The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-09-13
BARBER His OWN DYNAMITER?
Police THINK 1T LOOKS THAT
NAY AND ARREST STRAVALLI.
His Family Was Sleeping Out when the
BLACK Hand" Myth Exploded in His
shop-He Was Wandering-fIis Belong.
,nrs Well nsured-Jailed on Suspicion.

sbop-He Was Wandering-His Belong.
inxs Well Insured-Jailed on Suspicion.
~ the police size up Joseph Stravalli
and the dynamite outrage in his barber
sbop correctly, there Is new variation Of
an old. old game. Stravalli's place was
blown all to pieces with something early
Yesterday morning. Before that the bar
her had made frequent complaints to the
nolice about BLACK Hand" letters con-
tanning threats to dynamite him II no didn't
hand over $500. He had also conveyed
to the same sceptics hints about a dark
and mysterious patron who muttered
threats through the lather while StravalG
was shaving him.
OF course, the BLACK Hand" organiza-
ton is a myth, but the Italian blackmailers,
who are very clever at taking advantage
Of all things that can terrify their victims,
have been signing BLACK Hand" to their
letters The police now say that this I'M
tutored Italian genius, Stravali, blew up
his own shop to collect the insurance on IL,
and he is under arrest.
The barber shop is at AT Third avenue.
There is a five story tenement above 1t.
The Stravalli family lives in the rear. A
stock of cigars Is carried in the barber
shop,
At 1915 yesterday morning an awful
explosion in the shop blew the chairs into
twisted fragments Of iron, bent the whole
front outward and sent the wooden cigar
Indian into the middle Of the street. Most
OF the furniture Of the Stravalli family
was smashed.
Fire followed the explosion, and there
was panic in the tenement above, in which
sixteen-year-old Anna Blake walked of
the roof onto the next building and sprained
her ankle. hook and ladder company
got the rest Of the tenants out safely and
put out the fire before much damage was
done.
Policeman McGreery OF the East Thirty
eth street station rushed into the rear
room 10 find out what had happened to
the strayalli family. No one was there.
Neighbors said that Mrs. Stravalli and
her family had gone to the house Of the
Gustachis, her cousins, at 286 East Twenty
ninth street. The police went up there
and found them, all but the barber. Mrs.
Strayalli said that she didn't understand
English.
Third avenue with the air OF man who Is
sSop s viewed the damage With a startled
air, and burst into loud lamentations. He
Wept until the sobs shook his frame, but
the police, who were Watching him closely,
noticed that he didn't shed tear. 1t was
ali dry weeping. Then he didn't say any
were mentioned to him. when he rushed
into the back room to see II they were there,
and burst into loud cries OF thanksgiving
when he found that they were not.
They asked stravaln where his family had
gone. He protested that he didn't know;
6e mentioned number Of friends and their
addresses, but didn't say anything about
Mrs. Stravalli's cousins, where the family
had already been found.
MIN. He had violent Mysteries at that
point. He pulled q set Of papers from his
them In bis rage and grief. One Of these
e. ~ %ss I'd ns ssa as ss
When they searched him in tho police
sNtation, however, they found some import
ant papers which he hadn't torn up. They
wore two fire insurance policies-one on the
furniture Of the barber shop for q 500
and the other on his household furniture
for $500.
Capt. Shire took the case In hand early
yesterday morning. Mrs. Sravalh and
the little girls made an important state
Rsps told ID. Us st.. e go over to our cousins
Mrs. sohilling. who keeps a bakery next
G IN he f BARBER shop Just before the eSplo-
sion. Whoever set OF that bomb got
inside the place, for the centre Of destruo-
ton is In the rear part Of the shop, just In
front Of the partition which separates the
shop from the family rooms.
Stravalli said he had spent the evening
PLAYING cards at Twenty-thiri street and
First avenue. He couldn't locaJe the place
elactly, but yesterday afternoon Detec.
tive Sergeants Farley and Petro Iino found
1t The proprietor said that Stravalli had
when Assistant Fire Marshal beMalignon
questioned him, he made q complete hop,
and said that Stravalli had been there all
evening. -,
ant Fire Marshal De Malignon arraigned
him as "a suspect in arson Stravalli be-
walled his fate bitterly as he was led to
Jail.
The plot. II 1t is a plot, was laid rather
cleverly, and Is brand new. There have
been so many cases Of blackmailing letters
to wealthy Italians recently that the police
are disposed to listen to any tale about
blood money" letters. StravalI took
such letter to the East Thirty-f1fth street
station. II contained a demand for $500,
to be left In certain place, at a certain time.
At the suggestion OF the police. he went to
the place with dummy package. Swallowed
by plain clothes man. No one appeared
TO take the money. Later he reported an
other letter, and still later a conversation
with mysterious stranger, who warned
him that he'd better pay up. All this was
In accordance with regular Italian black
mail tactics.
But his acting was very poor. the police
saw
The handwriting OF the two Black Hand
letters will be examined by an expert II
necessary, but last night Capt. Shire said
that the police were working upon very
promising clue.