Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-03-04
PETR0SIN0'S NEW JOB.
Detective Who Has Waged War OF
italian Criminals.


Italian Criminals.
Joseph Petrosino, the Italian detec-
tive lieutenant of New York city, who
has been placed in charge of Mulberry
streets new secret service squad, has
been New York policeman twenty-six
years and on duty AS a detective for
about half of that time.
AS matter of fact. he has been do
ing for several years the same sort of
work that the secret squad has been
organized to do under his supervision,
so the real difference Will not be so
much in kind as in extent. With the
outside fund which a group of private
citizens have placed at the disposal of
Commissioner Bingham for this secret
work. Petrosino will have much more
latitude to work effectively in Kidding
New York city of the Italians who per
petrate the Blank Hand variety of
matchmaking crime with bomb accom-
paniment.
Petrosino recently went to Italy to
arrange some cooperative plan with
the Sicilian authorities by which if
may be made more difficult for Grim
inals of this type to come to New York
and easier to catch them should they
manage to get into, the, United States.
The. immigration department of the
United States will also help Mulberry
street in the process of determination.
But 1t is in Italy, according to Petro-
sino, that the real work must be done
| to cut off this undesirable class of i'm
migration. From his experience, he
| would require a passport from every
| man coming from Italy. Then, with the
police records spread on the passport
in each case. it would be comparatively
easy to select those worthy of depor
| tation. The police there, he thinks
/ would give these records carefully
The projects OF Palermo. for exam
pie. have an almost absolute powe
over the criminal classes. If they ge
together lot of, say. 100 or goo ant
| take them before a magistrate the pre-
fect's mere word that they are danger
GUS or criminal is sufficient. The 10
are promptly sent to penal colon.
| ON an island near by. where they tUrl
farmers for their country's good.
| There is no real Black Hand organ
| ization for KIDNAPPING and Matchmaking.
| said Pctrosino recently. "Such operation
are conducted by small gangs, usually o
| three or four. who prey on the fears o
their countrymen. Their work. too. 4
made more easy by the considerable pub
| 1icity given to such cases. The cafes Il
the Italian districts-little places wher
| r3N, G,Nd a md VII mo
sit around all day playing cards-ar
| among the danger spots. "a,
There the men get together and plal
their outrages. There. too, many of tn
domestic Quarrels begin which end Il
murder. 1t is probable that the polio
will find it necessary to card catalogue
these places in self defense-that is, t
make permanent record not only of tn
proprietors of these resorts, but of tn
patrons as well. Then the department
would have means whereby 1t could trac
men on whom suspicion fell and coua
also send to Italy for the records of tn
more important of them"
1t was Inspector Williams who frs
discovered Petrosino. That was nea
~ thirty years ago, when the polio
managed the work of street cleaning
Petrosino was the boss of a dunn
scow gang, and he handled his fello'
Italians so well that Williams urge
him to become policeman. The su:
gestion didn't seem attractive thel
Instead. he quit working for the cit
and became clerk in banking hous
on Marion street. But Williams ha
good memory and soon hunted hi
up to renew the proposition, with tn
result that Patrolman Joseph Petr
J sine became a familiar figure to II
Tenderloin habitues There Petrosir
| stayed for thirteen years, patrolling a
the time except when the inspect,
detailed him, as he did occasionally,
some plain clothes job" Then, in b
fourteenth year in the department
this occasional work bore fruit In O
assignment to the detective bureau
headquarters.
Mulberry street records contain Il
details of many, pieces of artistic d
tective work. followed by arrests al
convictions. credit for which belon.
to Petrosino. -
A comparatively recent case and OF
illustrating on how slender clew
l detective often must work was TIL
of man found in Van Cortlandt par
IN New York. on Aug. IS. 1905, wit
| thirty six stab wounds. There W,