Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1907-11-05
PROBABLY VICTIM
OF HIS OWN GANG
Police Believe Dead Man Was Or
dered by Black Hand to Com
nit Murder and Killed Be-
cause He Failed
to do 1t.

New York, Nov. 5.--A rain-soaked
policeman bound for the hamburg
avenue station in Williamsburg early
yesterday morning stumbled on the
body of a man in a vacant lot on
Noll street between Centre and
Evergreen avenues. He turned it
over and found that blood was tiow-
ing from nine stab wounds. On the
off chance that there might be lit
tie life left, he turned in an ambu-
lance call, but when DR., Slaughter,
of the German hospital, arrived ne
declared that the man was stone
dead. The body, however, was still
warm, and the doctor said that there
had been life in Ii less than an hour
before.
About the first thing that came to
light after the body had been taken
to the Hamburg avenue station was
an iron bomb with a fuse four feet
long attached to it. The bomb had
been securely buttoned under the
mans waistcoat and the fuse had
been lighted, but blood, flowing from
wounds in the mans back and chest,
had trickled down over the fuse and
put 1t out.
The police lost no time in immers-
ing the bomb in a bucket of water
ton. They found revolver fully
| loaded IN a pocket a stiletto at the
end OF lanyard running from the
I nnllfis u ~ frsbT .siish .his Sleeve 70 his
wrIsi, ara y paoi.et OF papers
ldsa s.ea ~ His aap,as.
The Narl-rs led ultimately to the
mans Identification. Many Of them
were letters addressed to Vito Grim
| aldi, of No. 11S Central avenue. All
| bore Sicilian postmarks. Other let
| ters with American stamps were dd-
! dressed TO Vito Vizzorat aJ the same
! address.
Detectives went over to the Con-
! trail avenue house and found Ihat Il
| was on Italian boarding house run
| by Bernardo Berando, who mas q
! grocery shop on the ground nOor
Rerando, after some sweating, ad-
mitted chat he knew Grimaldi Oh
! Vzz1r3d, that he was about thirty
yenrs ola, had been known as a
piano polisher, and had a wife and
| family in Sicily.
a Bad Man.
HerandO added thar although Cri.
mald had lived with him twC
months he had seemed able to keaI
| himself In FUNDS without working
| 8rimal1i he said, was q bad mar
! and Kept bad company.
Further questioning reduced Ber
ando 10 "a condition Of shrugs au'
silence, and Fl canvass Of the neigh
| b0rh0od ehclted only more siienc
. dud more shrugz.
The police have two theories Qn
Is that GTimaldi was q member of I
| Black Hand band and came To- hi
death because he lacked the Courag
- 60 abide by Black Hand regulations
In cases where q victim is select
ad for Black Hand punishment, Dc
the custom for The slayer to be pick
, ca by lot. He must then, under hl
, OATH see his task through oven
2 ,he one prescribed be his own broth
er. and even III Ln the act Of dJin
away with his man he risks his OW
life.
Probably Baked at Murder.
ON this theory Il is assumed tha
? Grimaldi was chosen TO huri tn
! bomb found on him at some ma
] | marked for death that at the las
moment his heart falling him II
wandered out of the lonely lot Wher
] he was found, for the purpose @
B, | hiding the bomb and was there So
{ upon and slain by his comrades.
r. The other theory is that Grimalt
( | was bitter bit lie might the po
. Iice believe, have decoyed his MAJ
, 90 the vacant lot, and the man Nigh
y | there have betrayed him into hand
. | that put an end to him.
!. In either case whoever killed IN
d young Siciliau were not men to hes
. t.te at ghastly work. 1t Is clear tina
d having emectually slain him the
e then attempted to destroy his bod
e with his own bomb. From this faC
! the police believe he was the Vlctii
Z NJ Hfe ou-n Intended victim