Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1909-06-10
BLACK HAND is
REGULAR MAFIA
Operations Of Gang in Many Large
Cities TO Be Laid Bare by
Officers.
PETRosNI SUSPECT Is CAUGHT
Headquarters Believed to Have Been
in Marion Store.
MANY LETTERS ARE :" = RED
Hundreds Forced to Pay IL Il
to Italian Crooks.
MORE ARRESTS ARE TO F0 Il
lstern and Western cities Are Bt
secured for Members of Desperat
secret society-Victims Lose
Thousands.
headquarters Believed to Have Been
in Marion Store.
MANY LETTERS ARE :" z REL
Hundreds Forced to Pay =
to Italian Crooks. =
MORE ARRESTS ARE TO FC Z


the extortion, plotting and murder by the
Black Hand as uncovered today by post
office inspectors from the Cincinnati office |
show conclusively that the gang in Colum-
bus. Merton, DennisOp and Bellefontaine
and other Ohio towns were organized along
the same lines Ss the old Malta, but, IL
anything with q much better system for
concealing their movements.
II is now known that the Ohio Black
Hand or the Society Of the Banana, as it's
members style themselves, had a branch
in Pittsburg Pa, one in Chicago and line
that extended to South Dakota. Regular
meetings we're held and the money OBJ
tained by extortion was distributed TO
various divisions in this country and sent
TO relatives in Italy for safe keeping.
Is Organised Society.
We have found what / believe to be
certain proof that the Black Hand out
RACES at least in the middle west, were
committed by well organized society with
grips and passwords, and that they are
not simply sporadic cases of individual ex-
tortion," said Chief Postoffice Inspector
Holmes.
we have letters and hand writings and
on the same watered paper with Black
Hand embiems made with the same chirOr-
graphic style that we're sent to victims in
Cincinnati and Columbus from the Black
Hand members in Pittsbug, Chicago and
Cleveland.
For instance II "a victim were selected
In Cincinnati, he would perhaps receive
The first threatening letter demanding
money on pain OF death by dynamite Oomb
from Marion, o. The second letter would
be written by the same person. but for
"a "a tn he nir In qht1ro
who would, in turn, then mail 1t to the
victim II there we're no response in the
way OF money then third letter would
come TO the victim from the Chicago Black
Hand. In this way the organization con-
cealed itR movements. 1t has taken In
FpoctoF- Ddfiela and four other men under
RE siN months 10 run down the leaders.
we have no evidence, SO far, that the
Amti4can Black Hand in the west is SON
neotcd with the foreign organization that
killed Petrosino in Sicily. The thousands
OF dollars sent by the Black Hand members
TO Italy was simply their division of the
spoils made at regular meetings, sent
abroad 10 their innocent relatives for safe
koeping-
Nine Arrests Are Made.
Nine arrests have been made so far in
Columbus Marion Dennison and Belle
fontalne. all In Ohio, and the government
officers in Chicago and Cincinnati are to-
night looking for Antonio Lima, brother
OF Salvatore Lima, who was arrested in
Marion. Antonio Lima, who eluded the
officers at sandusky yesterday. is CON
sldered one OF the chief ringleaders by
the government officers Another import
ant arrest Is expected in Cleveland, but
the name is withheld by the inspectors.
An effort will be made to have the prison.
ers indicted by a federal grand Jury at
lCleveland on the charge of conspiracy to
commit extortion.
Besides the sicilians arrested in Marion.
Columbus and Dennison Tuesday, Joe Bo-
tella and Sam Rizzo were taken into Gus
tody in Marion Tuesday night Those ar
rested earlier in the day were Sam Lima,
said to be the ringleader OF the gang In
the United States, and Joe Rizzo. in
Marion; Antonio Marssi. in Dennison and
Tony Bieherlo In COLUMBUS. These arrests
we're made following letters sent to John
Amicon. a wealthy fruit dealer Of Column
bus. o. The inspectors say they have evi-
dence that a room 10 the rear of little
fruit store in Marion conducted by the
RiEzos. was the headquarters OF the society
In this country, and they found in a safe
letters which win throw light on many sue
cessful attempts to extort money from
wealthy Italians In Ohio, New York, Penn.
,ylvania ana other states.
New York Police at FRaIt.
The New York police officials who are
carrying on the detective work started by
Joseph Pttrosini, who was killed In Sicily,
have been working on the theory thai
there il no extensive Black hand organi-
49,
conducted by individuals II. different cities
who have no connection with each other
But the work of the Cincinnati officers
tends to show that the New York ex'
perts have been wrong I'm their theory, ana
that not only has the Black hand a ma
tional organization in the United states
but that It is directly allied with similar
organization IN Sicily, and is working II
connection with the Malta, or order Of th'
Banana as N has more recently beer
known In this country.
The coup sprung by the government Of
ficers, was engineered by Inspector J, #
OIdfield, under the direction OF Inspector
A. r. HOLMES. in charge of the Cincinnati
office.
The conspirators are alleged TO have sem
$500 monthly to Italy.
Letters In LiuaA store.
MARION, o., June s. United States Sc
eret Service Agent J. F. oldtleld
who arrested Sam Lima. a Marion frui
merchant, here yesterday as leader o
an Italian Black Hand society has gone Il
Columbus. taking with him trunk ful
OF discriminating letters found In Lima
store, Some OF the letters, 'all written Il
Italian, were decorated with skull an
cross bones. Others were prepared witt
ieatly drawn bleeding hearts. pierced b!
aaggers More OF the letters contains
differing designs of threatening insignia o
Black Hand mystery, all intended TO terTif'