THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 OF CALIF. LIBBAHY, LOS ABGBLK
 
 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 Right* 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 STOEY 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 
 
 212955ft
 
 THE BARREL MYSTERY
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE BARBEL MURDEE 
 
 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
 
 2 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 white-wash once white. Outside is a man clip- 
 ping the mane of a truck horse with its harness 
 dragging in the filth. On the corner is a sa- 
 loon, such as you find on the East Side, shoul- 
 dering 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 manufac- 
 turers. 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 fusilade of ma- 
 chine guns, walls with rusted chicken-wire net- 
 ting before windows that are never cleaned ex- 
 cept 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 camou-
 
 THE BARREL MURDER 3 
 
 flaged by the blasts of blistering sun and cut- 
 ting 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 en- 
 trance, 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 shat- 
 tered boards and laths from which remnants of 
 bill-posters, stained and ragged, flutter now and 
 then. A heap of rubbish, garlanded with a jum- 
 ble 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
 
 4 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 re- 
 traced her steps. In this instance curiosity re- 
 vealed 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 veiy 
 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
 
 THE BARREL MURDER 5 
 
 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 ex- 
 amined it after rolling the barrel over and drag- 
 ging the victim out. About the dead man's neck 
 was wound a strip of gunny-sack. When re- 
 moved 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.
 
 6 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 char- 
 acter. 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
 
 THE BARREL MURDER 7 
 
 to any locality. There was an overcoat on the 
 body, and in one of the pockets two handker- 
 chiefs 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 Ex- 
 change." 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 bot- 
 tom was covered with about three inches of saw- 
 dust soaked with blood. Onion peels and some 
 stubs of cigars of the stogie make were scat- 
 tered 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 1'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 serv- 
 ice. Inspector George W. McCloskey, head of 
 the bureau in person, aided by picked men,
 
 8 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 in- 
 structed to follow any little lead of informa- 
 tion which might indicate a connection with the 
 murder. No identification, however, developed. 
 
 I read of the murder in the afternoon news- 
 papers. This was on April fourteenth. I re- 
 called certain unusual activities among the band 
 of "Black Handers" on the night of April 12, 
 which was about thirty-odd hours before the mur- 
 der must have been committed. It came to my 
 mind that I had seen a face new among the mem- 
 bers 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 ac- 
 cording 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 surveil- 
 lance for the purpose of arresting them on a 
 ' charge of counterfeiting.
 
 THE BARREL MURDER 9 
 
 On the night of April 12, having accumulated 
 considerable information concerning this band, I 
 personally picked up the trail and followed sev- 
 eral members of the band from their counter- 
 feiting headquarters in the cafe at Elizabeth and 
 Prince Streets. Just around the corner from 
 this cafe was the saloon of Ignazio Lupo, an- 
 other 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 con- 
 viction. 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
 
 10 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 of the shop I saw a piece of bagging being hung 
 up as a curtain over the glass in the door lead- 
 ing 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 go- 
 ing 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 head- 
 quarters 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.
 
 THE BARREL MURDER 11 
 
 Messina Geneva, 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 "II 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
 
 12 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 for- 
 bidding, 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 wheth- 
 er they knew him. The answer was the usual 
 one a shrug of the shoulders and the words "No 
 understand," "don't know." Morello and Peco- 
 raro 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 identifica- 
 tion of the dead man. It was plain to me al-
 
 THE BARREL MURDER 13 
 
 ready 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 Petro- 
 sino 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 mur- 
 dered man. Several of the convicts failed to 
 identify the photograph, but the third man ques- 
 tioned by Petrosino, Giuseppe DePriema, looked 
 at the photograph and said: "That is Maruena 
 Benedetto, my brother-in-law. What has hap- 
 pened?" 
 
 DePriema completed the identification by cor- 
 roborating 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
 
 14 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 cut- 
 ter. 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 detec- 
 tives 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 sus- 
 pects. 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 mur- 
 der. The ticket was found on Petto, the Ox. 
 It was positively identified by the wife of Bene-
 
 THE BARREL MURDER 15; 
 
 detto, who was brought on from Buffalo. Cer- 
 tain 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. Mean- 
 while, 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, informa- 
 tion 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 spe-
 
 16 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 cial information for Police Commissioner Theo- 
 dore Bingham. We also ferreted out the sig- 
 nificant 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 he 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 recogni- 
 zance, the attorney stating that there was not suf- 
 ficient 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 per- 
 son. If no blood relative is available, a kinsman 
 by marriage assumes the task. 
 
 Petto soon became the leader of a band of
 
 THE BARREL MURDER 17 
 
 black-handers who preyed upon the Italian min- 
 ers 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 re- 
 volver. 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 Bene- 
 detto's body was found in the barrel, three Ital- 
 ians 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, 
 
 18
 
 WHAT WAS THE MOTIVE? 19 
 
 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 treas- 
 urer is always hiding in the distance with the 
 greater bulk of the counterfeit bills for the pur- 
 pose of making a get-away if the passers get into 
 trouble and are arrested. The treasurer is sup- 
 posed 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 mem- 
 bers of the Corleone gang. 
 
 My next move was to bring the Yonkers offi- 
 cers 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 Febru- 
 ary 19, and gave the name of Giuseppe Giallam- 
 bardo. He got six years.
 
 20 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 The Black Handers were puzzled. They 
 could not understand how it happened that Gial- 
 lambardo 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 ar- 
 rested. 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 sev- 
 eral 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
 
 WHAT WAS THE MOTIVE? 21 
 
 important to the government. But Crocervera 
 did not talk. The subsequent arrest of Giallam- 
 bardo served to strengthen the impression al- 
 ready planted in the mind of Crocervera that De- 
 Priema had betrayed him, and we overheard Cro- 
 cervera telling this to the members of the gang 
 while they were in our office. 
 
 The gang was not in position to tal:e revenge 
 on DePriema, as he was in Sing Sing prison, 
 where the three men had been sent upon convic- 
 tion 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 con- 
 victing them for counterfeiting and had them 
 sentenced to long terms in the Federal Peniten- 
 tiary at Atlanta, Georgia.
 
 22 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 As to the identity of Benedetto's kinsman, who 
 made certain of his aim at Petto, the Ox, near 
 the Italian rendezvous where "II 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 punish- 
 ment meted out to one whom the gang suspects 
 of having betrayed a member. You have also 
 been acquainted with the Sicilian custom of re- 
 venge 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 fol- 
 lows darkness. It is the racial idea of the an- 
 tique Hebrew law, "An eye for an eye and a 
 tooth for a tooth." The Sicilian "vendetta" de- 
 mands 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 
 
 23
 
 24 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 that makes it singularly difficult for the author- 
 ities 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 crim- 
 inal band, which the police rounded up in con- 
 nection with the barrel murder, were turned out 
 by the police magistrate, because there was in- 
 sufficient 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 "shad- 
 owed" 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
 
 ORGANIZED TERRORISM 25 
 
 place. We also located suspects loafing around 
 the dingy, garlic-smelling restaurant of Giu- 
 seppe 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 suf- 
 fered to drop from the sight of the Secret Serv- 
 ice. Members of this gang were busy in the 
 counterfeit money line. The government was 
 necessarily interested in following their move- 
 ments. Consequently I stayed right on the job 
 with my men at trailing and spotting the sus- 
 pects. After a while I had in my possession 
 quite a neat bundle of facts that gradually dis- 
 closed to us the impulse and the motives behind 
 this crime-hardened gang of men. I say with- 
 out the slightest hesitation that the basic, under- 
 lying motive of these men is a fierce and uncom- 
 promising 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 preg- 
 nant with every sinister motive to the most hor- 
 rible and debased forms of crime. It is true 
 that the "Black-Handers" got a pretty good
 
 26 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 ne- 
 farious operations to a minimum. Had this not 
 been done just about the time it was actually 
 done, the "Black Hand" Society would have in- 
 creased 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, al- 
 ready 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 male- 
 factors 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 citi-
 
 ORGANIZED TERRORISM 27 
 
 zen 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 elu- 
 cidate 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 black- 
 mail 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 bar- 
 ber 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 com-
 
 '28 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 plained since of the way in which they were ter- 
 rorized. 
 
 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 cun- 
 ning 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 sugges- 
 tion that a scheme was concocted to form an as-
 
 ORGANIZED TERRORISM 29 
 
 sociation for building purposes with the object 
 of selling stock in the association to Italians from 
 Southern Italy only and exclusively. The asso- 
 ciation 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 contrac- 
 tors who put up the tenements were paid, and 
 some were not. Those who had furnished mate- 
 rials for the buildings received some manner of 
 payment, but there were several who got noth-
 
 30 THE BARREL MYSTERY] 
 
 ing. Law suits began to threaten the two lead- 
 ers. 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 associa- 
 tion 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 spa- 
 ghetti joint.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 COUNTERFEIT BILLS APPEAH 
 
 IN May, 1909, counterfeit two-dollar and five- 
 dollar bills began to appear in many of the large 
 cities, such as New York, Philadelphia, Pitts- 
 burgh, 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 asso- 
 ciates were arrested in 19&8, 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 coun- 
 terfeiting of money down to a minimum. 
 
 31
 
 32 THE BARREL MYSTERY! 
 
 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 W T C 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 ar- 
 rived in New Orleans. On his arrival there cer- 
 tain Italian confederates were waiting for him 
 and escorted their chief to a little Italian cafe 
 where a conference was held in a back room last- 
 ing 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 circulat- 
 ing. Another thread of investigation disclosed 
 the not unimportant fact that there were mem- 
 bers of the Ignatz Florio Association scattered 
 all over the United States, especially in the pop-: 
 ulous 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 
 
 i 
 
 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 vicin- 
 ity of New York City. I fine-combed the State 
 of New York upon learning this. Naturally,' 
 my attention was focused on the Corleone Ital- 
 ians 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
 
 34 
 
 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 fu- 
 tile 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 govern- 
 ment anj^thing of value even if he wished to 
 "squeal." As a rule, all that a "pusher" or dis- 
 tributor can tell is where he got the bad money. 
 
 Here is where Antonio Cecala looms up as a 
 very important criminal factor in the counterfeit- 
 ing game as plied by the Black Handers under 
 the leadership of Lupo and Morello. Remem- 
 ber this : Lupo and Morello always remain in the 
 background. Cecala was the connecting link be-
 
 COUNTERFEIT BILLS APPEAR 35 
 
 tween 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 va- 
 rious 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 Ital- 
 ians asking for it, it was Cecala's job to go to 
 Lupo and Morello and obtain their sanction be- 
 fore 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 un- 
 wary store-keeper.
 
 36 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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. Al- 
 ways, however, when the money was passed over 
 to the pusher by one of Cecala's deputies or re- 
 mote subordinates a sinister warning was given 
 not to "squeal" if caught a warning always por- 
 tentous 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 Morell'j and Lupo, as I had sus- 
 pected 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 Bos- 
 carini just to help the reader appreciate how very 
 difficult it would be, at that juncture, to get
 
 COUNTERFEIT BILLS APPEAR 37 
 
 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
 
 38 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 had the letter registered and addressed to Bos- 
 carini. I came back on the same train that 
 brought the letter to New York, and when Bos- 
 carini 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 deliv- 
 ery 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 Bos- 
 carini 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
 
 COUNTERFEIT BILLS APPEAR 39 
 
 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 Mul- 
 berry 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 mean- 
 while was to locate the headquarters for the dis- 
 tribution 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 en- 
 tered and left the place. Their view was inter- 
 fered 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 confer- 
 ences 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
 
 40 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 New York were compelled to make their pur- 
 chases there at the peril of being wrecked by a 
 bomb if they did not.- To this store went Bos- 
 carini 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 counter- 
 feits 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 con- 
 vict 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
 
 COUNTERFEIT BILLS APPEAR 41 
 
 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 Bos- 
 carini and Cecala. By Locino's telling what 
 part he had played in the game the government 
 was put in position to verify the following com- 
 plete chain of evidence : Locino writing the let- 
 ter to Boscarini and asking for the counterfeit 
 samples; Boscarini receiving the letter, and re- 
 ceipting 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, Lo- 
 cino 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, Lo- 
 cino 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
 
 42 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 return for the counterfeit money passed by Bos- 
 carini to him. Locino could thus connect Bos- 
 carini 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 Lucino. 
 
 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 loos- 
 ened up and declared that he had an ancient 
 wrong to right ! He never explained to me fur- 
 ther 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 sen- 
 tence 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 him- 
 self 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
 
 COUNTERFEIT BILLS APPEAR 43 
 
 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 back- 
 ground serenely confident that they could not be 
 legally implicated in the passing or the manu- 
 facturing 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 na- 
 ture could be produced; but such evidence was 
 not sufficient to convict the two leaders of the 
 charge of either passing, having in their posses- 
 sion, 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 tes- 
 timony, I never could have got the leaders. But 
 the Secret Sendee 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 dis- 
 tance 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 Ital- 
 ian 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 accom- 
 plishments 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 instruc- 
 tor in government schools. From Italy he had 
 
 44
 
 THE GREENHORN'S STORY 45 
 
 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 connect- 
 ing link that joined the chain of evidence identi- 
 fying Lupo and Morello legally and inseparately 
 with the counterfeiting gang which manufac- 
 tured 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 state- 
 ments which ought to interest the public, state- 
 ments 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 evi- 
 dence, the gang vowed to destroy him. He has 
 changed his identity completely meanwhile, how- 
 ever, and was last heard from in South America,
 
 46 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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, 1 had occasion to know many male- 
 factors who horrified me from the very start, and 
 whom I gradually came to fear as I studied 
 their brutal character. I refrained from de- 
 nouncing 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
 
 THE GREENHORN'S STORY 4T 
 
 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 po- 
 lice the 'corporal' would be sure to escape and 
 report the circumstances to the head bandit of 
 the society. The head bandit would in turn no- 
 tify 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 ar- 
 rest 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 oper- 
 ated 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
 
 48 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 cau- 
 tious, 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
 
 THE GREENHORN'S STORY 49 
 
 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 condi- 
 tion 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 find- 
 ing work in some Italian printing-office." 
 
 Comito then tells of rinding 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 intro- 
 ducing 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 Forest- 
 ers, mentioning also how he became Supreme 
 Deputy of the Order of the Sons of Italy, be-
 
 50 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 sides being chosen a member for the Congress 
 of Italians abroad, which was held in Rome in 
 1908. He dwells on his losing employment be- 
 cause 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 Cat- 
 erina and how they shared the apartment which 
 he furnished as well as his means afforded. He 
 and Caterina lived together, he says, "respect- 
 ing one another as husband and wife." Describ- 
 ing 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 Lup6 
 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 coun- 
 terfeiting 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 Dep- 
 uty to attend the meetings of the different 
 lodges. As was the custom toward the end of 
 the meeting I chatted with the various members 
 
 61
 
 52 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 propri- 
 etor 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 em- 
 ployed 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 :
 
 DON PASQUALE 53 
 
 "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 trust- 
 worthy 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 go- 
 ing 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, com- 
 mercial papers and some hand bills. I replied 
 that it was just such work that I could do,
 
 54 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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, be- 
 sides what he owed elsewhere. The weekly sal- 
 ary was agreed upon, and in the event that Co- 
 mito 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.'
 
 DON PASQUALE 55 
 
 "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 ex- 
 penses would be paid, and she finally consented 
 to come along. We prepared the household fur- 
 nishings 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 em- 
 ployed, and make a "dicker" for the purchase of 
 a printing press. The press was secured and 
 everything was made ready for the trip to Phil- 
 adelphia. Then Cecala called and introduced a 
 certain "Don Turi," otherwise Cina, as his god- 
 father. "He is a rich proprietor in Philadel- 
 phia," said Cecala. "Do not mind his ordinary 
 clothes; he is a man of gentle manners." Co- 
 mito'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
 
 56 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 also introduced to a fellow by the name of Syl- 
 vester. 
 
 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 furni- 
 ture." 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 fur- 
 niture would be put on a wagon, and that the 
 wagon and all would go under his name to Phil- 
 adelphia. 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
 
 DON PASQUALE 57 
 
 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 ac- 
 counting to no one." Cecala also assured Co- 
 mito that there would be no delay once they got 
 off the boat, but that they would hurry to Ce- 
 cala'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 assur- 
 ances 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, to- 
 gether with Cecala, Cina, Don Pasquale and Syl- 
 vester, went on board the boat," continues Co- 
 mito. "I was fully convinced that we were go- 
 ing to Philadelphia. I was quite happy think- 
 ing that by working honestly I would prosper. 
 When we were about two hours out from the 
 pier Cecala came to me and said:
 
 58 
 
 * '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 god- 
 father. 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 Ce- 
 cala. '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-
 
 BOX PASQUALE 59 
 
 dollar bill from her stocking where she had hid- 
 den 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 fur- 
 ther 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 ar- 
 rive until one A. M., she spoke cross to me and 
 said that if any harm came to her I was respon- 
 sible. I consoled her as well as I could and re- 
 sumed my rest on the lounge.
 
 60 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 "It was about half -past twelve that night when 
 a long, resounding toot that echoed in the moun- 
 tains announced our arrival at a stopping place. 
 When the deck hand announced the name of the 
 place, which did not sound very much like Phil- 
 adelphia, 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- 
 
 i Highland is about seven miles from Ardonia, N"ew York, where 
 the reader will remember I had discovered Lupo was in hiding 
 after he ran away from his creditors.
 
 DON PASQUALE 61 
 
 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 Cate- 
 rina 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 un- 
 til, as Cecala told me, the printing shop would 
 be in readiness. I was told to have my mail di- 
 rected 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 In- 
 spector.' ' 
 
 For three days after arriving at Cina's, Co- 
 mito says, he and Caterina ate at Cina's table. 
 They were waiting for the supplies to arrive
 
 62 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 mar- 
 ried 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
 
 DON PASQUALE 63 
 
 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 re- 
 turn 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 un- 
 til 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 lit- 
 tle 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
 
 64 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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."
 
 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. 'Un- 
 
 65
 
 66 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 load 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 Ber- 
 nardo will stay with you. And then, of whom 
 are you afraid? No one passes on this road ex- 
 cept at 10 A. M., when the letter carrier goes 
 
 by.' 
 
 "By the time this conversation ended my furni- 
 ture 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,
 
 THE PLANT 67 
 
 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, say- 
 ing 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 dick- 
 ered for. There was a dilapidated bed in one
 
 68 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 print- 
 ing 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 acces- 
 sories 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 maccaroni, olives, smoked fish,
 
 THE PLANT 69 
 
 salt, kerosene, onions and a small form of cheese, 
 as well as twenty small cans containing tomato 
 sauce. Unloading this stuff without ever utter- 
 ing 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 iso- 
 lated 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
 
 70 
 
 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 boister- 
 ously 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 deal- 
 ing 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 gen- 
 tlemen 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 fever- 
 ish. Give me the fare and I will go.'
 
 THE PLANT 71 
 
 " '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 cour- 
 tesy, '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 com- 
 pany, and you will be happy.' 
 
 "Cecala now turned abruptly to me saying in 
 a sinister tone of voice : 'Don Antonio, come up- 
 stairs. I have news for you.' 
 
 "We entered the large room where the press 
 was standing. Cecala took a package from his
 
 72 
 
 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 Cana- 
 dian 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:
 
 THE PLANT 73 
 
 '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 re- 
 quired 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
 
 74 L THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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. Cour- 
 ageous 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 sus-
 
 THE PLANT 75 
 
 pected. The money printed here is to be 
 changed in Canada. No one can suppose that 
 it is printed in this little village. Without offer- 
 ing any excuses you must do this work. Know- 
 ing 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 per- 
 fect 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
 
 76 
 
 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 Cana- 
 dian 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 com-
 
 THE PLANT 77 
 
 pany 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 cor- 
 rect. We worked that day in making proofs be- 
 cause 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.
 
 78 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 "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 unload- 
 ing 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.
 
 THE PLANT 79 
 
 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 an- 
 nual 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
 
 80 ,THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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
 
 THE PLANT 81 
 
 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 bot- 
 tles 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 ac- 
 companied me to the meeting room of the For- 
 esters 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 Pe- 
 coraro 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 accom- 
 panied me to Hoboken where, at 3 A. M. on
 
 82 L THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 January 6, 1909, I boarded the train for High- 
 land. 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 po- 
 tatoes 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 coun- 
 terfeit 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. With- 
 out 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 Un- 
 cle Vincent cast about for a getaway. As he was 
 short of money he searched the first man that 
 he had murdered and took from him two hun- 
 dred and fifty lire. Returning to town Uncle 
 wrote a long letter to his family notifying them 
 
 83
 
 84 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 accumu- 
 lated 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 in- 
 quired, 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 work significantly. 
 
 ' 'Did you understand English then?' 
 
 ' 'Did not even dream of it.' 
 
 c '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 
 
 85
 
 86 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 society you will know how to live without 
 
 '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 re- 
 quiring 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 I 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
 
 THE SOCIETY 87 
 
 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."
 
 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 sev- 
 eral attempts to imitate the genuine Cecala de- 
 
 88
 
 MEETING THE ARCH-BANDIT 89 
 
 cided we could not do it. That night Cecala 
 gave me five dollars and told me that on Feb- 
 ruary 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 ad- 
 monishing 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 Ca- 
 terina. 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 writ- 
 ten 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
 
 90 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 min- 
 utes 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 mus- 
 tache. He appeared to be about forty years 
 old. As he was walking about the room I no- 
 ticed 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
 
 MEETING THE ARCH-BANDIT 91 
 
 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 suc- 
 ceed 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 be- 
 cause they are expensive to exchange. And just 
 now we are without money and cannot incur ex- 
 tra expenses.'
 
 02 L THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 " '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 com- 
 plete 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 ar- 
 rested. 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
 
 MEETING THE ARCH-BANDIT 93 
 
 from the house. Soon there will be other peo- 
 ple 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 un- 
 concern 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, say- 
 ing: 
 
 " '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 ( Syl- 
 vester) to-night,' said Morello with an air of 
 finality that booked no dispute. 
 
 ' 'Do what you think, Piddu. 1 Suppose we 
 arrange to send Don Antonio?' 
 
 ' 'Do not let him leave us, though.' 
 
 i Piddu is the Sicilian diminutive for Giuseppe, the Christian 
 name of Morello.
 
 94 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 ' 'I know, and if he has to leave, I will accom- 
 pany him,' concluded Cecala almost in a whis- 
 per. 
 
 "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 profes- 
 sor 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
 
 MEETING THE ARCH-BANDIT 95 
 
 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 mur- 
 der. 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 deal- 
 ing, and don't think they are poor, but all land- 
 lords,' now confided Cecala. 'Morello is Presi- 
 dent 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 pro- 
 prietor 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 busi- 
 ness 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
 
 96 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 houses, one in Mott Street and the other in Eliza- 
 beth 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 po- 
 lice, as he said, not being acquainted with the 
 methods here."
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE BLACK-HANDER'S POLICE PROTECTION 
 
 * 'CERTAINLY,' Cecala said. 'In America 
 everything is prohibited; but if you pay the po- 
 lice 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. Mo- 
 rello 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 al- 
 ways 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 Mo- 
 rello 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, 
 
 97
 
 98 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 com- 
 panies !' 
 
 "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 in- 
 surance company pays you the money you pay 
 me a percentage.'
 
 POLICE PROTECTION 99 
 
 '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.'
 
 100 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 " '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 sig- 
 nalled 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 accom- 
 pany 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 in- 
 sure the store against fire. After he had paid 
 up for a little while, I put fire to it and the com- 
 pany paid him three thousand dollars with which
 
 POLICE PROTECTION 101 
 
 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 pic- 
 ture the condition of mind I was in after learn- 
 ing 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 con- 
 cern 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
 
 102 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 or- 
 ders 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 be- 
 cause 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 send- 
 ing 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 chil- 
 dren, three girls and two boys. In looking at 
 them I was seized by remorse to think that these
 
 POLICE PROTECTION 103 
 
 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 dol- 
 lar. 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 cata- 
 logue.' 
 
 " 'And who has marked them?'
 
 104 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 " '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 w r hich I could not answer. 
 Cecala then interrupted and tried to act as inter- 
 preter. 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 min- 
 utes 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 ap- 
 preciate 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.
 
 POLICE PROTECTION 105 
 
 "At the Grand Central Station we met the 
 man with the camera. Cecala bought three tick- 
 ets 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 eve- 
 ning, 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 devel- 
 oped. 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 suffi- 
 cient to print the ten thousand sheets of the two- 
 dollar bills, which would make twenty thousand
 
 106 .THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 dollars in counterfeit money. Then he meas- 
 ured 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 in- 
 structing 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 try-
 
 POLICE PROTECTION 107 
 
 ing to figure whether the work could be com- 
 pleted 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 Vin- 
 cent behind with me. Before leaving, Cecala 
 said that Giglio would come next morn- 
 ing 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, hav- 
 ing received orders from Uncle Vincent to fire
 
 108 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 a shot into the air in the event of strangers ap- 
 pearing. 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. Mo- 
 rello 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 ambu- 
 lance 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 sur-
 
 POLICE PROTECTION 109 
 
 prised 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 ac- 
 quainted 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 re- 
 quests for the counterfeit money and the custo- 
 mers 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 ar- 
 rived 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 re- 
 volvers. 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 em- 
 braced him, kissing him on the cheeks. 
 
 no
 
 A KNOCK AT THE DOOR 111 
 
 "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 Salva- 
 tore, they requested Caterina to get up and pre- 
 pare 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 an- 
 swered 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
 
 112 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 grips and several bundles. Lupo opened the 
 valise and removed two repeating rifles, two re- 
 volvers 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 * 
 has gone to Italy.' 
 
 1 '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. 
 
 i 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.
 
 A KNOCK AT THE DOOR 113 
 
 4 '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 sus- 
 pects 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, wink- 
 ing 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 !' 1 
 
 "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 
 
 i Carogna in the Sicilian dialect means a putrid, dead animal. 
 Among the Sicilian criminals the word is used to designate any- 
 body that brings harm to any gang of criminals.
 
 114 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 JT'- -**" 
 
 the law. There was some talk of Lupo's busi- 
 ness 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 com- 
 pany 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 re- 
 mained 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
 
 A KNOCK AT THE DOOR [115J 
 
 ._. 
 
 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 counter- 
 feit 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 simul- 
 taneously in all the cities. 
 
 "They made me take the plates off the press 
 and hide them under a plank in the floor to- 
 gether with some ink. Every piece of paper 
 with any printing on was burned. Before de- 
 parting 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 cer- 
 tain people from New York wanted to talk with 
 me. He took a boxful of the Canadian five- 
 dollar counterfeit bills. The visitors were to de- 
 termine whether the Canadian money was good
 
 116 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 Pep- 
 pino I managed to steal Uncle Vincent's revol- 
 ver, and put it into my pocket."
 
 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 Sal- 
 vatore (Giuseppe Palermo), Uncle Vincent, 
 Vincenzio Giglio, Bernardo Perrone, Nicola Syl- 
 vester, 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 fam- 
 ily, where a birth was expected momentarily. 
 
 "As I stepped in no one motioned to recog- 
 nize me nor was my greeting returned. Me- 
 chanically I took a seat. After about ten min- 
 utes 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. 
 
 117
 
 118 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 " '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 differ- 
 ent cities distributing our product. Therefore, 
 there remains about eight hundred dollars, which 
 will be divided among the ones that have ad- 
 vanced 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 thou- 
 sand 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. 
 // there is any left, you get it. These men pres- 
 ent will not accept a penny of the remainder
 
 BLACK-HANDERS IN SESSION 119 
 
 until those who advanced the money have been 
 settled with.' 
 
 ' 'As my work did not turn out well,' I re- 
 plied to L<upo, '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 dol- 
 lars 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 de- 
 liberate 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 dol- 
 lars 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
 
 120 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 re- 
 turn 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 Cana- 
 dian five-dollar notes, and a portion of the two- 
 dollar American notes. These were the notes re- 
 turned as worthless by the gang. While throw- 
 ing 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 ap-
 
 BLACK-HANDERS IN SESSION 121 
 
 pearance was so miserable that we had better re- 
 main 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 ^ong. 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 New-
 
 122 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 burgh 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 Ber- 
 nardo to keep Caterina company. He drove me 
 to the Highland station, and I got aboard the 
 
 II 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 even- 
 ing 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 in- 
 troduced me to the man who opened the door
 
 BLACK-HANDERS IN SESSION 123 
 
 saying that he was Giuseppe Calichio, a litho- 
 graph 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 dol- 
 lars' worth we will stop. We are in luck.' 
 
 : 'Unless we are discovered by the police,' re- 
 plied 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 go- 
 ing there.' 
 
 ' 'Listen, Cecala,' said Calichio. 'If things 
 happen as they did when I did work for you be- 
 fore, 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 re- 
 sult of it. If you want me to do the work you
 
 124 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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, suspi- 
 ciously. 
 
 " 'He is my godfather, whom you will know 
 when you are in Highland,' said Cecala.
 
 BLACK-HANDERS IN SESSION 125 
 
 ' '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 per- 
 fectly. You know that I do not do things by 
 halves. I must see whether the plates need re- 
 touching. I will bring my tools. If I am un- 
 able 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 Co- 
 mito, and not before ten, because I expect a per- 
 son 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 pro- 
 fessor for the job. In Italy he has printed for
 
 126 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 engrav- 
 ing on bank notes and then transfer the engrav- 
 ing 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 in- 
 quired. 
 
 ' '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 hun- 
 dred dollars up-to-date for chemicals.' 
 
 "Suddenly Cecala turned on me a whis- 
 pered : '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 Phila- 
 delphia.' 
 
 " 'Good! If she asks with whom you are 
 working in Philadelphia say that your employer
 
 BLACK-HANDERS IN SESSION 127 
 
 is a priest, and his name is Bonaventure 
 
 'Very well,' I replied. 'My aunt is not in- 
 terested whether I am working with a priest or 
 with a monk. I have told her that I was em- 
 ployed in a printing shop, nothing else.' 
 
 * 'Good! You are an intelligent man, and 
 that is why I and all my friends like you Cala- 
 brians, because you are secretive and are never 
 corrupted. I knew a Calabrian who was ar- 
 rested 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 num- 
 ber 1110. 
 
 "Calichio carefully examined the plates with 
 a magnifying glass. He explained to us that
 
 128 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 an- 
 swered that the tools would be bought immedi- 
 ately and that we were to prepare to leave for 
 Highland that night. We then went to a hard- 
 ware 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 Ce- 
 cala gave Calichio his first twenty dollars in ad- 
 vance. 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 com- 
 pleted.' 
 
 "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
 
 BLACK-HANDERS IN SESSION 129 
 
 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 
 
 FEINTING 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 impres- 
 sion, 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 pre- 
 pared some chemicals with which to dampen the 
 paper and give a darker shade. Having suc- 
 ceeded 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 were to 
 direct the job. I to obey the latter in every de- 
 
 130
 
 PRINTING THE BAD MONEY 131 
 
 tail. 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 re- 
 main 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 de- 
 served of a dirty, leather medal, the bandits 
 hinted. 
 
 "Turning to me Lupo said, 'This homely Cala- 
 brian 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?'
 
 132 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 " '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.
 
 PRINTING THE BAD MONEY 133 
 
 '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 dis- 
 tance 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 in- 
 tent 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 under- 
 stand 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 try- 
 ing 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 esti- 
 mate. 
 
 "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 Ameri- 
 can 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
 
 PRINTING THE BAD MONEY 135 
 
 Calichio, Uncle Vincent, Sylvester, and Ber- 
 nardo. 
 
 "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 workman- 
 ship 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 addi- 
 tional 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 rep- 
 resented a farmer and an old man with a woman 
 and a dog. 
 
 "Lupo explained to Calichio that Cecala was
 
 136 THE BARREL MYSTERY, 
 
 on the road about New York, Brooklyn and Ho- 
 boken, selling the two-dollar notes, but that as 
 soon as he finished up this work he would re- 
 turn 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 de-
 
 PRINTING THE BAD MONEY 137 
 
 mand for them from Boston, Buffalo and Chi- 
 cago, 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 con- 
 tinue the work and left the press because I was 
 not spoken to but ignored entirely. Even Syl- 
 vester and Giglio called me by an obscene name 
 and referred to me in the most distasteful lan- 
 guage, 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 Cala- 
 brian, 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
 
 138 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 be- 
 came 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
 
 PRINTING THE BAD MONEY 139 
 
 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 or- 
 ders."
 
 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, Sylves- 
 ter, Giglio and Bernardo were there. Among 
 other exploits Calichio remarked that he had once 
 printed one million lire for a baronial family re- 
 siding at Naples in Italy. This was about fif- 
 teen 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 
 
 140
 
 SOME CONFESSIONS 141 
 
 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 Syl- 
 vester 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
 
 142 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 policeman, two of silver and one of gold. I dis- 
 posed 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 Ca- 
 lichio's two-dollar notes were ready. They to- 
 talled 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 Cali- 
 chio's two-dollar notes. During the month of
 
 SOME CONFESSIONS 143 
 
 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 orig- 
 inal 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 go- 
 ing because, counting this last batch, I have 
 printed about $60,000 and have received noth- 
 ing 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
 
 144 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 busi- 
 ness, 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.
 
 SOME CONFESSIONS 145 
 
 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 con- 
 tinue 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 High- 
 land, 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.
 
 146 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 impres- 
 sion 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?'
 
 SOME CONFESSIONS 147 
 
 " '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. Ce- 
 cala 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 wert 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 th^t 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?' 
 
 148
 
 EVADING THE GANG IN VAIN 119 
 
 " '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 MiJone 
 address and asked for Cecala. 
 
 " 'Who is this Cecala?' inquired a t,yrt man 
 of ruddy complexion and stout face. 
 
 " 'Why, don't you know him?' I aslu \ 'He 
 gave me this address where I was to . xne 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 ad- 
 dressed 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 pres- 
 ence of Giglio and Sylvester: 
 
 ' 'Don Antonio, we must continue the work. 
 Not in that place (the stone house), but in an- 
 other farm that has been rented by Giglio and
 
 150 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 be- 
 gin again in the Fall.' 
 
 " 'Mr. Cecala, I will return to print the paper 
 that is left, but you must give me, at the be- 
 ginning of August, $400 because I want to re- 
 turn to Italy; then I will come back to New 
 York in November. Are you satisfied?'
 
 EVADING THE GANG IN VAIN 151 
 
 " '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
 
 152 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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?'
 
 EVADING THE GANG IN VAIN 153 
 
 " Tor 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 sus- 
 picion that it was to be taken on a long jour- 
 ney. 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 be- 
 cause 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
 
 154 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 Ca- 
 lichio 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 morn- 
 ing 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 be- 
 fore,' 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
 
 EVADING THE GANG IN VAIN 
 
 Jackson Street. This brother-in-law had mar- 
 ried 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 pack- 
 ing 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, marvel- 
 ously 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 Novem- 
 ber. He said: 
 
 'They will probably be printed in Novem- 
 ber, at the beginning of the winter season, for 
 now the waters are troubled. The police is mak- 
 ing arrests daily.' 
 
 "He placed the plates in the suit-case and to- 
 gether we went to Weehawken Ferry and ar- 
 rived 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
 
 156 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 (Cina's). There we found Uncle Vincent and 
 Bernardo, the others having gone to Pough- 
 keepsie 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. Salva- 
 tor Cina returned from Poughkeepsie with Syl- 
 vester 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 ar- 
 rived, Calichio, Bernardo, Sylvester, Peppino 
 and Cina, at the 'Third' farm. Peppino re- 
 turned 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 re- 
 marked that this was a splendid place, and that 
 no one could disturb us there. He gave the fol- 
 lowing 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, were to do his 
 turn and guard the farm. He was to be helped 
 
 157
 
 158 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 car- 
 riage had been brought for the express purpose 
 of going to and from Poughkeepsie and bring- 
 ing 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 sta- 
 tion and I and Uncle Vincent remained alone, 
 walking about the grounds in front of the house. 
 
 "About 11 A. M. Uncle Vincent was pre- 
 paring maccaroni for the noonday lunch when 
 two well-dressed men and prosperous appearing, 
 driving a horse and carriage, stopped in front
 
 CAUGHT AGAIN! 159 
 
 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 en- 
 ter 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:
 
 160 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 " '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 be- 
 longs. 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 Syl- 
 vester 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 de-
 
 CAUGHT AGAIN! 161 
 
 tectives. 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 re- 
 turn. 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 Ca- 
 lichio 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 be-
 
 162 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 fore, 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 re- 
 ceived 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 dol- 
 lars 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
 
 CAUGHT AGAIN I 163 
 
 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 be- 
 fore, 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 cer- 
 tain,' 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 por- 
 tion 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
 
 164 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 mind that together with Cecala you have prom- 
 ised $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 num- 
 ber 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
 
 CAUGHT AGAIN! 165 
 
 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: 
 
 4 '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
 
 166 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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, with- 
 out 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 Novem- 
 ber/ 
 
 ' '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.
 
 CAUGHT AGAIN! 167 
 
 "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. Think- 
 ing 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, with- 
 out the gang knowing my whereabouts. My em- 
 ployment 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
 
 168 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 Leo- 
 lina 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 fel- 
 lows 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 GREENHOEN 
 
 "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 
 
 169
 
 170 THE BARREE MYSTERY 
 
 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 con- 
 fessed to the Secret Service men. I did not con- 
 tradict 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
 
 PINCHING THE GREENHORN 171 
 
 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 con- 
 demned, but for the purpose of removing from 
 among us eight Sicilian criminals who horrified 
 and preyed upon honest men under the leader- 
 ship 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 organiza- 
 tion. 
 
 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. In- 
 
 172
 
 THE "BLACK-HAND" DOCTOR 173 
 
 variably quarrels result and the disputes nearly 
 always end in a shooting or a stabbing affair. 
 
 It is well known to the Service that the quar- 
 rels of the Italian criminals among themselves 
 are settled without the help of the police when- 
 ever this is at all possible. When a gang mem- 
 ber is wounded, secrecy requires that no am- 
 bulance 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 pres- 
 ence 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 re- 
 quired 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 noti- 
 fied. 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 counter- 
 feiters who was unknown to Comito. Upon this
 
 174 THE BARREL MYSTERY; 
 
 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 doc- 
 tor perjured himself and testified to please Mo- 
 rello, 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" let- 
 ters to countrymen who were suspected of hav- 
 ing 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 liv- 
 ing 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
 
 THE "BLACK-HAND" DOCTOR 175 
 
 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 stu- 
 dent in the College of Physicians and Surgeons. 
 
 Q. What was the substance of the letter? 
 
 A. The substance of the letter was that un- 
 less 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,
 
 176 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 knew this man Morello to be mixed up with peo- 
 ple 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 Mo- 
 rello. He said, "All right, don't get excited; 
 they don't kill people off all at once. Wait un- 
 til you get another letter. Then we will see if 
 we can find out the party who writes those let- 
 ters. 
 
 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."
 
 THE "BLACK-HAND" DOCTOR 177 
 
 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 un- 
 der 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 mar- 
 ried. 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 rela- 
 tion, 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?
 
 178 THE BARREL MYSTERY] 
 
 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 grand- 
 mother would know. 
 
 Q. Was this after or before the barrel mur- 
 der? 
 
 A. I think the barrel murder was after that.
 
 THE "BLACK-HAND" DOCTOR 
 
 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 sis- 
 ter (Morello's) had gone to the other side and 
 arranged for this marriage. So nothing hap- 
 pened 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 Sev- 
 enth 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?
 
 180 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 ex- 
 amine 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 let- 
 ters and he had fixed it all up; we had no dis- 
 turbance because we were under his protection. 
 
 Q. Did you know that you were under his 
 protection?
 
 THE "BLACK-HAND" DOCTOR 181 
 
 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 mean- 
 time 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.
 
 182 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 My mother was in the same position. My 
 mother is a midwife. I tried to get hospital ex- 
 perience, 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 ? x 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 
 
 i Commissioner Wood was at the time referred to here the 
 Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the Detective Bu- 
 reau 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 refer- 
 ence" 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 Cbmito'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.
 
 THE "BLACK-HAND" DOCTOR 183 
 
 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. Pa- 
 lermo 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
 
 184 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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.
 
 THE "BLACK-HAND" DOCTOR 185 
 
 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 informa- 
 tion 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 mur- 
 der? 
 
 A. Absolutely nothing at all. 
 
 Q. What do you know about Inzarillo? 
 
 A. He is considered of questionable char- 
 acter. 
 
 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?
 
 186 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 A. Yes, quite a long while; they had a dis- 
 ease 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 Hun- 
 dred and Thirty-eighth Street. 
 
 Q. When?
 
 THE "BLACK-HAND" DOCTOR 187 
 
 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 go- 
 ing to testify? 
 
 A. He said we were up against a bad prop- 
 osition. "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
 
 188 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 nat- 
 ural 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, Mo- 
 rello was around and doing things in the coun- 
 terfeiting 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
 
 THE "BLACK-HAND" DOCTOR 189 
 
 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 let- 
 ter 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 some- 
 thing to fear. Probably if it had been for my- 
 self 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
 
 190 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 be- 
 ing called, and not being able to leave my busi- 
 ness 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 do- 
 ing 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
 
 THE "BLACK-HAND" DOCTOR 191 
 
 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 remem- 
 ber 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 addi- 
 tional 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.
 
 192 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 lat- 
 ter 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?
 
 THE "BLACK-HAND" DOCTOR 193 
 
 A. The second time I came down to New 
 York. 
 
 Q. Did you know that he was going to tes- 
 tify 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 of- 
 fice? 
 
 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?
 
 194 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 drug- 
 gist 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 chil- 
 dren; try and help my husband." 
 
 Q. Where did you have that conversation? 
 
 A. She came to my house.
 
 THE "BLACK-HAND" DOCTOR 195 
 
 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 testi- 
 mony to be?" I told him, and he said all right. 
 
 Q. The only lawyer you ever saw? 
 
 A. Yes.
 
 196 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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' * 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 [Roches- 
 ter] for the purpose of setting up a drug store, 
 
 iMirabeau L. Towns, attorney for the gang.
 
 [THE "BLACK-HAND" DOCTOR 197 
 
 and I to set up an office. Naturally, I would 
 be doing business with him. If I had any pa- 
 tients 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 pa- 
 tients, 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 sev- 
 enty 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 do- 
 ing much business and that as I was not doing 
 yery much he requested me to go and cash a
 
 198 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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" oper- 
 ated 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.
 
 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 writ- 
 ten in the nebulous dialect of Sicily. This man 
 was under arrest on the charge of dealing in 
 spurious money of the United States and Can- 
 ada. We felt sure we had in our grasp an im- 
 portant document. After some little coaxing 
 Palermo finally confessed that the ominous look- 
 ing 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 lit- 
 tle black book the bible of the "Black-Hand- 
 
 ers" : 
 
 First Article Whoever confides to other com- 
 
 199
 
 200 t THE BARREL MYSTERY; 
 
 panions, 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 af- 
 fairs 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 compan- 
 ion for business of the society refuses his serv- 
 ice 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 asso- 
 ciates must be all of one accord, pro and con, in 
 judging him guilty. In case one of the com- 
 panions in the society departs, he must surren- 
 der 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 prac- 
 tice, 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
 
 "BLACK-HAND" TESTAMENT 201 
 
 his place, and who cannot come to his place, un- 
 til a meeting of the same society of its own will 
 takes place, without any one appealing to an- 
 other body of the society. 
 
 Second Article He who swears falsely on his 
 submission, who draws a weapon against a com- 
 panion 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 supe- 
 rior, 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 warn- 
 ing. 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 com- 
 panions ; the opposition of a single vote is enough 
 to dead-lock the proceedings, provided the rea- 
 sons 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 exclu- 
 sively 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 (Ca- 
 morrists) blackmailers play. 
 
 Q. What is enclosed in this hole? 
 
 903
 
 204 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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
 
 "THE VERMILION FLOWER" 205 
 
 high blackmail that belongs to the supreme in- 
 itiated 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" let- 
 ters 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 Gal- 
 lagher broke into the room where Mrs. Morello 
 was nursing her baby he noticed that Mrs. Mo- 
 rello tucked something away in the diaper of 
 the infant. The mother fingered the cloth rather 
 nervously. 
 
 206
 
 "BLACK-HAND" LETTERS 207 
 
 Gallagher suggested to Mrs. Morello that 
 there might be something of interest to the gov- 
 ernment 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 lead- 
 ers in New York, and who in turn puts the 
 responsibility for his admittance up to the Chi- 
 cago gang. Black borders adorn both the en- 
 velopes 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, 111., and is from G. 
 La Bella Morello, No. 2069 Second Avenue, 
 New York.
 
 "DEAE FKIEND: 
 
 "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 sep- 
 arated 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 can- 
 not answer with exact judgment and clear con- 
 science. I cannot understand how it is that 
 Calogero Constantino remains arrested at Baca- 
 luse, 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
 
 "BLACK-HAND" LETTERS 203 
 
 family as a good family, and none other but very 
 good, and the boss of my town, I am sure, can- 
 not 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 ap- 
 preciate their merits. Others that have had deal- 
 ings, that is to say have known their good mer- 
 its, and have brought them to make part of our 
 family. Nothing extraordinary, because cer- 
 tainly would not have brought them in this land 
 if they had not known their good merits. They 
 have done well. We, of Corleone, will appre- 
 ciate 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
 
 210 THE BARREL MYSTERY] 
 
 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 re- 
 sponsibility here and also of the town, and we 
 will do everything. Neither I nor others here 
 can understand how you ever in your wise think- 
 ing 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 indi- 
 vidual; 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
 
 "BLACK-HAND" LETTERS 211 
 
 not done that way, in making a person, by not 
 asking information of the townsmen before mak- 
 ing it, that all these discussions now would not 
 have been. 
 
 "Now you must ask them to assume the re- 
 sponsibility, 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 as- 
 sume 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 Giro and 
 brother Coco. 
 
 "PAOLO FRISELLA, 
 "GAETANO LOMONTE, 
 "STEFANO LASALA, 
 "FORTTJNATO Lo MONTE, 
 "ANTONIO RJZZO, 
 
 "MlCHALE CONIGLIO, 
 
 "ANGELO VALENTI, 
 "FRANCESCO MOSCATO."
 
 212 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 This letter was, of course, written in the Sicil- 
 ian 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 Constan- 
 tino'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 ar- 
 rest, 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
 
 "BLACK-HAND" LETTERS 213 
 
 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 god- 
 father 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 Con- 
 stantino and Trombone declaration made and 
 signed by his own hands of Giovanni Gu-
 
 214 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 lotta, 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 re- 
 sults. 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 agree- 
 ment I had made with Calogero Gulotta. In 
 fact, he told me in this his last that in no other 
 Jetter 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 mem- 
 ber 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 informa- 
 tion 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 
 
 215
 
 216 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 the scouts brought the information to Nick Ter- 
 ranova, 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 commu- 
 nicative 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 oppor- 
 tunity to reach the weapons. The son has since 
 been murdered. 
 
 And now that we are on the subject of let- 
 ters 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.
 
 A BADLY WRITTEN LETTER 217 
 
 They tried a number of ruses in their efforts to 
 locate him for the purpose, presumably, of mur- 
 dering him. 
 
 One of their efforts was characteristic: Se- 
 cret 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 Co- 
 mito. 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 dif- 
 ficulty 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 sig- 
 nature line of the card. The gang was elated.
 
 218 THE BARREE MYSTERY 
 
 They would now get the "Squealer" Comito's 
 letters to the Secret Service and locate and de- 
 stroy 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 neigh- 
 borhood of Lupo and Morello's real estate ven- 
 ture 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 distin-
 
 A BADLY WRITTEN LETTER 219 
 
 guishable 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 call- 
 ing 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 Ru- 
 bano'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 let- 
 ters 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-
 
 220 
 
 Handers" the whereabouts of Comito. This 
 $2,500 was offered to the same member of the 
 New York Police Department who was also of- 
 fered $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 deliv- 
 ered by the postman Morello just "happens" to 
 be in the vicinity of the victim to be, and "acci- 
 dentally" meets the receiver of the letter. 
 
 The receiver knows of Morello's close connec- 
 tions with Italian malefactors, and, the thing be- 
 ing fresh in mind, calls Morello's attention to 
 the letter. 
 
 Morello takes the letter and reads it. He in- 
 forms 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 suspect- 
 ing that the letter is Morello's own. Of course, 
 the letter is never returned to the proposed vic- 
 tim. By this cunning procedure no evidence re- 
 
 221 
 
 \
 
 mains 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 let- 
 ter, 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 hor- 
 rible 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
 
 METHODS OF BLACKMAILING 223 
 
 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 post- 
 mark and is dated September 21, 1908. It was 
 addressed to Rosario Oliveri, 27 Stanton Street. 
 It reads in the translation from the Sicilian:
 
 224 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 "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. Be- 
 ware of what you do. M. N." 
 
 Here is a polite invitation to a proposed vic- 
 tim 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
 
 METHODS OF BLACKMAILING 225 
 
 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 vic- 
 tims, 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 counter- 
 feiting 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." 
 
 226
 
 TRACING A LETTER 22? 
 
 The note was signed I. P. It was a regis- 
 tered 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 Acri- 
 telli'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
 
 228 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 rea- 
 son 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 Isa- 
 dore 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
 
 TRACING A LETTER 229 
 
 understand and had the visitors write out what 
 they wished and required them to sign the re- 
 quest 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 handwrit- 
 ing 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 COD ident 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 informa- 
 tion to the letter carrier being that no such per- 
 son lived there or was known there. When you 
 know the ways of the Sicilian criminal this occur- 
 rence 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 quan- 
 tity of olive oil, which had to pass the govern- 
 ment officials. Accordingly, I went to see John 
 Hughes, brother of former Inspector of Police 
 Edward Hughes, who was at one time in charge
 
 230 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 consign- 
 ment of olive oil to Lupo was held up, compel- 
 ling Lupo himself to write out a list of the goods 
 he desired to have admitted over his personal sig- 
 nature. The statement was then taken to a 
 handwriting expert and also the letter contain- 
 ing 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 state- 
 ment 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 rail- 
 road 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
 
 TRACING A LETTER 231 
 
 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 dis- 
 closed the fact that the railroad camp had moved 
 and the letter having been addressed to Portage 
 La Prairie, and not being called for, was re- 
 turned to the address written on the back, Giu- 
 seppe 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 Salva- 
 tore 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 infor- 
 mation 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, Mani- 
 toba, 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. Mean- 
 time, 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
 
 .TRACING A LETTER 233 
 
 friends salute you together with the friends, over 
 in New York, I am your friend Andrea Pollara. 
 My address is the following, Mr. Andrea Pol- 
 lara, 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 re- 
 turned 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
 
 234 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 number of counterfeiters including Isadore Cro- 
 cervera and Giuseppe DePriema." 
 
 These entries were taken to a handwriting ex- 
 pert 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 ar- 
 rested with Lupo was Pietro Inzarillo. When 
 the latter was arrested, his cafe at No. 226 Eliza- 
 beth Street was searched and a letter from Mac- 
 cari 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. 
 "DEAK FRIEND: 
 
 "With these few words I come to make you 
 a note of my perfect health, the same I hope to
 
 TRACING A LETTER 235 
 
 hear from you, you brothers also, I desire to 
 know how your father has been ; therefore I rec- 
 ommend 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 Blan- 
 dina. This is the direction Salvatore Maccari, 
 P. O. Portage La Prairie Manitoba, Canada." 
 
 No comment is necessary concerning the let- 
 ter. 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% 
 James. Street, New York City. When his 
 apartments were searched agents of the service
 
 236 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 con- 
 tained what is termed "rivetting" evidence. 
 .Also, there were letters from his wife to Mac- 
 cari 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 counter- 
 feit money, and had never even seen any spun, 
 ous 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 ac- 
 quainted with Inzarillo. He also declared that
 
 TRACING A LETTER 237 
 
 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 follow- 
 ing Inzarillo's arrest in connection with the bar- 
 rel murder. 
 
 On October 24, 1902, a registered letter ad- 
 dressed to Andrea Pollara, with the return ad- 
 dress 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
 
 238 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 pro- 
 cedure of the Lupo-Morello secret propaganda, 
 which was in a fair way to become of world-wide 
 scope. A gang member, Giuseppe Gudo, man- 
 aged to send Schiavi to a drug store where he 
 was sure to meet Antonio Miloni. 1 
 
 Schiavi tells of leaving Rio de Janeiro about 
 February 23, 1909, on the steamship Guniher, 
 and arriving in New York in the middle of Feb- 
 ruary 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, 
 
 i Miloni was Treasurer of the Ignatz Florio Co-Operative 
 Association. He was indicted and confessed. He is now in 
 Italy a fugitive from justice. 
 
 239
 
 240 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 Bono sent him to the drug store of Mocito, a? 
 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 lat- 
 ter 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-engrav- 
 ing 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 remunera- 
 tive. 
 
 Finally, one day at the drug store, he was in- 
 troduced to Antonio B. Miloni by Cecala who
 
 "BLACK-HAND" PROPAGANDA 241 
 
 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 conversa- 
 tion, 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
 
 242 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 Ciccio (Francesco) who made the drug store a 
 camping place. This Don Ciccio posed as be- 
 ing 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 be- 
 tween Schiavi and Don Ciccio, according to 
 Schiavi, but Miloni did not enter into the con- 
 versation. 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, in- 
 formation 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 prop- 
 aganda so that they will grow and bear fruit of 
 themselves and disarm suspicion is well-illus-
 
 "BLACK-HAND" PROPAGANDA 243 
 
 trated 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 fascinat- 
 ing 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 men- 
 ace to civilization, hovers about the place a 
 savagery that has nursed into being a danger- 
 ous 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
 
 244 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 in- 
 fluences to send an innocent man to prison for 
 twenty-two years. 
 
 Anna Di Puma, a neighbor, returning to her 
 house at that hoiL' 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 ly- 
 ing in the exact spot where she had seen Mo- 
 rello 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
 
 "BLACK-HAND" PROPAGANDA 245 
 
 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 wit- 
 ness 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
 
 246 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 au- 
 thorities 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 power- 
 ful friends still watchful for his interests, and 
 some of these attended to Zangara.
 
 "BLACK-HAND" PROPAGANDA 247 
 
 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 distribut- 
 ing 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 marks- 
 manship was not good and the old man escaped 
 the bullets. 
 
 While Morello was in prison charged with 
 murdering the Di Puma woman he met Or-
 
 248 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 tonello in the prison. Morello admitted to Or- 
 tonello 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 sup- 
 pressed. 
 
 In order that the reader may view the fore- 
 going facts in proper perspective it will be neces- 
 sary 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 un- 
 der the leadership of a very wealthy and power- 
 ful 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 sur- 
 veillance, which means that Morello would have 
 to be home every night at a certain time and sub-
 
 "BLACK-HAND" PROPAGANDA 249 
 
 ject 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 Mo- 
 rello swore publicly that he would be avenged on 
 Vella for this punishment. 
 
 Vella also knew of the extensive criminal oper- 
 ations 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 sen- 
 ators in Rome would do his bidding. Through 
 this influence Streva managed to get out of 
 prison a number of thieves, murderers and black- 
 guards 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 
 VeUa. 
 
 A further circumstance must be related here.
 
 250 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 ex- 
 tremity of Sicily. Ortonello, though, had never 
 meddled with politics, nor with the Mafia or any
 
 "BLACK-HAND" PROPAGANDA 251 
 
 / 
 
 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 argu- 
 ment induced him to run for the office of Com- 
 mander 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 follow- 
 ing 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 my- 
 self." 
 
 This onslaught in his own house brought Orto- 
 nello 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
 
 252 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 to be used in order to beat Vella. He promptly 
 went to the authorities and notified them to can- 
 cel 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 can- 
 celling of his name for the office, Vella was mur- 
 dered. 
 
 Previously on the evening that he was shot 
 Vella had been making merry at the cafe "Stella 
 d'ltalia" 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 dy- 
 ing 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 apd hur-
 
 "BLACK-HAND" PROPAGANDA 253 
 
 ried into Vella's house to look for developments. 
 The hiding of the gun by Morello was testi- 
 fied to at the trial of Ortonello by a man named 
 Antonio Caronia, who, by the way, was not mur- 
 dered. 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 re- 
 cited 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
 
 254, THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 and butter from my wife and children and he 
 threatened me with a gun." 
 
 The commander of the carabineers immedi- 
 ately 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 di- 
 rected toward any movement favorable to the 
 Morello crowd. 
 
 The trial of Ortonello shows the methods of 
 the Mafia methods that the Lupo-Morello gang
 
 "BLACK-HAND" PROPAGANDA 255 
 
 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 mo- 
 ment the case was to go to trial so that the un- 
 fortunate 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 prac- 
 tice 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, nec- 
 essary to go to any great pains to prove his in- 
 nocence. 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 be- 
 traying Ortonello and keeping Morello's friend 
 Streva, the powerful young leader of the Mafia, 
 informed of every move of Ortonello. They ad- 
 vised 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.
 
 256 THE BARREL MYSTERY] 
 
 In vain Antonio Caronia testified in Orto- 
 nello'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 po- 
 lice 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 evi- 
 dence that the bullet extracted from Vella's body 
 was much larger than the calibre of the gun 
 found in Ortonello's home. Testimony was ad- 
 mitted at the trial to offset this. A .Mafia hench- 
 man 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
 
 "BLACK-HAND" PROPAGANDA 257 
 
 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 gro- 
 cery wagon had been drawn up in front of Or- 
 tonello'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 thennmtil 
 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
 
 258 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 per- 
 jured 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 foot- 
 prints examined in the spot where Morello was 
 seen hiding by the Di Puma woman, just prior 
 to the shooting, were not the footprints of Or- 
 tonello 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 com- 
 mander went to the house of Biaggia Milone and 
 frightened her by threats into testifying that she 
 had seen Ortonello and Orlando do the shooting,
 
 "BLACK-HAND" PROPAGANDA 259 
 
 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 fright- 
 ened 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 leak- 
 ing out, he would be set free. Through the in- 
 fluence of Streva the case was transferred to 
 Messina, at the other extremity of Sicily, where 
 Ortonello was tried and convicted. He was sen- 
 tenced 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 power- 
 ful 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
 
 260 THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 re- 
 covered. 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 de- 
 stroyed his farm lands. Streva suddenly disap- 
 peared and his whereabouts are not known. 
 
 As for Morello, he is safely lodged in the At- 
 lanta 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 pro- 
 vides 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
 
 "BLACK-HAND" PROPAGANDA 261 
 
 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.
 
 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" un- 
 doubtedly 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 
 
 262
 
 THE WATCHWORD 263 
 
 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 hon- 
 est Italians of New York City, and other large 
 centers of population in this country, are cer- 
 tainly 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 
 i 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 ele- 
 ment. His mouth is closed with the drug of 
 fear. He goes back to sleep in silence not re- 
 alizing that by so doing he invites another crime 
 upon his household. 
 
 The antidote for the drug of fear is courage.
 
 264, THE BARREL MYSTERY 
 
 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 crafti- 
 ness, and had dark and mysterious ways of avoid- 
 ing 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.
 
 THE WATCHWORD 265 
 
 In conclusion I ask the honest Italian to dis- 
 regard 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 Mo- 
 rello : 
 
 "HAVE No FEAR, I AM NOT ASLEEP, AND 
 HAVE NOT SLEPT EVEK SINCE THAT TIME." 
 
 THE END
 
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