Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-06-10
SLEUTHS ARREST
ALLEGED LEADER
OF BLACK HAND
ELEVEN MEN TAKEN TO JAIL
IN VARIOUS CITIES
POLICE RAID ROOM DECLARED TO
BE HEADQUARTERS
Revelations of Plots to Extort and
Murder Made by Postal inspectors.
Declare Right Men Are
in Custody
tBy Associated Press.)

NINCINNATI, June 9-ReVelatlons
4 in the extortion, plotting and mur-
~ der by the black hand, as uncoV-
cred today by postoffice inspectors from
the Cincinnati Office, show conclusiVeiy
that the gang in Columbus, Marion
Dennison, Bellefontaine and other ONO
tows was organized along the same
lines as the old Malta, but with much
more thorough system of concealment.
1t is now known that the Ohio black
hand, or the Society of the Banana
as its members style themselves, had a
branch in Pittsburg, one in Chicago anu
a line that extended to South Dakota;
Regular meetings were held and the
money obtained by extortion was dls-
tributed to various divisions In tnis
country and sent To relatlVes III A'eiS
for safe keeping.
certain proof that the black hand out
RACES, at least in the middle west We're
committed by we'll organized society,
with grips and passwords, ana thaI
they are not simply sporadic cases OF
individual extortion,' sald ChleI Fose-
office Inspector Holmes.
1--WE have no evidence so far that the
American black hand In the west is
connected with the foreign organlza-
ton that killed Lieut.. Petrosino IN
Sicily. -
Eleven Arrests Made
Eleven arrests have been made so far
in columbus, Marion, Dennison, Belle
fontaine and Cleveland, all in ONO, ana
the government officers in Chicago ana
Cincinnati are tonight looking for Anto-
nio Lima, brother of salvatore Lima,
who was arrested in Marion. Anotner
important arrest is expected III oleVe-
land.
A Marfisi was arrested at Denn1son
after a running revolver fight with
deputies and secret service agents.
Late tonight the police at Columbus
arrested Salvatore Vintolas. Nlntoias
home was searched and several letters
of a suspicious character found.
Antonio and Joseph Musso. brothers,
and nro rietors of a commission house,
were arrested there tonight on the sus-
picion that they are members OF the
black hand.
ner and owens went to Toledo tonight
from Marion in charge of three alleged
Black Hand MISUNDERSTANDING Lima,
80 years old; Salvatore Rizzo, ~, ana
Joe Batafalia, 2S.
They seemed to take their arrest
cooIly and laughed and joked
Rizzo said he had been in this coun-
trv two years Batafalia and Rizzo
work on the Pennsylvania railroad
Lima is a fruit dealer.
Extensive Operations
Operations in nearly every large city
in the United States and the ramifica-
tions of the secret service in Italy Will
he laid bare, it is expected, when the
alleged Black Hand gang which was
rounded up in Columbus and Marion
Ohio, by postoffice inspectors of Gin
cinnati are brought to trial
Inspector in Chief Holmes says the
fxy mo
the police of several cities is volumin-
Gus and there can be no doubt that the
crimes of blackmail, extortion and
threatened and attempted murder will
be fastened on the guilty men.
The inspectors say they have evil
dence that a room in the rear OF 1T
tie fruit store in Marion conducted by
the Rizzos was the headquarters of
the society in this country and they
found in a safe there many letters
which will throw light on successful
attempts to extort money from wealthy
italians in Ohio, New York, Pennsyl-
vania and other states.
The letters confiscated fill two large
mail pouches. Some were received
from points as far west as South Da-
kota They show, the officers assert,
that hundreds of Italian business men
have been paying tribute to the Black
Hand to gain immunity from death or
torture at the hands of the members
of the society.
other Evidence Found
Books showing the receipt of money
and it's division among members of the
gang also were found. The names of
many active members of the Black
Hand, together with the names of hum
dreds of their victims, are in possess
sion of the officers. The officers de-
clare they now have sufficient evil
dence to convict.
The New York police officials who
are carrying on the detective work
started by Joseph Petrosino, who was
killed in Sicily have been working on
the theory that there is no extensive
Black Hand organization, but that the
operations have been conducted by in
dividuals in different parts of the coun-
try who have no connection with each
other But the work of the Cincinnati
officers tends to show that the New
York experts have been wrong in their
theory and that not only has the
Black Hand a national organization in
the United States but tat it is di-
rectly allied with similar organiza-
ton in Sicily and is working in con-
nection with the Malta or "Order of
the Banana" as it has been recently
known in this country. The coup
sprung by the government officials
was engineered by Inspector j. #. Old
field, under the direction OF Inspector
A. r. Holmes in charge of the Gin
cinnati offices.
Sent Money to Italy
The conspirators are alleged to have
sent $4,000 monthly to Italy. 1t is said
the officers found the society is an iron
bound organization, membership in
which is invested with blood-curdling
oaths, grips, passwords and signs.
An alleged plot to assassinate De-
tective Gabriel Longobardi of the
Black Hand squadron of the Chicago
police force was revealed there. today
by Longobardi. The plot is said to
have involved a pail delivery
Several months ago Longobardi ar
rested Giuseppe Burtucci, who was
charged with the murder of another
italian, John Umbrella. Later the same
officer took into custody Vicenzo
Geraci, charged with attempting to get
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