The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-05-29
CAUGHT The COINER
Luigi Palermo, an Expert
Counterfeiter, Arrested
in This City.
WORKED IN UNION COUNTY
Burned Down a House to Destroy
the Evidence Of His
Crime.
WORKED IN UNION COUNTY

Luigi Palermo, the notorious counter
%feiter. who with a gang of nine men
terrorized all that neighborhood in and
about Railway and New Dover III the
fall of 1894, is in custody in this city. He
was captured at the Pennsylvania Rail-
road ferry last evening by Policeman
Ffnnie of the First precinct. He was
arraigned before United States Com
missioner Romano this morning, and is
held without bail.
Palermo and his gang, it is alleged,
flooded New York and New Jersey with
counterfeit ten cent pieces, quarters,
half dollars and dollars for a period of
six months without discovery or moles-
tation.. In the early part of 1894 Palermo,
who is an unusually handsome Italian.
went to New Dover, which is four miles
beyond Railway. and purchased the old
Erastus Freeman homestead. The house
was a large one, and boosted of a cell
lar. the depth of which only 4 few people
knew.
MYSTERIOUS FARM HANDS.
After Palermo movsd into the house.
one Italian after another put in an APP
p%earance. until there were in all nine at
the house. Palermo said they were farm
hands. Some p~retense of filling the land
was made, but n~eighbors were suspic-
ious OF the new tenants by reason OF see
ing them at all hours of the day walking
about apparently having nothing to do.
The old house was pretty We'll hIdden
by trees. but within a month after Pdlef-
ma took possession cords of wood were
piled on the front lawn, and all view OF
the basement and first story effectually
cut off.
1t was then noticed thai all the base
ment windows. with the exception of one
in the rear. were boarded up. In front OF
) - - -. rtxa1 ory ~, 1apry rTyo 1 n
so that it was impossible to. see inside.
Subsequently the supposed farm hands
were found burning charcoal IN the the
woods in the rear of the house. me
smokeless coal was always carried to the
mysterious cellar.
CURIOUS PACKAGES APPEAR. -
the house. The farm hands were no
tioed carrying well filled satchels to the
depot, where they took trains to new
York. They returned invariably without
the satchels.
The climax was reached when a flash
lily dressed woman representing hersel1
| scene. She wore large diamonds and
| plenty of them. Shortly after her ap-
pearance Railway merchants were sur
| prised that they were receiving counter
felt silver pieces in large numbers. Sus-
! picion fell upon the Italians. and one
old hayseeder, more daring than MS
| night and alleges that he heard the
! sound OF pounding metal and the asth-
matte Wheeze of a bellows in the cetlar.
| From all parts of New Jersey came re-
| ports of counterfeit money, and many
| arrests were made in New York. This
was in October. and it was noticed that
the Italians began to disappear, one by
one. Finally only Palermo remained. In
November he disappeared, and in the
same month the old homestead was sold
under foreclosure proceedings.
THE OLD HOUSE BURNED.
Within three days after the sale the
| farmers of New Dover were awakened
about three o'clock in the morning by
the cry of fire, and the Freeman house
| was found to be enve1oped in flames,
1t was burned to the ground. and many
| of the old men in looking over the ruins
| found crucibles, dies, strange metals
| thai had the appearance of gold and sill
yer. Secret Service men made an in
| v~estigation, and from instruments they
found they came to the conclusion that
the Italians had been operating an I'M
derground mint. !.
Ali trace of the counterfeiters was lost,
| and not a man was arrested. Palermo
kept himself under cover and bafied the
! Secret Service men. He now claims to
be living at No. 81 James street.
1t is not likely that he would have
| been arrested last night had it not been
for James Gabull of No. "a Broad street,
Railway. The young a had seen
Palermo when he was operating in RAN
way and recognized him. Captain Far
| rier says that the prisoner is wanted for
| CONTEMPLATING in Npw York.