New-York tribune., 1903-04-15
MAFIA MURDER VICTIM.
MANS BODY IN 4 B1RREL.
Dead italian Unidentified. and No
CIezc to ISIQyers.

ian packed in a barrel in Eleveutn-s,-. near the
East River early yesterday morning. set az
the detective machinery of the polce force IN
notion Assistants Of District Attorney Jerome
aid the co-oners worked with the police AZ
the end OF the day the body Of the murdered
man had not been identified. and the detectives
had made apparently no real progress in the
search for the murderers The police theory is
that the slain man was q victim Of the Malta
secret Italian society. and that he tortured
before he was killed in an effort to ulal, him
divulge some secret.
Mrs Frances Connors. a scrubwOn1au. Of No
100 Avenue d. on her way from her norre to
place Of work. discovered the barrel close by
lumber pile in front OF the New-Tork Mallet
and Handle Works No. a.: East EIeventh-st,
al $50 a. N. She noticed a Goa. with blood
stains on it at the top Of the barrel and called
PatrOlman Winter. of the Union Market sta
ton who lifted the coat and saw there was
mans body in the barrel The mans bead h7dt
been nearly severed from the body by sashes in
the throat. The body had been jamned down
in the barrel tightly.
DESCRIPTION OF MURDERED MAN
When the body was taken TO the police sta
ton and examined more carefully il was found
to be that Of an Italian OF middle age. i've feet
and ten inches high. with black, curly halr and
mustache and swarthy complexion Tied around
the throat was a bag whicn he police thought
had been used to hold coffee. The clothes con-
sisted Of a blue pleateI shirt. dark wOrsted coat
and waistcoat black and white striped trousers.
laced shoes and overshoes. or arctiCs. apparently
new.
Around the throat, underneath the bag. vas a
green tie with black squares. and white linen
collar All the garments were soaked with
blood. In one OF the waistcoat pockets was
found a crucihx and in the other pockets were
two cheroots a silver watchChain and a cent
In a coat pocket was found rubber stamp.
bearing all the numbers from one TO ten. and
the alphabet.
In the bottom OF the barrel about three
inches of cedar wood sawdUst. which was satu-
rated with blood. Three cheroots like those
found in the waistcoat pocket were in the
sawdust four blood stained handkerchiefs. a
linen collar and three covers Of Turkish cigarette
boxes.
ALL TRACE OF MURDEREFtS LOSI.
When the barrel was found on the sidewalk in
Eleventh-st. the drizzling rain had washed
away all footprints of the persons who placed
il there. Policemen and night watchmen said
thev had passed the place as late as 40 a. m
and the barrel was not there then 1t was be-
Ieved that the body had been carried in a
| wagon by persons who intended TO throw it into
the river. but the pier Of the Quintard Iron
| Works at the end of Eleventh-st- was closed
| Finding approach to the river cut of. and fear
ing discovery. the police think. the murderers
placed the barrel on the sidewalk where IT was
found later and then drove away
Inspector McClusky and several Of the best
detectives of the Central Office were at the
Union Market station by a. m. to begin an in
vestigatfo1. They examined the body. the bar
rel and all the clothing with great care As
sIstant District Attorney Garvan and several
county detectives went to the station TO eX-
anime the body. Inspector SchnittoerSer. IN
command of the East Side district. called de-
tectives from several precincts and sent them to
Italian colonies in search Of persons who might
be able to identify the body. Thinking that, per
haps. the body had been carried over one OF the
ferries from Brooklyn. the police OF that bor-
ough were instructed TO make inquiries
A DECOY LETTER. PERHAPS
The detectives said that the dead italian was
not a Iaborer. and that the clothing Indicated
that he had means The shoes had been bought
at Burt & Co.'S store, opposite the Produce
Exchange" as the label read In one Of the
coat pockets was found a piece Of paper on
which was written in Italian, Come. come in a
hurry" This led to the theory that the piece
Of paper was a fragment Of a decoy letter
The police found the address. NO 500 Third
ave-" written on the barrel. There is a fat
house at the address. and a grocery next door.
have been received at the grocery filled with
fruit or vegetables and when emptied have
been thrown into the yard in the rear Of the
fathouse to be broken up into kindlius wood
The grocer and people in the fathouse went to
look at the body and said they could not re-
member ever having seen the dead Italian
The body OF the murdered man was sent 70
the bellevue Morgus and thither several hun
dred Italians were sent in the course Of the day
to look at the corpse They all failed to recog-
pize the body, apparently, and many OF them
declared they did not think the man was an
covered that the crucifix found on the body was
an emblem Of a Catholic society connected WltA
St Brigid's Church. at Eighth-sI- and Avenue
Y Father Reilly. the assistant pastor OF the
church. said he knew Of no society among the
Italians who attended the masses at the church
They are mostly poor Italians, he said
MARKS OF THE MAFIA'S DAGGERS-
DR.. Albert T Weston, a coroners physician.
performed an autopsy on the body at the
roorgue in the afternoon He said he found
eighteen stab wounds in the mans neck. IN dd-
ditfon 10 the deep gashes which severed the
iugular vein, and caused death Dr. Weston
said that there were twelve stab wounds on the
left side Of the neck and six on the right some
of them were hardly more than scratches Whie
Others ran from a quarter to half an lnch
deep. The physician said that tne autopsy =
veaIed 10 evidence that there mad been stFus
Ole AZ the time the man was klieQ- re dl-
v.rcad the theory that the man had been held SO
that he co,Id not move. while his assdlldhts IN
order 10 force him TO tell something they Nahteo
TO know tortured the man - ii-aHNii+s St-7ll. -
N OuudS in his neck Ut NeSl''ft ''''~ '--,-- -'
US s,4ra all the wounds had been made WIN a
dagger The wounds that had caused the man
5estb the phvscian said must have been made
IN. a DOverful person Th- cuts EXTENDED 20 tHe
spinal column