The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-11
Sam Lima Secures Bail At Toledo and Goes Back
 to Marion
VACCARIO Is EXAMINED
 BUT FAILS ID CONFESS
Officers Mixed Up In the Black Hand Arrests Are Busy and Will Go to Cleveland Next Saturday
 For Conference.

Columbus O., June 10-With three mem- bers of the Italian Black Hand society of Ohio, who are sought on federal war rants still at large, the postal officials here regret the release on bonds of Sam Lima of Marion and sevario Ventola, of Columbus, who are regarded as the craft lest of the organized band.
 Lima was released at Toledo today and Yentola procured temporary freedom when arraigned here
 Lima bond was fixed at 5000 and Ven tola's at 5000. Both bonds, the federal inspectors believe, were too low. and they are disappointed that a bond of $10,00O was not demanded in each case.
 Now that Lima, particularly is out of prison the inspectors believe that it will be difficult to locate his father, hls broth CT and a third member of the society, who fled from Marion when the first ar- rest was made.
 Lima returned to Marion today after his release and is reported to have sent word to his fugitive comrades by secret emis- saries, informing them of the plans of the authorities to arrest them.
 Collegerio Vaccario, who was arrested at Bellefontaine and hidden away all night from an attorney who sought his release on writ of habeas corpus, was brought to Columbus by Inspectors Pate and Hos ford late today and subjected to an ex- animation which continued for nearly three hours Inspector Oldield, Postmaster krumm | and secret service agents vainly sought to obtain a confession from vaceario.
 vacoario Is unmoved. | The swarthy Italian could not be moved. l When shown letters believed to be in his l own handwriting-letters containing the | skull and cross bones and pictures of bleeding hearts pierced by daggers-he shook his head and denied he had ever seen them before or had any knowledge of their contents.
 Following the vain effort of break down Vaccario's stolid denial of guilt in the alleged conspiracy to extort money from John Amicon, of Columbus, the prisoner was taken before Commissioner John son and held in bond of s5OOo for hear ing next Tuesday. Tonight he is in the Franklin county Jail.
 All officers who have been at work in rounding up the Black Hand aggrega- ton will so to Cleveland Saturday to con- fer with United States District Attorney Day.
 All the evidence will be discussed and the contents of many of the letters found in possession of the prisoners, now being translated by an interpreter, will be thoroughly canvassed. It is known that some of these letters have given the federal officials clews to other bands of Italian blackmailers in various states of the country
 From this evidence it is predicted that before many months other groups of Black Hand operatives will be run to earth in different sections.
 Inspector Oldfeld declined to make pub lie today any of the threatening letters that have been translated by the inter- preter. He expressed confidence, how ever, In the evidence upon which is based the case against the men now under ar rest
 We have an absolute case" said h. spector Oldhed. The evidence is in the Handwriting of the accused and there are no missing links in the chain which binds them to the crime charged"
 Going Over t,e Evidence.
 Cincinnati, June 10.A-1aving rounded up and arrested nine of the Il ringleaders of the Ohio division of the Society of the Banana, commonly known as the Black Hand" Inspector Oldfeld and his half dozen associates. working under the in- structions of Chief Postoffice Inspector Holmes of Cincinnati, are now busily en- gagged at Columbus, O., in going over the evidence and preparing for the prelimi- nary hearing of the prisoners the first part of next week at Toledo and Cleve- land.
 The government will rely on the docu- mentary evidence secured from the two mail pouches full of letters found in the house of Sam Lima when he was arrested at Marion. O., and letters found in pos session of other prisoners to prove con cusively that an elaborately planned or ganization exists in the central west for the purpose of eXtorting money from Sicilians The specific case which the government will rely upon for conviction is the one wherein the conspirators and blood-money getters attempted extortion upon John Amicon, the wealthy fruit dealer of Columbus, O.
 The charge of using the mails to com init fraud and also the charge of con- spiracy for extortion will be brought against the prisoners under the United States statutes
 Asked as to whether any absolute proof had been found connecting the Ohio Black Hand with the murder of Lieu tenant Petrosino in Italy. Chief Inspector Holmes said to an Associated Press man today:
 Suspicious Facts.
 q have no absolute proof that this gang actually had hand in the New York Italian detectives murder But we do know that Augustine Marfis who was ar- rested in Dennison, O., was in Palermo at the time of Petrosno's death aH that Marfisi returned to America shorty after that murder. Marfisi's visit to Sic- fly at that time may have been mere coincidence. But we do know that the gang of which Marfis is a member is or ganized exactly like the Society of the Banana in Sicily
 Government secret service men and postoffice inspectors. now that they have
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