Mexico weekly ledger., 1891-03-26
MAFIA MURDERERS.
The Revengeful Italian Ven
delta That Infests New
Orleans.
FULL FACTS RELATING TO THE AssAs.
s1NATIoN OF cHIEF.oF-poL1cE
HENNEssY, WHO VOWED
HE WOULD RID NEW
ORLEANS OF THE
DREADFUL
CURSE.
More Than Thirty Murders BY the Msaa
Since Eighteen and sixty-six and
Not One Conviction-0utrag-
ed Justice the Provocation
For the Citizens TAX
ing the Law Into
Their Own
Hands

The New Orleans Sun printed
the following letter from a citizen
of New Orleans regarding the re-
cent lynching of the members of
the Italian Malta in that city, TO-
gether with an account of the Hen
messy murder and the workings of
the Sicilian vendetta:
To the Editor of the Sun.
New ORLEANS, March 17.-Many
newspapers throughout the coun-
try have expressed dlsapproval of
the action of the citizens of New
Orleans on March 14th in execut-
ing eleven Sicllian assassins. Let
me lay the entire matter before
them through the Sun and ask
impartial judgment whether the
citizens were not right in their ac-
ton. There are some 1000 Italians
in New Orleans, of whom a quarter
are Sicilians. OF these the great
majority are peaceable, orderly, in
dustrious. There are, perhaps, 200
or less bad ones, mainly refugees
from Italy, several of them ex-con-
victs, or former bandits, robbers,
thieves and bravos, who can be
hired to commit murder. Among
these men the famous bandit Es-
posito found pleasant refuge, and
here he lived for several years and
piled his trade of brigandage, as he
had done in Italy. He and the
other men of his class carried on
system of blackmailing, calling for
large sums of money, and threaten
ing the lives of those who did not
pay. They confined these rob-
berries to men of their own nation.
aIity, and the wealthiest Italian
resident of New Orleans was rob-
bed of thousands of dollars in this
way. His mind finally gave way
under the threats. He complained
to the Mayor, but afterward be-
came SO frightend at the Malta that
he begged the Mayor to not investi
gate the matter. Nor was robbery
the only crime committed by these
men. Thirty odd assassinations,
not murders simply, is the bloody
record since 1866, and for not one
of these crimes is single man suf-
fering punishment to-day. In a
majority of these cases the victims
were shot down without a witness.
More than one was killed in broad
daylight, with hundreds of Italians
looking on; but the latter, when
brought to court, swore in every
instance that they saw nothing or
did not recognize the murderer.
If there were other witnesses, this
evidence was Offset by alibis prov
ed by Sicilians, hired to testify the
same as they were hired to kill. It
was accepted as fact beyond dis
pute that no Italian, however
bloody his record, could be found
guilty::of murder. The police sell
dom Interfered in these killings.
They were affairs between the
Italians, the mystery of which they
could not unravel.
Mr.. Hennessy, as Chief Of Police,
took a different view OF the matter.
He was a skilled detective. He it
was who had run down and tracked
the bandit, Esposito, in New Or
leans, and turned him over to the
Italian government, and he be-
lleved that it was possible to get at
the truth of the Italian assassina-
tions. When, therefore, a vendet-
ia broke out between the two lead
ing Italian factions here, the Pro-
venzanos and Matrangor, he deter
mined to investigate it, and began
to make inquiries through our
Consul abroad as to the character
of some of the Sicilians IN this city,
whom he believed to have had
criminal records abroad. The Pro-
yenzanos case was fixed for Octo-
ber IS, and Hennessy was called
as a witness in it. Three days be.
fore the trial he was shot down at
midnight by five Italians, within a
few steps of his house. They fired
three volleys at him, and filled
him with slugs and buckshot to
make sure of his death. The crime
was so heinous-for he was shot by
criminals who feared he would ex'
pose their career and bring them to
Justice that the whole community
was aroused. By prompt action
the police caught the murderers
before they were able to get away
from town, and secured the neces'
sary evidence to convict them
. The evidence was overwhelming
The assassins had been less careful
than usual, and half a dozen per
, sons saw them as they shot Hen
Messy. When the authorities an
nounced their intention of punish
ing the murdersrs an attempt vs'