The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-01
.JERGE IS INVESTIGATING District Attorney Takes Personal Charge. GRAND JURY nDlcIS PRIEST Father Mastoogessian Now Central
 Figure. Armenians Give Methods of Dread Hana of Blackmailers Who Syste- natically Extort Money From
 Their Rich Countrymen.
 
GRAND JURY NDlcTS PRIEST

Their Rich Countrymen.
 New York, July 31.-District Attor. ney Jerome has taken personal charge of the investigation into the plots of the Armenian blackmailers which led to the assassination of H. S. Tavshan- jan and all the forces of the district attorneys office and the police depart ment worked xealously today to ferret out more clues that would lead to the arrest of the murderers who are be- lieved to have masked their operations under the name of the Hunchakists, the Armenian revolutionary society.
 Several Armenians appeared today at the district attorneys office and were closely questioned as to methods oi the dreaded band of blackmailers who systematically extorted large sums oi money from their wealthy countrymen under threats of death.
 District Attorney Jerome Is seeking every possible bit of information con cerning Father Levont Martoogessian. the Armenian priest. who is now held in the Tombs under $25.ooo bail for attempted robbery. A trunk Is re- ported to have been found in Lowell, Mass, where Bedros Hampartzoomian lived, which Is said to contain papers revealing the plots of the blackmallers. Handwriting experts examined today several letters which were sent to rich Armenians demanding, money. The District Attorney will obtain the hand writings of the Armenians now under arrest The blackmailing letters de- manded sums ranging from 310.0o0 to S25,000. The police have discovered that certain Armenians not only ex- torted money, but ran a fence" where stolen goods were disposed. Tho po- lice believe that the blackmaflers not only have been guilty of extortion. but have been robbing their victims as well.
 Four indictments today lie against Father Martoogeesian, the Armenian who, 1t Is alleged. sometimes laid aside his priestly robes to practice extoruon and blackmail. The priest Is just now q central figure in the conspiracy wnich the District Attorney seeks to prove had for its object the ropDery oi wealthy .ksnasniaassA sAAa led. tostea nnl ..u :. der Of the rug merchant IavsnanJisn ciallv bled From the slayer Of Tav- shantian. Bedros Hampartzoonlfan. as hel Is known here, the police hope to
 secure a confession establishing that the youth unwittingly was the agent of blackmailing terrorists. A trunk
 which Harmpartoozian had In Lowell
 Mass, has been brought here ana us contents may throw light on the inves-
 tigation. once the assassin IS con vinced that he was more of tool than a natriot the police expect him to make disclosures that will make easy the
 wiping out of a dangerous gang.
 Of the three additional indictments against the priest brought in by the grand jury today. two charged at- original in- dictment and one alleges extortion The latter charges that the priest was rasnonsible for at least one Of the matchmaking letters which quickly followed the death of the rug mer- chant. The letter was mailed in New York On he afternoon of July Z2, the oay that Tavshanjian was shot. IL was writ- fen in red ink in the Armenian lam guaee and was signed by the symbol of the terrorists-three hands with daggers uplifted. poised above req heart The letter Is as follows:
 "Gulabi Gulbenkian and Company, New York. "Death warrant. The executives or the Oonstantinople Armenian revoiu- tionary terrorists organization condemn to death Haroutian Gulbenkian. Gula- hi Gulbenkian and Patrick Gulbenkian. the three brothers who entirely have deaf ears to all appears for national freedom. Our executive board haVlhg
 given this decision to Haroutlan ana C.ulabi Gulbenkian in America, gives them twenty-four hours time to decide | between their duty and death.
 .Constantinople Armenian heVolu- +;onarv Terrorists Organization.
 The latter is dated Constantinople, | June 27. 1907. Following the letter IS pos'scrip' also in red ink which reads:
 "Although neither prison nor hanging can prevent us from rulfililhg our | dutv to the end 1t Is necessary that
 .,on shonid know that. If you betray
 th;s letter or cause harm to one hair
 on the heads of one of us. consider your
 whole mily wiped out.
 Before this letter came, Haroutian | culhenkian who Is the accusing wit
 ness against the priest had received
 a blackmailing letter demanding ss5.-
 mo but had not complied with the
 Tbe sense of the indictment is that
 the priest either sent the quoted letter
 ar coused 1t to be sent the quoted letter l legged that in September 1905 Father | Martoogeseeian threatened to kill or
 caused to be killed Bedros Hazanjian.
 a merchant of 20 Union Square. unless
 the latter gave up $15,00O to the Ar | menian Revolutionary Society.
 | Further 1t is charged that Father Martoogeseeian represented or caused | to be represented to NJ c. Karanagesian an Armenian. that he would meet death unless he gave $1OO.000 to the | Armenian revolutionary rund.
 The late afternoon developed an i'm l portant witness when Magderich Lus- | trjan, blacksmith. was examined hy l Assistant District Attorney Manlcy | According to information given out ot | the District Attorneys office. the wiz | ness said that he had often attended l meetings of the Hunchakist society at
 which Martoogeesian presided. Con | tinuing. he is alleged to have stated | that he knew of five different cases | where men had been sent from this | country to Europe at the instigation of
 A man to murder persons. On two oc- | casions, Lustrian said. he had been | chosen to do murder but managed. in
 various ways. to shift the responsi- | bility.
 l Some time ago he was told that he l would have to kill Nikolat Milack, he- | cause at that time it was believed that | Milack was a Turkish spy. Accord | ing to Mir. Manley, the blacksmith
 made further startling admissions and
 furnished corroborative evidence of | -r-aat jmnortance against the prisoner