Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-09-05
Valuable Harness Leather, and Other
Property Of a Value Of Several
Hundred Dollars Found in Tunnel
and Cave Under the Houss-Had
Bean Stolen From Railroad Cars.

discjoses the fact that the place had
been the store house for vast quanti-
ties OF stolen property which has
been taken from railroad cars during
period Of many months
Distinct Achievements for Police.
Tho recovery Of the stolen property
and the arrest Of the suspected thieves
Is a distinct achievement for the chae1
|. OF police. w. e. Nicholson, and oHlcer
Frank Haas, who engineered the RAID
and who, assisted by Deputy Marshal
Clark, made the arrests.
Chief Of Police Nicholson and Onlcer
Haas have been working on the case
for weeks, having knowledge THAT cars
were being broken into and merchan-
disc stolen from the tracks of the
Northwestern and Great Western. Ihey
had not however, been able to locate
the property stolen or catch the
thieves.
b Drunken Italian Talks.
The place where the stolen nlerchan-
disc was stored might never have been
discovered and the suspected thieves
might never have been run down, nao
1t not been that q countryman OF the
Italians got drunk and talked TOO
much. For weeks Chief OF Police
Nicholson has been laboring with this
man. Joe Antonello, who has been IN
the employ OF the city, to get MIN 20
disclose the knowledge that he was
known to possess regarding the stolen
nrnnerty. And 1t was only after the
italian had become drunk that ms
tongue began to wag and he gave UP
the desired information.
Police Raid House.
at his own request Antonello was
sp,it under arrest for the time being 20
protect him from the vengeance ne
feared. and which the police Deileve
will be his lot from the hands OF ms
enrased countrymen. Accompanied py
Antoneuo. Chief Of Police Nicholson
and OFFICER Haas, went to the house az
S02 East Nevada street. The wife OF.
Gaetano Di Fracesco was the only per-
son at home. Without ceremony the
officers began the search. From every
corner of the house where there was
place for concealment they began to
find stolen property.
Merchandise Piled Under House.
Going into the cellar. which was q
mere hole in the ground, they founo
a tunnel leading under the house, anu
from this they dragged quantity OF
leather. Being unable to get to the END
Of the tunnel from the cellar, sections
Of the Noor Of the house were torn up,
and under It, and in the tunnel which
ended in q pit, and then continued
into another tunnel, they found 9 great
quantity Of merchandise. Much OF 1t
was moldy. and showed evidence OF
having been stored for some ta A'p'
Spread out under the house was layer,
upon layer of leather, and on top OF
this was piled bushels Of peanuts
Recover Two Wagon Loads.
Before the police had finished, they
had filled the patrol wagon twice with
merchandise, which was taken to the
police headquarters. and still there
were several bushels of peanuts lett
which they did not take the time to
shovel into sacks. The property re-
covered includes four large sacks OF
peanuts Of total weight Of about 25O
pounds, probably two or three hundred
pounds Of harness leather, twenty
cartoons Of chewing gum, hundred OF
more cans of potted ham, dried beef,
veal loaf and hamburger steak; one
sack Of sugar, three sacks Of -four, and
two rolls OF woven wire fence.
Arrests Follow.
s The three men arrested are all rail-
road employees Calataldo Hacruy and
Gaetano Di Fracesco are employed by
the Great western. The former. who
was the first arrested, has been work
ing at the company's coal chute. He
was found there and locked up. Gae-
tano Di Fracesco is a Great Western
section man, and Salvatore Di Fra
seco is working on the section for the
Iowa Central
1t was not until after he had been
chased that Salvatore Di Fracesco was
caught.
Police Run Him Down.
The gang in which Salvatore Di
Fracesco was working was found east
Of town near the plant of the Ply
mouth Stoneware Company. When the
patrol came in sight one of the work
men was seen to leave his work and
disappear in a corn field. Suspect
ing that he was the man Wanted the
officers scattered and gave chase.
Chief of Police Nicholson started
north, and securing a ride with a friend
who was passing in buggy, he
crossed the track of the Great West
iel1l east Of sthet fair grounds and was
able to get close to his man, who was
hiding behind al tree, before the 1tal-
ian Knssyytfie offeer was near.
The officers waited Cor the Great
Western. section lang, of which Gae-
tano Di FracescoA was member, to
come il, from then work on q hand
ear when he was Arrested, q
Made nusis,sss Nef Stealing.
n .rhe police are con fdent that the
property recovered. much of which is
ID bad condition, is bF,t a small part
n what haa been stolen during the
unntha when railroad ytars have been