The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-08-11
FIGHTING The BLACKMAILERS
ITALIANS. dRWENIlNS, CHINESE.
GREEkS. tLE ar ~.
Police handicapped 10y a I.ack ~ skilled
Wen ami Ivy the Fear ~ the Victims to
Prosecute BaPreI Murder an
Instance az Black Hand vengeance.

One Of the most serious problems tina
face b New York Police Department IL
the suppression of blackmaii and extortion
The number Of cases reported TO the police
annually IN tho last few years has increased
with a rapidity out Of all proportion TO the
increase in population.
The New York police records show that
In 1901 seven persons we're arrested for
blsckmail, twcnty-one for extortion, one
for attempted extOrtion and one for kid
mapping. In 1906 eighteen persons were
arrested for blackrnail. twenty-seven for
extOrtoR. twenty-five for attempted ex-
tortion and t~wenty-seven for kidnapping.
In the Same period the arrests for homicide
jumped from tO3 TO si7.
A high official Of the United States Secret
Service force suggested the other day
an Interesting explanation OF the increase
in the number OF extortion cases. IL is
well known that criminal Italians. chiefly
men who have been members OF the notori-
otis Malta in Sicily or the Camorra in Naples.
are behind many of the attempts that are
made TO extort money in this city. The
Secret Service official gave it as his opinion
that part of the same gang OF cutthroats
who were responsible for the barrel murder
In 1903 are behind most OF the Black Hand
attempts that are being mad now. They have
turned from counterfeit:ng to cxtortion.
The Black Hand alone has made necessary
the establishment " a separate bureau OF
Italian detectives a Police Headquarters.
This bureau. which IL in charge Of Lieut.
~Petrosino. has Offices of its owl on Lafayette
street. There are about thirty Italians in
the bureau. and this force ia said to be in
adequate To handle all the work that
should pass through its hands. II is esti-
mated that nine-tenths of all the cases that
come before this bureau are connected in
one way or another with the operations OF
the Black Hand. Detective Petrosino at
this very minute has under investigation
between sixty and seventy Black Hand
cases., M no one knows how many are
silently paying tribute TO the extortioner
or facing their threats without complaining
to the police. There are 400 900 Italians in
New York city, and this bureau OF thirty
men is practically all that the department
has to depend on to keep it in touch with
the secret doings in the several Italian col
on mics. 1t has been estimated that hundreds
Of thousands Of dollar ~ have been harvested
10y the Black Hand in the last five years,
that at least twenty-five children rave been
kidnapped and that probably fifty murders
can be charged up against it.
WHAT THE BLACK HAND Is.
The Black Hand is not an organization
except in spirit. 1t is simply a name under
which any number of gangs operate. These
gangs usually have some sort Of individual
organization, but nothing in common ex-
cept a kindred spirit of criminslity. One
OF these bands may be composed Of Sicilians
FROM the an M tnWn uhn uara pnapnhora
Of the Malta; another may be made up OF
member Of the Camorra. the criminal
society Of Naples, and a third may he merely
a group Of Italian cutthroats who rave
gathered under the leadership of some
former bandit.
Among all these blackmsiling organiza-
tons. however. there is a tacit understand
ing to oppose force with force and never
TO appeal 10 the law for redress. That is
why IL is so difficult to convict one of the
Black Handlers. No member Of the bsnd
will testify against another, and it is i'm
possible often to get even the victim to
give any information. Lieut.. Petrosino
Is running mp against this sort of a snag
every day of his life. In some cases the
victims actually try to shield the criminals.
The member of the band who squeals
knows he is marked for life. and the same
is true of the outside witness who ~testifies
against the Black Hand. This conspiracy
of silence il characteristic Of both the
Malta and the Camorra. In Sicily il is
known as "omerta" and is one Of the or
gani,atinn's strongest safeguards.
When a Mafoso in Sicily Stays a man
the friends of the murderer and the MUIR
dered alike have but one idea - that Of saw
ing the assassin. They don't want to go
TO law for redress. The man who is muir
derously attacked. il he can speak. will
say: IF die they'll bury me: il | live
I'll strike you dead, " meaning that he would
settle his own scores without any assistance
from the courts. That spirit has been
transplanted in the branch organizations
that have sprung up in this city, and il is
the greatest obstacle with which the police
have to contend.
Some idea of the terror which these oath
bound criminal bands inspire in the minds
OF backsliding members may he got from
an incident that occurred in the General
Sessions court room only a few weeks ago.
A Jury had found Ignazio di Leonardo
guilty OF kidnapping seven-yesr-old Saliva
tore Siatta. A ransom Of SO, 900 had been
demanded and the hoy had been kept for
W weeks before he was finally turned
adrift at the Manhattan end Of the Brooklyn
Bridge, Ignazio's pal. Pietro Pompinella.
was being tried on the same charge. Ignazio
had been told that the Judge would prob
ably send him to Sing Sing for fifteen
years,
-Tell him" said ~lgna2io. that will
speak the truth" In other words he was
willing to inform on Pietro in the hope
that his own sentences might he ~lightened
HI DEATH SIGN IN COURT.
Ignazio was brought IT, - the court room
and seated in the witness chair. He took
the Bible and kissed IT,. faced the jury
and looked at Pietro. Not a word had been
spoken, but Ignazio grew pale and his
knees shook. Pietro had placed the fore /
finger Of one hand on each temple and then
had drawn his right hand quickly across
his throat. That was The death sign. As
sistant District Attorney O'Connor and
Judge O'Sullivan both saw it. They pleaded
with Ignazio and assured him he had nothing |
to fear. but the.volunteer witness sat mute !
and was finally ordered from the stand.
Outside the court room his courage