The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-06-06
TWO PICTURESQUE OUTLAWS
sICILIAN BRIGANDS OF A FAST
PASSING TYPE.
First. Mulone, Who Started . Career OF
Crime When His Vito Deserted Him,
Thought Now to BE ! n America-The
other, salamone. Now Under Arrest.


other, salsmone. Now Under Arrest.
PALERMO, May 1e.-Every criminal In
Sicily who evades capture by the police
ia called a brigand, but - brigandage
is supposed to have been stamped out
by the Italian Government the term
braand has been supplanted by q new
word, '~lstitante.' OIL hider. As a matter
Of fact, however. brigandage still exists
in Sicily. weakened and diminished but
not overcome, and 80 long as the Malta
rules in the cities and towns ~brigandage
will continue to flourish over the country.
II could not be otherwise, as the Malta
and brigandage are closely connected
by a bond OF common interest. In years
gone by the Sicilian brigands held up the
carriages OF the rich. took prisoners and
held them for ransom. protected the
weak and oppressed the rich and powerful
mobiles. To-day the classical type Of
brigand has disappeared and the present
outlaws are no longer highwaymen but
common criminals. who live in hiding
and successfully evade capture by making
themselves useful to certain great land
owners, who in return protect them from
the police. Now and again there is an
isolated attempt at a return to the old
traditions Of ~brigandage and a man OF an
adventurous life, disappointed in love and
unjustly prosecuted by the police, will
retire to the hills, waylay his enemies one
by one and shoot them in cold blood and
battle the attempts of the police. aided by
troops. to capture him.
Such cases are rare. Still within the last
FIVE years there were two famous Sicilian
hrigands whose names became household
words throughout the island. Their
careers in outlawry were short. One
Of them, Turiddu Failla Mulone. has dis
appeared and is supposed to be safe in
America; the other. Giuseppe Salamone,
has fallen into the hands of the police and
is awaiting trial.
The brigands captured by the police
are comparatively few, and in the rare
cases when a capture is effected it is
generally the result Of chance. That was
the case with Salamone. One day the
brigand happened to be wandering alone
about the country when he CHANGED to
meet two carbineers who he thought
had recognized him. AS a matter Of fact
they had not, and IL instead Of running
away from them he had just zone on his
way they would never have captured
him. Besides, luck was against him,
as he had almost succeeded in outdis-
tancing his pursuers, when he stumbled
and fell. When the two carbineers
caught him he said: Il am Salamone,
and / Won't offer any resistance, because
| realize that am no longer a brigand.
A brigand never falls when running from
the police unless he is shot dead So
ended Salamone's career.
Giuseppe Salamone is a native of
Barrafranca, the son of a small farmer
who died when the brigand was a boy.
He left school and learned the trade Of
shoemaker and with his small earnings
supported his widowed mother. When
Salamone was IS years old he fell in
love with a village girl named Stella
Bonincontro. an orphan who lived with
her old grandmother. One day he was
obliged to leave his native village for a
month to seek work elsewhere and on his
return he discovered that the girl he
loved had been seduced by the Mayor.
Signor Giordano, q wealthy and powerful
land owner.
Salamone's first thought was to kill the
Mayor, but Giordano was a powerful
rival. and without giving Salamone
time to mature his plans Of vengeance
he had him arrested IN suspicion of
having waylaid and assaulted three
fishermen and stealing all the money
they possessed. suborned witnesses and
had him tried and convicted. Salamone
was sentenced to hard labor. He served
~ tn.. -l,rfro uhioh tho
boy became a man., and every day he
spent in prison he renewed the oath to
kill Giordano. One day when he had all
but served his term a letter Va sent
from his family at Barrafranca to the
governor OF the prison ~petitioning to
anticipate Salamone's release, as his old
mother was dying and she wished to see
her son and bless him before she died.
This letter was not authenticated by the
Mayor, SO the governor returned II to
Barrafranca for the necessary signature.
tiiordano was still Mayor there and he
purposely delayed sending back the
letter to the prison. hence Salamone.
who should nave been released or Sep
TENDER s, 1904. left prison only on the 10th.
He fastened home and found his mother
dead. A few days later while Giordano
was returning home Salamone shot him
dead, and he became a brigand.
The police arrested two priests named
Vasapolli and a lawyer Of Barrafranca
named Bonfrraro, all political enemies
Of the Mayor. on suspicion OF completely.
Salamone meanwhile successfully evaded
all attempts to capture him, killed several
of his enemies, levied blackmail on all
the friends OF Giordano and gradually
acquired the reputation OF a first class
hrigand. He even wrote his memoirs
and had them published in the Giorndie
Of Stella.
His chief boast was that he never OPP
pressed the weak and that he never killed
a policeman. although very often parties
Of soldiers who were pursuing him passed
within range OF his rife. That Salamone
was popular is proved by the fact that
when he was arrested he had over 3lss
in his possession which the police ascer-
'ained he had not stolen but which had
been given to him by land owners OF the
neighborhood.
Salamone and his supposed accom-
rhces, the two priests and the lawyer.
were tried at Perugia for the murder Of
Giordano. They were all acquitted and
IN the course OF the trial Salamone con
vinced the jury hat his first conviction
was a real miscarriage OF justice. Sala-