New-York tribune., 1903-04-26
MURDER NAY BE SOLVED.
CRIME CHARGED TO PETTO
Had Pascn Ticket for Madonna
Watch-Greene Praises McClusky.

INSPECTOR McC1usky, of the Detective Bureau
announced yesterday that he believed he mao
solved the barrel murder According to the heao
of the Detective Bureau, the man whom ne VIII
charge with having committed the crime Is To-
maso Petto one of the thirteen men arrested on
suspicion of knowing something of the murder
and some of whom now in the House OF De-
tention being held witnesses by order OF
Coroner Scho!er.
According to McCiusky. Petto is undoubtedly
the murderer and the inspector says he has the
necessary evidence to prove what he says ne
said that when Petto was searched after his
arrest by Detective Sergeants Foye and McCaf-
ferty there found in his possession pawn
ticket for ST. issued by b. Frye. of No. 2I6 and
21S Bowery. and calling for gold watch When
Detective Petrosino in Buffalo looking up
the dead mans relatives he Informed inspector
McClusky that the murdered man, who had
been identified as Benedetto Madonna. carried
valuable gold watch on which there were many
engravings among them engraving of To-
comotive the front case.
Detective Sergeants Carey and McCafferty
were then ordered to see the watch upon which
the pawn ticket had been secured. and they
found that the timepiece tailed with the de-
scription sent from Buffalo. Inspector Nc
Clusky on Friday teIephoned Chief Detective
Sagliebemi, the stepson of the dead man, to this
city. and yesterday he arrived here, in charge of
Detective Devine. o; the Buffalo force He was
taken at once TO Police Headquarters, and de-
scribed and identified the watch.
Petto. according to Inspector McClusky, had
admitted that the pawn ticket in the possession
Of the police and the obtained in return
for the watch the found on him when
he arrested. He. however, denies that he
had pawned the watch, declaring that the ticket
was given to him by fellow countryman. whose
name he does not know, but says they slept to-
gether on Monday night. Petto has all along
denied that he knew Madonna.
The pawn ticket. the police say was obtained
from Frye on Tuesday, the day the body
found in the barrel. Petto has since his arrest
refused TO divulge his address. saying that he
lived in Brooklyn and then in New-York. The
police have traced him to Sixth-st Brooklyn
Petto was arraigned before Coroner Brown and
committed TO the Tombs without bail on a
charge of murder until tomorrow. for further
examination.
Inspector McClusky said later that he had OBJ
tained additional evidence since the arrest of
Tomssso Petto. He said that all the detectives
working on the case were following Clews just
learned. The inspector refused TO give out what
he had found. but said that within twenty-four
hours he would have enough evidence to place
the blame entirely on Petto.
The inspector was asked why he had not in
vestigated the watch called for in the pawn
ticket found on Petto, when Petto was first ar
rested, ten days ago. He said that he had un-
derstood that Madonna, the murdered man, had
carried valuable gold watch. and 1t was
thought that cheap 81 pawn ticket would not
correspond. There were many other clews,
he said that appeared much more important
that If was not until Detective Sergeant Petro-
sino telegraphed from Buffalo the description
of the watch that investigation of the ticket was
made. The watch he said, is not worth over 81
- ;csSor rYdiEeH
Inspector McClusky and his men for their work
on the case. -.---