New-York tribune., 1905-11-03
"BL4CK HAND" PRISONER.
Said to Haze Operated at Hunting
ton, Long Island.

Boston Nov. 2-Through the medium of
registered letter containing money from ms
mother George Bentley twenty-three years oio
of Huntington. Long Island, was arrested To-
day by Postof1ce Inspector w. B. Snow, charged
with a scheme to defraud, by means OF the
United States mails, and with being member
of the BLACK Hand" gang, which has been ter
rorizing New Workers. with letters Demanding
money under pain of terrible death
Young Bentley has been sought by the police
and nostofice authorities for several weeks
From information received from the Newly
authorities it was suspected that he was in
Boston.
This morning it was learned that registered
letter addressed to George Bentley, No ~
Bowdoin-st. Boston, was in the mails Inspector
Snow ACCOMPANIED the letter carrier to the
house and just Bentley had signed the re-
ceipt he was placed under arrest
He admitted that ne was the man looked fof.
II is said. and the first remark he made to In
srector Snow was:
.I s,,ppose you want mo for blackmail'
RentIev was brought before Commissioner
Fiske, and when asked to plead appeared con-
fused and then stammered guilty. lie WAS
held in $1,000 and locked up.
The New-York postoffice inspectors have oeen
informed, and they expected some time to-
morrow. :. , Nth
1t is charged that Bentley was In league WIN Win
a gang whose chief business has been to SEND
letters to prominent people in Huntington, Long
Island and other neighborlng places, de1lahu-
ing large sums OF money pain of death 1t
is charged that the young man worked TINS
.sbIank hand" scheme for some time, until the
postoffce officials got after the gang ana scat
tered them about the country.
Huntington, Long island Nov. 2-Informa-
ton reached this place to-day of the arrest III
BOSTON of a young describing himself as
George Bentley and living in Huntington NO
in "
believed. however that the man under arrest
did not give his right name. and is known as
the same person who got into trouble by send
;,,- matchmaking letters through the postof1lce
in Huntington For that reason he was COM
reued to leave town about a month ago HIS
family is well known and respected In Hunt
ington and his mother is the owner OF ploii-
inent hotel in Manhattan
E,va we'll known men in this town received
letters few weeks ago. in each of Wh1cn the
Ir-ritnr demanded that 81 600 be placed under
stone at bridge in NeH-York-ave. The pen
atty for noncompliance with this demand was
death. .a s,n,i1ar
letter and she caused to be plaGIefd unoG[ lIora
stone envelope containing at, ms ot aootber
letter calling for the remainder of the sI"o'
originally demanded 1,-;,,a+s
After consulting the authorities Mrs Wlliets
had an envelope filled with slips or paper 81 S 80
to give il the appearance of containing ruli "a
moTey, and this she had placed HnafT 'hF ;tnity
Tha IYatchars who were posted In the vicinity
- tba bridge we're amazed when they saw Two
,TeII known young men approach the stone tahe
.ba envelope from under it and carry IL OIL
pnutmastpr General COrtelyOu. who was mere
during the summer, when Informed or tile aia aSnt
suggested that 1t was matter foI tne rIvo
45c;e1s to investigate. and subsequently w"
sasnectors were assigned 70 run down the pa
nasflers II Is supposed that the young iIiei. pe ~
nan,a aware that they had been detee.-u, "a
,ba,y disappeared. and so far as can be lehriieu
neither has since been seen at this pihco-