The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-10
IN CAUGHT AFTER ' HI WHILE RUNNING
Show That the Gang ls Made Up of Old Mafla Members But Who Work With Much
 More Secrecy.


 Rizzo, Sebastian Bataglia and A. Mar fisi, leaders in the Ohio band of Italian blackmailers, arrested by the federal au. thoritles, were today served with govern ment warrants, charging them with fraudulent use Of the United States mails and unlawfully scheming to extort money from John Amicon, a Columbus fruit dealer, and threatening him with bodily injury.
 Lima declared to be the censor and chief of a band of blackmailers arrested Tuesday In his fruit store at Marion, O.; Rizzo and BatagIia, his fellow townsmen and alleged co-conspirators, were taken to Toledo today by Deputy United States marshals, where they will be given a hearing before United States Commission CT Gaines Monday.
 P. Lima, a erafting appearing Italian. was being led, handcuffed, from his cell in the Marion jail to a carriage. when he raised his cuffed hands above his head to the crowd of citizens assembled to view his departure and exclaimed dra- matcally:
 Black Hand? Black Hanu! See, my hands, they are white. My prosecutors have black hands. They try to injure me and my business. They want to ruin my family
 Rushed to Jail.
 Deputy Marshals Owen and Wagner rushed the prisoner into carriage be- fore he could say any more to arouse the feelings of score of Lima's Italian friends, who were present in the crowd.
 The federal warrant charges a specific offense. Its declaration says that Lima, Rizzo and Bataglia sent letters demand Ing money from Amicon through the Ma iron postofrice and that the letters were enclosed to A. Marfisi at Dennison. O.. one of the band, who was asked to for ward them to Amicon. This he did.
 Marfisi was arrested today at Denni- son after a running revolver fight with deputies and secret service agents. When the officers reached Marfisi's quarters. the Italian took to his heels. He ran through back door and into an alley.
 Several shots were fired, Marfisi re- turning the fire. He surrendered. how ever, and is being held at Dennison await ing the arrival of the deputy marshal.
 Antonio Viccarrio. a partner of Mar fisi' who was arrested at Dennison Tues day, was today taken to Canton and ar raigned before the United States commis- sioner. He was held in bonds of 5000 on a charge of using the mall to defraud and locked up.
 The Marion leaders of the band obtalne,' legal counsel before they were taken to Toledo, and an effort will be made by their attorneys to recover the letters and documents confiscated by Inspector Old field and his assistants in the Lima ren- dezvous of the organization. Inspector Oldield is here tonight experimenting an examination by experts of the sacks of mail matter taken from the Italian fruit store in Marion. All the letters are in Italian, The mail is being examined in the federal building and is being closely guarded lest friends of the accused Italians might seek to regain possession of the suspicious documents.
 Late tonight Inspector Oldfeld and local police arrested Salvatore Ventola, a Co., lumbus Italian, whom they believe is lm- p1cated in the operations of Lima and his band.
 Eleven arrests have now been made by the federal authorities. and thus far there IS no trace that any attempt has been made to eXtort money from any persons save Italians, and none outside of Ohio and western Pennsylvania
 Inspector Oldfield declared that he did not credit the first report that Collegerio Ciccarrio, arrested at Bellefontaine, had anything to do with the murder of De- tective Petrosino of New York in Italy.