Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-28
WORK Of NOTED DETECTIVE
Life Stories Of Joe PetrOsinO, Assas-
sinated at Palermo.
ZEAL IN RUNNING DOWN CROOKS
Notable Service OF n y - 'sher-
lock Holiness In solving nfSS-
teries of Crime--COnapicu-
Gus Instances.

Tho assassination Of Detective Joe
Petrosino OF New York to Palermo. Sicily,
whittier he was sent to Investigate the
operations Of Italian and Sicillisn criminal
sooisties, IL deeply regretted by the police
department and the Italian residents Of the
metropolis. New York papers are 4 unit In
declaring the detective was a remarkable
mar in his line Of work. fearless in the
discharse Of his duty. and one Of the in
valuable men in the service. A few OF his
achievements rival the deeds Of ''sher-
lock Holmes"
One OF the Incidents of his career recalled
By associates was the fact that six months
before the assassination Of President. Nc
Kinley, in 1901, Petrosino sent word to
Washington that there was a plot afoot
20 idli the president. The detective had
obtained this information while he was
in Psterron. N. j.. investigating the an
archist colony there, at the time II was
discovered that the plot which resulted in
the assassination OF King Humbert had
been developed IN that city.
FoIIowfng : slender Clew.
A case comparatively recent, which we'll
Illustrates how sKiilfully Pstroino could
pick UP a criminal trail and hoy t~irelessly
he could follow 1t, was that of a homicide
committed in Van Cortlsndt park. on the
morning Of August 10, 1875. was found there
the body Of a man slain. with thirty-six
stab wounds. The surgeons held II was
that Of an Italian, who had been a man
OF culture. Petrosluo told them the muir
dered man had been a leborer and that he
had probably been a native Of Southern
italy. IL looked like a particularly difficult
case to unrayel. but Petrosino discovered,
In examining that part of the park near
where the body had been found. a small
scrap OF soiled paper lying in a clump of
bushes. 1t had been trampled repeatedly
by those who had gone over the ground
ahead Of him, and 1t was so begrimed that
the little writing on 1t was deciphered with
difficulty.
The detective finally made out the name
'sabbato Gizzio,'' and. the address, BOX
no LAmbertvilie, N. j." Though there
was nothing to indicate any connection
between the crime and the scrap of paper.
save that the name was that Of an Italian,
Pesrosino went straight to Lambertvilie.
There he learned that GiEzio was working
on the Pennsylvania railroad at Stockton,
several miles away.
When he had found his man Gizzio ad-
mitted that he had written the name on
the paper. He said he had given II to his
friend Antonio Trosielo, who had gone to
New York on the last pay day with $500 or
y5Oo. Gizzio, who was brought back to this
city by the detective. identified the body
of the dead man as that of Trosielo and
told the police he had heard that Trosieio
had left Lambertville with Antonio Strollo,
another Of the gang Of railroad laborers.
Ne also remembered that when strplio re-
turned he had a wounded hand.
Hurrying back to Lambertviae, Petrosino
while at the railroad station saw a man
Approaching on a bicycle who was an ltal-
ian and who carried one hand bandaged'
4Petrosino questioned the bicycle rider and
was soon convinced he was the very man
he was after. He brought Strollo back 20
New York and confronted him with the
body In the morgue. ~ -,,r
To use Petrosino's own words, he Just
shivered, like this. and refused to look at
il. / was watching him closely and l said
TO myself then. you're guilty, You ras-
call"
strollo afterward confessed the crime
He told how he had written to Trosielo let
tiers purporting to come from the latter'i
brother and inviting him to come to Yon'
kers. The brothers had not met for years
and strollo had little trouble to lure hil
victim into the park, where he waylsid and
killed HIM.
II was the soIled bit Of crumpled paper
trodden under foot. but recovered by tn
trained intelligence, that promptly FOLLOWED
the mrager clue II afforded, that led to tn
criminals capture.
Long Chase Rewarded.
NhtAlo Brogno was found dying from
stab wound in the back, at Baxter an
Leonard streets, in July, 1895. There ha
been a saloon row and Angelo Carboni wa
arrested, convicted Of the murder and sen
fenced to death. After the conviction Q
Caaooni. Petrosino received informatlo
that, although Brogno had been fightin
with Carboni, the stab wound which cause
death had been given by a man name
Ceramtllo, who was the father-in-law Q
Carboni, and who had treacherously CT
Brogno in the back as he reeled from tn
effects Of a first blow given by carboni.
40 / started out to get Ceramello," sal
Petrosino. In nArrating the story. II 60
trace Of him In Jersey City, but he 81
away ahead OF me. 1 followed him I
Philadelphia and then to Mtlertown. !
Delaware, but always arrived just too LAT
to find him. Next i heard he was In MOI
treAi. so to Canada / went. There l hear
Ceramello had moved into Eovo Scott
There / missed him again and finally 70
lOWCQ al y a 0~Sh ~ " ~ ~
Here / lost all trace OF him.
One day. nearly a month after ] ha
first started after Ceramello, l was stanC
ing on the corner Of Elisabeth and No
streets, when l saw his cousin. He kne
me. but he didn't see me. / trailed n
cousin into the Bronx and saw him G
into q house. l watched that house uni
o'clock In the morning, when / decide
the man had gone 20 bed and l went to
place nearby and slept until s. Then
got back on watch. followed my man dow
and saw him buy a ticket for Baltimor
I tslephoned headquarters l was goir
out of town and then ! bought a tick,
for Baltimore, too.
II was afraid / might be recognized, A
that time / wore no moustache and / puils
9 false beard out OF my pocket and pl
Il on. You couldn't see my face at a
after that and my best friend would NJ
have known me. In Baltimore my ma
went to COTcoran alley-let me see. thu
was about 5 o'clock In the evening. o.