, and where the truth was slowly leaking out, he would be set -free. Through the influence of Streva the case was transferred to -Messina, at the other extremity of Sicily, where Ortonello was tried -and convicted. He was sentenced to serve life imprisonment. Five of -the jurors believed him innocent. - -Perhaps the reader is curious to know what became of Paolino Streva, -the young and powerful leader of the Mafia of that time, the protector -and patron of Morello. His fate will probably serve as a warning and -please the reader. He is missing from the vicinity of Corleone for -some time past. He quarrelled with Bernardo Verro, the very popular -leader of the Socialist party in Corleone, and caused Verro to be -shot. The shooting was inaccurate, though, and Verro recovered. Then -the friends of Verro thought they would do a little shooting of their -own, and they attempted to hit Streva on three different occasions, -but were unsuccessful. Then Verro's friends went after Streva still -more effectively. They burned down his house and barns and destroyed -his farm lands. Streva suddenly disappeared and his whereabouts are -not known. - -As for Morello, he is safely lodged in the Atlanta Federal Prison on a -sentence of twenty-five years for counterfeiting. He is, however, no -longer in danger of being prosecuted for the murder of Vella because -the Italian Code provides that a man cannot be tried for a crime when -twenty years have expired after the committing of the felony. - -As for Ortonello and his family I can state that his wife and children -are now in New York and prospering. The old man himself, I am happy to -state, is free through friendly influences I have succeeded in -bringing to bear on his case. He has taken a new grip on life since -the day of his release, even though he is broken in body and weighted -with years, showing plainly the terrible suffering of his twenty-three -years of unmerited prison life. His spirit is revived and his mind is -clear. He prays for me and mine. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[7] Miloni was Treasurer of the Ignatz Florio Co-Operative -Association. He was indicted and confessed. He is now in Italy a -fugitive from justice. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -THE WATCHWORD OF THE "BLACK-HANDERS" - -"_Have no fear--I am not asleep--and I have not slept ever since that -time!_" - - -These ominous words were underscored in a letter written by Morello, -the arch-bandit, to a friend in Palermo who had warned the chief to be -on his guard against betrayal in his extensive criminal operations. -The words "that time" undoubtedly refer back to the Corleone murders -that made the chief change his habitat from the mountain haunts of the -Mafia to the by-ways of New York. - -I have quoted Morello because in that ominous sentence he has spoken -the watchword of the "Black-Handers" in New York City. The criminal -element among the Italians here is not sleeping. At the time he penned -these words Morello had advanced to the leadership of the worst and -most elusive band of criminals that ever slipped past the scrutiny of -the Ellis Island officials. - -In contrast to the criminal element, the honest Italians of New York -City, and other large centers of population in this country, are -certainly sleeping. It is a restless, fearful sleep in which they are -indulging. A sleep from which they will be aroused sometimes by a bomb -at their door, or by the stealing of the smallest child in their -household, or by a knife-thrust in the dark. The Italian, the honest -Italian, the good citizen, knows that what I say is true. - -But why does the honest Italian go back and sleep again when he knows -that the same danger is imminent still? - -The honest Italian is drugged with fear. - -He fears to open his mouth and tell the police and the government -officials about the threats that have been sent to him by letter or by -those whom he knows are among the criminal element. His mouth is -closed with the drug of fear. He goes back to sleep in silence not -realizing that by so doing he invites another crime upon his -household. - -The antidote for the drug of fear is courage. - -Perhaps courage is not the correct word; I mean rather disregard of -threats. If the honest Italians in this country would disregard the -threats of the very small number of criminals among them, the -"Black-Hand" nuisance would be wiped out before the sun returned to -the meridian many times. If the honest Italian would help the police -authorities by telling the facts when threatened there would be a -swift ending of the "Black-Hand" gang. - -The reason for the fear in the mind of the honest, and even the most -intelligent, Italians is born of the thought that such leaders as -Morello and Lupo, were more than human in their craftiness, and had -dark and mysterious ways of avoiding the best detectives in this -country, and that they could even commit murder and laugh in the teeth -of the police. The answer to such a thought is the sentences imposed -on Morello, Lupo and the other members of the gang now confined in the -federal prison. If there are other leaders of less magnitude than -these two, and who have caused any Italian fear through threat or -otherwise, I invite such honest Italian to tell me what he knows. -There are cells unoccupied in many prisons. - -In conclusion I ask the honest Italian to disregard the idea that the -criminals of his race are infallible and may not be reached by the -law. It is to honest Italians particularly that I send out this book. -I repeat the words of Giuseppe Morello: - -"HAVE NO FEAR, I AM NOT ASLEEP, AND HAVE NOT SLEPT EVER SINCE THAT -TIME." - - - - - * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - -Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - -Spelling and hyphenation variants were standardized to the most -frequently used, as follows: Black Hand(er) to Black-Hand(er), calibre -to caliber, getaway to get-away, maccaroni to macaroni, post-office to -post office. - -Chapter XXVI, p. 239: "Schiavi tells of leaving Rio de Janeiro about -February 23, 1909, on the steamship _Gunther_, and arriving in New -York in the middle of February of the same year." 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