Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-01-31

southern part of Luzerne county. Nearly
oil tho crimes have been committed within
q radius of six miles of Hazlcton. In that
pretty town of 90, 900 Inhabitants crime is
all but unknown, but scattered about on
the outlying hills lives population Of the
most degraded foreigners in America.
They live on the coal patches. A very few
OF them work in the coal mines Tho bulk
OF the foreign population work at strip
ping" old mines or rs slate pickers.
Tho average Pennsylvania contemp-
tuously refers to these immigrants as
Hikes" and Hunks" The "Hikes' are
Italians and Sicilians. Chunks is q cor
ruption for Huns, but under this title
the Pennsylvanian includes Hungarians,
Lithranians, Slavs, Poles, Magyars and
Tyroleans.
Gangs of from 10 to 20 men live in each
boarding house." kept by fellow coun.
tryman and his wife. The complications,
jealOusies, quarrels and murders that nat
urally attend this mode of existence may
be easily imagined. Indeed it has long
been the custom for the Luzernc county
authorities to pay not the least attention
to the deeds of festive "Huaks," who in
variably celebrate q christening, a we'd
ding or funeral by drinking vast qunnti-
tics of beer and whisky and make men,
orable their drunkenness by shooting and
killing one another.
James Passarella, IS years old, bright
eyed, ruddy checked, with crisp, curly
black hair and a tall, athletic figure, was
sent to Lattimer from Philadelphia last
May by the officers of the Malta. Fellow
robbers joined him. They came from Old
Forge and Scranton, Pa, and some Of
them from New York, recently arrived
from Salerno in Italy. They picked up
recruits among the coal patches. Passarella
was authorized by the Malta to act ms
chief and entirely control the doings of his
associates. He made regular reports to
the home officers of the organization in
New York and Philadelphia.
Soon the gang began to work. At first
they stole chickens and poultry from the
roosts and stable sheds of the neighbor-
hood. These were sold through Vito
Gallo, who works for his brother, q butcher
in Diamond avenue, Hazleton. But this
was merely by way Of practice. The gang
wanted bigger game They soon began to
"hold up and rob inoffensive and drunk
en- Slavs, Poles, Tyroleans and Huns along
the dark and lonesome roads. The victims
were stripped of coats and shoes as well as
watches and money. Often, with COM
the revolvers the poor Hunks" carried.
Stolen property was sent to New York
and Philadelphia, TO be sold and accounted
for by the Malta chiefs. The robbers of
the coal regions lived in clover. They
were paid regularly 25 cents day, whether
they worked or not, and when they
worked on the gloomy roads ut night
they received proper share Ut the spoils.
For long time the Americans did not
waste second thought on tho poor
Hunks" who were set upon, beaten,
stabbed and robbed in the dark. They
laughed when they read in the newspapers
Of such occurrences.
Finally they became SO bold that they
began to invade the town. Then the au-
thorities set to work, and after some good
work by italian detectives succeeded In
arresting nine Of the gang. The prisoners
made haste to confess, in the hope that
they would escape punishment, and Inn
plicated many Of their acoomplices
The grand jury Of Luzerne county he's
found true bills against four Of the prison.
ezs for murder and against the rest for
szson, robbssy, burglary, larceny, blowing
Up house with dynamite end sssaults -