New-York tribune., 1899-12-17
CRISPI AND THE MAFIA.
ITALY'S EX-PREMIER SAID TO BE A MEM
BER OF THE CRIMINAL SOCIETY.

one OF the principal cities of this country, and
the all powerful political boss of his State was
the Number one" and chief Of one Of the most
famous secret organizations Of crime in the
world, and that for more than a decade he had
been controlling the distribution Of every Gov
ernment and municipal office in the State, with
a view to furtherng the interests Of this secret
society. Add to this the presumption. nay the
certainty Of the connivance, perhaps the COM
plicity. of the Secretary of State or Premier;
and then the running to earth of this chief Of
the secret society after long chase Of eight
years by naval officer in order TO ayenge
the murder Of fondly loved father and to
bring to justice those responsible for his assas-
sination under peculiarly atrocous circum-
stances.
1t is necessary for people in this country a
picture this to form any conception Of the eX-
citement which prevails at present in Italy in
connection with the trial in progress at Milan
for the murder in 1892 Of the Marquis Notar-
bartOlo Mayor Of Palermo. Governor of the
Bank Of Sicily, and one Of the most distin-
guished public men Of the kingdom The pris.
Oners on trial are not the chief culprits They
are merely the CONDUCTOR the engine driver and
the stoker Of the train by which the Marquis
was travelling when the murder took place.
They were arrested some weeks after the mur-
der, and have been in prison since, the
government having acquired the belief that II
they had not actually themselves slain the Mar
quis at any rate they were aware of the
identity OF the cuIprits 1t was hoped that
the long Imprisonment and the innumerabe
magisterial examinations To which they were
subjected would end by inducing them to make
a full confession. But these expectations have
been disappointed and 1t was not until the son
OF the murdered man took his place on the wit
ness stand that the general public learned the
name Of the person principally responsible for
the assassination.
THE SONS STORY.
My father" ne declared. was killed by the
orders and by the agents Of Deputy Pazzoo,
who represents the city Of Palermo. the
capital Of Sicily. in the National Legis-
lature at Rome. PaliZzolo caused my father to
be killed first of all because ne had while
Mayor. obliged him to restore to the municipal
treasury large sums of public moneys which
he Halizzolo) had deliberately stolen while city
Treasurer, and secondly because the Marquis
had become aware while Governor Of the Bank
Of Sicily Of "A number Of frauds and forgcries
perpetrated at the expense Of the institution
by Palizzolo. These frauds had placed the bank
in a critical condition. critical, indeed, that
the Inspector General of National Banks had
been sent from Rome by the Minister Of Finance
to investigate its condition. The Marquis had
furnished the Inspector with information as 70
the manner i'm which the institution mad been
robbed by Palzzoo. and was on his way back
TO Palermo from his country seat whittier he
had gone 10 fetch certain papers, letters anf
documents comprising the forged acceptance
and false mortgages in fact, most Of the pc
pers clinchiug the guilt Of Palizzolo, when hA
was murdered. None OF his money taken
from him Even his watch remained in hii
pocket and his jeweed pin in his necktie. only
his wallet Of papers had disappeared when his
body was recovered Need you ask after this
why ne was murdered or inquire as to the iden,
tity of the person responsible for the crime"
And then the gallant young Lieutenant who
for all these years has been on the trail Of his
fathers assassns, went on to describe the obs
stacles and extraordinary impedmC nts that had
been placed i'm his way; how, through the infu-
ence of PalizZolo. he mad been repeatedly sent ofe
on the most extraordinary missions to distant
parts Of the world whenever the trail became too
hot until he had finally been obliged to insist on
being placed on the retired list and on half pay
in order to enable him to pursue his researches
without interruption; how all the discoveries
which ne made and brought TO ;he notice of tha
authorities were pooh-pooheG and pigeonhoel,
W lille ne himself was obliged to be constantly on
lis guard in order to avoid sharing the fate of
his father how his house had been repeatedly
broken into his papers stolen, his baggage rihed
of it's contents while he was travelling 10y land
and by sea. I'm fact, he showed how throughout
these eight years he has been fighting without